rebellion is coming!

Steve Nuttall is the Managing Director of Colmar Brunton, Australia's largest independently owned market research agency.

Steve has just completed his presentation at the CRA conference titled 'Those who re-invent will be the heroes – rebellion is coming'.

He referred back to Malcolm Turnbulls presentation earlier in the day saying that "there is a whiff of rebellion in the air but we are maybe not quite there."

Steve focused on what he called the 'the massive change around us' saying;

"We want to know what makes consumers tick. We want them to be more receptive to our messages", and he went on to discuss his Millenium Monitor, which was the first public unveiling of the results.

Colmar Brunton interviewed 2500 respondents in an online survey, and sat down one to one with 100 others around the country. They were asked about their values, their views on society both today and in the future.

Without going into the forensic detail of the presentation, the respondents all placed radio in their 'enjoyment' category, and Steve Nuttall noted that the Nova network performed particularly well in the 'fun' space in the consumer perceptions.

Their study showed that few Australian brands fitted into the rebellion category, he commented;

"Being rebellious can be as simple as being honest, and if you make a mistake…apologise. Humour will be a killer app in the rebellion era. Take your brand and synthesise with the values of your audience"

“People (are rebelling because they) want less clutter in their lives and less irrelevant marketing. They are demanding honesty".

Steve's strong view is that 'rebellion is coming', and only conservative brands, power brands and conformity brands will find themselves in an uncomfortable position; "those who will thrive are the innovators".