What assures consumers? – A framework to support consumers and build responsible marketing practice

AccountAbility and the National Consumer Council (NCC), teaming up to better understand what assures the public in their purchase decision-making, would like to invite organisations to support and contribute to the research.

Following decades of research projects and studies undertaken to explore niche ethical consumerism from various angles - brought about by the rising agenda of sustainability and linked to that corporate responsibility - this research project intends to take a step back and explore the broader question of “What assures consumers?”. The aim here is to better understand drives and/ or re-assures mainstream consumers in their purchasing behaviour and decision-making (e.g. reputation, brand, labelling etc). This will include considerations of the real link between societal preferences on ethics and how this translates into purchasing action, if any, and what the pathways are to consumers and customer departments in companies being assured, again if any.

The principal output will be a concise applied research paper outlining key concepts for consideration and a framework for people-centred consumer assurance to guide practitioner activity in the field. The aim is to build smart, people-centred assurance practices that both empower consumers but also strengthen marketing performance. It will be launched via a series of workshops in early July 2006. The research paper itself will be informed by an opinion research and case interviews, which will take place between April –May 2006.

The project is sponsored by Co-operative Financial Services and Vodafone with all funds directed to AccountAbility.

Interested organisations should contact Philip Monaghan under:
[1] Philip@accountability.org.uk.