Drug use typologies - Part one

Recently have done some work looking at different types of drug users. Essentially drug users can be broken out into the following typologies.

Tokers

Take drugs recreationally

Main choice of drugs: Cannabis

Key driver = relaxation

Experimented with other drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine

Had negative experiences or got bored of other drugs

Believes weed should be legalised

Negative attitude towards Crack and Heroin

Negative attitude towards junkie(heavy users)

Have interests outside of drugs

Optomistic about future

No less moral than any one else

Pill Heads

Weekend clubber

Holds down steady job or a student

Takes drugs for enjoyment: leads an active social life

Heavily into music and fashion statements

Not individualistic more likely to follow the crowd

Main drug Ecstasy

May indulge in other drugs

May even use Cocaine

Key driver: drugs = social currency

Some interesting diaries from the young

The new working class conservatism

Labour and the working class go together like two peas in a pod. However, times are changing. conservative(with small c) values are back in fashion with the working class. But they are different by different age groups.

The older generation 40+ have very traditional Protestant working class values of working hard. They have traditional views on the role of the sexes with mum often not working but instead looking after the home.
The 20 - 40 year olds are the Sun generation: they believe in being tough on crime, buying British and have a little Britain mentality
The younger children are 'Thatchers children reborn': They are a consequence of Laissez Faire: for them it is all about being entrepreneurial, they want to make as much money as possible and as easily as possible. "Why work in Mcdonalds when you can sell drugs".

Little Britain

When times are hard we shut our doors to the world and become an Island mentality. This is happening now. I have just done some research with working class people and the Island mentality is back.
These respondents believed the following
(1) Britain is becoming over crowded
(2) Overcrowding is associated with economic problems
(3) Belief that immigrants are being given priority
(4) Often there is a belief that immigrants are responsible for crime

The Island mentality is not only frightening but has massive implications for marketing
(1) There is a move away from foreign cultures
(2) There is a move away from being open minded
(3) There is a move back to buying British

So in the next few years expect much more nationalistic chest beating ads

Why young men can now multi task

It is a fact that men can't multi task, well I can't. However, times are changing young boys are starting to learn how to multi task. How come? Well it is all down to media, boys these days will listen to the radio, play their computer and talk on their phone all at the same time - they are multi tasking.

Yes the glass ceiling is about to fall in.

Manufactured boy band brands

I hate boy bands. I think they are manufactured rubbish with no soul, no clear proposition and they all sound and look the same. However, in the short term they sell records but do they have a long term future? Generally no. Why? Because they are so formulaic, they follow a set pattern - this is why they all seem alike, replace one boy band and you have another boy band in its place. So why are they created? They are created because the record industry does not like to take risks, instead they have a near scientific process to ensure that they produce the perfect boy band. The bands are researched and created by consumer opinion e.g. girls like a dark haired boy, a rude boy etc. The problem is there is no differentiation.

The sad thing is that our advertising industry is following a very similar path. Brands are created by a near scientific process, ads are pre and post tested - then no client wants to take any risks, so the creative idea is further watered down. The result is we have 'boy band brands', brands that do not have a distinctive voice, brands that are just relying on short term sales, brands that are chameleons of each other.

We are all doing the same thing, we are all in the same space. It is time to break out and start to think differently because we have gone back to the days of manufacturing, where there were no differences between brands: the early days of Ford when 'you can have any car as long as it is in black'. This is what we have now done with our brands, they are all the same.

It is time brands got their voices back.

Be brave

Stand out

Think different

The coming back of decadense

We are in a credit crunch, times are looking tough. However, whenever we are in tough times our natural instinct is to live life to the full. It is human nature that in times of trouble we do not to think about the long term but just concentate on the short time. We all want to pick ourselves up - we want to feel like we are having a more joyous time than we are.

This often means that we are more likely to party. Think of the parties that were performed during the blitz, the parties in the Weimer Republic, the parties that happened when Berlin fell.

Also hardship leads to creativity - the most amazing art often comes in times of trouble as artists start to express the times or paint a more utopian picture of the world.

So what does this mean for advertising? Well I predict a whole rafter of joyful ads and ads with humour as their basis. The current Barclycard ad is a good example of a more joyous ad, one that goes against the grain of the times. However let's all hope and pray that Howard does not make a come back.

Hard to Reach audiences and middle class mums

It sadness me but there are very few specialists in conducting research with 'hard to reach audiences' e.g. drug addicts, domestic abusers, children in homes etc. There are two main reasons for this:

(1) Most recruiters are nice middle class mums and tend to recruit from their own network this means that drug addicts etc are not generally on their radar + they don't really want to recruit them

(2) Most researchers are nice middle class mums this means that they are out of their comfort zone and don't want to talk to people that they can't really conect with. My favourite example is a researcher who tried to convince a national bookmakers that they should not speak to DEs despite the fact that this constituted half the clients target audience, the only reason this was suggested was that it was outside of her comfort zone.

Seven pet hates in regards to creative development

I have watched and conducted enough creative development research to know what makes bad research. Unfortunately most creative development research is bad for the following reasons

(1) Researcher does not understand the brief or the objectives of the advertising - this happens a lot.

(2) Researcher starts the discussion with 'so what is your favourite ad'. This sets a stake in the ground and means your ad for pet food will always be compared to Nike.

(3) Researcher just evaluates ad based on appeal. They like the ad - so what! What about relevance, empathy and comprehension.

(4) Researcher uses loads of academic language, which you need a dictionary for understanding the words, in the debrief - please get off your high horse - you are meant to be talking about simple communications.

(5) Researcher gives creative recommendations - this is my pet hate - why do you think you know anything about creativity.

(6) Researcher compares your ad to other ads that are not even in the same category 'I know it's not Hovis but we don't have the Hovis budget.'

(7) Researcher confuses their opinion for what the consumer says

Projective techniques

(1) Buttons:
This is a projective technique I often use to bring to life how people feel. It can help to bring to life subtle differences in how people feel in ways they might not otherwise be able to express.
Respondents choose a button from a bag of many buttons, this button represents how they feel about selected a brand for instance a big shinny button might represent Armani, whilst a small brown button might represent BHS.

(2) Photo sort projection
Understanding the emotive response requires use of some techniques based in psychological theory. This is one of them. Respondents are asked to choose (from a set of male or female photos which represent different needs and emotions and need states) one person who feels the same as them about holiday car rental.

Consumers may not know why they have preferences or act in a particular way. But projections allow the moderator to uncover this, and the respondents feel freer to discuss certain issues.
Through the projection we can also get to the bottom of their personality and motivations in a deeper way.

(3) Decision making time line
In order to get a deeper understanding of the information gathering and purchasing process we use a technique called ‘Timelines’ in which we ask respondents to plot the key moments in the purchasing process.

These are just a few of the techniques that I employ to really get 'under the skin' of the consumer

Great creative stimulus

Showed the creative department, in the advertising agency that I work in, this mad 1930's Georgian film

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A9hvzZmq8OU

The techniques that they use are really quite innovative and surprising

Why girls don't hang out on street corners?

Recently done some research on working class youths. One of the things that struck me is the fact that you always get big groups of guys hanging out on the street corner but no girls. I wanted to find out the answer to this so I investigated their hangouts. Their hangouts seem to be as follows:

(1) Until the age of thirteen both boys and girls hang out on estates where they can be closely watched by their parents.

(2) From the ages of thirteen, both boys and girls hang out in the parks, where they have their own space are rarely bothered and can do their own thing like drink and smoke spliffs.

(3) From the ages of sixteen, girls get picked up by the older boys and end up in clubs and pubs whilst the boys who can't get in the clubs hang around the streets.

Implications for targeting young boys are as follows:

(1) Hit the parks and the off licences surrounding the parks for young boys aged 13 - 16

(2) Hit the streets, railway stations and bus stops with outdoor poster sites for those aged 16 - 18