Five things we learned about… surviving a global 'crisis hangover'

Society is nursing the hangover from hell. And it’s not their keys people can’t find – it’s the motivation to push through the mind fog and keep grinding.

From Covid-19 to the state of the economy and the excess of false information and division, to the isolation of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, everyone is overwhelmed.

People have boldly and bravely downed one crisis too many.

For society, this means there’s ‘the fear’ and an enduring sense of overwhelm. For marketers, the job is to meet people where they are at and rebuild trust.

To measure the national mood and explore solutions just 100 days into the new government – Publicis-owned agency Leo Burnett has released its Pop Pulse report in conjunction with research agency The Outsiders (it’s the second year of a project to tap into the mood away from the adland bubble).

“Rather than go through traditional research methodologies we brought on board people who have hundreds of sometimes emotional conversations each day – hairdressers, beauticians, pub landlords and people who work behind the bar as well as those who manage online forums,” Tom Sussman, Leo Burnett’s deputy chief strategy officer explains.

A group of academics and journalists including The New Statesman’s Anoosh Chakelian, The Times’ Aubrey Allegretti, LBC’s Natasha Clark and Denise Baron from research agency PublicFirst was also consulted.

Supporting quantitative research further backed the premise of a nation beleaguered by a “crisis hangover”:

• 50 per cent say they feel things are more intense at the moment and often so intense that they find themselves getting emotional

• 31 per cent of respondents feel emotionally overwhelmed in day-to-day life

• 45 per cent say they’re more overwhelmed than they were over 12 months ago.

• 57 per cent lament that companies have increased their prices by more than they need to in order to maintain profits

To launch the report and discuss its implications, Leo Burnett brought together three panellists – journalist and author Caitlin Moran, ex Google marketer, digital thought leader and diversity activist Nishma Patel Robb and academic and expert in online radicalisation Dr Julia Ebner.

So, what can advertisers do about the crisis hangover?

Fixing the problem requires more than a dose of Vitamin C – it needs every sector and institution to reflect on how we got here and shift to a healthier approach. Brands not only have a moral obligation to be a part of that solution, but they have a fiscal one too – or else they might not escape the consequences of complete apathy and withdrawal.

Patel Robb points out that marketers are tasked with injecting positivity whilst feeling it themselves “whether it’s confusion with the pace of technology or the many different tasks you’ve got to do”.

“There’s a sense of overbearing pressure around things. What worked? What didn’t? Are you going to get cancelled?” she adds.

She emphasises that one of the main things businesses can do is to “stop telling people to do more with less”.

Dr Ebner adds that populists drive people to act because they are “good at reaching out to different people with different ingredients”. However she feels “there's a way of brands turning that into something that's a lot more positive and bringing people back together even in a highly curated social media landscape”.

Meanwhile, Moran highlights that from the consumer’s perspective, creating optimism can be about the little moments and communicating with clarity: “Isolation is critical. Life is so confusing and awful everyone around you is collapsing and crying, so when you find something that works, you’re pathetically grateful. It’s where capitalism can score such an easy goal.”

Fives hangover cures by symptom

•  Confusion – be a no-brainer

Just like a real hangover the symptoms of a “crisis hangover” can lead people to a sense of existential dread.

Moran notes that amid this confusion simple things such as a hoover that sucks up the dog hairs can provide relief. Especially if you don't have to fill in laborious online forms, and best of all if there's a number to call to resolve a problem rather than a robotic AI chatroom.

• Vulnerability – say it straight

The phenomenon known as “hangxiety” occurs the morning after a night of heavy drinking. The body’s electrolytes are depleted from trying to deal with the effects of intoxication, this can cause a negative shift in mood and induce anxiety so severe that it leads to the desire to withdraw.

Rather like hangxiety from over-drinking, hangxiety from an economic crisis can lead people to feel a sense of unshakeable fear. In this climate trust-washing doesn’t work.

Patel Robb explains that while she worked at Google she navigated the YouTube brand trust crisis. “One of our biggest challenges was to step away from the idea of responding with a spokesperson statement to owning it – apologising and being human about it.”

• The Blues – offer up nostalgia

Like waking up hungover and having to travel across the city to retrieve a lost phone despite wanting to do nothing but hide in a dark room, everything feels more emotional and onerous than it used to. One response heard during the focus group sums it up: “We’re all a bit f*cked, honestly.”

To inject some optimism back into the nation brands can draw on strategies like escapism and nostalgia (this can be seen across culture e.g. the return of 80s looks, or Taylor Swift fandom).

• Isolation – foster connection and inclusion

Just as a hangover can leave one feeling they're facing it all alone, as a society we’re also feeling more isolated. From working less in-person to the increasingly toxic political conversations that surround us it can feel like community has disappeared.

“Populists have really effectively tapped into these emotions by providing simple language but also drawing on people's desire to belong,” Dr Julia Ebner says.

In a similar vein to a supportive WhatsApp group in which friends share the collective states they’re in after a night out and reassure one another that their behaviour was entertaining rather than diabolical, brands can help to enable community.

• Feeling jaded – provide small reasons for hope

Waking up hungover with a full day of emails, timesheets and back-to-back meetings isn’t a source of motivation. Not only does getting through the tasks feel hopeless, it can also feel pointless.

To help people overcome this sense of being jaded brands should conjure up little reasons to be hopeful.

Equally, Dr Ebner says, businesses can shift the ball in their court and build trust by getting ahead of the game: “You can build up your own influencers and communicators who are seen as effective and trustworthy, so that there isn't a vacuum around these individuals.”

Panel image credit: Matt Crossick