How much do the world's big brands have to fear from militant anti-capitalist protestors? Do their shock tactics represent merely fringe fanaticism? Or beneath the tip is there an iceberg of public restlessness that companies would do well to heed asks Sue Leavy First the new protestors trashed Seattle as the WTO gathered, to highlight fears about globalisation of the manufacturing base. Then the Reclaim the Streets mob expressed their dislike of the capitalist motor car by disrupting London. And then young people took their righteous indignation to the IMF gathering in Prague. Other protestors have put across the way they feel by trashing McDonald's restaurants. So where next for the new rebels? The Sainsbury down your road? That's not as daft as it may first sound. The antics of the anti-capitalist mobs are just another sign ­ albeit extreme and ultra-violent ­ that we are living in an age where consumers are increasingly calling the shots. We all have the potential to become suburban revolutionaries. And thanks to the internet we can now join with like minded revolutionaries' to attack those we perceive as operating against our interest ­ whatever the issue. For the manufacturers of big brands, the nascent backlash against globalisation should be making them very nervous ­ because it's a sign of what's to come. And if they're not worried, they should be ­ before it's too late. Okay, ordinary shoppers are clearly not going to ransack supermarkets to display their contempt for these global behemoths. But they will make their point by stealth ­ by simply refusing to buy. Their reasons for boycotting products will be varied ­ they may be against GMOs or in favour of ethical trading ­ but there's no doubt that a major issue will be a perceived insensitivity to local culture. Professor Tim Lang from the Centre for Food Policy at Thames Valley University believes it is time for global brand owners to take a different view of world events and to try to find some empathy for consumers' day-to-day lives. "The food industry is too bent on business and not interested enough in history or even reading the newspapers," he says. "The anti-McDonald's wave shows that people are very angry about perceived lack of sensitivities as food and cultural identity are very closely linked. "Those advertisers and marketers that sold us the idea of the global brand are now seeing the whirlwind coming back. What happened in France (see box, p46) was the result of intelligent people in action, it was symbolic and it touched a nerve." Lang believes consumers are much more aware of the influence of the big multinational corporations behind the brands and claims that companies are displaying the power of "a new baronial class". He says: "Companies are the new governments. You see governments bending over backwards to help them and this has not been lost on some consumers." And it is this influence that has led directly to what he calls the hypermarket economy as opposed to the market economy ­ giving less not more real choice for shoppers. "People are realising their choices are fairly thin. There may be acres of items to select, but there is a difference between selection and choice and people now realise that capitalism has given them a superficial choice," he adds. Daniel Stedman Jones of the think tank Demos believes that cultural change is a major reason why many consumers are becoming more vociferous about what products they will or will not buy ­ and why. A major factor, he says, is that people have become disillusioned with politics or "depoliticised". And as society has become more affluent, the priorities of economic survival and security have been replaced by other concerns. "The politics of globalisation increasingly focus attention and political action on the behaviour of corporations and potential of citizen action, combined with media campaigning, to bring about political change," he says. "This shift is consistent with the growing influence of consumption patterns in shaping people's sense of identity and self-image, and with the declining importance of traditional class divisions in many countries." A company's reputation and its perceived ethics are also going to have a greater influence on consumers' buying habits. Lang says: "Big brands have the capability to commit suicide. For every consumer revolt there are those that just stop purchasing ­ we should never underestimate the capacity of brands to do this." Dr Frank Furedi of the University of Kent believes that recent anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist campaigns are, in fact, a passing fashion, although with a certain resonance among a small minority. But he claims that consumers are seeking out more variety in their food and identify with organisations such as the Slow Food movement (see below) and farmers' markets. "Hi-tech food production can lead to the disappearance of certain processes and ingredients and that's why these organisations have a resonance with middle class consumers in the UK," says Furedi. "There is now greater demand for different variations in food among the western middle classes and they are concerned with issues such as their food tasting better and it being safe to eat. "It is only a matter of time before the entire food market has to alter because of these demands for more specific kinds of food. Eating has changed and become part of our cultural identity and that's why greater demands are being made." A leading advocate of the new politics' is the young polemicist Naomi Klein, whose attack on the brand name culture, No Logo, is shortly to be reissued in a new edition in Britain. In the book, Klein develops the argument that global companies claim to support diversity but their version of "corporate multiculturalism" is merely intended to create more buying options for consumers. And she also looks at the workers that keep these companies running, most of whom, she claims, never have any share in the rewards. The thesis of the book is that resistance is growing and the backlash against the brands has set in with kids in the inner cities learning about abusive labour practices and astronomical mark-ups following sweat shop manufacture. She refers to sports clothing manufacturers, but mud of this sort can stick. In the UK, a report for the Co-operative Bank, including new research by MORI entitled Who Are The Ethical Consumers?', claims that roughly one in six shoppers say they frequently buy or boycott products because of a brand or manufacturer's reputation. These active' consumers cross most socio-political boundaries and they are not defined by party political affiliations, social class, age or gender. The report divides consumers into five groups: the Do What I Can'; the Look After My Own'; the Conscientious Consumers'; the Gobal Watchdogs'; and the Brand Generation'. The Brand Generation will have a strong influence on brands in the future. A third of this group are under 25 and they are the group most concerned with brand names, product quality and value for money. They rarely recycle, even though a third of them look for recycled goods in the shops, but their awareness as consumers means they feel powerful and they discuss issues with friends and colleagues. They want more information and believe they can make a difference, and as their buying power grows, they could expand the ethical market significantly, claims the report. Indeed, ethical brands are a small but growing force in some products ­ Fairtrade coffee such as cafédirect now has 3% of the UK market. A recent survey across 25 countries found that social responsibility was the most influential factor in public impressions of companies, and one in five consumers reported actively rewarding or punishing a company for its perceived social performance. According to Lang, the size of global brands is what makes them particularly vulnerable to being boycotted on ethical grounds. All it can take is one wrong move or dubious business decision, and the whole world knows about it. "The fact that they are big brands makes them intrinsically vulnerable just look at what is happening to Ford at the moment because of its tyre problem. Food companies should be wary of this arrogance because people just stop buying," he says. And, he believes, that many brands are also misguided when it comes to the idea of customer loyalty. "Brands should realise that they have to meet consumers halfway and become less arrogant and more humble. Loyalty to brands is much thinner than the brand specialists think it is. They confuse routine purchasing with an intrinsic belief structure," he says. "The act of consumption is superficial." Procter & Gamble was the recent victim of a global boycott organised by Uncaged Campaigns an anti-vivisection pressure group based in Sheffield. Conducted over the internet, the group provided a list of P&G brands that they urged the public to boycott, from obvious products such as Pantene Pro-v and Oil of Olay to Sunny Delight and Pringles. The protest was Uncaged's longest-running campaign and soon grew to become worldwide, culminating in a Global Boycott of P&G Day on March 25. P&G refused to comment on Uncaged's campaign and boycott and would not say what effect, if any, it had had on business. Many big brand owners, when questioned, do not appear worried by the threat of a consumer backlash. Major corporations such as Unilever and Heinz claim they are already tailoring products to local markets and admit they would be foolish not to. "Although Unilever is the grand banner, a lot of our products are tailored for particular markets even down to the names and the ingredients," says a Unilever spokesman. "Our local companies try to respond to local needs and conduct their own research and feed back information all the time to the global headquarters. The local companies are instructed on these trends and how to respond to them." Eric Salomon, general manager of corporate marketing and communications, European grocery at Heinz, believes the future of global brands will be safe as long as the individual needs of local markets are still a priority. And if those selling the brands are aware of the right audiences. "Major brands can continue to operate successfully across the globe, as long as you handle them in a responsible and sensitive manner," he says. "You need to identify your target audience correctly. As research from the Henley Centre has shown, there are only really two global target audiences out there: international businessmen and women and teens, adolescents and young adults." {{COVER FEATURE }}