Accountability and action are keys to brand growth this year — report
By Miguel Hanz L. Antivola, Reporter
Filipino prosumers are expecting brands to develop deeper and more diverse community connections through eco-social accountability and action, according to a report.
Advertising agency Havas Ortega released on Thursday its 2024 trends report for prosumers which they said represent 15-20% of the local population at the edge of new beliefs, attitudes, technologies, and brands.
“Brands must adapt by focusing on meaningfulness, social responsibility, and sustainability,” the report said.
Prosumers is a term which refers to individuals who are both consumers and producers.
The report added brand should also consider engaging with digital communities as well as back causes such as mental health and environmental sustainability.
“Transparency, authenticity, and real action in addressing social and environmental issues will also be key for brands in maintaining consumer trust, patronage, and loyalty,” it added.
The report identified five themes expecting to influence brand strategies this year: a search for meaning, social activism, community engagement, mental health awareness, and environmental responsibility.
The search for meaning is driven by a spirit of reflection and reprioritization due to the pandemic and recent economic challenges, Phil Tiongson, data science director at Havas Ortega Group Philippines, said during a briefing.
“Brands should transform themselves as conduits of meaningfulness and catalysts of self-reflection through the stories that they put out in the media,” the also report noted.
Findings from the report showed 60% of respondents claim to boycott brands that have neglected climate change issues.
It added that 82% believed that large companies are more equipped to make necessary climate-responsive changes, with 83% saying those should be “the first ones to pay the price.”
Moreover, 41% believed companies are the “primary culprits” of environmental crises.
“Aware of the power they hold to make informed choices and effect change, more Filipinos will be seen supporting brands that align with their deeply held values,” it said.
Brands are also called on to “find their stand” on soicial issues, among them diversity and gender equality, and continuously include “climate change and sustainability issues into their core marketing, operating, and business strategies.”
The Havas Orega report says as consumers grow increasingly aware of these issues, brand indifference or neutrality becomes unacceptable.
Additionally, the call to uplift marginalized voices (57%) and diverse communities (93%) among advertising efforts is expected to grow louder.
“Filipino consumers demand brands to not just be purely about business anymore, but a driver of meaningful social connections and interactions,” the report said.
“They call for a better use of powerful platforms through a combination of listening, understanding, and positive engagement with people of various backgrounds,” it added.