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.
In our Recession Handbook, we advised marketers to “Inspire rather than empathize with consumers” in tough times, fueling hope and optimism rather than resentment. Kia Canada’s new “Drive Change” campaign provides a nice example. An initial spot told viewers that “drive” is “the urge to push on, a force that makes us think big no matter how small we start. It’s our inner fight to do what’s right, and it’s in us all.”
Then Kia put its words—“A vehicle can be a vehicle of change too”—into action with two minute-long spots that show a Kia team making over rundown spaces in just a day. In “Change Court” (below), a parking lot at a youth shelter is turned into a basketball court complete with mural, and “Change Garden” shows a junkyard at a community housing development morphing into a sustainable garden. Kia vehicles are parked in and around the spaces being renovated, integrated somewhat organically into the settings.
The ads do a nice job of showcasing the product and the CSR initiative concurrently. And they cleverly tap into the satisfaction we get from Extreme Makeover-type shows—watching a scene of disrepair being turned into one of renewal, we feel that with some basic skills and determination, we too can make this happen.
The latest installment of AnxietyIndex found that Colombia registers among the least anxious nations JWT has surveyed, with only 58 percent of respondents reporting feelings of nervousness or anxiety.
Our January 2010 survey of 1,253 Colombians aged 25-plus revealed that the primary drivers of anxiety in Colombia are crime, corruption, the state of the economy and the impact of global warming. With high rates of urban violence and theft, it’s not surprising that two-thirds report concern about crime in their neighborhood. And nearly 80 percent feel Colombian politicians are out of touch with how the global economic downturn is affecting the average person; about three-quarters fear the downturn is widening the economic gap between the rich and the poor in Colombia.
Still, Colombians are slightly more optimistic than the global average about near-term prospects of positive change, and most think Colombia has fared about the same or better in the recession than other Latin American countries. Almost six in 10 say Colombia has been less affected than “wealthier” countries.
For more on the drivers and levels of anxiety in Colombia, click here to download the report from our Trends and Research page.
In an arid, hot region, the prospect of a warmer globe is frightening, and our latest AnxietyIndex survey in the UAE found the impact of global warming is now among the drivers of anxiety here. But despite several educational initiatives from the government, consumers haven’t become significantly more green. There’s plenty of room for improvement: The World Resources Institute puts the UAE second only to Qatar in its ranking of countries by per-capita carbon emissions, reflecting years of an oil-rich economy growing at a very fast pace.
The World Wildlife Fund and the Emirates Wildlife Society are behind a visually compelling TV campaign to raise awareness about the link between the UAE’s carbon footprint and consumer behavior. A 2-minute-plus spot encourages people to “be wise about what you buy,” largely by purchasing more local products. “Choosing imported beef, for example, results in a cascade of environmental costs,” the narrator warns, then outlines what some of those are. The ad uses Visual Fluency (one of our trends for 2010) to draw viewers in, with animated newspaper cutouts illustrating the points.
The campaign seems like a good way to start dialing up existing anxiety and motivate behavioral change. It will be interesting to see whether local brands, which haven’t engaged in any real green initiatives so far, take up the cause.
Our recent AnxietyIndex study in Mexico found that the economy is a primary driver of anxiety and—contrary to the image the world may have of Mexicans as optimists or even dreamers—they are pessimistic about the future. One of Mexicans’ main concerns about the future is being unable to afford a good education for their children.
Brands have an opportunity to help parents find some hope. A good example is Jugos Del Valle, a Mexican juice brand recently acquired by the Coca-Cola Co., which recently ran a promotion that gave parents the opportunity to win a scholarship to ensure their kids’ education from kindergarten through college; secondary prizes of mx$80,000 (about $6,250) to support school expenses were awarded daily. A TV spot showed a woman grocery-shopping with her toddler seated in the shopping cart. As she scans shelves lined with Del Valle products, the child morphs into an adult doctor, astronaut, chef and, finally, college graduate to clearly outline the opportunities a good education can create. “Now, when you choose Del Valle, your kid chooses his future,” the voiceover tells parents.
Promotions have always been effective during crisis times as people look to get the most from each penny, but success is especially likely if the offer is focused on relieving one of people’s deepest concerns.
As mentioned in a previous post about co-branded kits of canned coffee and packages of smokes, cigarette brands facing declining sales and a shrinking market are looking for ways to steal share and reinforce loyalty wherever possible. The latest effort by Philip Morris leverages the ever-present concern of the smoker—smoker’s breath—by offering a box of cigarettes bundled with a pack of new Clorets gum in a two-in-one package.
This is a good example of turning an issue of consumer anxiety arising from one brand into a co-selling opportunity with a second brand that solves the problem, resulting in a win-win for both. Philip Morris gains a chance to convert new users, while Clorets gets its new product into the hands of a potentially core target. This is also an example of creatively re-imagining how your products are sold, one of our recommendations for brands in our Recession Handbook.
With recession forecast to hit Latin America sometime in 2010, Mexico registered among the most anxious of the 16 countries JWT has studied for our AnxietyIndex. A survey of 296 Mexican adults aged 18-59, conducted in January, found that 78 percent report being anxious.
The primary drivers of anxiety are the economic situation, the escalation of violence and crime, and the stagnant job market. Mexicans’ frustration and pessimism are exacerbated by the widespread belief that the political class is detached from the country’s reality, that the current government is one of the most corrupt and that people are being treated unjustly. Feeling they live in permanent instability, people are pessimistic about the future, especially when they think about the job market their children will one day face, the cost of their children’s education and having enough money for a comfortable old age.
For Mexican brands, there are opportunities in helping to restore a sense of control for consumers. Ford champions this idea of empowerment in a Focus commercial that dramatizes a test drive as a getaway chase in a fantasy urban landscape. The driver weaves around pop-up cutouts of roadside obstacles—dog walkers, construction workers, school children crossing the street, etc.—while drag-racing a paper-cutout driver, accompanied by the 1980s Karate Kid anthem “You’re the Best Around.” The spot positions the Focus as an escape from an increasingly violent and challenging environment and as a means of taking control.
To download the full Mexico AnxietyIndex report from the Trends and Research page, click here.
With 79 percent of respondents saying they are nervous and anxious, according to JWT’s latest AnxietyIndex survey, Argentina is among the most anxious of the 16 countries we’ve surveyed over the past year. The poll of 328 Argentineans aged 18-59, conducted in January, found that two key drivers of anxiety are the state of the economy and the cost of living.
Argentineans are accustomed to economic turmoil—they’ve lived with various forms of economic crisis for decades. And Argentina, which is not experiencing the same recession as most of the world, has been grappling with permanent price fluctuation under the ghost of inflation since the 1970s. So consumers are adaptable, expanding and shrinking their spending in accordance with the times. But the concept of saving money has lost credibility—people don’t believe it’s possible to save much. As a consequence, they feel that a happy life with friends and family is more important than focusing on money and materialism.
The opportunity for brands is to offer optimistic messages and a positive brand experience, standing out by counteracting the negativity dominating Argentinean society. For example, communicating from a positive point of view, Walmart’s proposal “Save money. Live better” tells customers that by saving, they can actually have a more enjoyable life. Click here to download the full Argentina AnxietyIndex report from the Trends and Research page.
After a year spent surveying brand and consumer response to the recession through our AnxietyIndex.com, we have released our top 10 brand lessons from the Great Recession.
“The Recession Handbook: Brand Lessons from the Great Recession” emerged out of the quantitative and qualitative research that we conducted during the downturn. Over the past year, we have tracked nearly 400 brand responses to consumers’ recession-related anxiety in 27 markets. At the same time, we have quantitatively measured the levels and drivers of consumer anxiety in 13 markets.
Our hope is that this will serve as a primer for future downturns, beyond simply making the case for maintaining or increasing brand spend during a recession. We believe our recommendations will hold up in recessions to come, helping brands better address the challenges that come with economic upheaval.
Our 10 brand lessons from the Great Recession:
1. Find your value voice.
2. Remove the risk from price.
3. Don’t shy away from tackling anxiety head on.
4. Leverage public sentiment.
5. Give consumers more control.
6. Provide a real service for consumers.
7. Inspire rather than empathize with consumers.
8. Return to the core value of hope.
9. Re-imagine how your products are sold.
10. Use the recession to achieve a higher goal.
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.
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.
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