Consumer Goods
Our relationship to how and what we buy is being dramatically reconfigured. Physical spaces of transaction and gathering are undergoing a profound shift as increasing parts of life migrate online. Social and environmental pressures are raising consumer scrutiny on the impact of what they buy. Changing household structures are reshaping occasions like ‘the family meal’. New forms of wealth and scarcity are redefining the notion of luxury...
For more than a decade, ReD Associates has helped executives adapt and develop new offerings in tune with tomorrow’s consumer—in both existing and emerging markets. We have extensive experience in accessing a deep understanding of customers' needs and translating those needs into strong value propositions, relevant product and service offerings, and successful customer engagement models.
In partnership with our clients, our deep dives into the lives of customers show how products sit in relationship to the ever-changing emotional dynamics of consumer culture. By focusing on the full context of the consumers' lives and the social ecology that surrounds them, we gain richer insights into their experience. In our work within consumer goods, we focus on five main areas:
Building strong value propositions
Innovating relevant product and service offerings
Creating the right consumer engagement models (marketing and consumer experience)
Extending into new markets and segments
Defining social impact ambitions
In an industry where product and brand differentiation are slim and competition fierce, the depth of consumer understanding is what allows consumer brands to genuinely stand out in the marketplace and stay ahead of the social shifts that are dramatically reshaping their industries. Doing so means having a clear and unified perspective on questions such as:
What is our value proposition to consumer?
Where should we focus our innovation efforts to remain differentiated?
How should we cater to different and emerging consumer segments?
What is the role of different online and offline channels?
What commitments do our consumers expect from us in our social engagement?
LATEST
Which direction will brick-and-mortar retail go? Will it treat shopping as simply a transactional experience? Or will big retailers revive the shopping experience of yesteryear, at once intimate and seductive?
What does a world of shrinking scarcity mean for the future of status and high-end shopping among the superrich?
It's long been common practice for brands to assess themselves against industry competitors. But what happens when a company asks consumers to assess their brand?
ReD Associates recently started a collaboration with renowned photographer, Alastair Wiper, exploring our clients’ industrial landscapes.
FEATURED
Which direction will brick-and-mortar retail go? Will it treat shopping as simply a transactional experience? Or will big retailers revive the shopping experience of yesteryear, at once intimate and seductive?
What does a world of shrinking scarcity mean for the future of status and high-end shopping among the superrich?
It's long been common practice for brands to assess themselves against industry competitors. But what happens when a company asks consumers to assess their brand?
ReD Associates recently started a collaboration with renowned photographer, Alastair Wiper, exploring our clients’ industrial landscapes.
How Heidegger’s notion of dwelling helps understand problems with the vehicle space.
Luxury is rooted in rarity. As "luxury" goods become mass products, people are turning towards unique, non-reproducable experiences to fulfill a desire for the rare.
Through a new understanding of high-value design, Samsung was able to renew the product design of its TVs and double market share in the TV segment in just a few years.
Economic change in China will move hundreds of millions of households from poverty to prosperity. But what does everyday life look like for a Chinese family? One of our ethnographers shares some intimate experiences from a meeting with a middle-class man who has lived through the country’s enormous transformation.
This paper attempts to revive Mauss’s concept of the total social fact as a means of understanding new markets. Our case study of alcohol in China illuminates the spirit baijiu’s connections to the total social facts of guanxi and hierarchy.
The business banquet has become the new battleground for career-minded Chinese women.
Chinese people, particularly women, will either compliment your good skin or tell you that you are very fat with no difficulty or reservation on the details. Relatives, friends, and colleagues will happily exchange remarks and comments about each other’s face color, hair condition, and body size.
Companies often struggle in emerging markets because they underestimate the importance of local culture and social behavior. What steps can they take to get customer understanding right?
Other African countries look to Nigeria for inspiration. Nigerian fashion designers like Maki Oh are stealing the spotlight with colorful and flamboyant clothing designs, often combining African and Western elements.
Infamous for its massive traffic, it should come as no surprise that Muscovites spend a considerable portion of their lives in cars, driving or simply waiting to get out of a traffic jam. Being more than just a means of transportation, the car offers a semi-private space that can be used for unwinding, consuming, and socializing—almost like a new type of living room.
With China’s rapid modernization, middle-class parents are caught between new and traditional ways of parenting, and the truism over the past few decades that Chinese children don’t play or have fun is now being challenged.
“ReD influenced our point of view on the fitness market overall, and changed our view of how we can play a role in that,” says James Carnes, VP of Design for Adidas.
In 2006 a major European brewing company was faced with falling bar and pub sales and, despite muscular market research and competitive analysis, couldn’t figure out why.
Andrew Muirhead, Director of Innovation, Lufthansa Technik AG, talks about his work with ReD.
Conviviality takes multiple forms and expressions when people come together. As a creator of conviviality it is crucial for Pernod Ricard to remain a relevant and key enabler of these convivial moments.
We think these people exemplify the trend of the neocraftsman and the way they tell their stories. From handcrafted axes to chocolate to vodka, all of these neocraftsman are creating a new way to look at “premium products” through their transparent process, their love of the craft, and what their product represents.