The ‘Age of Emotional Proximity’ is upon us!
That’s according to exclusive Marketing Week research from Opinion Leader, part of Chime Research and Engagement Division. The company claims that when it comes to marketing, deference is giving way to reference as peer recommendation becomes the all-powerful driver for consumers.
Where the opinions of friends and family are now paramount, opinions on forums and social networks are also seen as trusted sources of information. This is supported by recent research from Nielsen Online in the UK, which suggests that while the top ten internet sites account for nearly half of total web browsing, the most heavily used brand is Facebook, which accounts for 13% of the UK’s internet time.
Opinion Leader co-founder Viki Cooke explains that the “trend has been accelerated by the rapid growth of the internet and increasing popularity of social networking. For consumers, gathering the opinions of people only loosely connected to them is now simpler than ever.” For brands, she says: “Now is the time to get out there and be a part of people’s lives and empathise with them.”
