Older is Cooler: Surprising Results from the 2017 Mindshare Culture Vulture Study

Culture Vulture is Mindshare39s global cultural trends program that sets out to identify macro and micro trendsamp160 Now in its sixth year it has been ascertaining consumer trends with eerie accuracy amp160For example past studies have correctly mapped out the increasingly divided nature of our society amp8220Over the years two of the biggest trends weamp8217ve tracked have been 2 Americas and Crossover Culture both of which are still two of most impactful trends years lateramp8221 explained Alexis Fragale Director Consumer Insights Mindshare NAamp160amp160The 2017 study marked ten impactful trends that are then matched with advertiser demographic targets to help in strategy and planning amp160The ten major trends are Tapped Out toobusy lives and plateauing productivity Boomaissance older adults taking on a middleaged Millennial mindset 21st Century Success the traditional American dream vs dreams of personal experiences Unmasking Unicorns parsing fake news My WorldThe World the widening gulf between personal perceptions and views of the world overall Mindful Optimization seeking purpose and mindfulness Land of the Giants corporate giants dominate but niche brands fight back The Informal Normal more casual at work and with friends Borecore more and more weamp8217re posting and watching amp8216boringamp8217 content and Open Lives less privacy more exposed livesamp160I recently met with Alexis Fragale and Jodie Huang Manager Insights Mindshare NA to discuss the Culture Vulture studyCharlene Weisler amp160Please tell me about 2 Americas and Crossover CultureAlexis Fragale In 2 Americas we explored how Americans39 values and lifestyles have been diverging significantly over recent years making it harder for brands to speak to amp8220oneamp8221 homogenous country This was clearly a huge factor in the 2016 election and weamp8217ve seen it move beyond values and lifestyles to other areas like content preferences and our social algorithms 2 Americas has been evidenced in our 2017 trends of My WorldThe World and Unmasking UnicornsIn Crossover Culture we explored how a more connected and complex world gives opportunities and a need for crossover in art technology science ideas and brands amp160In a world where itamp8217s harder to gain consumersamp8217 trust and wallet share more brands are finding ways to extend their brand into more areas of their consumersamp8217 lives amp160For example take West Elm which is set to open a hotel and NBA teams buying eSports teams amp160Crossover Culture has been evidenced in our 2017 trends Tapped Out and Land of the GiantsCharlene amp160What are the big takeaways from this year39s studyAlexis amp160First the report is a reminder on how quickly the world and culture changes Second there are pockets of growth opportunities that advertisers may be missing and may need to address differently than before for example look at Boomers or how to deliver against consumersamp8217 changing definition of success amp160Third there are a lot of myths out there amp160Myths about how people are feeling in America About the types of content people want amp160About consumer media behavior Thatamp8217s why youamp8217ve always got to keep looking at the dataamp160 Question those mythsamp160Charlene amp160Do you think advertisers will shift advertising dollars to the Boomer cohort and whyAlexis amp160Boomers control much of the disposable income in America and they are living longer than ever While companies will still advertise and try to win over younger consumers which is partly a Customer Lifetime Value play it would be a missed opportunity to ignore or alienate such a large portion of Americans especially one with so much spending power amp160As for shifting dollars to Boomers it depends on the nuances of both category and jobs to be done within the campaign retain consumers inspire trial etcTake spirits as an example For certain brands their stronghold of users is among Boomers eg scotch but to grow the category they need to appeal to a 21 Millennial audience amp160Theyamp8217ll need to strategize how to balance the growth opportunities while speaking to their loyalistsCharlene amp160How is the American Dream changing and how will that impact spendingJodie Weamp8217ve seen a bigger push towards experiential over materialism especially amongst Millennials These experiences increasingly help define their lives and identities versus the things they buy amp160So there is a shift in how they spend the content they look at and what companies they use to enable this lifestyle change amp160Travel is one category that will benefit from shift to experiential spending and the oneupmanship weamp8217re seeing among Millennials such as the race to be the first of your friends to travel to Cuba or planning an epic celebration vacation for your 30th birthdayCharlene How can we dispel myths and fake newsJodie amp160Educating consumers on how to tell the difference between fake and real news will empower readers and put the onus on them to decide for themselves whether or not to trust the content they are reading amp160Tools and content hacking devices can help make it easier to look at the source material check facts review credentials and speed up the process of verifying the newsCharlene amp160Give me one descriptor word for each generationJodie amp160Gen Z Ephemeral Millennials Savvy Gen X Overlooked Boomers IdealisticCharlene What advice would you give advertisers today to best prepare for the futureAlexis amp160A lot of industry amp8220futuringamp8221 work tends to be wrong especially in highly uncertain categories The famous quote amp8220Wall Street indices predicted nine out of the last five recessionsamp8221 amp160The best you can do is map plausible scenarios and prepare for a small number of likely outcomes Our Culture Vulture work throws up the trends that may underpin different category and media scenarios amp160Itamp8217s important to keep a pulse on the directions the world may be heading in and what the implications are for brands We recommend three thingsTalk to consumers as frequently as possible or ensure that your agencies do At Mindshare among our other ongoing surveys and research we run monthly amp8220consumer conversationsamp8221 amp160We speak to the early adopters of technologies or behaviors amp160Right now weamp8217re chatting to folks who have Amazon Echos and Google Home amp160Look to understand the drivers and barriers of new behaviors to understand the impact to the brand today and tomorrowSet up a committed testandlearn program with a funnel of hypotheses that come from consumer insightsresearch and an overarching measurement strategyGet out and experience the emerging technology and cultural spacesamp160 Do monthly safaris out into new format retail stores or set tasks for your organization to download and trial the newest appsEditor39s note Every week MediaVillagecom distributes the latest Culture Vulture videos from Mindshare You can see them hereClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Older is Cooler: Surprising Results from the 2017 Mindshare Culture Vulture Study

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Charlene Weisler

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Older is Cooler: Surprising Results from the 2017 Mindshare Culture Vulture Study

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Charlene Weisler

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