Advertising that taps into consumers’ passions is likely to deliver greater online engagement, leading to brand loyalty and advocacy, according to new research from Yahoo and MediaVest.
The study indicates that highly engaged consumers called “Passionistas” are much more likely than typical consumers to create and share content online about their passions and the brands associated with them.
By tapping into the power of Passionistas, marketers have a unique opportunity to engage these credible, influential advocates to spread brand messages through digital media.
The study, “Passionistas: The New Empowered Consumers,” tracked the online behavior of consumers with specific passions including health, sports, food and entertainment. It showed that Passionistas spend significantly more time engaged in activities related to their passions than the average consumer.
“Passionistas are natural advocates and are already online creating and sharing content about their passions and brands that align with them,” said Edwin Wong, director of customer insight at Yahoo. “If marketers approach campaigns with the idea of being a resource for someone’s passion, they can drive strong brand association and affinity with that passion in an authentic way.”
For every one minute a typical Internet user spends online with the same content, Passionistas spend six minutes. Passionistas visit sites related to their interest three times more often than a typical user and search online for information about their passion 184 percent more than typical users.
In addition, Passionistas engage with communities of like-minded consumers who use e-mail, text messaging and instant messaging significantly more than typical users, and are more likely to create and share user-generated content online such as photos, blog posts or videos about their passions.
Because of their engagement with sharing information about their passions through digital media, Passionistas are natural brand advocates and 52 percent more likely than typical users to recommend or influence others about brands aligned with them.
