Communities have existed since the dawn of time. But the digitalization of the economy and of our societies has led to a tremendous growth in the number of these communities, with cultural affinities or « tastes » being able to weave freely, outside the « traditional socio-demographic paths ». And what if this changed the rules of the game for brands? This is the conviction shared here by Sarah Laurier (in charge of developing Deep Opinion Groupe IFOP‘s Luxury & Beauty Expertise), who discusses the many avenues for reflection and research that this opens up.
MRNews: The importance of digital in people’s lives raises a host of issues for brands. What do you think are the keys to success?
Sarah Laurier (Deep Opinion – Groupe IFOP): Of course, digitalization has turned everything upside down. But what we’re particularly interested in is the tremendous community weaving that has resulted. Communities have found incredible scope for development, with the result that the act of buying has undergone considerable transformation. Today, there are a multitude of taste communities, bringing together people who share a lifestyle, values or references. These communities are shifting the consumption of goods and moving all brands into a cultural debate, whether they like it or not. In fact, one of our major convictions is that a brand cannot exist without its community.
Today, there are a multitude of taste communities, bringing together people who share a lifestyle, values or references. These communities are « shifting » the consumption of goods and moving all brands into a cultural debate, whether they like it or not.
This is also what we see in recent brand success stories (Les Secrets de Loly, Salomon, Sézane, Ganni and Takis in the food sector). They are above all community success stories, and therefore cultural and affinity success stories. In the beauty industry, community recommendations are responsible for more than two out of every three purchases (source Stylus 2023).
These communities are not exclusively digital…
Absolutely. In fact, some brands have taken this on board, offering consumers physical experiences through which they can connect with their community. This gives rise to a kind of « blurring » that is exciting, and has the merit of making brands realize that it is real individuals who are expressing themselves on the web. Digital has incredibly amplified the role of these communities in society and the economy.
When you say that a brand can’t exist without « its » community, do you necessarily mean a community of its own, possibly created by the brand itself?
The most effective pattern is for the brand to be tamed by a « natural », « tribal » community of individuals who share a lifestyle, values, references… In some cases, it can be THE pillar, with the community that comes to it spontaneously becoming ITS community. This is what we’re seeing with emerging, recent brands such as Polène, Violette or Les Secrets de Loly. Basically, it’s as if they crystallize latent communities. But, more traditionally, it’s the brands themselves who, at some point in their career, have to ask themselves which community they might be best suited to.
The most effective scheme is for the brand to be tamed by a « natural » or « tribal » community of individuals who share a lifestyle, values, references… (…). But, more traditionally, it’s the brands themselves who must, at some point in their journey, ask themselves which community they might be best suited to.
In reality, especially in the Luxury-Beauty sector, individuals and communities rarely consider just one brand. Their preferences are part of a lifestyle, a holistic and cultural vision of the universe. With products, of course, but beyond that, with experiences, routines, rituals and inspirational figures. In this universe, the community associates different brands, which in a way become their « friends ».
So it’s a priority for brands to define the community into which they best fit…
Absolutely! This approach often comes naturally to newer brands – it’s a matter of course. It can be much less so for established brands, which have become accustomed to thinking in terms of other prisms or categorizations.
It’s important to remember, however, that a community is never static. It lives and changes, driven by medium- to long-term trends, but also by short-term micro-changes. A brand that assimilates these changes gives itself the means to evolve in a relevant way, in phase with society’s mutations. This has far-reaching implications for research, as brands can feed their thinking by regularly taking the pulse of a community, and focusing on subjects of strategic importance to them.
It’s important to remember, however, that a community is never static. It lives and changes, driven by medium- to long-term trends, but also by short-term micro-changes. A brand that assimilates these changes gives itself the means to evolve in a relevant way, in phase with society’s mutations.
Does the growing importance of communities call into question the socio-cultural segmentations traditionally used by brands?
They complement them! It’s essential to integrate these dimensions into segmentation. This, too, is one of our major convictions. The affinities between members of a community are sometimes extremely strong. A Parisian woman may feel much closer to a New Yorker than to her own next-door neighbor!
The affinities between members of a community are sometimes extremely strong. For example, a Parisian woman may feel much closer to a New Yorker than to her own next-door neighbor!
We’re dealing with communities of taste, which Social Listening enables us to identify and decipher in very fine detail, an approach that complements traditional research. There are many elements that cannot be captured by a questionnaire. The growing appetite for Dark Beauty, its aesthetics, rituals and uses, for example, is essentially captured through images, with underlying notions and very clear references to taste. Which is extremely interesting for brands!
Our third major conviction is the need for brands to grasp the cultural dimension of these communities…
There was a time when we used to say « everything is political ». Can we now say that « everything is cultural »?
Absolutely! In our opinion, Karl Lagerfeld foresaw this perfectly when he said that « shopping is the cultural activity of the 21st century! Christian Dior also said: « You don’t buy a brand, you buy its culture ». This is clearly expressed on social networks. Brands need to go beyond their products, integrating them into inspirational universes with strong cultural resonance. They must not be attached to a culture by chance, but by choice, consciously, by multiplying connections with community references. They need to be actors within these universes, and make their voices heard in the right way.
It is essential for them to deploy their uniqueness. This means going beyond CSR posturing or the definition of a societal purpose, which are prerequisites. A brand that fails to give a cultural hue to its commitment has very little chance of asserting its difference and being relevant today.
A brand that fails to give a cultural tinge to its commitment has very little chance of asserting its difference and being relevant today.
More specifically, what approaches do you offer brands to help them meet the challenges you’ve just mentioned?
We work in three main areas. Firstly, through ‘Community Intelligence’ studies, to identify and reveal the presence of communities. In this way, we help brands to optimize their affinity potential, but also to limit the risks of cultural irrelevance, which can be dramatic in the Luxury-Beauty world. These studies are initiated in at least two different ways. The starting point can be trends of interest to the brand, for example, by asking early-adopters to come and « tell the story » of these trends, to understand how they translate into mindset, practices, rituals… This is what we did with the team in charge of Foresight at Décathlon. Another possible angle is to start with the brand itself, where we identify the communities in which it can play a major role. In this case, we can decipher in detail the lifestyle specific to this universe, and the way in which it can be embodied, extended and amplified through collaboration(s).
These subjects lend themselves to very concrete insights, with plenty of visual …
Absolutely. This is particularly the case when we’re clearing out territories of expression, possibly as an extension of the type of project we’ve just mentioned. The idea is to get a very precise grasp of the visual universes, codes and symbols specific to the community under investigation, to help brands work with words and images, as these two dimensions are very often dissociated in studies, which is very damaging in terms of brand strategy. This enables us to present deliverables that are as original, granular as they are activatable, for storytelling community preferences. In short, deliverables for stubbornly working the brand universe in words and images.
The idea is to get a very precise grasp of the visual worlds, codes and symbols specific to the community under investigation, to help brands work with words and images, as these two dimensions are very often dissociated in studies, which is very damaging in terms of brand strategy.
The third type of intervention we propose concerns the notion of purpose we mentioned earlier. The principle here is to help brands shift their focus from societal purpose to cultural purpose, and thus reinforce their relevance and uniqueness in their market. This process is often triggered in « rebound » mode following operational questions, to gain the necessary perspective.
You deploy these approaches within the Luxury-Beauty division for which you are responsible at Deep Opinion. Are they also used in other categories?
It’s obvious that they apply wonderfully well to the world of luxury, fashion and beauty. But also, for example, to the world of sport, which has gradually become much more like it. Our project with Décathlon is a good illustration of this. I believe they are just as relevant in categories such as Food and Beverage, or in the retail and department store sectors. In particular, we have launched a number of exciting projects with Galeries Lafayette, focusing on the challenges of commercial highlights.
In fact, the scope of application seems to me to be extremely broad, as the notion of lifestyle and taste worlds has become very prevalent across a wide spectrum of universes, including housing, automobiles, gaming and technology, for example.
FOR ACTION
– Interacting with interviewees: @ Sarah Laurier
