3 for a Great Marketer/ Brand Manager - Part 2.2

Know that this is a changed world. These are some facts you must know to understand consumers and avoid ugly surprises:

• This is the infamous Age of Anxiety. People don't have time. People don't know who they are, what got them here, and where will they be tomorrow.
• The world is fragmented and divided in as many ways as there are hair on all cats on Earth.
• People have too many choices. Technology is making choices cheap. And attractive. You are one of the many choices. Be the only one. And the top one.
• Today's Average Person is standing near the End of History as s/he knows it. That makes life priorities very different. S/He doesn't give your brand a damn. Unless you really, really are doing something for her/him. Everyday.
• Media is distorting your consumer's psychological profile. Consider the average young woman who is getting beauty and sex tips from Cosmo, fashion inspiration from India, and clothes from China. She has a melting pot of values and choices, and very little dependability on her own civilisation (home civilisation - what is that animal anyway?). How do you market to her? What are the taglines for your latest campaign?

Consider the very funny case of Pakistanis too. They watch Indian movies and use
that lingo in their daily conversation (stuff like, Bolay toh?!) but repel when KFC used a tagline from Munna Bhai MBBS, the wildly popular tragi-comedy from India.

So, the question is:

Where will you be if you didn't have a superior knowledge of consumer psyche?