Today, IPG Mediabrands and Microsoft Corp. unveiled a preview of research they have conducted that found that almost half of consumers globally are willing to share their digital information with brands in exchange for advertisements that are relevant and useful to their daily lives.
The research asked consumers whether they would be willing to share all of their digital data collected over a period of 6 months in exchange for better ads. The findings show that 45% of consumers are open to entering into transparent data exchanges with brands. The research also identified 8 digital trends that will help inform marketer decisions and will explore 2 of them in depth in the IPG Villa named Value Me and Age of Serendipity.
The research also says that in the next decade, technology will become more useful to people’s daily lives, as consumer needs shift and technology becomes more intertwined with society. As people’s comfort and relationships with technology matures, consumers are shifting from taking a passive to an active role in creating digital experiences and are realizing the value of their personal data; viewing it as raw material by which they can exchange with brands to receive more personal and relevant ad experiences.
These maturing relationships with technology create new challenges for brands and advertisers to engage in ways that are seamless, relevant and useful to people’s daily lives. The findings suggest that brands need to look at not just delivering an ad impression, but at how to engage, involve, support and reward consumers for sharing their personal information, in the hope of creating an authentic, valuable two-way relationship.
“‘Out of your face’ rather than ‘interface’ is where we are heading,” said Bill Buxton, a principal researcher at Microsoft. “Technology is beginning to recede from something that is just a device or a website, into people’s physical, social and cultural environment. It should quietly augment, nurture and facilitate our lives — not as intrusions, but as companions, that work seamlessly together and make our lives better. Brands should investigate how they can be present at these important inflection points in people’s lives in value-added ways.”
According to Sue Moseley, Chief Performance Officer, Initiative, “The research reveals that in the future, there will be a step change in consumers’ expectations of brands. Consumers and brands will enter a series of value exchanges where they will continuously negotiate the terms of the exchange.”
The research also found that as experiences online continue to be driven by social models, consumers will also increasingly look for more serendipitous encounters online. These encounters will surprise, challenge and enhance opportunities to immerse consumers with brands. Technology will help us find answers to questions we never asked.
In the future, serendipity will fill idle time, moments where we’re yet to arrive at our destination. The quantitative data suggests that the Emerging markets are more deeply engaged with this trend, an average of 80% of consumers from China, Brazil and Russia are happy to receive recommendations based, for example, on their calendars, friends and interests (vs. the Global average of 55%).
The research reveals that the opportunities are abundant, for those brands that can deliver openness, transparency and an element of surprise to their marketing endeavours. As a result, we’ll see consumers starting to take more responsibility for the control of their data and seek more reciprocal, value-add relationships with brands and audiences. Getting to know the person, not just their online behavior, will be key to effective marketing.
Topline data points:
Consumers want to enter open exchanges and trading of their data with brands
- 59% of global consumers are much more willing to buy a product or service from a brand that offers a reward in exchange for their digital data
- However, when it comes to tracking data, only 36% of consumers are willing for brands to track their digital behaviour if this means more optimised shopping experiences
- 48% of global consumers believe that their digital identity has a value
- 45% of consumers would sell their data to brands in the future
Consumers want brands to delight and excite them
- More than half of global consumers (55%) believe technology should introduce them to new and surprising experiences
- 61% of global consumers are much more willing to buy a product or service from a brand that delivers pleasantly surprising experiences
The 8 Digital Trends identified in the research are:
- Value Me
- Creator Culture
- My Analytics
- The Right to Anonymity
- IntelligentlyON
- Niche Networks
- Age of Serendipity
- Enhancing the Real
About IPG Mediabrands & Microsoft Digital Futures Research Programme
Digital Futures is a collaboration between IPG Mediabrands and Microsoft supported by The Future Laboratory. This is a major global initiative which brings together the expertise and knowledge within each of the companies, qualitative sessions with early adopters and mainstream consumer research. This initial consumer study, comprising over 8,000 individuals in 8 key markets*, is setting the baseline for tracking 8 significant emerging trends. The research sets out to understand the impact of these trends on consumers’ lives and how marketers should adapt to be most effective.
*Countries covered: US, UK, Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, Brazil and China
About IPG Mediabrands
Founded by Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) in 2007 to manage all of its global media related assets, today IPG Mediabrands manages and invests $36 billion in global media on the behalf of clients, employs over 8,500 diverse and daring marketing communication specialists worldwide and operates company businesses in more than 127 countries.
A proven entity in helping clients maximize business results through integrated, intelligence-driven marketing strategies, IPG Mediabrands is a global company that enhances offering and performance across its network of media agencies including UM, Initiative, BPN, ORION Holdings, and ID Media, as well as a roster of specialty service agencies including MAGNA GLOBAL, Mediabrands Audience Platform (Ansible, Cadreon, Reprise Media, Spring Creek Group) IPG Media Lab, Ensemble, and Identity. For more information please visit www.ipgmediabrands.com or follow us @ipgmediabrands.
About Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising provides advertisers and publishers with digital mediaand support to help drive deep and profitable engagement with consumers across Microsoft’s devices and services. This includes a media network that reaches hundreds of millions of consumers around the world, and services and sales support that help untangle the complexities of digital media to get more value from marketing and content investments. Microsoft Advertising makes buying and selling simple, leading media and innovative devicesthat include Windows 8, Windows Phone, Xbox 360, Skype, Bing, MSN and more. More information is available at http://advertising.microsoft.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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