What is New Consumerism all about?Research from Euro RSCG Worldwide is showing a shift in both personal and consumer values, as people begin to rethink what is important and how they want to live. In their personal lives, people are fed up with our dumbed-down culture and surface-level interactions; they are craving a more meaningful and satisfying approach to living. They want to dig deeper and feel more connected to other people and to higher-minded goals. In their consumer lives, people have grown weary of disposable goods, excess consumption, and endless attempts to move up to nicer cars, bigger homes, and the latest in everything; instead, they are finding value in downsizing and “substance shopping”—a shift with important implications for marketers and brands.

Is New Consumerism linked to the economic downturn?Yes and no. No, because the movement started well before the “Great Recession.” For some years now, we have been seeing signs of discontent with our culture of hyperconsumerism; these signs have included such things as the simplicity movement, the mainstreaming of eco-consciousness, the Slow Food movement, and the rise of “conscious nourishment” (e.g., natural foods, organics, functional foods). Yes, because the recession has brought this shift in mindset to a head. When people are anxious about their futures, they tend to reassess, to think about what they could and should be doing differently. And when they have less disposable income—or simply fear they are at risk of reduced circumstances—they become even more mindful about what they are buying and the priority of various “things” in their lives. For many, the downturn has served to solidify feelings that were already present and has acted as an added push toward what we have termed rightsizing—making a conscious effort to consume no more nor no less that one genuinely needs.

Who created the New Consumer study?Euro RSCG Worldwide is a leading integrated marketing communications company and the world’s largest advertising agency by global brands. We have the unique distinction of being the only agency ever to have been named Global Agency of the Year by Advertising Age and Advertising Network of the Year by Campaign in the same year. Made up of 233 offices in 75 countries throughout Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, Euro RSCG provides advertising, marketing services, corporate communications, and interactive solutions to global, regional, and local clients. Our client roster includes Air France, BNP Paribas, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Danone Group, Heineken USA, IBM, Jaguar, Kraft Foods, Lacoste, L’Oréal, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Reckitt Benckiser, sanofi-aventis, and Schering-Plough. Headquartered in New York, we are the largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications.

Why is Euro RSCG exposing the move away from hyperconsumerism? Don’t your clients want people to keep buying more and more?As marketers, it is our job to help our clients grow their businesses and brands in a way that is both profitable and future focused. In the era of hyperconsumerism—begun in the aftermath of World War II and extending into the new millennium—it was relatively easy to use mass media to persuade people to buy things. Today’s marketers face a more difficult challenge. For one thing, consumers are far more empowered and elusive than they used to be. The past decade has seen huge changes in how people shop and buy, in how they interact with companies and brands, and also in what consumers demand from their brand partners (from 24-hour customer service to corporate social responsibility). It is our conviction that the most successful brands in the future will be those that create the deepest points of engagement with the New Consumers. In order to do that, brands need to recognize the triggers that will be most successful in activating consumption and building brand loyalty. These triggers are not the same hot buttons that fired up hyperconsumers in recent decades; instead, they are connected to a more mindful approach to consumption and to the values people have begun to crave, including authenticity, purity, naturalness, simplicity, sustainability, and rootedness.

By understanding and acting upon the four paradigms of the New Consumer we have identified—Embracing Substance, Rightsizing, Growing Up, Seeking Purposeful Pleasure—our clients will be better positioned to anticipate and meet their customers’ changing needs.

How was the New Consumer study fielded?An extensive online survey was conducted by Market Probe International in seven markets: Brazil, China, France, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We chose these markets so as to be able to gauge the extent to which New Consumerism has spread across the developed and developing worlds, and to better understand distinctions between markets. In all, 5,700 adults were surveyed—1,500 in the United States and 700 in each of the other countries. The survey was supplemented with extensive secondary research and local/regional insights from brand and strategy experts across our global network. It also benefits from the learning of previous Euro RSCG Worldwide global studies, including The Future of the Corporate Brand, The Future of Shopping, and The Future of Value.

Where can I get complete findings?Complete findings of the New Consumer and earlier studies—including data for each market and Prosumer vs. mainstream breakouts—are available to employees and clients of Euro RSCG Worldwide through the agency’s Knowledge Exchange.

Key findings from the New Consumer study, along with select data, are available to the public on this site.

What is Consumed: Rethinking Business in the Era of Mindful Spending?Consumed is a book based on Euro RSCG’s New Consumer study and written by two executives within Havas Worldwide: Andrew Benett, CEO of Arnold Worldwide and Chief Strategy Officer of Havas, and Ann O’Reilly, Content Director of the Euro RSCG Worldwide Knowledge Exchange. Input was incorporated from strategy and brand experts across the Euro RSCG Worldwide network. The book explores our changing consumer culture and examines how forward-thinking companies are responding to the new consumer paradigms by rejecting excess and artificiality in favor of products and communications that offer authenticity, substance, and interconnectedness—all values today’s more mindful consumer craves. The book also incorporates the perspectives of corporate leaders in a variety of industries who share how they are recasting their businesses and brands in order to prepare for the changes ahead. It provides real direction for marketers and managers, giving them the knowledge they need to lead their industries in the new economy. Consumed will be released on July 12, 2010. To order a copy, click here.