An eye on 2023 INDIVIDUALITY trend  

Sally El Akkad, Director of Marketing and eCommerce at Electrolux Egypt

Consumers in 2023 want to take back control in a BANI world, they aspire to rewrite the narrative on their own terms. 

I won’t be writing today about what you already know, we do not need now to talk further about the focus to be further injected in supply chain excellence, omnichannel adoption, investments in technology & big data…etc. rather I would prefer to talk about what you might think that is given in the back of your mind while it not. 

Today, I want to tackle a different angle, where with all the global turmoil, humans lose the ground they to be familiar with, we have been hit by a pandemic, locked at homes, used more e-commerce and online platforms, cooked 1000 cake and cookies with our kids to pass time, watched endless Netflix movies, worked from home, then hybrid, then somehow we need to find a new balanced equation to return partially to work while balancing our home responsibilities post new norms. consumers are living in a very fast-paced environment, and so are brands subsequently companies, and with inflation hitting all of us really hard, the budget constrain is on the P&L horizon. 

Do we really need to talk about the value of shifting your budget monies to digital? 

Do we really need to tackle the fact that it is important to derive upper funnel acquisition and not to ignore conversion of lower funnel? And keeping a serious eye on ROAS & CPA 

Do we still need to talk about the fact that consumers are smart, you need to design a proper consumer experience, otherwise you will keep losing your money in a leaky bucket of bad reviews and poor feedback? 

I want you to get back to basics and think… what is your brand DNA? 

How relatable is the communication to the brand heart and the consumer senses? 

As authenticity feels unattainable in a world out of control, people look for genuine relatable brand shopping/ brand experience.  Authentic brands assimilate into the psyche of nations and subcultures. Can we imagine Egypt without pyramids, America without Harley Davidson, and Britain without Harrods? 

But what is authenticity?  

Brand authenticity has been defined as ‘the extent to which consumers perceive a brand to be faithful and true toward itself and its consumers, and to support consumers being true to themselves’ (Morhart et al., 2015) … so, what does it mean for consumers? 

The history surrounding brands is critical to its authenticity. Research identifies that heritage, sincerity, and love of production are central to consumer judgments of authenticity. Mess with a brand’s roots, and consumers are likely to leave in droves.

Beverland, 2009; has identified 6 ways in which marketers can reinforce Consumer perceptions of authenticity

1- Embedding the brand in a community

2- Challenging conventions

3- Sticking to one’s roots

4- Loving the craft behind the product/service

5- Downplaying one’s marketing expertise

6- Ignoring direct customer input into innovation

Although brand managers may place greater emphasis on one characteristic at a particular time, consumer research suggests all 6 are required over the long term in order to be seen as an authentic brand (Beverland, 2005).

Remaining true to one’s roots does not mean simply repeating past practices because this results in products that quickly become obsolete. What is crucial is to retain the original spirit of the brand.

Actually, I see that Brands MUST cherish consumer individuality!  

Why now? Why do we need to relook and rethink about our consumer communication & its relevance to brand hearts? 

In Mintel global consumer research 2023 trends, there was a very distinctive trend of individual empowerment, where consumers are responding to brands that offer opportunity for experimentation and self-expression…

  • Brands can lean on trial periods to help encourage new routines as consumers begin to act on the idea that they do not need to be the same person they were in the past. 
  • Consumers may want to stand out rather than blend into the crowd but might not know how to do so. By celebrating the interests that make consumers unique, brands can help give consumers the assurance they need to try something new or even help them rethink who they are. 
  • Consumers are ready for a confidence boost, and brands can provide this to them in the form of new experiences or products that feed their curiosity as they form new tastes, routines and preferences that align with who they are or who they want to be. 

I love how brands enhance individuals’ self-acceptance and positive self-imagery; I personally believe that this is what great brands should promote- “empowering society for the better”– and for that to to happen a marketer need to digest and liaise with the brand root to unleash its true potential 

Looking forward to a great year 2023, may you enjoy exploring your authentic self’s,& find the happiness fountain!