Letting Consumers Take Control

I found a similar tactic in learning about an audience in both of the articles I read, Consumer 3.0 and Calling All Pets. In each instance, with some slight variation, experts and researchers are finding that by letting people take control of their own media experience, they can learn a whole lot more about consumers.

The first article I read, called Consumer 3.0, described a way of reaching an audience and learning about them in a way that is a quickly growing trend. “Consumer 3.0 writes, edits, splices, shoots, and manipulates original or reproduced content to aggregate its own audience for its own media ecosystem.” By providing people with all of the necessary tools to create their own media encounters, they can do whatever they want. Observation is the key ingredient for any researcher at this point. Simply follow consumers in their media travels, and a wealth of information is right at their fingertips.

Calling All Pets also talked about letting consumers take control of their own media experiences, but with more of a focus on pet-related products and services. Pet producing businesses help consumers in their search for trustworthy products by appealing to our emotional attachments.

"Part of what we do [in marketing] is appeal to people's sense of logic," Iverson says. "Better ingredients mean a better pet food. The brand's personality is that of a caring brand. We have to reflect that the pet is really a part of the family."

To me, it’s like consumer bait. You put a product exclusively online, without much advertising. This translates to most people as being high-end. (For example, designer fashion lines have little or no advertising.) High-end product means quality, and quality means pricey. “They go online in droves, looking for small companies creating high-end, niche products.” How do researchers then learn about their audience? Simply by people visiting their site. If people come, they can usually get their information, and with their information comes learning and observation.