News & Insights

MediaHub Worldwide Chief Strategy Officer Janet Levine finished the first day at World Retail Congress as she said that retailers need to follow the desire paths of consumers and harness the power of communities. “Consumer journeys of the past don’t reflect consumer behaviour of today. In fact, seven out of 10 executives say they can’t follow trends as they move too quickly,” she said. “Big tech trains on community. So we need to design around community, which has a commercial value.”

Examples include Skoda allowing super-fans on Reddit to design a new car and New Balance and Barry’s Boot Camp, which formed a collaboration to take part in sessions with New Balance footwear available and an authentic set-up to appeal to the exercise fans.

“We are moving from transaction to thrills. Welcome to the thrill loop. The fun factor means that eight out of 10 Gen Z consumers will pay more for a culturally relevant experience,” she said.

But this also requires the relevancy factor, she added, because relevancy leads to greater sales, as she stressed that although it was “hard and challenging” to do one of these, repetition is crucial to help build the brand position.

“You need to craft greater novelty for greater performance,” she said.