The overdose of advertising has led to immunity to conventional marketing techniques provoking the need for new concepts and ideas to cut through the marketing clutter. The new emphasis is no longer on push but on pull marketing, harnessing the buyer's requirements and responding in a quick and efficient manner to his demands.

Another factor that has only served to exacerbate the failure of traditional marketing methods is that consumers have become increasingly savvy. They are increasingly aware of the psychological and often manipulative tools used by marketing agencies and have consequently built up a certain resistance and cynicism to the incessant marketing background-noise. It is thus not surprising that many leading executives of global companies such as A.G. Lafley, CEO of Procter&Gamble or Sergio Zyman former CEO of Coca-Cola, have called for a complete overhaul of marketing models and how these marketing models are applied. The question however remains unanswered; how and in which direction are new marketing paradigms going to develop?


The Birth of InteraCT

The new EDHEC marketing research centre InteraCT aims to respond to these paradigm shifts in the world of marketing. Structured along the same lines as the highly successful EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre, InteraCT intends to emulate their accomplishments. InteraCT has set itself the objective of understanding hidden dimensions of consumer behaviour and developing new methods of analysis to contribute to marketing practices. The name Interact was coined to highlight the fundamental aspect of interaction which takes place between the product and marketing on the one hand, and the consumer on the other; an area which up until now had been largely disregarded by traditional marketing techniques.

Interaction with the customer has to be placed at the centre of any new marketing theory in order for companies to fully take advantage of the hidden dimensions which ultimately determine a consumer's behaviour. Recent marketing success stories have built on this shift in the marketing domain, but have done so intuitively. In terms of brands, for example, it is no longer about developing labels based around an emotional advantage, seduction or a product's added value, but rather around social myths (Nike, Puma, Danone or Leclerc). In the area of product innovation, Procter & Gamble's Swiffer and Findus's innovation policy are examples of the need to focus on an analysis of consumer behaviour rather than on the consumer needs as identified by the consumers themselves. It is this perspective that gives rise to the innovation that is capable of renewing economic growth.

InteraCT has set itself the goal of extending this vision of a shift in marketing trends by giving it a sound theoretical foundation. The perspective of this work is one of research and development: research, which will combine EDHEC's reputation of quality and its academic rigour, and development, in that its findings will be applied to companies needs. Its aim, among others, will be to explore this hidden dimension of consumption and propose new development tools adapted to the new context of today's markets.


Two main factors influencing the new approach

Gael Bonnin, marketing professor at EDHEC and director of the new market research centre InteraCT, underlined the necessity for such a new approach to the marketing discipline and highlighted two main reasons for the shifts. The first was the academic reason;  the shift in marketing and consumer research, toward a growing recognition of the socio-cultural dimensions of consumer behaviour and the active role of the individual in the process of value creation. The second reason was managerial, distinguishing the need for a move away from traditional "Kotlerian" marketing methods which have proven ineffective in providing disruptive innovations in offerings or in marketing action.

In order to define these hidden dimensions of consumer behaviour the InteraCT research centre intends to investigate theories which are often obvious but which sometimes don't appear apparent to the marketer. One such concept is the idea of appropriation: This is a major dimension of relationship to a place (a store, a web site), a product, a brand, an advert, but which has not been purposefully taken in to account by marketing managers. By applying this mechanism, major improvements could be affected to marketing campaigns. Another means of analysing these hidden elements of consumer behaviour is the use of new data collection and data analysis methods: e.g. observation and semiotic analysis have been used to understand the meaning of a shopper's physical behaviour in store, and will help make more pertinent design decisions.

Other areas of research that InteraCT will undertake and which are coherent with the guidelines above include: the role of design and appropriation in hotel experience, the anti-constellation of products, CRM: a comparison between marketers and consumers' points of view. The results will be published in leading international research journals within 3 years.


InteraCT: The driving force behind new marketing practices

The applied research will be done in conjunction with firms which will further enhance EDHECs continued commitment to providing industry with truly ground-breaking research. Indeed the aim of InteraCT is to shape new marketing practices through collaboration with partner firms - not merely to identify and measure new practices but to ultimately provide the driving force behind them.

The InteraCT centre has research as its prime goal,mainly but it also plans to produce other material with its findings. (state of the art data collection and data analysis). After three years the research centre aims to publish a book of its findings which will coincide with the organisation of a conference Business Insight from InteraCT.

Pr. Philippe du Jardin, Programme Director of the MSc in Marketing Management is confident of the rewards that such a centre is likely to bring to the MSc in Marketing programme. "Much as with the Risk and Asset Management Centre, InteraCT will reflect positively on EDHEC as a leading institution in research into marketing. This is bound to be beneficial in attracting new students. They will see that the EDHEC is instrumental in redefining marketing as a concept and will consequently want to become part of this ground-breaking culture."