Baby Seven Billion and her message to brands

So the world has its seven billionth occupant, designated by the United Nations to have been a baby girl born earlier this week in the Phillippines. That 7bn is predicted to become 8bn by 2025.

On the surface this indicates a growing potential global market for multinational or aspiring multinational brands to target. But the details behind the headline figure – India to become the world’s most populous country, Zambia’s population to double while others decline – are just as important in revealing how brands may try to tap into changing demographic trends.

Although the BRIC countries have been on most multinationals’ radars for some time, the news of population growth may lead to a new raft of initiatives. But population growth alone may not be a good enough reason to ‘chase a country’. Having worked on various washing powder launches in India in the past, one of my colleagues at Engage came up against the issue of home washing where wooden debris from the cooking stove was used as an abrasive to clean clothes instead of a detergent. Some 25% of Indians were still doing this and, as it is effectively free, they were understandably reluctant to spend money on something branded.

There are other lessons to be learnt here. Take Nokia, as an example, which has been spectacularly pushed to the sidelines of the mobile market as western consumers look to smartphones by Apple, Blackberry and HTC, whose stock market value recently surpassed Nokia’s. The threat to the brand is double-edged because in emerging markets like India, where Nokia is still the most trusted mobile phone brand, low-end local handset makers are beginning to attract an increasing number of customers.

It is important to get beneath the cultural, emotional and functional reasons for brand purchase decisions. Cultural and economic issues can impact on how brands develop differently in different territories. In some markets western brands are too expensive and cheaper local alternatives are preferred; in other markets brands can be a status symbol, creating different sorts of opportunities.

In Japan, for example, it has always been cool for younger people to wear western brands. Over the last 20 years or more, younger Japanese have tried to differentiate themselves from traditional culture and become more outward looking. Branding has been a big part of it and it is a process that may well be replicated in China in the coming years.

Brands have to button down the insight for a product in emerging markets just as they would in any other country. This is equally applicable to brand marketing strategy. How can you leverage social media in a highly populous country with limited internet access? How can you tap into cultural norms to make your brand’s arrival seem evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It’s not only about the potential size of the market, it is about the potential for brand acceptance in those markets and the two are not necessarily in tune with each other.