Let's get personal - why personalisation is the biggest consumer trend of 2018

The degrees of separation between brand and consumer used to be multiple, now consumers are just a tweet away. This closeness has enabled a more personalised interaction, giving brands a personality with which consumers can interact with exactly how they would with an IRL (in real life) friend.

Yoliswa Mqoco with her own personalised Drostdy Hof 3l box

Internationally, marketers have been gearing towards delivering more personalised experiences in real time. According to Econsultancy's 2018 Digital Trends survey report, 36% of respondents interviewed in their survey cited personalisation as the marketing technology prospect they are most excited about over the next three years. Additionally, Econsultancy has also stated that “40% of consumers buy more from retailers who personalise the shopping experience”, making personalisation more important than ever before for brands who want to connect with their consumers.

As consumers become savvier, less committed to brands, and more committed to their own brand, making a real connection with them has become a very delicate matter. Consumers want to see that brands genuinely connect with them, and really understand them, aligning with their own personal belief system, tastes and communication styles.

Personalisation, gives the consumer an opportunity to connect themselves with the brand in a way that they want to, rather than the brand trying to force a connection with them. The opportunity to interact and personalise with a brand is very powerful but the communication regarding the invitation is incredibly delicate, speaking to the consumer authentically as well as maintaining the spirit of the product, increasing the strength of the messaging as well as the interactivity of the personalisation.

The first prize for a brand is to see their consumer engaging with the product based solely on association with them. This is first prize, but is not usually the main take out for a consumer. The things that will likely interest them is if the opportunity to personalise, lives up to that exact word: Personalisation. This can be done by giving consumers a chance to interact with a product that not only looks great, but also allows them to personalise themselves with the product in a way that best aligns with who they are. Ideally, the brand’s idea for personalisation should also live IRL as well as online.

The Drostdy Hof #CaptureYourMoments campaign, which launches in August, involves a simple online mechanic. It allows consumers to share their special moments by visiting the Drostdy Hof mobi site drostdyhof.com/captureyourmoments/, uploading their favourite moments from the photo library or by taking a photo on their mobile device, adding a filter and then downloading the photograph and sharing it on social media with Drostdy Hof and the world. The shared content from the campaign is then brought to life as a select number of participants stand a chance to be featured on digital billboards and on the Drostdy Hof 3L limited edition packs, which will be available in 2019.

“It's an exciting time to be involved in smart, generous marketing, and personalisation is certainly a part of that. Drostdy Hof intends on being at the very cutting edge of consumer brand innovation,” says Frans Booysen, Marketing Manager of Accessible Wines at Distell.

To further facilitate the sharing of everyday experiences and to give fans a preview of what the limited edition packs could potentially look like, Drostdy Hof partnered with sociable, trendy influencers, including Nolitha Lindwa, Melody Molale and Yoliswa Mqoco to create their very own limited edition pack. “Drostdy Hof has reminded me why I, like so many other Drostdy Hof fans take photos and post them to social media - we want to capture the story of a special moment in time. I love that my favourite moments now live on my favourite product,” says Yoliswa Mqoco.

As the personalisation trend grows, brand can expect to grow closer to their consumers and reap huge benefits, if done correctly.

RSP: Between R100 and R130 per 3L box of Drostdy Hof wine