New formations: demystifying India’s ‘consumer mind in crisis’ and identifying principles for brand engagement

Thinking about the past year as just a health crisis is an oversimplification of what Indian consumers have experienced. So how can we use different lenses to demystify the real impact of the current pandemic on consumers and use this to drive brand engagement?

Speakers:

• Anju Joseph, Partner, Quantum Consumer Solutions
• Aftab Kaushik, Partner, Quantum India
• Madhav Srinivasan, Partner, Quantum India

What you’ll learn:

• A new lens – including a multi-disciplinary social science view – on the pandemic
• A deeper understanding of the new mental models being formed because of the disruption caused by the pandemic
• The ability to create a deep and empathetic connection with consumers by solving for their current psyche and needs
• Clear and tangible brand engagement principles to solve each mental model
• Clear choice-making guidelines for marketers
• A clear understanding of the new notions of ‘value’ for consumers

Covid-19 has brought us to a threshold moment; the kind that reconfigures the way we see the world. This creates fresh opportunities for us all.

But despite a mountain of information, ambiguity still exists about the real impact of the multiple forces acting on consumers: how are consumers interpreting and internalising current experiences? Are consumer choices defined by the constraints of the pandemic, or are deeper formations occurring? What mental adjustments are consumers making and how are they reprioritising their needs?

Using three separate lenses, Quantum’s research digs deeper into the psyche of the Indian consumer, focusing on:

1. Psychological understanding to study the psyche in crisis
2. Cultural analysis to decode patterns in consumer behaviour
3. Digital ethnography, user-generated content and desk research

To analyse the findings, Quantum has looked at data through the frameworks of:

• Mental Models: values and behaviour formations that are new or unique to the crisis
• Brand Engagement Principles: directions and cues for brand action in the immediate and near term

This has revealed the emergence of nine distinct mental models that can be defined as values and behaviours formed as a direct outcome of the Covid-19 experience. In this webinar, Quantum show us the opportunity this provides to address these mental models and deliver value to consumers, in a manner uniquely deliverable within specific categories and brands.