MANILA, PHILIPPINES —Every year, Havas Ortega shares a global prosumer report anchoring on insights from worldwide consumers who are advanced in terms of thinking, preferences, and trends in the global market.
This year, sustainability is the battlecry of Havas in their “REACT Prosumer Report.” In it, 86 percent of Filipino prosumers believe that they can make a difference through the posts they put out, the knowledge they share among their peers and friends alike.
Issues such as water and air pollution, global warming, resource depletion rank highly in the concerns of prosumers. Hence, prosumers deem that now is the time to be stringent activists.
Ease of activism
Unlike in the generations prior, activism today is as easy as signing petitions or using a dedicated hashtag, says the report.
In particular, the #MeToo movement, eco-activism sparked by Greta Thunberg have gained significant traction and sent a signal globally that radical action is the key.
In particular, Havas Ortega group identified three interpretations of radical action: I’m IN!; Let’s MOVE!, and; FORWARD, we march!
I’m IN!
This refers to the prosumers’ shift from passive observation to involvement. This resonates to the extent of media exaggerating the gravity of the planet’s situation; optimism in the little daily actions leading to make a difference; willingness to do volunteer work, and; participating in the circular economy.
Let’s MOVE!
Individuality also plays a role in activism. This refers to the collective pooling of individual strength. When asked about the importance of consumption vis-a-vis employment, 94 percent said that they think it is more important to consume less to save the planet while only six percent expressed the importance of saving jobs by consuming as much.
One strong statistic in the study is the realization of their consuming power than the traditional measure of influence: electoral power. Eighty one percent of prosumers believe that they have more influence on society as a consumer than a voter.
FORWARD, we march!
For prosumers, change needs reinforcement. In fact, the way to go for them is to emphasize the risk of the beauty to be lost than to focus on catastrophic consequences.
Prosumers believe that the buck does not stop with them, but everyone must do their part.
“The immediacy of that influence is just faster as a consumer. In two seconds, you can influence a friend not to get a plastic straw for her drink, unlike with elections where you have to wait for months and years to see results,” said Havas Ortega Group’s communications strategist Gian dela Cruz as he presented the agency’s findings.
Prosumers are those the agency considers as trendsetters. They are the first to try out new things and as such are the ones who are consulted by their peers for counsel and recommendations when it comes to brands, ideas, philosophies, and beliefs. The study, which was conducted in 2020, showed that 93 percent of these Filipino Prosumers think that it is their responsibility to make a difference in the world.
