The session started out with Dr. Markus Zinnbauer, one of the authors of Vivaldi Partners’ “Always-On Consumer” study, explaining the new consumer behaviors: One in two consumers can be characterized as ‘always-on’ today, but there are still important differences between consumer groups. The study introduces five segments ranging from highly socially connected consumers, or “Social Bumblebees”, to retargeting-averse “Ad Blockers”. These types of new consumers illustrate why it is people, not technology, that is changing today’s markets.

The event’s participants, all marketing experts, then engaged into a lively debate on how to effectively target the Always-On Consumer in the future, when classical demographic-based media planning will not be sufficient anymore and context-based mechanics will become crucial.

Mirroring Vivaldi Partners’ broader outside-in view, Vivaldi Zurich’s Roland Bernhard then explained how marketing executives need to respond to those changes. The good news, he said, was that the new, digitally empowered consumer does not only bring about change but also new opportunities. In other words, as Prof. Kevin L. Keller (a member of Vivaldi’s advisory board) put it: “It’s not just the consumers who are empowered these days. Companies are too!” Roland elaborated on the three vital core capabilities, which he had previously outlined in our recent CMO study: Analytical Acumen, Collaborative Mindset, and Commercial Instinct. The latter especially led to a great discussion on how operational a CMO needs to become in order to provide added value for consumers beyond marketing communications.

A set of inspiring case studies from Vivaldi Partners illustrated how companies can leverage digital means in order to create added value for customers and consumers along the whole value chain from business model to actual delivery of services.

The presentation seamlessly fed into an open dialog for the rest of the evening, where members of the Marketing Club, friends of Vivaldi Partners, and the Munich Vivaldi team also enjoyed finger food and a selection of drinks.

We want to thank Norbert Gierlich, board member of the Marketing Club’s Munich chapter, for organizing and moderating the evening. He will also feature the CMO study in the next issue of the member magazine.

Curious about “The changing role of the CMO”? The study is available free of charge here.

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At our Always-On Consumer 2014 Report launch event, we wanted to bring our five types of Always-On Consumers to life. What better way than to create specialty drinks for each of them? In addition to the Social Bumblebee and the Ad Blocker, we gave a lot of thought to what the others would drink:

• The Deal Hunter is looking for a good value, and spends a lot of time researching. He finds that these magnums of wine are reasonably priced and taste like something far more expensive.
• The Mindful Explorer is an early adopter of new brands and products and so the Bronx Brewery beer catches his eye. Now, he’s a loyal brand advocate of the niche beer.
• The Focused Problem Solver is purposeful in her activities. She sticks to tried-and-tested brands, and that includes drinks. A classic Cape Cod does the trick for her.

While our guests at the event could switch between a Deal Hunter drink or a Mindful Explorer beer throughout the night, we did ask a short survey of all of them to find out what type of Always-On Consumer (AOC) they were. As they arrived, they were greeted with a button letting them know which type of AOC they were.

Interestingly, among our group, we had many more Ad Blockers (29%) than in the general US population (20%). We also had far fewer Focused Problem Solvers at only 7%, versus the typical 18%. Guests were encouraged to talk to each other to find out the answers to the “game” we handed out. The game had a series of statements and the attendees had to deduce which statement best fit which AOC type.

During the event, we took a pause to have a short presentation by VPG Associate Partner Tammy Tan and Fifth Season Executive Director Agathe Blanchon-Ehrsam. Tammy and Agathe went through the findings from the report (downloadable in PDF here) and dove a little more deeply into the five different AOC types, as well as the implications of these consumers for marketers. A lively discussion ensued about the behaviors of the different types and of the Always-On Consumer in general, as well as the best ways to market to them.

Finally, at the end of the night, everyone was fueled by grapefruit margaritas (by far the most popular AOC cocktail of the night!) and, hopefully, some new knowledge. A week later, we’ve gotten some great feedback from our guests about the report and their thoughts since the event. We’re eager to continue the conversation on Twitter (@VivaldiPartners), so join us even if you weren’t able to make the event. We’ll even send you a virtual grapefruit margarita (via emoji, at least!).

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