digital insights

The great cookie experiment

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How social media is redefining brand-consumer relationships

Ahhh, the good old days, when we watched TV and suffered through endless commercials, we were being influenced by what we wanted to buy without knowing it.

Who could forget the catchy tunes accompanying the iconic ads?

Those sounds have faded as digital and social media have taken center stage and relegated traditional platforms to the shadows of the past.

Today, brands and consumers are introduced on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and the like. From broadcast ecosystems to conversation platforms, no other medium has offered brands such unfiltered consumer behavior and preferences insights.

It is an unprecedented opportunity to know the consumer beyond their demographics. It allows us to peel the layers of the consumer's psyche and understand their emotions, values, and triggers.

At the same time, consumers are taking in a lot more content and information, which often drowns even the relevant messages in the noise.

The predicament demands that consumer brands leverage social media for insights and strategic and competitive advantage and ensure they are on the right platforms at the right time to connect with their customers.

Digital Insights helps brands make sense of this vast data and utilize it to create products that resonate. It combines market research, consumer psychology, and sociocultural anthropology to help you sort, understand, and visualize complex consumer behavior.

It decodes the thought process behind a purchase or impulse by mapping consumer conversations on social media and leveraging data analytics to extract granular insights on product, packaging, pricing, and brand.

Let’s dig deeper into the world of Digital Insights with some cookies!

The client, a globally known CPG company, wanted to understand what drives people to buy and eat cookies in three regions in the Americas and how eating habits and packaging impact cookie consumption.

While the company was already aware of their consumer needs and market industry, they understood that consumer behaviors, preferences and consumption patterns constantly evolve. They wanted to keep up with these changes and develop solutions and products that resonate.

They sought a strategic approach encompassing comprehensive market research and detailed digital insights analysis to understand their target audience at a deeper level.

Our Digital Insights team joined this experiment, and over the next few months, we joined them on a cookie exploration. Together, we assessed the effectiveness of their current marketing, communication, and product placement strategies.

This involved an extensive study of the behaviors, perceptions, emotional drivers, rituals, and habits of cookie consumption across various cultures and regions. The findings of the study helped us craft a refined and personalized marketing approach that nudged their customers to reach out for the cookies.

Decoding the cookie consumption behavior

We decoded the cookie consumption behavior across Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala through our four-step digital insights process for understanding the influence of sensory cues, human consumption drivers, and packaging semiotics on consumer behavior:

Decoding cookie consumption behavior across geographies

Semiotic analysis

We conducted a semiotic analysis of packaging and communication strategies across the regions with top-performing brands, complemented by social listening analysis to understand consumer perceptions of these brands.

We analyzed the colors, imagery, typography, layouts, design elements, and patterns of the most loved brands in each region. It helped us understand how well the brand aligned with the customers emotions and values.

A comprehensive understanding of effective packaging and communication strategies helped us pinpoint the elements that strongly resonate with the customers and influence their buying decisions. These insights shaped new product development, design, and communication strategy.

Decoding cookie consumption behavior

The next step involved identifying the similarities and differences in consumer perceptions across the geographies. This helped us recognize factors influencing cookie consumption in different cultural contexts.

We collected and analyzed data on consumer attitudes, preferences, and behaviors from each individual market. By comparing these insights, we were able to map out common threads that indicate universal appeal, as well as unique traits that dictate specific consumption patterns.

For example, while the appeal for a nostalgic, comfortable feeling might be a global driver, preferences for certain flavors highlight regional distinctions.

Developing regional semiotic energies

We then created connections between regions by emphasizing what they have in common and what sets them apart. We looked at branding and packaging symbols and categorized them into two categories – those with universal appeal and those with regional significance.

With the understanding of how certain symbols, designs, and motifs in the packaging and branding of the existing products influenced buying behavior in different regions, we focused on the region-specific design elements that resonated particularly in certain areas.

We took all these insights and observations and drafted design recommendations that would help the CPG brand maintain a core visual identity reflective of the brand’s global image while also incorporating localized elements that enhance relevance and appeal in specific markets.

Mapping consumer perceptions

Finally, we combined our findings to develop a holistic product perception and consumption view, integrating insights from social listening analysis, desk research, semiotic analysis, and studies on cultural behavior.

Social listening added a dynamic lens to the process, complementing the research with social listening elements of real-time conversations on social media platforms, forums and blogs, consumer sentiment, feedback and trending topics.

What makes or breaks a cookie?

After observing cookie eating patterns and analyzing the data, we realized eating cookies transcends the simple act of satisfying a craving; it’s an indulgence, a creation of a joyous “missing out” experience, a quest for new flavors, and a stimulation of the senses that beckons for more.

Here are a few interesting cookie facts we unearthed:

While some consumption factors remained consistent across the three Latin American countries, we observed some significant differences.
In Guatemala and Mexico, people tend to enjoy cookies as a dinner dessert or a snack during movie nights, whereas in Colombia, they are preferred as a breakfast option.
While most people enjoy eating their cookies in communal areas like the living room or dining room, a significant number of Mexican consumers enjoy them as a snack in bed.

Key spaces in the cookie consumption landscape

These varying consumption habits emphasize the importance of understanding the four spaces of cookie consumption, which range from established to emergent territories.

It reveals people's deep emotional and cultural connections with cookies, guiding the client in tailoring their products and marketing strategies to meet their audience's diverse needs and desires.

Recognizing the significance of these rituals helps create products that resonate with consumers and craft experiences that enhance engagement and loyalty.

Doodle art of a man eating his cookie with milk.

Cookies as an indulgence

People associate cookies with indulgence, childhood memories, and a sense of nostalgia. And they often break and dip the cookie in milk before eating it to revoke a sense of familiarity.

Doodle art of women eating her cookie.

Joy of missing out

Customers indulge in cookies on their own terms, often within the comfort of their homes, savoring each bite and licking their fingers clean.

Doodle art of types of cookies in a box.

Emergent territories

These consumer groups seek out new and intense flavors, often engaging in rituals that heighten anticipation, such as ceremonial unboxing or specially preparing the cookie.

Doodle art of cookie with its ingredients

Environmental and social drivers

The rising trend of health consciousness has increased the demand for healthier options, such as gluten-free, vegan, and organically made cookies. Brands adapting to this shift cater to a broader demographic and align themselves with evolving customer choices, such as using alternative sweetners like stevia in their new products.

Social media platforms are also shaping consumer preferences and behaviors by facilitating the spread of trends and creating communities where users share their experiences and opinions about products.

Influencers and food bloggers often showcase innovative cookie recipes and “consumption methods,” and brands launch campaigns for new products to increase awareness and engage with consumers. Other trends such as seasonality, convenience, snacking, and personalization also play an important role in the cookie consumption landscape.

And the secret ingredient is.....

This comprehensive data and insights allowed us to recommend a new product idea, packaging and branding for the company that aligned with both global trends and local nuances, ensuring relevance and appeal in the competitive cookie market.

Leveraging the in-depth insights, the company tweaked its product, marketing, and packaging strategy across the three geographies. The insights were carefully integrated into the strategy for new product launches.

By tailoring marketing strategies to regional preferences, innovating products based on emotional drivers and consumption habits, and redesigning packaging with cultural semiotics in mind, they could create more personalized and engaging consumer experiences.

The data-driven design and marketing recommendations have helped the brand strike a chord with its customers and improve its affinity.

Strategic product placement, a commitment to sustainability, and ethical practices have helped the company enhance brand loyalty and attract a broader consumer base.

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