First co-inspiration agency
Walk the talk
The importance of the consumer is now incontrovertible and, within the marcom sector, just the fact of talking about this issue makes us feel good. We go on and on about the subject and that is all we do. Which is clearly not good enough.
Day after day, technological progress reminds us that consumers have something to say and their message is loud and clear! FAMOUS does a lot more than acknowledge the fact, it sets out to prove it, by offering consumers the opportunity to make a proactive contribution to the business of advertising. Hence FAMOUS' decision to join forces with InSites Consulting in order to recruit 150 French speakers and 150 Dutch speakers to create two communities of consumers. The idea is to launch a dialogue with them via a co-inspiration platform so as to learn how to become more consumer-focused, drawing inspiration from their lives and consumer patterns in order to be able to count on having a more reliable input, while creating campaigns that are more to the point.
Everybody Famous
The Everybody Famous communities – one French speaking and the other Dutch speaking - each have 150 members, who are regarded as agency staff in their own right. Making a round-the-clock contribution through an online platform, the members are able to interact with the community managers via the various platform areas.
The communities:
- the first comprises 150 French speakers and the second 150 Dutch speakers;
- a representative sample of the Belgian population;
- ad-liking:
- round-the-clock availability;
- a full time team of community managers.
The Everybody Famous communities are scheduled to be consulted about matters involving strategy, creation, pitches or precise issues raised at the instigation of the client. Accordingly, they will be involved as often as necessary. The aim is to have the members' input available early on in the process. To gather as many views as possible about their perception of brands, about their consumer patterns.
At the crossroads
FAMOUS' choice fell on InSites to conduct this project because the initiative involves much more than merely creating surveys. Representative groups of consumers had to be put together in order to provide an accurate reflection of what consumer thinking is all about. InSites turned out to be the perfect partner for FAMOUS, thanks to its understanding not only of the challenges but also, and more importantly, of the opportunities such a project offers.
Joeri Van den Bergh, co-founder of InSites Consulting and the author of How Cool Brands Stay Hot: "A brand can no longer purchase authenticity or consumers' attention. They have to earn these things. Old-school marketeers were taught to reach out to the largest possible target group. But today's approach is based on building a long-term relationship with the consumer rather than a target group. Brands anxious to avoid running the risk of losing out in terms of meaning and relevance have to focus much more on the consumer's background rather than concentrating on the products the individual buys. If people can trust you they are likely to share much more emotional information. The key to success in gaining consumer confidence is building a network over a long period of time, to help provide a clearer picture of day-to-day concerns, as a better reflection of the client environment."
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