Strategies for Selling More, Considered Through "Dual AISAS".

To respond to rapidly changing consumer mindsets and behaviors, many companies are actively challenging themselves with new communication approaches. However, numerous cases show that despite capturing limited consumer attention and generating some buzz, crucial sales growth often falls short of expectations.

In an era where everything is networked and all information flows through networks, traditional communication planning increasingly proves ineffective. This series will explain the "Dual AISAS" consumer behavior model proposed by Dentsu Inc. Promotion Design Bureau as a potential solution, and further introduce its application in communication planning.

What is the AISAS Model?

First, let's review the AISAS model, originally proposed by Dentsu Inc. in 2004.

AISAS is a consumer behavior model that replaced the previously used AIDMA model, emerging alongside the rise of active consumers who independently search for and share information.

While AIDMA represented a "one-way" model between companies disseminating information and consumers receiving it, AISAS added the active consumer behaviors of Search and Share. This shifted the relationship to an "interactive" one where companies and consumers engage with each other. Furthermore, the model incorporates the entire consumer journey, extending beyond the Action phase to include the sharing of experiences.

Later, in Ryuhei Akiyama's 2007 book "Information Explosion: How Communication Design Will Change" (Sendenkaigi), it was written that as we enter an "information overload era" where information circulating far exceeds consumers' information consumption capacity, consumers' limited Attention becomes the bottleneck of consumption, leading companies to compete fiercely for that Attention.

Furthermore, as cross-media planning strategies for this era of information overload, the book explains two marketing programs: "Attention Marketing" (to get consumers to catch and focus on information about the company's products) and "Penetration Marketing" (to get consumers to feel the company's products match their needs and deepen their interest).

What is the Dual AISAS Model?

Ten years after the introduction of AISAS, as consumers and networks became more closely intertwined, consumers began circulating various types of consumption-related information through networks, intensifying the battle for attention. The Dual AISAS Model incorporates new consumption behaviors related to attention into the existing AISAS framework. By clearly defining the information flowing within the model and the nature of consumer interest, it more accurately represents current consumption behavior.

Therefore, the Dual AISAS Model positions the original AISAS as the "I want to buy" AISAS purchasing model and adds the information diffusion model revolving around Attention as the "I want to spread" A+ISAS.

The "A+ISAS for 'Want to Spread'" that complements Attention

First, let's explain the "A+ISAS for 'Wanting to Spread'" model. The ISAS loop surrounding the initial A:Attention in the traditional AISAS model primarily refers to information from social media and communication apps. As you likely experience as consumers, when you encounter information within your network that sparks your interest, simply accumulating it becomes insufficient. Adding your own emotions to that information and "sharing/broadcasting" it via social media has become commonplace.

Then, third parties connected to the original sharer in private networks receive not just the original information but also the sharer's emotions. This elevates the information into something "unignorable = possessing strong attention-grabbing power." We named this stage "Accept." Furthermore, this third party becomes a new sender, causing the information to "Spread" to their own network. Sometimes mediated through digital platforms like curated media, it enters the private networks of other consumers, accelerating its reach.

Thus, information obtained from consumers' private networks has gained value as "information that cannot be ignored," rivaling or even surpassing mass advertising. We added the ISAS Loop to emphasize the importance of this current reality, where it competes with mass advertising for consumer attention (and should be designed by companies to complement mass advertising).

Interest in Communication vs. Interest in Products

Another distinction worth clarifying is the difference in the information flowing through the "AISAS for 'Want to Buy'" and the "A+ISAS for 'Want to Spread'" models, and the nature of the consumer interest associated with each. In the Dual AISAS Model, the "AISAS for 'Want to Buy'" is conceived as a flow deepening engagement toward purchasing a product or service. Therefore, the information searched and shared here pertains to the product itself—information about the product, service, or brand experience. In other words, consumers in the AISAS flow constitute the "product interest group."

In contrast, the "A+ISAS for 'Want to Spread'" is seen as a flow where consumers feel relevance to the communication around the product or service and expand its reach. The information disseminated here is often more aligned with consumer interests than the product or service itself. Examples include participatory ad campaigns, viral videos, co-creation promotions, and other communication initiatives or marketing-related information. Consumers in the A+ISAS flow are thus considered the "Communication Interest Group."

Organizing it this way offers insight into the initial challenge: "Traditional communication planning no longer works." Even when ads and promotions achieve their intended awareness and generate reasonable buzz, if core sales barely move, it can be explained by the 'A+ISAS of 'Want to Spread'' expanding the 'Communication-Interested Segment' but failing to effectively convert them into the 'Product-Interested Segment' of the 'AISAS of 'Want to Buy''.

Traditional AISAS models treated consumer interest as a single entity, failing to distinguish between the two interests described here (interest in the communication and interest in the product). Consequently, they assumed that increasing interest in the communication would automatically increase interest in the product. However, the Dual AISAS Model posits that these two interests are not automatically linked; they must be strategically connected.

The Importance of Activate

Therefore, we incorporated the "key" moment of transformation from the "communication interest group" to the "product interest group" – a crucial theme for achieving marketing objectives – as "Activate" (activation), making it the A in A+ISAS.

This represents the point where consumers, triggered by some event, begin consciously acting toward purchasing the product. Understanding the mechanism behind this trigger is critically important.

So, what constitutes an effective strategy to fulfill the Activate function? While we must accumulate case studies and verification going forward, we believe one trigger is making the "reasons for purchase" held by existing customers explicit and discoverable to the communication interest group. For example, enabling the communication interest group to access information on usage experiences or brand experiences from customers already using the product via digital platforms. This includes mechanisms like reviews and ratings, showcasing compelling user introductions, and effectively communicating previously undiscovered product usage scenarios.

Re-examining consumer behavior through the Dual AISAS Model reveals that successful communication planning to achieve Key Goal Indicators (KGIs) requires not only a big idea but also meticulous design that strategically attracts and links the two distinct interests present in consumers.

 

※The Dual AISAS Model was conceived by Yuichi Arisono of Atara LLC and further developed and refined in collaboration with Mr. Arisono at Dentsu Inc. Promotion Design Bureau.

※For inquiries regarding the Dual AISAS Model, contact Dentsu Inc. Promotion Design Bureau (Sakuta, Yajima, Akagi, Sugita) at もしくはdual-aisas@dentsu.co.jpまで.