Consumers drawn to marketing with humor and a purpose 

Editor’s note: Jeremy King is CEO of consumer research platform Attest. 

Americans had to process a lot of bad news in 2021. Coronavirus continues to dominate lives and adjusting to life in a pandemic has been anything but normal. The economic outlook is uncertain, with high inflation and many Americans navigating a topsy-turvy jobs market. Supply chains have been disrupted, with cargo ships queuing outside ports and shortages of some goods. The U.S. is also a nation sharply divided in political terms and a multitude of events – from social justice to foreign policy – created many negative headlines in 2021. 

But Americans are hoping that brands can put a smile back on their face over the next 12 months. More than half of consumers (57%) say that they most want to hear, see and experience humor in marketing campaigns in 2022. Compare this to last year, when only 4% said they wanted brands to make them feel “amused.” It's a stark shift and suggests that Americans could do with some serious cheering up.

However, there is still a place for more serious messaging. Just under half (47%) said that they wanted to hear motivational and inspirational messages from brands in 2022, while significant numbers also wanted advertising to have educational, thought-provoking and reassuring tones.

Take a stand: Marketing with a purpose

While there is some evidence that the current political polarization in the U.S. is affecting what people want to hear from brands, with 24% saying that they don't want brands to be political “at all,” there is also strong demand for brands to take a stance on social issues. The most-cited topic was poverty and inequality, with 36% wanting brands to tackle this issue, while just a fraction behind was racism. It is younger Americans who feel more strongly about this, with 46% of Gen Z wanting brands to address racism in their advertising; in contrast, only 30% of Boomers said the same. However, it’s vital that purpose-driven marketing is authentic and not merely a platitude, as tokenistic efforts are likely to alienate consumers.

How we move toward a cookie-less future is something that will likely be front of mind for many marketers in 2022. It's interesting, then, that a slim majority (27%) of Americans feel that consumer data tracking can be “useful if used responsibly.” Despite the rising concerns and negative media surrounding consumer privacy, it seems many are happy to have their data used to bring them closer to the products and services they want. But there's room for improvement. When asked if they thought current targeted advertising methods were effective, 35% said that they felt ads were targeted to their needs “all of the time,” though the majority – 43% – said they only “sometimes” were.

Forget the inbox and aim for TikTok

Speaking of targeting, marketers that want to reach Gen Z consumers should be reviewing their use of e-mail. Some 18% of this age group said that they didn't want brands to contact them in their inboxes at all. A better platform for targeting Gen Z is TikTok, with 45% of this demographic following brands on this relatively new social platform – up from 33% last year. Overall, TikTok is gaining traction across all age groups, with 25% of respondents interacting with brands here compared to 15% in 2020. Facebook, though, is still the biggest channel for Americans' brand interactions – however, growth has stagnated at 60%. Instagram and Twitter have become less popular platforms for consumers to follow brands, while Snapchat and Pinterest have seen little movement since last year.

Social is still America’s favorite media, with 93% spending some part of their day on social media. Streaming TV (83%) and streaming music come next (81%); meanwhile consumers are turning their back on TV news, with just 32% regularly tuning into news content in 2021 compared to 46% in 2020. This is perhaps unsurprising given the sheer amount of bad news that the last 12 months served up. However, many Americans still seem to have cause for optimism. When asked how they were feeling about 2022, 29% said they were “very positive,” while 37% said they were “somewhat positive.” 

Brands must understand what consumers want to hear

Marketers need to take note of this cautious optimism as they shape their messaging for the 2022 campaigns. It's vital that brands understand what consumers want to hear as well as how they want to hear it if they want to make an impact. While humor is likely to be effective, brands need to know when to keep it light and when to get serious. Those that strike the right balance will be best placed to perform well in 2022.   

Methodology 

All data was gathered via research on the Attest platform. The total sample size for the 2022 U.S. Consumer Trends and “You, The Consumer” research was 2,000 nationally representative working-age consumers based in the United States. The surveys concluded on November 13, 2021, and 9 November 9, 2021, respectively. The full 2022 US Consumer Trends report is available here (registration required) and the research dashboard for “You, The Consumer” is available here.