Americans are Stressed and Media Obsessed: OMG on How Marketers Can Help

Thanks to research from Omnicom Media Group we can confirm you39re not just projecting your inner stresses onto the people around youamp160 At present Americans really are far more stressed out than in recent yearsamp160 In fact according to this new study from OMG a whopping 70 percent of us are so stressed that we feel a general need to escapeamp160 How are we meeting that needamp160 By consuming mediaThe study quotNavigating the Nightmare Medicating with Mediaquot is the brainchild of Dr Pamela Marsh and Priscilla Aydin Managing Director and Group Director respectively of Primary Research at OMGamp160 Marsh and Aydin said in an interview that they set out to quantify something they39d felt around them that desire to escapequotWe saw there was very little research in our industry media or marketing or advertising about this consumer need for escapismquot Marsh said quotWhat could it mean for marketers if they were even aware of itquotSo Marsh and Aydin and their team conducted a national online survey of 501 individuals to find out whether people really are feeling the need to escape more than in the past and whether there39s something brands can do about itquotWe wanted to do something that went beyond the political landscapequot Aydin saidamp160 Of course some of the respondents39 stressors like their financial situation or healthcare or other societal issues do have roots in politics but this was a much more neutral framingThe results cut across all ages and income groups though Gen X and Millennials were more likely to say they felt the need to escape all the time Contributing factors to this need for escape include their personal financial situation healthcare povertyamp160and family relationshipsamp160 Nearly half of respondents had more than 10 issues that made them feel this wayMarsh is careful to point out that there39s a difference between feeling the need to escape with actually wanting to bolt out the door and move to a cabin in the middle of nowhere quotThey want to find ways to relieve stress and anxietyquot she saidquotThey39re looking for some helpquot Aydin addedThough the usual economic indicators are still somewhat strong unemployment levels continue to be low the survey respondents showed a preference for burrowing into media over other indulgences like travel literal escape or shoppingamp160 Those that did medicate via retail amp16029 percent were pleased with doing so with 75 percent of the shoppers indicating they didn39t regret their pamperingamp160 quotIt39s viewed as an indulgencequot Marsh saidBut more 49 percent are choosing to stay home and watch TV an outcome that may be correlated with the fact that three out of five respondents to a different OMG survey said their generation39s American dream quothas been turned upsidedownquot perhaps leaving a little less income available for big tripsNot all media is created equal respondents looking to relieve stress are staying away from news and social media as much as possible and looking for video that offers comfortamp160 A quarter of the respondents indicated they were streaming more video and 40 percent said they were binging while a nearly equivalent 39 percent said they just watch whatever39s onamp160 Nostalgia provides a desired level of comfort for 26 percent of respondents quotConsumers are looking for nostalgia in not just the content but the ads as wellquot Marsh explainedamp160 quotEightytwoamp160percent of people are open to hearing from advertisersamp160 That39s a big opportunityquotMarketers seem to be intuiting some of these insightsamp160 This year39s crop of Super Bowl commercials featured a heavily dystopic theme and even ads that weren39t explicitly about dystopia seemed to comment on the overall quotughquot of everyday life a la Hyundai39s spot with Jason Bateman as an elevator operator taking people to undesirable life events like car shoppingamp160 But there39s a long way to go According to Marsh and Aydin39s study only 30 percent of respondents said brands understood their plightMarsh and Aydin aren39t advocating for marketers to completely overhaul their playbooks rather they are calling attention to this widespread angst as an opportunity to develop closer relationships with their consumers one built on empathy and understandingamp160 quotMake your customers39 lives easierquot Marsh saidamp160 quotFocus on messaging that shows how your brand makes their lives better in some wayquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Americans are Stressed and Media Obsessed: OMG on How Marketers Can Help

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Oriana Schwindt

"About That" with Carl Mayer: Corinne Casagrande (Episode 8: Consumer Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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