Post on 13-Sep-2014
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SYMPATHETIC PRICINGGet ready for a wave of imaginative
discounts that relieve lifestyle pain
points, offer a helping hand in difficult
times, or support a shared value.
GLOBAL TREND BRIEFING
June 2014
Brands are constantly telling consumers that they care.Most consumers don’t believe them.
When brands claim to care about people and their everyday
challenges, or about the shared problems we all face
– sustainability, social responsibility, and more – most
consumers think they’re just saying that.
Sure, that’s a simple characterisation of a complex issue, and
it doesn’t apply to all consumers and every brand.
But countless surveys, reports and statistics (the below
being just one example) all point in the same direction: when
it comes to truly caring about consumers, owning a higher
purpose and generally being a more HUMAN BRAND, most
people think that most brands still don’t get it.
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 2www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
Just 5% of consumers in the UK and US
believe big businesses are very transparent
and honest.
COHN & WOLFE, OCTOBER 2013
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 3www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
Now consumers will challenge brands to put their money where their mouth is.
After all, if brands really do care, then
there’s a simple way to prove it ;)
Amid their deep skepticism, consumers still yearn for
HUMAN BRANDS.
Now, they’re embracing the few brands that are already
trying a bold new approach in the quest to become more
HUMAN. One that’s visible, straighforward, and directed at
a truly meaningful target: pricing.
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 4www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
SYMPATHETIC PRICING Flexible and imaginative discounts that help ease lifestyle pain points, lend a helping hand in difficult times, or support a shared value.
DEFINITION
1. MESSAGE SATURATION
2. NEW WORLD, NEW EXPECTATIONS
1. PAINKILLER PRICING
2. COMPASSIONATE PRICING
3. PURPOSEFUL PRICING
WHY NOW?
FEATURED INNOVATIONS
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 5www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
1. Message SaturationConsumers have tuned out the white
noise issued by a multitude of brands
on how much they care about people,
society and the planet.
Deep skepticism among many consumers still exists
after years of brand campaigns, initiatives, and programs
intended to demonstrate that the brands in question really
care.
Often these ‘long-term goals’ and vague promises become
white noise: consumers have learned to tune them out, or
simply take them as a given.
now, consumers are keen to see brand care and purpose
expressed where it really counts.
So if brands really are lifestyle assistants, or if they really
do care about the Big Problems we face as global citizens,
shouldn’t their (flexible) pricing reflect this?
WHY NOW?
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 6www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
According to EUR and US consumers, only 5%
and 9% respectively of brands make a meaningful
difference in people’s lives. Poll global consumers
and that figure rises – to 20%.
HAVAS, JUNE 2013
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 7www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
2. New World, New ExpectationsThe online world has primed consumers
to EXPECT flexible pricing. And a host of
agile startups are both willing and able
to deliver.
Online, pricing is different. Ultra-flexible, dynamic,
personalized and transparent. Now, the online space has
primed consumers to bring those expectations with them
everywhere.
Meanwhile, a new generation of startup CLeAn SLATe
BRAnDS – lacking the legacy infrastructure of their
established competitors – are more able to roll out flexible
pricing in an (near) instant.
It’s a short walk from consumer expectation of more
flexible pricing, to consumer embrace of SYMPATHETIC
PRICING.
Now check out the Featured Innovations that follow, divided
into three categories of SYMPATHY.
WHY NOW?
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 8www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
1. PAINKILLER PRICING
FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Discounts that target lifestyle pain points.
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 9www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PAINKILLER PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
UberTaxi app gives discounts to travelers hit by transport disruption in London and Boston
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 10www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PAINKILLER PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Brahma #Movimento11Discounts help Brazilian football fans watch the start of the World Cup
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 11www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PAINKILLER PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Noosa International ResortHotel room discount if it rains on Australia’s ‘Sunshine Coast’
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 12www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PAINKILLER PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
The Wolf & IFree drinks for patrons with parking tickets in Melbourne
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 13www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PAINKILLER PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
BGHDiscounts on air conditioning for hot apartments in Argentina
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 14www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PAINKILLER PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
OtasukeJapanese pub offers discounts to balding customers
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 15www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
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2. COMPASSIONATE PRICING
FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Discounts that offer a helping hand at a difficult time.
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 17www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
COMPASSIONATE PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Community ShopDiscounted products for less affluent British consumers
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 18www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
COMPASSIONATE PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
PressfoliosService goes free for laid off new Jersey journalists
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 19www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
COMPASSIONATE PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Lowe’s CanadaFree trees for consumers hit by destructive storm
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 20www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
COMPASSIONATE PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Tienda AmigaShops in Madrid give discounts to the unemployed
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 21www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
COMPASSIONATE PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
GrouponDiscounted onions in response to high onion prices in India
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 22www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
3. PURPOSEFUL PRICING
FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Discounts in support of a shared value or belief.
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 23www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PURPOSEFUL PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
CorendonDutch airline offers cheaper flights to Russia for gay rights activists
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 24www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PURPOSEFUL PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
RATPFree public transport in Paris to combat poor air quality
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 25www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PURPOSEFUL PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Easy TaxiDiscounts for solo Filipino women highlight physical assaults
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 26www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
PURPOSEFUL PRICING: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
AnchorFreeApp to route around internet blocks goes free in Venezuela
SYMPATHETIC PRICING 27www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
NEXTWhat does SYMPATHETIC PRICING mean for brands?
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 28www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
1. Event Tie-upsA SYMPATHETIC PRICING play is the
perfect opportunity to tie-up with a big
event: think sports, TV shows, national
holidays and more.
Which brand will be first this summer to
offer a discount to consumers whose
team has just been knocked out of the
World Cup?
NEXT
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 29www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
NEXT
2. Data Driven SympathyRising numbers of consumers now
measure a range of personal metrics,
from steps walked to mood.
That opens the door to personalized
SYMPATHETIC discounts for
consumers having a bad day, or
struggling to meet personal goals.
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 30www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
NEXT
3. Internal SympathyIn March 2014 Japanese electronics
firm Panasonic said it would pay
workers in China more to compensate
for high pollution levels.
Truly forward-thinking brands will be as
SYMPATHETIC to their staff as they are
to their customers.
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 31www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
NEXT
4. Currencies Of ChangeOf course, discounts aren’t effective
only when it comes to pain points or
shared values.
Another HUMAN play on flexible
pricing? Discounts or rewards for
positive lifestyle change.
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 32www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
NEXT
5. [Insert your own] PricingThe La Petite Syrah cafe in France
charges customers less if they say
‘please’: POLITENESS PRICING.
Go ahead – invent your own HUMAN
pricing play!
CONSUMER TREND CANVAS 33www.trendwatching.com/trends/sympathetic-pricing
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