Warm vodka and sweating women

Using conventional consumer surveys, Univer had failed to increase its sales in the Russian market as expected. They have however, found another method which can help to form a realistic picture of consumers. Our report from the Esomar conference held inMilan. This case study was a great success at the Esomar conference held this May, under the title „Knowledge of consumers 2007”. At first, nobody understood the title of the presentation: „Warm vodka and sweating women”. Later on, it was explained by Jaroslav Cir that the title is reference to a Russian joke: “What is even worse than a nuclear war? The answer: Warm vodka and sweating women”. “- I use deodorants on a daily basis – said a consumer called Tatiana and we believed her. We had also done quantitative research which showed that the majority of Russians use deodorants on a regular basis. Sales figures however, did not confirm the data from surveys. The average Russian consumer only uses half a can a of deodorant per year, whereas English consumers for example, use five cans. Have Russian consumers lied? Yes, they have and not for the first time. They had also lied during communism and this pattern of behaviour has become a practical attitude to anybody who is seen as having power.” The above extract is from a case study prepared by Greg Rowland, owner of a consulting business and Jaroslav Cir, director of global marketing and consumer information of Unilever Rexona. We are convinced that consumer behaviour is determined by cultural factors and processes, most of which act sub-consciously. Instead of probing the depths of consumers’ minds, we decided to try to decode everyday culture using semiotics, ethnography and qualitative research. When researchers visited Tatiana, their Russian consumer, they saw that she did in deed have a deodorant in her home. The fact that they were unable to remove its cap and that it was kept in the living room revealed however, that it is not used on a daily basis. Semiotics played a role in research by identifying codes related to Rexona and the characteristics of the Russian concept of beauty and femininity. Major differences between Western and Eastern consumption had been revealed. – We encourage consumers to use Rexona on a daily basis, like in the Western model. It should not be reserved for special events – said Jaroslav Cir. The target group is composed of women like Tatiana, who live in large cities and have a medium income. Univer does not test its advertisements made using consumer research in Russia. As they have worked out their communication strategy with the consumers themselves and people who know consumers better than they know themselves, they are confident that it will be successful.