The New B2C

We are complex. Our media consumption is fluid as are the choices we make and the company we keep. We find belonging in the communities we are a part of.

Next year, it will be two decades since I graduated in marketing from Greenwich University. The ceremony was at the chapel in the naval college where, nearly 50 years before, my father, also a marketer, was christened. I chose marketing as a topic because of him and what I saw of his work.

In the 50s, the decade my father was born in, product marketing was simple, sometimes sexist and segmentation was straightforward.

But fast forward to 2022, and it is increasingly hard to speak to our audience. To communicate and influence our audience, we need to conquer the community they are in.

How did Greta get her message across to world leaders? She infiltrated Davos. How did Balmain and Balenciaga reach new customers? They entertained through popular television shows.

Brands, organisations and communicators need to reconsider, relearn and rethink their audience.

Geriatric millennials (like me) have just turned 40. Assumptions about our generation are almost always wrong. Gen Z and, in a not-so-distant future, Gen Alpha, are gaining economic power. Ignore them at your peril. Especially with the pandemic shifting behavioural economics, careers and investment choices, the only thing we can predict with any accuracy is uncertainty.

Delivering a message or content is more complicated and will continue to be. Meeting interests, making an impact can be achieved through experience, exclusivity, belonging, fun and knowledge.

In 2022, think B2Community. Understand the multiple communities your audience creates and contributes to. As individuals move away from bigger, traditional groups and networks to find their identity and tribe, know where they are.

Start there.

Read more about The Williams Nicolson Trend Index 2022 here.