Interactivism 101
At one time in recent history, most of the U.S. market was neatly divided along geographic, economic, ethnic, gender, or generational lines. The market was fixed enough for sellers to stimulate product demand based upon buyers’ demographic habits alone.
But thanks to Internet technology, which has decentralized information and disseminated influences so disparately across lines, a society of young, hyper-heterogeneous consumers has emerged, many with mutual interests but with highly customized and individual tastes. Technology has empowered the consumer so much that the sellers’ market now has become the buyers’ market.
For this reason, integrating the consumer’s voice into a campaign’s development has become the winning formula for any successful marketing strategy targeting today’s youth. We call this social marketing strategy “interactivism” because it invites the target audience to coauthor the campaign.
Interactivism recognizes that in order to reach Generation X, Y, and Z consumers, the marketer has to walk a fine line between piquing their sensibilities and putting them in the driver’s seat.
Additionally, users—both consumers and marketers–who innovate have been found to be “lead users.” They are ahead of the majority with respect to important marketplace trends. This means that the innovations and tactics consumers develop for themselves will be of interest to many users, ultimately allowing the seller to “outcompete” in the marketplace.
Interactivism is an evolutionary marketing methodology that places consumer empowerment and respect for culture first. This culture-conscious model has nothing to do with race and everything to do with an intimate understanding of the societal influences that shape the individual and the larger community. It assumes nothing about the consumer except that what is real for the consumers is entirely relative to their experience.
From a social marketing perspective, you cannot afford to assume the tastes and forecast the trends of a target market, for consumers’ tastes change as quickly as technology evolves. But an in-depth understanding of the forces that drive societal behavior not only will facilitate organic interface between brand and consumer but also will aid you in further empowering the consumer. Via the principles of interactivity and contextuality, brands, ideas, and individuals are advanced through shared meaning.
If the image of your brand is the principal source of your competitive advantage and a valuable strategic asset, then the message should be clear: We respect your experience, and we value your input. This message distinguishes your brand from your competitors in the minds of consumers, in a positive way.
Customizing every marketing strategy through consumer cocreation is the socially responsible way to market in the 21st century. Interactivism is the future of youth marketing because it tells young consumers that it’s about more than making them believe in a brand; it’s about showing that the brand believes in them. And that, at the end of the day, for both seller and buyer, is where the core of brand loyalty lies.
Courtney E. Counts is “cultural anthropologist” and vice president of marketing for Atlanta-based multicultural marketing firm GTM (www.gtmcentral.com). A free whitepaper on Interactivism is available at www.gtmcentral.com/whitepaper.
