1. NEW
REALITIES
2012
CONSUMER RESEARCH FROM JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE
NEW REALITIES 2012 /1

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NEW REALITIES 2012 reports topline findings from quantitative
research conducted in late 2011 among consumers in Brazil,
China, India and the US.
Four key findings stand out in particular:
# 1 PEOPLE ARE THE MOST POWERFUL AD MEDIUM
^^
Friends and family are the #1 influence on consumer
: -)
awareness and purchase
# 2
GIVING PEOPLE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT
TRUMPS “GOING VIRAL”
: -/
Consumers aren’t likely to advocate brands they
haven’t had great personal experiences with
# 3 ALL FORMS OF ADVOCACY ARE NOT THE SAME
Consumers are skeptical about the value of a “like”
CONSUMERS AGREE: SHOPPER MARKETING
# 4
WORKS
More change their minds at POS due to staff, in-store
experience and information than price
Additional insights from the 2012 NEW REALITIES will be
released in the future or may be requested by contacting
Jack Morton.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /2

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: 2012 4
About the Research 5
New Reality #1 – People are the most powerful medium 6
New Reality #2 – Giving people something to talk about trumps “going viral” 10
New Reality #3 – All forms of advocacy are not the same 12
New Reality #4 – Consumers agree: Shopper marketing works 14
Learn More 17
About Jack Morton 18
NEW REALITIES 2012 /3

4. INTRODUCTION: 2012
Josh McCall
There’s no question that 2012 will be an eventful year. We’ll
spend much of the next 12 months speculating about outcomes
of events in 2012 that we can only guess at now – like the
winner of the US presidential election, the victors at the summer
Olympic games in London and above all the health of the
global economy. (I’ll go out on a limb now and predict that,
Hollywood movies and ancient forecasts notwithstanding, the
world will not come to an end in 2012.)
Josh McCall
Chairman & CEO of Jack Morton Worldwide
With so much that can’t be predicted, it’s all the more useful
to study what we can, to gain insights into the world we and
our clients live and work within in 2012. It’s in that spirit that
we set out on a research project, NEW REALITIES 2012, aimed
at enhancing our understanding of what is always at the heart
of our clients’ world: consumers. How do they learn about
brands in 2012? What influences their decisions? Where
does advocacy come from? What makes them recommend
brands and talk about them with others? And does a “like” on
Facebook really mean anything to them?
The following pages highlight top-level findings and focus on
four truths we’re betting will be key not only in 2012 but in the
years to come – today’s important “new realities”.
Let us know what you think, and look for more research in the
months ahead. And meanwhile, have a great 2012.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /4

5. ABOUT THE RESEARCH
NEW REALITIES 2012 is based on an online survey conducted
among 2,400 consumers between September 26 and October
10, 2011. Respondents were aged 18 and older, equally
distributed by age, gender and income. Equal numbers of
survey participants were drawn from the US, Brazil, China and
India. All findings are statistically significant at a 95 percent
confidence level.
In addition to the findings highlighted in the pages that follow,
NEW REALITIES 2012 also investigated consumers’ varying
perceptions relating to a range of product categories and
types, including considered purchases (automobiles, insurance,
banking, computers, software) and nominal purchases (OTC pain
relievers, household cleaning, fast food, snacks). Results from this
investigation of product sectors will be released at a later date or
may be requested by contacting Jack Morton.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /5

6. NEW REALITY #1
PEOPLE ARE THE MOST POWERFUL AD MEDIUM
For decades now, our industry has been talking about when they’re in the market. They also continually scan what
“advertising” as a patient on the critical care list. Yet others are doing – for example, “Observing people use them”
advertising is alive and well. Its most powerful medium: people. is the third most likely way consumers worldwide become
aware of products, and in China, consumers say it’s the most
When we asked consumers as part of the NEW REALITIES 2012 valuable channel for making purchase decisions.
research “What makes you aware of the products and services
you buy?” and “What channels have the most value in your This “people as ad medium” trend is also becoming more
decision-making?” they pointed to the people in their lives who powerful: since 2009, when we conducted parallel research in
act as resources for information and advocacy. China and the US, “friends and family who volunteered their
opinion” rose from 43 percent to 49 percent agreement as the
Consumers are very clear on this point: the greatest influence top path to awareness about products and brands in the US;
on their decision-making is friends and family [ figs. 1– 3 ]. “friends and family from whom you sought out opinions” rose
The number one way consumers become aware of products even more dramatically from 53 percent to 65 percent as the
and services they buy is friends and family who volunteer most valued channel for decision-making in the US. (The 2009
their opinions. And the most valuable influence on consumers’ research did not extend to Brazil and India.)
purchase decisions is friends and family whose advice they
seek out. So if the most powerful advertising medium around is people
talking to other people, the question is: what makes people
This “people as ad medium” trend is true whether consumers talk? The research suggests the answer (see New Reality #2).
hail from Brazil, China, India or the US. It’s true whether they’re
young or old, male or female. And it’s true whether they’re
buying an expensive considered product like a car or making
an inexpensive nominal purchase like fast food (though it’s
more true by about 10 percentage points in the case of cars
versus fast food). People hear daily from their friends and
family about brands, and they instinctively seek out advice
NEW REALITIES 2012 /6

7. TOP 10 WAYS CONSUMERS BECOME AWARE OF THE PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES THEY BUY
Global US Brazil China India
average
Friends and family who volunteered their opinion 51 49 53 50 53
Advertising by company (e.g., TV, print, Internet ads) 45 41 50 38 50
Observing people use them 43 36 47 44 46
Friends and family from whom you sought out opinions 37 29 38 40 41
Company’s website 29 26 28 30 32
Information at store or on-shelf 28 22 33 26 29
Promotion (e.g., coupons, special pricing) 27 29 27 26 25
Research you conducted on the Internet 27 27 31 22 26
Product reviews by experts (e.g., in magazines, on Web) 22 17 21 19 30
In-store experience or media 20 16 21 21 22
(percent agreeing)
[ fig. 1 ]
NEW REALITIES 2012 /7

8. TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION
WHEN MAKING PURCHASE DECISIONS
Global US Brazil China India
average
Friends and family from whom you sought out opinions 56 65 55 58 44
Friends and family who volunteered their opinion 55 61 53 61 43
Research you conducted on the Internet 47 61 41 48 37
Product reviews by experts (e.g., in magazines, on Web) 47 55 45 45 43
In-store experience or media 44 55 46 41 35
Advertising by company (e.g., TV, print, Internet ads) 43 53 51 27 41
Product reviews by experts (e.g., in magazines, on Web) 43 57 41 40 35
Promotion (e.g., coupons, special pricing) 42 57 40 40 31
Company's website 42 57 39 35 35
Research you conducted outside the Internet 42 56 34 46 32
(percent agreeing)
[ fig. 2 ]
I listen to the
people that I trust!
NEW REALITIES 2012 /8

9. TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION
WHEN MAKING PURCHASE DECISIONS (US CONSUMERS)
US Age Age Age Male Female
average 18-25 26-42 43-62
Friends and family from whom you sought out 65 64 63 68 61 69
opinions
Friends and family who volunteered their opinion 61 61 59 64 57 65
Research you conducted on the Internet 61 59 61 63 60 63
Product reviews by peers (such as in publications, 57 59 57 56 56 59
on the Web)
Promotion (such as coupons, special pricing, etc.) 57 51 54 66 52 62
Company's website 57 55 56 60 55 59
Research you conducted outside the Internet 56 52 55 61 55 56
Product reviews by experts (such as professionals 55 55 55 56 54 56
in magazines, on the Web) I research
online!
In-store experience or media 55 52 50 63 53 56
Advertising by the company (such as TV, print, 53 44 53 63 51 56
Internet ads)
(percent agreeing) shown for US consumers by age and gender
[ fig. 3 ]
NEW REALITIES 2012 /9

10. NEW REALITY #2
GIVING PEOPLE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT TRUMPS “GOING VIRAL”
Advocacy. It’s today’s holy grail of marketing: people acting as Sadly, and somewhat paradoxically, attempting merely to
your advertising medium by recommending your brand to their “go viral” more often seems to lead to sameness that fails to
peers (see new reality #1). But what inspires advocacy? Or put differentiate. It’s not “special”. Mere talk is not advocacy;
another way, what makes people talk? advocacy must be earned. Providing a direct positive
experience is a prerequisite for earning advocacy for the vast
According to the consumers involved in our research, the majority of consumers. Creating a unique experience that
answer is experience: direct, positive experience with your speaks authentically to the brand is a way to break through
brand. Across the world, across generations and genders, to consumers.
three out of four consumers strongly agree with the statement
“I only advocate brands when I have had great personal
experiences with them.” In the US, 79 percent agree with this
statement, and over four in five (81 percent) women. Obviously,
“experience” can be defined and delivered in many ways: it
can comprise a literal, direct, hands-on experience with the
product or service, but it could just as easily comprise engaging
consumers with information about the brand in such a visceral
manner that it achieves the status of an experience.
For all those marketers tempted to get consumers to recommend
their brands simply by “going viral”, according to our research
it’s not enough. Consumers also agree that given all the clutter
and noise, “if a brand wants to get my attention it has to do
something special”. Three in five US consumers and well over
four in five Chinese consumers expect brands to stand out in
this way.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /10

11. TO INSPIRE ADVOCACY, GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT
Global US Brazil China India
average
I only advocate brands when I have had great personal 76 79 74 78 78
experiences with them
With all the media and information available to me, if a 75 65 71 84 78
brand wants to get my attention it has to do something
special
I feel so strongly about a certain brand, or brands, I am an 66 62 51 80 74
active advocate for them
(percent agreeing)
[ fig. 4 ]
I’ve tried it! I would definitely
recommend it.
I told my friend
it’s a good
product!
Does it work?
I want to try
it first.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /11

12. NEW REALITY #3
ALL FORMS OF ADVOCACY ARE NOT THE SAME
Social networks have transformed daily life for us all – or Similarly, although just one in four consumers worldwide (25
certainly for the 83 percent of those surveyed who are percent) and almost one in three in Brazil (31 percent) agree
members of a social network [ fig. 5 ]. It’s become like the air that “Social network sites are a good source of word-of-mouth
we breathe, expected and critical for brands to master. Too information on brand experiences”, in the US (where Facebook
often, however, brands mistakenly assume a “build it and was invented) an even more tepid 18 percent share this view.
they will come” inevitability for their own presence on social In fact in the US slightly more people (19 percent) agree that
networks – believing that it’s just a matter of building a brand they “do NOT consider information on social sites to be good
page and getting “likes”. But as the research shows, brands research for brand decisions”; just seven percent consult social
can’t assume that advocacy generated online is always going network sites first when researching brand decisions.
to be enough to persuade consumers. They have to use social
media as part of a bigger experience. Equally contradictory are consumers’ statements about the
value of “likes”. About one in five says “liking” or “friending”
NEW REALITIES 2012 certainly reaffirms that the social web brands is “silly” – yet an equivalent number say they’re more
is hugely important to consumers worldwide – but the data likely to consider a brand that has a lot of “friends”. Again US
is not unequivocal on how they are using social media to consumers are more skeptical: only one in ten admits to being
make brand decisions. Some responses seem contradictory influenced by brands’ popularity on social networks. Outside
– or at least to point to consumer conflict over the ubiquity the US, especially in gregarious Brazil, consumers are more
versus the meaningfulness of social networks vis a vis brand inclined to hit the “like” button.
recommendations. For example, despite the fact that over four
out of five respondents are using social networks, only one in Clearly, brands must look to social networks to amplify
five (22 percent) agrees that “I use the social network sites to advocacy – but remember that not all forms of advocacy are
share brand information and experiences the same way I do… the same. Count clicks that create a positive halo but don’t
in the real world”. Slightly more (24 percent) even say that “The put too much stock in them. Enable recommendations that
recommendations I make in person are more meaningful than support information-gathering. And ultimately, prioritize the truly
those I make online”; among Gen X consumers, this number “meaningful” interactions and advocacy that fuel
rises to 39 percent. active decision-making and purchase.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /12

13. MOST CONSUMERS USE SOCIAL NETWORKS
BUT DISAGREE ABOUT ITS IMPACT
Global US Brazil China India
average
The recommendations I make in person are more meaningful 24 22 26 20 29
than those I make online
Are you a member of any social network group, like Facebook, 83 84 91 64 92
MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.?
For those answering “yes” above, the following represent percent strongly agreeing
I only “like" or "follow" brands that I care about on Facebook 23 23 32 15 20
I think “friending" or pushing "like" buttons for brands on social sites is silly 19 20 18 17 22
I do NOT consider information on social sites to be good research 14 19 17 18 18
for brand decisions
Social network sites are a good source of word-of-mouth information 25 18 31 23 27
on brand experiences
I use the social network sites to share brand information and experiences 22 11 23 22 21
the same way I do with family, friends and co-workers in the real-world
I am more likely to consider a brand that has a lot of “friends” 18 10 17 22 23
or is “liked” by many
If they ask me, I'll “like" or "follow" most brands I use on Facebook 18 10 19 20 24
If I need to do research for a brand decision, a social network site 16 7 13 23 20
is the FIRST place I will check
[ fig. 5 ] (percent agreeing) [9-10 on a scale of 1-10])
NEW REALITIES 2012 /13

14. NEW REALITY #4
CONSUMERS AGREE: SHOPPER MARKETING WORKS
Given the simultaneous ubiquity and innovation in mobile In the same vein, consumers spoke plainly about the significant
technology, it’s not surprising that many predict shopper impact of the store experience as well as the need to create
marketing will be one of the fastest-growing areas of the differentiating and unique brand experiences.
industry in 2012. There’s a tremendous opportunity to bring For example, three out of four consumers agreed that “My
targeted information and offers to motivated consumers in experience in-store has a huge impact on purchase decisions”.
“shopper mode” and thereby tip the balance. Similarly, 72 percent agreed that “Brands in some categories
are mostly the same, so it’s good service or unique customer
Yet the research shows that there are broader considerations experiences that make me buy one brand over another”.
than just technology and access to information in shifting
shoppers into buyers [ figs. 6 – 7 ]. As part of NEW REALITIES That’s a huge endorsement of brands’ need to invest in
2012, we asked consumers about any recent experiences in building not only compelling retail experiences but also, more
changing their minds about a purchase decision at the point fundamentally, strong experience brands that immediately
of sale. On average just about half of consumers worldwide differentiate otherwise similar offerings. And as we found in our
said they had changed their minds – and for the majority BEST EXPERIENCE BRANDS research, a majority of consumers
of them, the aggregated factors of getting new information, say that experience is the single biggest factor impacting their
some kind of demonstration or an in-store experience were brand choices; many will even pay more for a brand that offers
significantly more likely to influence them than price. Needless a unique experience.
to say, the combined impact of these factors puts pressure on
in-store staff (whether the brand’s own, its channel partners’ or
franchisees’) to be effective and persuasive demonstrators and
influencers. Put more positively, it suggests that marketers have
an opportunity to invest in a better in-store experience instead
of cutting price and margin.
NEW REALITIES 2012 /14

15. EXPERIENCE AND INFORMATION ARE MORE LIKELY THAN PRICE TO
CHANGE CONSUMERS’ MINDS AT THE POINT OF SALE
Global US Brazil China India
average
Yes 51 29 50 68 58
For those answering “yes” above, the following represent percent agreeing that the decision was
Mainly financial 39 48 34 35 38
Not mainly financial 62 52 66 65 62
Mainly informational 32 32 26 38 31
Mainly demonstration/experiential 30 20 40 27 31
(percent agreeing)
[ fig. 6 ]
In-store experience
What changes my matters!
mind when I shop?
NEW REALITIES 2012 /15

16. IN-STORE EXPERIENCE TURNS SHOPPERS INTO BUYERS
Global US Brazil China India
average
My experience in-store has a huge impact on purchase decisions 76 78 63 79 74
I am more likely to buy a new brand if I can actually experience 76 77 68 81 76
it myself
Brands in some categories are mostly the same, so it's good 72 68 63 79 76
service or unique customer experiences that make me buy one
brand over another
(percent agreeing)
[ fig. 7 ]
NEW REALITIES 2012 /16

17. LEARN MORE
Look for more insights from NEW REALITIES 2012 to be
released in the future. To request insights relating to product
categories or other aspects of the research, contact
liz_bigham@jackmorton.com
TO READ EARLIER ARTICLES, VISIT JACK MORTON’S SLIDE CHANNEL
OR CLICK ON THE INDIVIDUAL LINKS BELOW:
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What is an Experience Brand? Read now >>
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NEW REALITIES 2012 /17

18. JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE IS A GLOBAL BRAND EXPERIENCE
AGENCY WITH OFFICES ON FIVE CONTINENTS. OUR AGENCY
CULTURE PROMOTES BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS ABOUT HOW
EXPERIENCES CONNECT BRANDS AND PEOPLE – IN PERSON,
ONLINE, AT RETAIL AND THROUGH THE POWER OF DIGITAL
AND WORD OF MOUTH INFLUENCE. WE WORK WITH BOTH
BTOC AND BTOB CLIENTS TO CREATE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE
EXPERIENCES THAT ENGAGE CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS,
LAUNCH PRODUCTS, ALIGN EMPLOYEES AND BUILD STRONG
EXPERIENCE BRANDS. RANKED AT THE TOP OF OUR FIELD, WE’VE
EARNED OVER 40 AWARDS FOR CREATIVITY, EXECUTION AND
EFFECTIVENESS LAST YEAR, INCLUDING BEST NEW PRODUCT
INTRO, BEST MEDIA EVENT AND EMPLOYEE CAMPAIGN OF THE
YEAR. JACK MORTON IS PART OF THE INTERPUBLIC GROUP OF
COMPANIES, INC. (NYSE: IPG).
© Jack Morton Worldwide 2012
NEW REALITIES 2012 /18