One of the companies that can most fully collect data about mood and behavioural changes is of course Google, among other things through its search engine. As part of its series of lectures – Increase Awareness Academy addressed to its closest partners, Google presented the results of research on current trends in consumer behaviour among its users. The presented phenomena can be divided into 3 main categories shown in the graphic below.
The first is a “shock” change that appears quickly, but then you can see the situation returning to the starting point. Such a change is, for example, the trend in bread baking. After the initial increase in questions, the situation returned to the point before the pandemic. From the point of view of marketers, however, it seems that the other two trends are more important. Where new interest has emerged and remains stable, or where this interest is increasing all the time.
What comes to the foreground here is the fact that these phenomena are accompanied by constant changes in the way goods are consumed or their type, and these are often linked to a changed way of thinking or perception of specific situations. The first, fundamental change is the retreat from the common space, such as cinemas, restaurants or stores in favour of moving activities into their own “four walls”. This has translated into a tenfold increase in the potential for searching for phrases with the term “at home”, or referring to it.
At the same time, we are seeing a change in the psychological approach. Until recently, questions from the “safe” category were gaining in popularity, but now we can see the development of this trend and a focus on the questions “is it valuable enough for me to get involved in it”, in spite of the pandemic situation.
We can codify these trends a little bit and push them into specific product categories.
These changes were implemented by some players as part of their communication:
CocaCola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMQeNw2QDA
Dove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCpKP3JkDbk
GSK (Centrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yohgKwDiGLw
Jeep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QKjsRB76t4
FlyAudible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9DC881PWbU
Apple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_pru8U2RmM
These are very different images, often touching on completely distant subjects, but it is possible to find a common denominator. It is the understanding of the situation in which our recipients have found themselves. And this seems to be the key to constructing effective communication in today’s highly volatile times. It is not so much the search for the Holy Grail of an effective campaign as understanding what our target group is actually experiencing now, what they are struggling with and how the current situation has changed the way we behave. It is only when we show that we understand what they are struggling with every day that we can be invited into their new, often more interior-oriented life.
