On-line social networks are giving rise to a new power in the world, and it's in the hands of millions, believes Dr Desmond O'Rourke, CEO of world fruit market analyst company Belrose Inc.

What he calls the ‘Peer Network' is challenging the power of both governments and big corporations.

There was a time when control was with those who could amass a lot of capital – such as big corporate, or a lot of power – such as governments, but that is being challenged, he told the Zespri Momentum conference in October.

'Electronic links and social media enable people of all ages and all around the world to be connected all the time. Peer networks are an uncontrolled ocean of ideas.

'Each person on Facebook tells their own story about who they are, what they prefer. Most stories are concocted. There is a flood of gossip, true and untrue. Often the most influential is the untrue. Feelings, philosophies, persuasions – these are flying round globe and ideas can go viral overnight and even affect election results.”

There was speculation that social networks were among the catalyst for the uprising called the Arab Spring, which saw governments overthrown and upheaval and war in the Middle East.

Desmond said when it came to marketing, it would be the companies which learned to harness peer networks which prospered in a rapidly changing world.

'We don't yet know the potential destructive power of social media. People are organising folks of similar interest through cheap mobile phones.”

Consumer goods marketers are desperate to harness peer networks like Facebook, You Tube and Twitter.

'Countries like New Zealand and organisations like Zespri, which are tens of thousands of miles from their consumers, need to learn how to manage social networks to reach consumers.”
Zespri had shown it was up to meeting market challenges, he said. 'What Zespri has done with kiwifruit marketing in Japan has been amazing. Japan has absorbed continuing volumes of New Zealand kiwifruit and Zespri Gold is one of the big success stories in produce in the past few years.

'Prior to 2000 there was one product, green kiwifruit, then came gold kiwifruit and Zespri did a remarkable job because gold complemented the green volumes without depressing the price for green in any substantive a way. That was a remarkable achievement.”

The challenge for Zespri now as gold Hort16A is phased out because of the disease Psa-V, is to phase in new cultivars and market them as successfully as it did the original gold fruit, retaining a premium price without damaging the green kiwifruit market.

'Do not underestimate the challenge the kiwifruit industry faces to do this magic trick.” However, the New Zealand industry has all the ingredients to move ahead and build an industry which will be successful for the next 20 to 30 years, he said.
Societal changes are causing a decline in the mass market in most of the developed world. 'The mass market is less and less relevant. Society is less and less homogeneous."
How to reach consumers is becoming increasingly complex. 'The unifying power of the mass media, TV and newspaper has gone. Some countries have 200 to 300 TV channels. Many young people don't read newspapers, don't watch the network news, but get information from the internet or smart phone. The way in which people communicate has become fractionated. Gone is the single mass market to send messages to a large group people.”

The relentless advance of technologies such as robotics, nanotechnology and genetic engineering cannot be ignored, Desmond said.

Robots are used to harvest apples and many packhouses now replace humans with robots.

Opposition to genetic engineering and nanotechnology is often ill-informed and while the medical profession has embraced GE, agriculture has been slow to.

'Genetic engineering has a role to play in feeding the world's population. GE has got problems but can provide solutions to many of the problems we have in the food industry, so it is really crucial to look at each new technology.”

GE has been ‘so polluted in the minds of the public', it is difficult to change attitudes.

'If we are to have nine billion people to feed, GE is one way to increase productivity.”

The retail sector is also changing, Desmond said. Since the recession of 2008 there has been an over-capacity of retailers and many were now ‘defending their turf' against other retailers, including online companies like Amazon.

'Some are asking suppliers how much they will invest in promotion and packaging and asking for a unique supply.”
They want joint marketing initiatives and unique packaging distinct from their competition, which might be a problem for a single point entry marketer like Zespri. 'When it comes to apples, some retail chains are looking for their own unique varieties that no-one else has, to give them a competitive advantage.”