Creativity on Pause: Are We in a New Era of Practicality?

With that said this week I thought I39d explore how our experiences of the past year have changed our personal interests The picture emerging from the data is of a somewhat more serious practical consumer than before the pandemicWhat topics attract our attention How do we spend our spare time What do we aspire to accomplish These answers are key to resonating deeply with consumersBetween the election and a global pandemic it makes sense that Americans became slightly more interested in Politics National News Science International News and Business and Finance And even though we couldn39t travel as much our interest in Travel and Vacations basically held steadyThe topics of interest that see the biggest declines are those centered around the social and selfexpression aspects of our lives These topics include Sex ampamp Relationships People and Celebrities Beauty Parenting and Weddings ampamp Brides amp8211 all of which see decreases in the doubledigits In the absence of a robust inperson social life due to pandemicrelated restrictions selfexpression becomes less important and the data reflects this changeIn terms of our hobbies during COVID19 the only substantial increase in more people who are Playing Games on Devices It39s a good time to make sure gaming platforms are on your media plan as these audiences are increasing In a recent report YouGov analyzed the state of the video gaming sector that39s thriving amidst global crisis and uncertaintyWhile I expected some of the declines like fewer people spending time Playing Sports and Singing due to restrictions on inperson activities I was surprised that despite the extra time at home YouGov data shows there are fewer people spending their spare time on solo creative pursuits like Photography Arts ampamp Crafts Writing and KnittingSewing even with all the mask makingPerhaps home life doesn39t necessarily mean more free time especially if working from home more means work life cutting into personal hours or eating at home more means more time preparing and cleaning up meals What we39re seeing may be the net effect of more time at home failing to yield us more time for our creative pursuitsWe39ve also seen a notable drop in people who have a bucket list this year Roughly 16 million Americans stopped having a bucket list with consistent drops across age and gender It could be that life currently feels like it39s on pause and some of us are having trouble envisioning the future while in limbo Or could the idea of a bucket list be starting to lose relevance Marketers and publishers should keep a pulse on this to determine if and when to embrace messaging about a return to quotchecking things off your bucket listquotData demonstrates we39re seeing more practical consumers during the pandemic I confidently believe we will return to a more optimistic aspirational mindset but it won39t be overnight Marketers need to keep this in mind when speaking to consumersI39m not saying everything is doom and gloom Our human need for entertainment laughter and inspiration obviously hasn39t disappeared and we need those things from brands even if we39re a little more serious right now I suspect we39ll have pent up whimsy and creativity to express on the other side of COVID19 but we39ll need to gauge how long it takes for us to relax and release it Brands have an opportunity to be part of the return to joy especially in experiential marketing and at brand events but it will need to be timed carefully to avoid being tonedeafIt39s a challenging time for marketers but uptodate data is available and helps a lot Contact me if you39re interested in seeing this data and more broken out for your specific target audiences brands etc I39m here to strategize and helpPhoto courtesy Tamara Alesi YouGovcomClick the social buttons above or below to share this content 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 writers

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Creativity on Pause: Are We in a New Era of Practicality?

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Tamara Alesi

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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Creativity on Pause: Are We in a New Era of Practicality?

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"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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