JWT’s AnxietyIndex is designed as a place to discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the global recession. With daily content updates, AnxietyIndex.com includes contributions from around JWT’s network, offering a truly global perspective.
The two biggest media conglomerates in India and Pakistan have joined forces in a novel initiative: to campaign for peace between the two countries. Indians are anxious about terrorism in general and Pakistani terrorists in particular, according to JWT AnxietyIndexresearch conducted last May—not surprising, given that the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai were carried out by Muslim terrorists based in Pakistan. Aman Ki Asha (Hope for Peace)—touted in a TV spot and this print ad—will see the The Times of India Group andthe Jang Group honestly explore issues such as terrorism and the Kashmir dispute that have resulted in hostilities and mistrust between the two countries; the initiative will also promote cross-cultural exchange.
In India, trust in media has been declining—Edelman’s Trust Barometer Survey recently confirmed this—and so the promise of honest communication is a positive step toward changing negative perceptions of the media, which is known for sensationalism. All the better if the two brands can make some genuine progress in bringing about more goodwill.
In a post earlier this month we talked about how anxious consumers might respond to the global recall of Toyota vehicles and pondered how Toyota would take action. Toyota’s response to complaints had been too slow and had fallen extremely short of expectations, eventually leading to the recall of now global proportions. Unfortunately, the brand’s steps in addressing consumers on a public platform have been all too slow as well.
On the upside, Toyota.com has been serving as a hub for news and updates surrounding the recall, with a page wholly devoted to the matter. And today, CEO Akio Toyoda will be addressing Congress and issuing a formal apology to those affected by the faulty vehicles. Toyoda will declare his goal to restore confidence in his cars: “You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers.”
The brand also recently released its “Restore” spot (see below). The TV commercial leverages the history of Toyota with black and white images of old warehouses and models, ending on a grainy, colored shot of a smiling little girl jumping into a red car. The more striking aspect of the “Restore” ad is how transparently it addresses the recall, acknowledging that the company has made mistakes—from which it will learn, the voice-over assures. The commercial is an attempt at Maximum Disclosure, and an effort to win back those hesitant to trust the corporation again. Toyota tells the viewer, echoing what the CEO will tell Congress today, “We’re working to restore your faith in our company.” Considering the constant stream of negative details surfacing from the recall, renewed confidence in the brand could be a long way off. It will take more than nostalgic images and assertive words to convince customers at this point.
It was a bit shocking to see that Saudi Arabia is the third most anxious country among the 13 that JWT has surveyed since February 2009. (See the Trends and Research page for a full listing of reports.) According to JWT’s October 2009 AnxietyIndex survey of 484 Saudi adults, our nation’s anxieties are centered around unemployment and health.
While Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s richest countries, people have been very worked up about the high rate of unemployment—young men aren’t able to find jobs with salaries that keep up with the cost of living and social expectation, and women find it difficult to compete with men for jobs due to social constraints. The Saudi stock market crashed before the global recession, which has affected many companies here; hiring freezes are prevalent.
It was less surprising, however, to see health and disease register as a major driver of anxiety among Saudis. Although health care is free for all Saudi nationals, the system is very slow, and many people go to costly private hospitals. That said, at least we aren’t upset about the price of gas.
Promoting optimism through difficult times has been a recurring theme among marketers. Now New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is doing the same—very literally—through a public art project. Beginning last fall, the MTA’s Authority Arts for Transit, one of the world’s largest public arts institutions, began adding the word “optimism” to the reverse of 14 million MetroCards.
The idea comes from graphic and conceptual artist Reed Seifer, whose Project Optimism originated in 1995 as part of his senior art thesis. His goal is “to communicate a sense of positive, forward-looking energy into the hands of those using the MetroCard through the simple use of the word.” Rolling out the project in the midst of a recession was a simple and timely idea for a city that’s been badly bruised by the downturn. Its residents are hurting—as of December, Manhattan had the nation’s highest level of unemployment—and Wall Street has become a symbol for all that was wrong with the economy before the bust. “Optimism” is a heartening message for a city that can certainly use a smile.
In a country with a melting pot of cultures—local citizens make up only around 20 percent of the population—anxieties vary greatly among residents. Since locals have the security of strong government support (free education, health care and assisted housing loans), it’s not surprising that anxiety levels for Middle Eastern expats are higher across all areas of concern.
According to our most recent AnxietyIndex survey of 503 adults conducted in October and November 2009, the greatest source of angst in the UAE is economic and financial, as the nation saw drastic layoffs and organizational restructuring starting in the second half of 2008. After the collapse of the real estate market, the inflated cost of living did not drop fast enough to reflect the end of the period of speculation, placing purchasing power and family security high on the list of anxiety drivers.
Middle Eastern expats are concerned about a shift in societal values, health issues (we saw a surge in health advertising and psychological advice) and the rising unemployment rate. Locals are not as concerned about societal values, as theirs are preserved within a close-knit community. Interestingly, for a nation criticized for its lack of environmental care, locals’ major concerns revolve around the impact of global warming and food prices.
The outlook for the next six months is pessimistic, with anxiety centered around the cost of living and food prices. Job security, however, is expected to improve.
Click here to download the full UAE AnxietyIndex report from the Trends and Research page.
BMW’s recent shift away from its longtime tagline “The ultimate driving machine” to “Joy is BMW” looks like a savvy way for the luxury brand to remain relevant to post-recession consumers. In a release, BMW marketing VP Jack Pitney explained: “All of our efforts in engineering, design and technology are about one thing, which is creating moments of joy” and said the campaign focuses on “sharing those moments in an upbeat, humanized and refreshing fashion.” In other words, a cool car isn’t an end in itself. The visuals reinforce this, with ads showing more people (real BMW owners) than vehicles.
The North American campaign, emphasizing that “what you make people feel is just as important as what you make,” is at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from one focused on performance and engineering. Which is about right, considering that “People now want to lead a richer life, rather than a life of riches,” as Madelyn Hochstein of DYG, a market research firm working with BMW, told The Wall Street Journal. Still, consumers may see touchy-feely as too much of a stretch for BMW; “Germans? Joy? Hahahaha,” remarked one commenter on the auto blog Jalopnik.
Extreme couponing was a common theme of last year’s recession news, with stories of cash-strapped consumers clipping their way to deep discounts. Now, the “find great deals” site Groupon is putting a tongue-in-cheek twist on that survivalist spirit with its Live Off Groupon promotion: One person will be chosen to “attempt to survive for one year with nothing but a laptop, cell phone and an unlimited supply of Groupons.” At stake is $100,000.
CNET calls it “one of the most ridiculous social-media promotions that any brand has attempted to pull off.” Admittedly, the contest isn’t a real option for the average family squeezed by the economy. But judging by the response on Groupon’s site, it has struck a chord with some very excited people, what seems to be a young, mobile crowd who have more time than money on their hands (funemployment, anyone?). Groupon’s offer, with its promise of a cross-country adventure and a big dose of humor, is appealing to them—and a clever way to get this demographic onto the site.
My Name Is Khan is a big Bollywood production that’s trying to leverage Indians’ anxiety and religious sentiments to get attention and ticket sales. The movie, which comes out today, features Indian megastar Shah Rukh Khan as Rizwan Khan, a Muslim with Asperger syndrome. Some of the challenges he faces are related to his being Muslim, especially post-9/11, when Khan is living in the U.S. In fact, one of the lines heavily used in the movie’s promotion is “I am Rizwan Khan, and I’m not a terrorist.”
Islam and terrorism is a subject that dominates the news as well as the hearts of every Indian. And most of us believe that the entire community cannot be damned by a few evil men who are trying to destroy humanity. So seeing the film’s protagonist being discriminated against is something we can’t stand—we want to see him succeed in his fight to get justice. The movie is a great example of leveraging our emotions on this sensitive issue.
Stay Hungry Stay Foolish is a recent book published in India about business school graduates who followed their hearts and dove into entrepreneurial ventures (the phrase was popularized in a Stanford commencement speech Steve Jobs made several years ago, quoting an issue of The Whole Earth Catalog from the 1970s). Some of these entrepreneurs left a cushioned corporate career, some were fulfilling a childhood dream, a few were redefining retirement as a second inning.
The stories are diverse and rich. And while the endings are happy, there are many anxious moments along the way. But it was also anxiety that helped push these people along. This is also a prevalent theme in “layoff lit,” a trend we recently posted about.
After a tumultuous year in which consumer faith in many institutions was shaken to the core, trust in business is rising year-over-year, notably in the U.S., according to the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer. In the U.S., trust in business jumped as much as 18 points, to 54 percent. But Edelman warns that this gain is tenuous—70 percent of consumers say business and financial companies will revert to old habits when the financial crisis is over.
Interestingly, while participation in social networks and platforms like Facebook and Twitter has zoomed, trust in peers has declined. According to Advertising Age, “The number of people who view their friends and peers as credible sources of information about a company dropped by almost half, from 45% to 25%, since 2008.”
“When you’re seeing so much noise, it’s very easy to dismiss a lot of it, and that’s a problem marketing messages have had for a while now,” 360i’s David Berkowitz told Ad Age, adding that “it can be overwhelming.”
Brands can play a clear role here by acting as a legitimate source of information, as long as it’s transparent and doesn’t come across as overly self-serving. This will also make the rise in trust less tenuous. For example, last year we cited a T-Mobile campaign that claimed “eight out of 10 people are unknowingly overpaying for their wireless service”; the wireless service provider directed Americans to a third-party Web site (BillShrink.com) that evaluates a person’s calling needs against every national wireless plan.
The two biggest media conglomerates in India and Pakistan have joined forces in a novel initiative: to campaign for peace between the two countries. Indians are anxious about terrorism in general and Pakistani terrorists in particular, according to JWT AnxietyIndex research conducted last May—not surprising, given that the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai were carried out by Muslim terrorists based in Pakistan. Aman Ki Asha (Hope for Peace)—touted in a TV spot and this print ad—will see the The Times of India Group and the Jang Group honestly explore issues such as terrorism and the Kashmir dispute that have resulted in hostilities and mistrust between the two countries; the initiative will also promote cross-cultural exchange.
