iris’ latest research study, exploring how Participation Brands are designing content and experiences to suit modern consumers’ lives.

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THE CONTEXT

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89% of advertising not noticed or remembered at
all.
£515 billion per annum wasted on ‘wallpaper’.
Audiences who either don’t like you, ignore you or
actively block you.
Is marketing today an impossible job?
DISENGAGEMENT
IS A MAJOR ISSUE
FOR MARKETERS
Remembered positively
Remembered negatively
Wasn’t noticed or remembered
ADVERTISING/MARKETING GREAT BRITAIN
TOTAL SPEND £18.3 BILLION
GLOBAL MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS
(MOBILE ADBLOCKING BROWSERS)
Source: Page Fair 2016
198M
237M
270M
334M
376M
Jan 2015 April 2015 July 2015 Oct 2015 Jan 2016
Source: Dave Trott, ‘Predatory Thinking’ 2

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But a new breed of brand is not just surviving,
but thriving.
They are ingraining themselves in our lives and
culture more successfully than ever before.
They are Participation Brands.
PARTICIPATION
BRANDS ARE
DIFFERENT
ADVERTISING/MARKETING GREAT BRITAIN
TOTAL SPEND £18.3 BILLION
GLOBAL MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS
(MOBILE ADBLOCKING BROWSERS)
Source: Page Fair 2016
Source: Dave Trott, ‘Predatory Thinking’ 2

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Consumers are increasingly able to live their
life within their own networks, on their own
terms, without the need for brands to tell
them what to think and do.
They therefore respond only to brand
experiences that feel less like marketing and
more like culture; that feel like they come
from their world, not a brand’s world.
.
THEY
UNDERSTAND
THAT BRANDS
DON’T
INFLUENCE
PEOPLE, PEOPLE
DO.

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Audiences are actively participating with and
promoting the brands they feel actively enhance
their lifestyles.
The brands mobilising their market in this way
are the ones developing products, services and
marketing that add value to popular culture,
their passion points and the communities they
want to develop relations with.
How do they do this? The Participation Brand
Index is designed to explore this.
AND GET THEIR
MARKET
DOING THE
MARKETING

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THE STUDY

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That’s why our campaigns are designed around
consumers first and foremost.
They’re about the stuff that people are truly
interested in and value; popular culture, their
passion points, the friends and communities
that they want to develop relationships with,
new tools and ideas that help them live their
lives in more exciting and efficient ways.
Their campaigns that are super engaging and
shareable. So your market will participate - and
help do your marketing for you - growing your
reach and impact exponentially.
THE PARTICIPATION
BRAND INDEX

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HOW IT WORKS
PERSONALISATION
INVOLVEMENT
PERFORMANCE MEASURESEMOTIONAL RESPONSE
EXPERIENCE
PURPOSE
POP CULTURE
DATA
AUTHENTICITY
LIFESTYLE
PERSONALITY
SHOPPING
CONTENT
INFLUENCE
INNOVATION
5 MARKETS, 177 BRANDS, 6 SECTORS
A quantitative survey was
completed by a nationally
representative sample in 5
markets across the
globe: USA, UK, Brazil,
Thailand and Australia.
A total of 14,000 consumers
revealed their buying habits
and emotional responses to
a set of brands across six
sectors. They then answered
in depth questions relating to
the brand’s role in their
lifestyles and wider culture
including topics from
innovation to purpose.

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RETURN ON
INVOLVEMEN
T
The study revealed a strong
relationship between consumer
involvement and a brand’s ability to
command a premium and drive
memorability.
The study also shows a correlation
between participation and NPS.
Every 8 points achieved on the
Participation Brand Index is worth a
1 point increase in NPS.

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A 3 year investment in the top 20
global brands in the Participation
Brand Index would have earned a
return 4 times that of the bottom
20 brands.
An investment in the top 10
brands in the Index would have
produced a return double that of
the S&P 500 each year over the
past 3 years.
PARTICIPATION
BRANDS
OUTPERFORM
THE MARKET
A 3 year investment in the top 20 global
brands in the Participation Brand Index
would have earned a return 4 times that
of the bottom 20 brands.
An investment in the top 10 brands in the
Index would have produced a return
double that of the S&P 500 each year
over the past 3 years.

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THE TOP
GLOBAL
BRANDS
Number 1
brand
Number 1 brand for
Millennials
Number 1 Auto
Number 1
Travel
Number 1
Retail
Number 1
FMCG
Number 1
Alcohol

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THE PILLARS
OF
PARTICIPATI
ON

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1. PASSIONATE PURPOSE
More than just a position in the category or a point of view on the world,
a driving force behind all brand behaviour that gives everything you do
an authentic passion, purpose and potency

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1/ PASSIONATE PURPOSE
More than just a position in the category or a point of view on the world,
a driving force behind all brand behaviour that gives everything you do
an authentic passion, purpose and potency
2. CULTURE SHAPING
All brands today are busy trying to borrow from or surf culture. If you want to really cut through you have to bring
something genuinely fresh to the party and act more like a cool host than an overbearing guest.

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1/ PASSIONATE PURPOSE
More than just a position in the category or a point of view on the world,
a driving force behind all brand behaviour that gives everything you do
an authentic passion, purpose and potency
3. PEOPLE POWERED
Celebrating and involving real people can’t be just a bolt-on to campaign development. It’s a fundamental pillar of
modern brand building if you want to drive affinity , adoption and advocacy. We will always strive to find relevant
ways to help brands feel ‘of’, not just ‘for’ their audience.

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4. CATEGORY INNOVATING
It’s easy for cultural marketing to get disconnected from the role of your product in people’s lives and the ultimate
job of helping them buy. We look to bring all this together to ensure you’re offering something more interesting,
exciting and relevant in the context of the consumer relationship.

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1/ PASSIONATE PURPOSE
More than just a position in the category or a point of view on the world,
a driving force behind all brand behaviour that gives everything you do
an authentic passion, purpose and potency
5. DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER
A truly distinctive character allows people to quickly, instinctively recognise and feel affinity for a brand. The most
powerful are multi-faceted , provocative and reinforced simply through body language and iconography in every
brand experience.

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THE DATA Example: UK data

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Example: UK data
THE DATA

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For more information
contact enquiries@iris-worldwide.com
For more stories visit
www.participationindex.iris-worldwide.com