been reduced significantly by the Uber innovation with the Curfew situation adding to its essentialness .
The meaning I found was in the fact that I have been seeing completely new or old unfamiliar value brands in some homes I have visited . The difficult times have driven some consumers to go for these brands with the assumption that so far as it does the work , “ bora uhai ” ( Swahili popular phrase meaning that so far as we survive to see another day nothing else matters ). They have traded their self-expressive benefits in big brands for cheaper small brands that function well enough . That is how the fame in the walk of shame is emerging as the new abnormal . There is some unstated wisdom that during an emergency situation in the absence of a Supreme Court a Kangaroo Court can deliver some justice as well . The established brands are not taking this without a fight they are having some ‘ undown-putable ’ offers that ensure they keep their most loyal consumers happy and in the bag .
Purpose overtook Sustainability as what keeps executives awake
Top executives have been focusing on ensuring sustainability of brands and organizations . The pandemic came and turned this upside down bringing purpose into focus . Leadership studies show us that when people are disoriented and fearful they tend to choose leaders who are ‘ unsual ’ like Americans voted for Trump
The difficult times have driven some consumers to go for unfamiliar value brands with the assumption that so far as it does the work , ‘ Bora Uhai ’. They have traded their self-expressive benefits in big brands for cheaper small brands that function well enough .
With the word ‘ essential ’ having gained prominence , messaging needs to direct consumers to essentialness of products and services we offer . A service like market research becomes essential because the consumers ’ minds have been reformatted by the pandemic . This makes forecasting based on past trends inappropriate calling for the need to get new insights in order to reduce the decision making risks .
for the promise of making America great again ( MAGA ). Similarly , the Israelites chose Samson a village hero when they felt disgruntled by previous rulers .
For brands and organizations , difficult times call for them to be heroes and charismatic to consumers . Charismatic leaders ’ appeals to followers ’ emotions which inspire them to go that extra mile towards realization of the shared purpose which currently has more to do with survival . Charismatic leaders aim at instilling both awe and submission among followers . These are attributes that brands need to keep building into their personality for them to rise to the occasion during these times
Bare foot Luxuries , the inverted Maslows Hierarchy of needs and stickiness
In addition to understanding what are essential , consumers have also come to appreciate what really matters in life . Containment measures have resulted into some cage fever among some of them . Things like togetherness have emerged as top priority increasing the sense of community and reversing the prior individualism trends . That need to have genuine conversations on face to face basis has emerged .
People are increasingly appreciating barefoot luxuries where you remove your expensive shoes and walk barefoot to earth your bodies deionizing any negative charge in a way turning the Maslow hierarchy of needs upside down putting the basics at the top of the pyramid . Fear of Missing out FOMO turn into Joy of Missing out ( JOMO ) as families watch TV together again as they make commentaries on old movies and classics .
They put away multiple small screens ( phones and tablets ) as they focus on one bigger screen in search for connection with family .
The new abnormal can be described using the stickiness concept economists apply to describe sticky costs . A sticky cost is one that doesn ’ t change much even if demand decreases significantly you know something like salaries or rent . The new normal aspects that demonstrate stickiness and stay with us for long may qualify as being abnormal .
The Pandemic didn ’ t really create new trends ; it mostly accelerated existing ones The good book tells us that there is nothing new under the sun , science confirms this by telling us that you cannot destroy matter you can only change its form . Similarly , the new trends we are observing seem to have been emerging over time , the pandemic only accelerated them . Simply , the world was closed for stock taking and repair indicating that we should do the same as brands , organizations or individuals .
Ladies and gentlemen , blace yourselves for the new abnormal .
Boniface Ngahu is a seasoned marketing research expert and runs the Talking Point column in Marketing Africa magazine . He is the Marketing Director of SBO Research . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : BNgahu @ sboresearch . co . ke , or follow him on Twitter @ bngahu