HAVAS Red Global CEO James Wright looks at what a decade defined by anger will mean for marketers in the 2030s.
Originally published on provokemedia.com
One hundred years on from the decadence of the Roaring ’20s, this decade of polarization couldn’t be more different. In what we call the Raging ’20s of today, we’ve gone from dancing the Charleston to rioting in Charleston after George Floyd’s murder. From exuberance and Gatsby, to exasperated and “pangry” — anger around the pandemic — and now, anger over a cost-of-living crisis. In fact anger about almost everything.
Widespread raging at broken systems means communities, countries, continents and corporations are confronting urgent issues on every front. The looming question for brands has been how do you breakthrough to forge more meaningful connections when your customers, employees and communities are so angry.
The answer: Remember that anger is passion — a powerful and motivating emotion that can be used to bridge and build brand loyalty. And nothing gets people talking more than something they’re outraged about.
Even as we’re engaged in this age of rage, we can already spy a break in the clouds. We’re getting ready for the Thirsty ’30s, a decade where less will mean more sustainable living, consumers will wrest back control to decide the who, what, when, where and why of their engagement with brands, and being human will give marketers a unique selling point.
Whereas, when the bubble burst on the prosperous Roaring 1920s, humanity entered the Dirty ’30s — a dark era marked by poverty, extremism, a gathering storm of world war (and in the U.S., the Dust Bowl decade) — this century, we’ve flipped the script on the decades. We’re doing the darkness now before the dawn.
The Raging ’20s we’re living in will make way to a new period of sustainable prosperity, conscious consumption and considered connections where consumers will not just be ready for next, they’ll be thirsty for it.
What will marketers and consumers have learned from the Raging ’20s?
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