The ritualistic Asian

Regional - Asian consumer behaviour tends to be much more ritualised than that of the rest of the world, according to a new study by BBDO, which is a useful insight for marketers to consider when planning marketing strategies.

"We are focused on behavior, both as a source of insight and for defining goals and strategies," Andrew Robertson, President and CEO, BBDO Worldwide.said in a statement. "The idea here is to look at rituals as an important behavior in consumers' lives, to understand what they are, how they work, and how to work our clients' brands into them. We usually look at behavior through the lens of a brand or a category. This is an extra lens to look through.  Not an alternative."

Chinese (96%) in particular were more prone to have clearly fixed and sequenced morning routines, followed by Indians (90%) and Japanese (77%) - the global average was 79%. The study also revealed that Chinese (92%) and Indians (82%) were the most likely to get irritated if their rituals were disrupted - the global average for this category was only at 69%.

"These figures are startling, and underlines the extent of the challenge that marketers face trying to persuade consumers to adopt new behaviours of consumption during their day - but once your brand is accepted into a ritual, it will reap huge rewards," Andy Wilson, regional planning director for BBDO SE Asia said in a statement.

According to the study, rituals are a defined series of actions that move people emotionally from one place to another and are sequences developed over time. The study focused on the five universal rituals performed by people around the world. The rituals include ‘preparing for battle' which is the transformation consumers undergo to ready themselves for the day, ‘feasting' is the pleasure of eating which transforms us from alone to connected, ‘sexing up' refers to a highly pleasurable and indulgent ritual that transforms us, ‘returning to camp' is that moment consumers unwind and exhale, and ‘protecting yourself for the future' which is the last ritual of the day, moving us from relaxed to feeling safe and secure before the next day begins.

"All too often marketers want to emphasise a brand or product's functional advantage whilst overlooking the role they could be playing as vital transformation points in the daily rhythm of a person's day," Wilson said.

The study titled ‘The Ritual Masters', involved ethnographic research in 26 countries, with quantitative feedback from more than 5,000 people as well as interviews with psychologists, nutritionists and sociologists.