While common wisdom says that “nice guys finish last,” this is not necessarily true in the branding arena, according to new analysis from trendwatching.com. In particular, trendwatching.com says “random acts of kindness,” rather than distributing free samples or providing specific rewards for actions such as posting a positive social network review, can pay big dividends for brand marketers.

trendwatching.com says that consumers long used to distant, inflexible and self-serving corporations will gratefully receive any random act of kindness performed by a brand. Increasingly open communication between consumers and brands, especially online, make performing random acts of kindness easier than ever before.

Random Acts of Kindness Spur Positive Reactions

The Human Touch Appeals to Gen G

trendwatching.com advises there is new generation of consumers it calls Generation G (for “generosity”) who seek brands that are socially, ethically and environmentally responsible. Generation G is disgusted with traditional business priorities and practices and prefers to enjoyably interact with businesses that show compassion, personality and humanity.

Consumers Are Putting It Out There

More people are now publicly and knowingly disclosing more personal information than ever before via social networks and blogs about their daily lives, their moods or their whereabouts. All this personal information increasingly enables brands to actually know what’s happening in consumers’ lives.

Passing It On Via the Web

A random acts of kindness strategy can now be cost-efficiently applied by all brands, because rather than having to call, text or even see people personally, social networks’ streams allow users to easily broadcast information to a wide range of people without interrupting or intruding. The explosion in both the volume and reach of connections creates huge opportunities for brands that create interesting, meaningful, funny, uplifting moments that people love to share.

Social Media Creates Brand Advocates

In another example of reaching out to consumers online, retailers can use social media to turn consumers who have had a negative experience with their brand into brand advocates, according to a new report from RightNow and Harris Interactive. Data from “The Retail Consumer Report” indicates 68% of US consumers who posted a complaint or negative review of a holiday shopping experience during the 2010 holiday season were contacted by the retailer. Two-thirds (67%) of them wound up taking an action that would be considered positive for the brand. Read more at www.marketingcharts.com

Nine in 10 (91%) US email users have subscribed to a company’s email and later decided they don’t want to receive it, according to [pdf] a new report from Exact Target and CoTweet. Data from “The Social Break-up” also indicates 18% of email users say they never open email from companies, and 77% of all US online consumers say they have become more cautious in the past year about giving their email addresses to companies.

Despite the above statistics, email use in general remains extremely popular with US online consumers. A full 95% use email, and 93% subscribe to at least one permission-based email per day. Forty-two percent of those subscribers say they are more likely to buy a company’s products once they have signed up for its permission-based email.

Unsubscribe Most Common Negative Email Reaction

Study data indicates that when online consumers are no longer interested in a company’s permission-based emails, they get right to the point. Two-thirds (67%) simply unsubscribe. Another 17% delete the emails when they arrive, and 8% click a spam or junk button.

Frequency Biggest Email Turnoff

The most common complaint given by consumers as a reason they unsubscribe from a company’s permission-based emails is that they come too frequently (54%). Another 49% (more than one answer permitted to this question) cite the content becoming boring or repetitive over time. Receiving too many emails closely follows, being cited by 47% of respondents.

Email Segmentation, Blasts Most Common

Four in 10 global marketers (43%) use email segmentation to personalize messages by audience, according to a recent survey from Alterian. Another 44% are still employing email blasts of some kind, although 26% use basic personalization and 18% blast out on a mass basis. Read more at www.marketingcharts.com

Eighty-four percent of US consumers say they have not yet wrapped up their holiday shopping, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. Survey data indicates holiday shoppers will be most generous with their children this holiday season, planning to spend $341 on average, followed by their spouse/significant other ($189 on average). Interestingly, mothers ($72 on average) will fare better than fathers ($45 on average). In addition, 31% of consumers plan to buy their pet animal a gift, spending $18 on average. Read more at www.marketingcharts.com