WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:07.110 We are living in very interesting times. 2 00:00:07.110 --> 00:00:09.470 We've had four decades of globalization. 3 00:00:09.470 --> 00:00:12.760 We are in the middle of a digital consumer revolution 4 00:00:12.760 --> 00:00:15.702 with e-commerce taking off, digital marketing taking off, 5 00:00:15.702 --> 00:00:19.450 and we've been through a worldwide global pandemic. 6 00:00:19.450 --> 00:00:21.440 And so it's more important than ever before 7 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:24.430 to understand what drives consumer choice, 8 00:00:24.430 --> 00:00:26.310 what drives consumer behavior 9 00:00:26.310 --> 00:00:29.510 and eventually spending and purchase behavior. 10 00:00:29.510 --> 00:00:31.380 So that was the purpose of the research 11 00:00:31.380 --> 00:00:33.670 that we did across over 20 markets 12 00:00:33.670 --> 00:00:36.730 and tens of thousands of consumers around the world. 13 00:00:36.730 --> 00:00:38.690 And the most surprising thing we found 14 00:00:38.690 --> 00:00:41.560 was the diversity of mindsets around the world. 15 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:44.086 I'll freely admit that when we started this piece of work, 16 00:00:44.086 --> 00:00:47.070 I expected consumer clusters to emerge. 17 00:00:47.070 --> 00:00:49.490 I expected similar clusters in Asia, 18 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:52.072 similar consumers in Europe, so on and so forth. 19 00:00:52.072 --> 00:00:55.890 But really, despite four decades of globalization, 20 00:00:55.890 --> 00:00:58.310 consumers are very diverse around the world. 21 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:00.110 Let me share a few examples. 22 00:01:00.110 --> 00:01:02.110 Let's look at entrepreneurship. 23 00:01:02.110 --> 00:01:03.700 The Nigerians, the Indians 24 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:05.800 are amongst the most entrepreneurial 25 00:01:05.800 --> 00:01:08.750 with a clear drive to try to build their own business. 26 00:01:08.750 --> 00:01:10.370 Very different from the Japanese 27 00:01:10.370 --> 00:01:13.010 who don't aspire to build a business today. 28 00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:14.750 Let's look at peer perception. 29 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:16.630 The Chinese deeply care about 30 00:01:16.630 --> 00:01:18.780 what their peer group thinks about them. 31 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:20.260 The French, on the other hand, 32 00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:22.060 extremely individualistic, 33 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:24.460 don't really care about peer perception. 34 00:01:24.460 --> 00:01:25.410 Well, marketers I think, 35 00:01:25.410 --> 00:01:27.830 will find this research very helpful for them. 36 00:01:27.830 --> 00:01:30.295 I have three overall implications for them. 37 00:01:30.295 --> 00:01:34.310 First, do not ignore the diversity around the world. 38 00:01:34.310 --> 00:01:37.480 In fact, I would say embrace the diversity of mindsets 39 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:39.320 and try to understand the mindsets 40 00:01:39.320 --> 00:01:42.080 of each local market that you try to get into. 41 00:01:42.080 --> 00:01:44.130 The second lesson for marketeers is 42 00:01:44.130 --> 00:01:45.718 go a level or two deeper 43 00:01:45.718 --> 00:01:49.470 and think about specific needs in specific categories. 44 00:01:49.470 --> 00:01:51.750 Here we find surprising commonalities 45 00:01:51.750 --> 00:01:55.050 between markets that are so different culturally 46 00:01:55.050 --> 00:01:56.490 at the level of the needs. 47 00:01:56.490 --> 00:01:58.320 Let me give you one example. 48 00:01:58.320 --> 00:02:01.450 The China market is one of the most unique cultures 49 00:02:01.450 --> 00:02:02.510 in the world. 50 00:02:02.510 --> 00:02:04.100 In fact, Chinese consumers 51 00:02:04.100 --> 00:02:05.780 are not similar in their mindset 52 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:07.787 to any other place in the world. 53 00:02:07.787 --> 00:02:10.020 But when we looked at the specific needs 54 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:12.420 of Chinese consumers for snacking, 55 00:02:12.420 --> 00:02:14.560 and we compared it for some snacking needs 56 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:15.960 elsewhere in the world, 57 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:17.700 we found that Chinese, Indonesians, 58 00:02:17.700 --> 00:02:21.170 and Saudi Arabians have very similar profiles 59 00:02:21.170 --> 00:02:23.370 when it comes to their needs for snacking. 60 00:02:23.370 --> 00:02:26.055 They think of it as a social occasion. 61 00:02:26.055 --> 00:02:28.290 They think of it as a way to bond with their peers. 62 00:02:28.290 --> 00:02:29.860 And third, and finally, 63 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:31.510 probably the most important: 64 00:02:31.510 --> 00:02:34.480 Invest in understanding your consumers. 65 00:02:34.480 --> 00:02:37.120 Invest in understanding the new normal we live in 66 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.220 and what that means for your products 67 00:02:39.220 --> 00:02:40.540 and for your categories. 68 00:02:40.540 --> 00:02:42.690 And I think that would be a key source 69 00:02:42.690 --> 00:02:44.320 of competitive advantage. 70 00:02:44.320 --> 00:02:45.153 Thank you.