Conducting market research on an international scale is an increasingly common requirement. Global markets are more critical than ever, offering growth to businesses facing domestic stagnation or saturation. But international market research can be a challenge to get right. This article explores the top 5 challenges in international marketing research and our top tips for overcoming these.

What are the top challenges in international marketing research?

#1 International markets are incredibly diverse.

Some brands fail to appreciate the diversity within a region or country. You can only get an accurate picture of what people value and whether your products and services might succeed by rooting out the nuances of different geographical areas, cultures, and consumers.

#2 There can be a temptation to go too broad.

Linked to this, sometimes, when companies set out on international marketing research projects, they make the mistake of going too broad and trying to understand a region as a whole. Another error we see is firms commissioning research to target one market and then using this as a jumping-off point into others with “similar” attributes. This inevitably leads to costly mistakes as brands map their assumptions about one market onto another.

To avoid this, be clear on the emphasis of your research. Where are you looking to focus and why? Looking too broadly across a region of different markets, or exploring how an entire product range might perform, can cloud the picture.

# 3 Finding the right research partner.

The next big question is whether you have the research capabilities to conduct meaningful projects internationally. Most brands and their research partners can run domestic research projects with ease. But if you’re in the US or UK, say, going as far afield as Japan, India, or Germany requires different sensibilities and capabilities. The more international you get, the harder you must look for that kind of experience and expertise.

#4 Bringing together local and global expertise.

Misalignment is one of the biggest challenges in international market research. To overcome this, there must be a collaborative effort and a shared understanding of the mission, methodology, and insights. A research team at HQ might work with a local marketing team to understand how to position a product for success in an emerging market. But if the teams are siloed and don’t have a consistent understanding of the brief, their approach to researching the market and their findings might not help deliver on the challenge.

#5 Ensuring the project is realistic from the outset.

This is where all the other challenges in international market research come together: which markets, what purpose, the capabilities available, and the effectiveness of the output – all within a budget that makes sense. There will always be limits to what’s practical – and the last thing any client needs is to spend large sums testing international markets to no effect.

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Meeting the challenges in international marketing research – tips and tricks from our experience in the field.

Get the brief and the scope right.

The more you can nail down exactly what you need to know and about which markets, the better your international market research will be. The key here is to dismiss the idea that lessons from one market can be overlaid onto other markets. Your approach might not even work in the same region, much less globally. So ensuring the brief isn’t burdened with too many assumptions, and is very clear on objectives, is key.

For research into one new international market, the brief can be clear-cut. You’ve picked a new place to trade, and you probably have some specific questions. Will the branding work? Do we need to alter the packaging? Are there particular features we need to tweak? But as soon as you broaden the scope – to, say, three new markets covering a region – the nuances become more critical in the research brief.

One solution is to ask questions at every stage. Why these three markets? What are they like? What do we need to know about purchaser sentiment there? How will a research project change what we decide to do in each market? Companies that are open with their agencies on operational and marketing strategies – rather than prescribing research about the areas they know matter in their existing markets – will see more effective results.

Understand the cultural nuances you’ll face

Everyone knows instinctively that cultural differences are both a factor in conducting meaningful research internationally – and a major reason for doing that research in the first place. ‘Market immersion’ is a key concept, and that’s all about getting to grips with the cultural context. But local nuances within new markets can catch people out. 

In South Africa, for example, there are multiple cultural groups. Having local knowledge of how to tease those out is vital to breaking in South Africa.

That means one of our jobs as global research partners is challenging clients at the briefing stage to ensure these considerations are baked into the research approach and the analysis and interpretation of the results. The good news is that when you have research experts living and working in these markets as we do, cultural nuances are easier to plan around. We use this inside knowledge about people’s lives to help understand opinions, habits, and behaviors.

Don’t think language is just about translation.

Companies are often wise to the importance of understanding ‘culture’ and, as a result, adopt a cautious approach. But one mistake people make in international market research is to assume that ‘language’ is more straightforward – or that it’s just a question of running a survey or its results through Google Translate. But that’s never a good idea. It requires a much more nuanced approach. 

Language isn’t just what we say but how we say it. And local variations within international markets – think Swiss German or Quebecois French, but the list is endless – further complicate the issue. 

You’ll need the nuance: go regional.

Understanding local culture and language are essential in its own right. They’re also the gateway to getting out of the big cities and understanding the whole market. Tokyo is a true megacity – but it doesn’t reflect all of Japan. Paris is iconic – but its citizens have very different values to those in Marseilles, let alone rural France.

Here’s where you need to understand geography and supply chains. If you’re moving into a new international market in a limited way – or if the distribution is going to be impractical outside conurbations, say – then researching inside big city bubbles might work just fine. But for national penetration and in markets where businesses or consumers are more evenly distributed, understanding attitudes and behaviors across the country is a must.

For brands with an existing presence, existing assets on the ground are a hugely valuable resource for understanding these nuances. That could be local-office marketers or salespeople. Distributors and major customers can also offer insights. We love to work with chief marketing officers (CMOs) who have a helicopter view of a region and are clear about strategic objectives. But triangulating between them, their local marketing teams, and our local research teams in the field tends to generate better results.

Decide on the most effective methodology.

Another significant benefit of having local teams in place like ours is that they have expertise in the best methodologies to use in different markets. This is sometimes a subset of culture, but in other markets, it’s driven by the levels of technology adoption, geography, or working practices. Some examples:

  • In Indonesia, face-to-face research is considered the norm; telephone in-depth interviews tend to deliver a poor hit rate.
  • In Japan, groups respond better to moderators of the same gender, and people are more likely to undertake qual work at the weekends.
  • It’s not acceptable for researchers to interview women in the home one-on-one in Saudi Arabia. And across the Middle East – and many other regions – mixed-sex focus groups tend to be a no-no.

You can read about others in our guide to conducting online market research in Asia.

This is also why more open briefing processes can be valuable in international research. It’s too easy to apply a blanket methodology across a whole region and end up struggling to execute the research. Better to frame the key questions the organization needs to answer and tailor the research study to each key market.

Calibrate your responses.

Cultural and language shape the way you ask questions, and they’re huge factors in interpreting any research results, too. A keyword search on a crude translation of responses could mean missing crucial insights – or, worse, coming to incorrect conclusions.

And don’t think this only applies to qualitative, descriptive research where local idiom, slang, or cultural references might catch you out. International quantitative research also has to be calibrated by analysts with an appreciation for local nuance.

Respondents in some markets are more likely to agree with statements than others. For instance, you’re more likely to see people agree with statements in India than in Japan. Even the way you phrase questions – not just translate them, but the nuance in the question itself – will affect the consistency in scores you can achieve between different cultures.

That’s particularly important for big global brands with a very set idea about how they do their brand equity or NPS studies. The alternative is to develop a more organic approach so that the questions allow you to reflect local nuance. It might be as simple as using a four-point rather than a five-point scale in markets where respondents are most likely to sit on the fence.

Use market research as a tactical, not just strategic, lever.

It can be tempting to seek broad answers from international market research: “Will this product work in this market?” Or: “How should we tweak the service offering to meet this country’s needs?” These will help brands decide on strategic issues. But the more nuanced the approach, the more likely it is that the research will feed into local tactics for a brand, making its international investments work even harder.

That’s a common theme in research: properly granular insights ought to help with several decisions. It’s not just a ‘go/no-go’ binary, but research should inform everything from pricing to choice of distribution channel, support for local sales operations, to targeted advertising.

A new era for international research

We’ve moved on from an earlier era when global brands assumed continent-scale uniformity. Even if a business sees an opportunity in ‘Latin America,’ has an ‘Asian strategy’ or issues financial reports for ‘EMEA,’ serious decision-makers know they need to go, at the very least, to the country level for insights that will help their plans succeed. And they understand that it can be counter-productive to seek out ‘apples to apples’ comparisons between markets when a little nuance can go a long way.

More recently, one factor that’s complicated the picture is the global Covid-19 pandemic. Because so much commercial activity is managed remotely, there’s a temptation to run multi-market studies with a uniform online methodology. If everyone in the world is attending focus groups via the same videoconferencing app, what’s the difference?

The risk here is that the vast advantages of technological solutions are watered down in the hunt for low-cost, ‘big picture’ regional results. Online research can be conducted quickly and flexibly. And clients can immerse themselves in research projects more easily, gaining their own insights into consumer reactions on the other side of the world.

But research that is tailored, for example, to local respondents’ cultural norms will yield much better results. You can quickly adapt a methodology to a market when you have local research expertise and a clear idea of the brand’s mission. For instance, recognizing that in India, you’ll need to avoid any methodologies that rely on lengthy video inputs, and instead, combining text, image-based and short video tasks will get you the insights you need.

The most successful companies understand that an international project is more complex than handing a research agency a questionnaire and generating uniform results across every territory.

You know your product or service better than anyone. We know the right questions and methodologies to get you where you need to go. Our local teams understand the cultural norms, and good translations – culturally and linguistically – can bring it all together. Find out about the regions where we can conduct international market research or get in touch to speak to us about an international project

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When we look the impact of COVID-19 on the media industry it’s a mixed picture. Whilst some areas, like video streaming services, have thrived as a result of increased time at home, others have come to a complete standstill, such as OOH advertising and cinema. But which trends in media will persist?

In this article we explore 3 key areas of the media landscape:

  1. Linear TV
  2. Streaming services
  3. Advertising

The role of linear TV

Short-term changes

As people have been forced to spend time at home and routines have been upended, viewing of linear television has enjoyed a resurgence. According to the BBC, viewers were watching 44% more linear channels in May compared to this time last year, rising to 67% for young people. A trend that flies in the face of pre-pandemic viewing behaviour.

The rise of linear television in this period should really come as no surprise. It’s allowing for shared moments at a time when human connection is in short supply. Thinkbox observed a 30% increase in shared viewing in this period.

Content preferences have also shifted, reflecting the pandemic situation, with programmes that allow for nostalgia and escapism proving popular with viewers. 

Long-term trends

We expect the rise of linear TV to be short-lived. As a direct response to the lockdown, it’s unlikely that this behaviour will persist as the pandemic subsides. As economies reopen, and consumers given more freedom to socialise, we expect to see linear TV consumption patterns return to pre-pandemic levels, as the long-term trends we’ve seen towards VOD and SVOD continuing.

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Streaming

Short-term changes

Streaming providers have been one of few beneficiaries of the COVID-19 crisis. With more time on their hands at home, people are turning to paid online streaming services – and some for the very first time. A survey for the Consumer Technology Association carried out in March found that 26% of US consumers are using video streaming services for the first time. A combination of new users like these, and others that have added to their existing subscriptions are creating big returns for streaming giants. In the first quarter, Netflix more than doubled the number of new subscribers it had expected. Disney Plus is another success story. Just 8 months after launch, it has over 54 million subscribers globally. This puts it in touching distance of its 2024 target, a whole 4 years early.   

Medium and long term

In the long-term, it’s difficult to predict exactly how streaming will fare. One school of thought is that as the economic impact of the crisis hits consumers will re-evaluate their discretionary spending, and cut back, which could see subscriber numbers fall, particularly amongst those with multiple subscriptions.

Others argue that as consumers tighten the purse strings, they’ll be scaling back on more significant purchases. This could mean that spend on streaming services will be protected as a worthwhile investment, particularly if the focus on the home remains, with working from home continuing in the long term.

One trend that we expect to remain is the emphasis on shared viewing on demand. We’ve seen streaming providers innovating to meet this need with features like Netflix Party, that allow users in different locations to synchronise playback and communicate via a group chat. Meeting the desire for shared experiences but enabling different audiences in one household to watch what they like, we see this trend being important in future.

Another development to watch out in the medium-term is the future of film. During the pandemic Universal Pictures made some of its film releases available on demand on Comcast, Sky, Apple and Amazon for a one-off fee. With the emphasis on value for money and continued social distancing, will this be an attractive option to consumers in the medium, and a way to offset lost revenues from cinemas?

Advertising

Short term

The drop in advertising spending during the pandemic has been well documented. According to a report from Publicis, Q1 ad spend was down 15% in China and 9% across Europe, as companies sought to cut costs and postpone campaigns. And with this continuing in Q2 and into the second half of the year, the World Federation of Advertisers predicting a 31% decrease in investments across 2020.

In response to the pandemic the tone of ads has changed too, with many brands emphasising their contribution to the relief effort or how they’re supporting customers in this difficult time. In the short-term, we can’t expect an immediate return to pre-pandemic marketing strategies. Our recent research Brands Exposed research, with 4,000 consumers across 10 countries found that levels of worry around the pandemic influence how consumers respond to ads, with overt sales messaging being rejected by those that are most worried, in favour of more reassuring advertising. This indicates that in the short-term, brands will need to make a concerted effort to understand the sentiment of their customer base and position their ads accordingly.

Medium to long-term

Advertising has always had to shift in response to behavioural changes, and this will be no exception. A recent Goldman Sachs report predicts that “the crisis will only accelerate the secular shift in advertising budgets towards digital.”

In the medium and long-term, we expect to see brands funnelling more money into digital advertising, reflecting the increase in time that consumers are spending on digital channels. Social media usage is up 21% globally. It’s likely that advertisers will also look to move ad spend towards ad supported streaming services, at the expense of TV.

In the long-run, we also expect to brands continuing to place a sustained importance on responsibility and honesty, in response to rising consumer expectations, as suggested by our Brands Exposed research.

If you are anything like me, amidst the coronavirus and the global lockdown (even as some markets like Vietnam and Vienna are slowly returning to ‘normal’), you would be doing one of 3 things:

  1. Staying at home and minimizing social contact
  2. Trying to make home-based working happen while balancing all kinds of other personal life commitments
  3. Try to keep things light-hearted by looking at memes

While we all know that going back in time is not (yet) possible, brands can certainly try to move things forward by thinking about what they CAN do with the rest of the year. Dealing with uncertainty requires strategy and guidance, as detailed by our MD Phil Steggals in his recent article. That said, where do brands find guidance?

We at Kadence are big advocates of brands creating their own futures, rather than try to predict it. Earlier in the year, before the whole pandemic went global, we brought together trend watching experts from across our global boutique to identify four key trends that we believe will define the next 12 months, inspiring innovation across Asia, the US and Europe, that we outlined in this report.

While it may be still early in the year to review our own work (spoiler alert: we’re on the money!), we certainly think our identified trends are definitely relevant to the current times, and can guide brands to think about the rest of the year (and even beyond!)

First things first, a quick recap of the 4 trends:

  • The shift towards 360-degree wellness
  • The move from brand purpose to purposeful design
  • Consumers left craving connection
  • Personalisation reaching a new frontier as it moves offline

The shift towards 360-degree wellness: Trend vs. Manifestations

One of our key trends to watch for 2020 was the shift in how consumers are thinking about their wellbeing. We’re seeing consumers moving away from focusing purely on physical health and appearance, to now recognising the importance of their mental health too.

As an article discussing mental health issues in a recently re-opened Wuhan shows, this trend is definitely a strong one: Along with the countless new online fitness platforms that have sprung up over the past 6 weeks, the conversation is increasingly steering towards how people staying at home needs to pay attention to their mental health too. Already there are reports about how anxiety over job losses is impacting the American population, while closer to home, Singapore has decided to keep allied health services, such as psychology and social work, open because they are defined as ‘essential services’. Dealing with a global situation requires both physical and psychological strength, which is what this trend is all about.

What can my brand do with this in the #newnormal?

Regardless the industry you are in or the product/service that you offer, highlighting a mental benefit or creating one (within credible limits) will definitely benefit your brand’s standing with consumers, even after the situation improves – this trend is here to stay.

From brand purpose to purposeful design: Trend vs. Manifestations

Brand purpose is undoubtably one of the big trends of the past few years. We’ve seen ads against toxic masculinity, deforestation and discrimination, as brands have tried to convince consumers that they share their values and have a higher purpose than simply selling products. And with research from Havas Media showing that meaningful brands outperform the stock market by 134%, it’s easy to see why so many brands were quick to adopt this strategy.

But we’re starting to see a shift. As consumers begin calling these campaigns out for being all-talk and no action, companies are realising the need to move beyond surface-level brand purpose and to start embracing what we refer to as purposeful design, creating products and services which allow consumers to make the world a better place.

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There are numerous examples in this space that demonstrate how many big global brands actually ‘get’ it, and have quickly sprung into action in this global crisis: from Louis Vuitton (along with many other high-end luxury brands) producing pertinent medical supplies to Singapore gaming brand Razer pivoting from its core business to produce face masks, these show brands taking action on their beliefs, which can in turn inspire consumers to come forward and do their part as well.

What can my brand do with this in the #newnormal?

We want to believe that it should not take an international calamity for brands to be #woke and realize that ‘purposeful design’ should be at the heart of their operations from here on out. To be more specific, innovation in this space can fall into two categories – products and services which enables people to make a positive impact to the causes they care about and those which enable people to reduce their impact on the world around them. Regardless the product/service, is there a way that your brand can remain relevant in the #newnormal, and satisfy consumers increasing need for being better versions of themselves?

Consumers are left craving connection: Trend vs. Manifestations

This trend we identified focuses on consumers craving connection and a sense of belonging, in an increasingly divided and lonely world. People are now single for longer, meaning that more people are living alone, particularly in urban centres. A Washington Post wrote about how, in Japan, it’s predicted that 40% of households will be single person households by 2040. This trend is echoed in the West – in the US, half of young people aged 18 – 35 say they don’t have a steady romantic partner.

With global lockdowns in place, the way we work and socialize has been forcibly brought into the online world. Zoom meetings are becoming so frequent for work that ‘zoom fatigue’ is a real phenomenon, while social interactions online are a poor compromise because they literally lack the physicality that’s so much of a fundamental human need. These examples show how technological developments, hailed for their power to bring people together, have not always brought positive change, and are essentially stop-gap solutions for quality connections.

That said, though, connections made during this period inevitably become more ‘intimate’ as well (whether intended or not): bedrooms are shown to colleagues as background in work calls, while ‘bring your kid to work’ takes the reverse route because the child is very likely going to pop into the video camera during a conference session anytime. Even ‘live’ shows and music performances take on a ‘closer’ tonality as viewers are now given the chance to peep into a celebrity’s home! All these point to the possibility that consumers will demand not just more, but also better, connections in the post-COVID future.

What can my brand do with this in the #newnormal?

While there are experts who still feel that brands can still meaningfully enhance their customer experience digitally during the crisis, we would propose looking ahead and think about ‘connection’ in the broadest sense of the term, and see how both your brand can put that front and centre. This is not about ‘omnichannel’ or ‘O2O’; this is interrogating what kinds of meaningful connection your offering can provide your customers, as this pandemic leaves us with the realization that effective, rather than efficient, interactions are what they really crave.

Personalisation reaches a new frontier as it moves offline: Trend vs. Manifestations

We predicted that 2020 would see personalisation reach a new frontier as it increasingly starts to occupy offline, as well as online spaces, thanks to the proliferation of new technology.

We already see brands tapping into location and health data from smartphones and wearables to provide personalised products, services and marketing campaigns to consumers on the go. But the rise of facial recognition, and its integration into smart home technology, will take this to another level, making personalisation part of our homes, our shops, our day-to-day offline experiences.

While there aren’t any specific examples of how this trend manifests itself during the COVID situation, we are at least seeing some examples of brands and corporations speeding up the interfacing between offline and online, which may be a good start to push forth this trend. From major Hollywood blockbusters being released for online viewing faster than normal, to tech giants like Google and Facebook quickly updating/launching video chat functionalities to gain competitive edge, it shows brands can make necessary changes, if they want to.

What can my brand do with this in the #newnormal?

This advanced nature of this trend suggests that now’s as good a time as any to think about how your brand is really making sense of all that data to personalize not just messaging and comms, but also offline outreach/products and services that are relevant and pertinent to consumer needs (i.e. see above: Connections, Purposeful Design and 360-degrees Wellness), who may start to have expectations about brands embracing new technologies quicker, once the pandemic ends

We at Kadence are big advocates of brands creating their own futures, rather than try to predict it. Earlier in the year, before the whole pandemic went global, we brought together trend watching experts from across our global boutique to identify four key trends that we believe will define the next 12 months, inspiring innovation across Asia, the US and Europe, that we outlined in this report.

How should you position your advertising as consumers emerge from lockdown with new expectations of brands and a different lens on marketing?

Discover the key learnings from our proprietary study, Brands Exposed, with over 4,000 consumers across the UK, US and 8 Asian markets by watching the webinar below.

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As of the first week of March 2020, the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China, the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, is slightly over 80,000. This works out to be no more than 6 cases in 100,000 people. The probability is much lower in most other places, such as 3.38 cases in 100,000 people in Italy, 1.89 in 100,000 in Singapore, and 0.03 in 100,000 in the US.

Despite the low probability, many people are appearing to be more fearful than they should be, with an exaggerated perceived risk.

Panic buying happened within hours when the DORSCON level was raised to Orange in Singapore early last month. Canned food, rice, instant noodles, and even toilet papers were swept off the shelves that evening, with queues longer than we have ever seen in supermarkets. The same phenomenon hit the US, Germany, Italy and Indonesia this week, after more local cases were confirmed. Masks, sanitizers, and disinfectants are sold out, social events and activities are cancelled, and many instances of racism against people of Chinese ethnicity have been observed around the world.

Is this fear rational? It seems the fear is spreading faster, and affecting people’s lives to a larger extent, than the virus itself. Why is that?

The following five cognitive biases can explain most of these irrational behaviours during the COVID-19 outbreak.

1.     Negativity bias – we have the tendency to pay more attention to bad things

Humans have a natural tendency to place more emphasis to negative things, such as remembering negative incidents more clearly, being more affected by criticisms than compliments, or feeling more emotional pain for a loss of $10 than happiness gained for the picking up $10.

“Good things last eight seconds…Bad things last three weeks.” – Linus van Pelt, Peanuts

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we tend to pay more attention to bad news (in part also due to news channels’ willingness to focus on negative news as well, following the same principle) – the number of new cases/deaths/infected patients in critical condition – much more than the number of recoveries. Some people actively search for information that scares themselves more, such as ‘evidence’ that shows masks are not effective in protecting you from the virus, reading up on past global pandemics, or even unknowingly landing on fake news which exacerbates the severity of the situation. All these contribute to the psychological fear of ‘Could it happen to me?’.

2.     Confirmation bias – we pay more attention to information that supports our belief

People are prone to believe what they want to believe, and actively look out for evidence to support their beliefs, while dismissing those that contradict. This confirmation bias is more prevalent in anxious individuals, which makes them perceive the world to be more dangerous than it is. For example, an anxious person is more likely to be more sensitive about what people think of him/her, and constantly look out for signs that show people do not like them, biasing towards negative words or actions.

We naturally seek information to protect ourselves, because the ‘unknown’ is more fearful than the ‘known’. If we think the situation is severe, we tend to focus on news that talks about the severity of the situation, which results in a self-fulfilling prophecy. With greater amount of information now being spread much more quickly over social media, the effects of this bias are a lot more pronounced. A cursory scroll through the Reddit thread on COVID-19 can quickly convince someone that it will bring about the end of the world! 

3.     Probability neglect – we have the tendency to disregard probability when making decisions

A potential outcome that is incredibly pleasant or terrifying is likely to affect our rational minds. We are more likely to be swayed by our emotions towards the potential outcome and pay less attention to the actual probability.

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Looking factually at the numbers of COVID-19, the probability of getting the virus is very low, and much lower than many other risks that we are accustomed to, such as the common flu or cold. Yet people are terrified and have extreme panic or preventive behaviours towards the situation. The fact that the virus is new, and that it can be fatal, could have added to the fear, clouding judgement. Many are avoiding malls, reducing dining out, cancelling travels. This effect extends into greater economic implications. The ‘unknown’ is playing with our feelings, and we react to the feelings, not probability, towards the risk. 

4.     Stereotyping – we tend to make unjustified generalisations

On 11 February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the official new name of the coronavirus to be COVID-19. According to WHO, they had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or a group of people.

This is not just a WHO naming guideline, but an important step to reduce negative stereotypes. During the early stages of the outbreak, there was hatred against Wuhan, or China, and this prejudice has even extended to all Chinese people outside of China. In many countries, many people also irrationally avoid visiting the Chinatown, or dining in Chinese restaurants, as if you visit a neighbourhood Chinese restaurant, you will get the virus, even if your neighbourhood is safe[ML1] [DG2] . Aside from how stereotyping individuals is in and off itself a negative social action, such perceptions can also lead to feelings of false assurance, that one is ‘immune’ to the virus, which in turn can result in behaviours that run counter to public health advisories.

5.     Illusory truth effect – it’s true if it’s repeated

 “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes truth” – people tend to believe what they constantly see or hear in the news, regardless of whether there is any evidence of its veracity. A recent study [ML3] [DG4] has shown this effect to be present even if people are familiar with the subject, as the repeated lies introduce doubt into their psyche.

This is one of the key reasons why “fake news” has been able to take hold during this outbreak – from quack sesame oil remedies to protect against the virus to misconceptions that packages from China are dangerous to handle. In Singapore, after the same few photos of panic buying being circulated via social media many times makes it a ‘nationwide phenomenon’. WHO and governments around the world have been actively trying to take back the narrative from these “fake news” sources, but the prevalence of social media and the ease of sharing such information to one’s friends and families will present an uphill challenge to combat them.

What it means for brands

Firstly, it is important to remember that cognitive biases exist in human beings, and consumer behaviours aren’t always rational. During the crisis, such behaviours are magnified, and the impact/ repercussions of these irrationalities become amplified.  you should consider what consumers are thinking, and how they are reacting. Understanding where the biasness is from, and how it manifests in thinking and actions, can help you decide on strategies what can potentially lead to behavioural changes.

Secondly, we also need to understand that relying on past information may not be able to help you accurately predict into the future, because people’s reaction to the same stimulus may have changed. For example, the last time DORSCON was raised to Orange in Singapore during the H1N1 crisis in 2019, there wasn’t ‘panic buying’ that led to the severe shortage of masks or sanitizers. Planning in the future, you can think about whether your brand will be perceived any differently once the outbreak is over – how would people’s mindset change because of the outbreak? What will people be looking out for, post- this crisis? Consider how you can address the post-crisis world, and find your competitive advantage.

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