Marketing is seriously broken, report claims

‘Almost half of all Brits will end a brand relationship due to badly targeted marketing or where it isn’t relevant or bespoke to them’

Traditional marketing methods are dead. That’s according to new consumer research from 3radical , a new British mobile gamification platform company, which has revealed that brands aren’t reaching their audiences anywhere near as effectively as they should.

Almost half (45 per cent) of UK consumers surveyed by 3radical said they are less likely to buy from or engage with brands because they currently don’t get the right or relevant information they need to make a purchasing decision. A third of Brits (30 per cent) also stated that they will ignore communications from their favourite Brands due to a lack of bespoke and targeted marketing, even potentially leading to them to end a brand relationship altogether.

What DO customers want from brands?
Rewarding, relevant and timely, but more than anything – mobile. When asked, 55 per cent of consumers said that they are much more likely to respond to timely marketing messages, and that location and mobile were critical factors. Consumers are also becoming savvier to their own power and influence, and are looking for brands to offer something back in return for their loyalty and custom. Eighty-seven per cent of those surveyed said they were looking for a reward or something back in order to read or respond to messages. A further 50 per cent said this had become more important over the past year, as they are bombarded with marketing messages and need to select carefully with whom they engage.

Smartphones are becoming a key hub of communication with consumers, and are increasingly the bridge between bricks-and-mortar retail and the digital world – 93 per cent of those surveyed had a smartphone or tablet, and more than 60 per cent kept these close to them for 12 hours or more per day. Sixty per cent use their smartphones while they are shopping and Brands need to be ‘invited in’ by consumers, as it is such a personal channel

Gamificiation – fad or formula?
Gamification is becoming an important part of the marketing mix. Although a buzzword that has graced the lips of marketers for some time, it seems that gamification is only now being taken seriously and implemented into digital marketing strategies. According to Gartner, 70 per cent of the Global 2000 brands will have begun to introduce gamification to their marketing and customer service efforts by the end of 2014. From a spend of $100 million in 2010, organisations are set to spend up to $2.8 billion on gamification by 2016 – building to $5.5 billion by 2018.

David Eldridge, CEO and co-founder at 3radical, said: “Brands need to completely rethink the way they are interacting with their customers and prospects in order to survive. The fundamentals of our business are built on the knowledge that typically less than 5 per cent of marketing communications are getting a response – that leaves a 95 per cent opportunity for brands to get one up on their competitors. Our research shows that consumers are giving brands a clear message about what they want; nowadays, they are looking for a true value exchange between the business and the customer. It needs to be mobile and it must be contextually relevant to them.”

Rusty Warner, Forrester Research, added: “Customer insights professionals now approach campaigns much differently than the past. Smart marketers know they must engage their customers with contextually relevant content that sparks an interaction cycle and provides utility while creating a value exchange.”

Daniel Chia, marketing communications manager consumer, Dell Singapore, said: “Consumers today are looking for an experience with brands. They are becoming increasingly hard to reach with the more traditional methods of marketing. In fact, they’re almost immune to it. However, they love to compete, play and share with their friends – stuff they do in their everyday life. New technology and approaches on mobile in particular, such as gamification, makes them part of this brand experience and allows them to engage with brands over and over again – as well as giving them something in return. So encouraging and rewarding consumers for finding out more, sharing and visiting becomes an option and lets us address the whole customer lifecycle.”

3radical has revealed this research as it launches its new mobile gamification platform globally. The new company, aimed at shaking up the digital marketing space, launches this month after a three-year testing and building project in Singapore.