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A survey commissioned by iHeartMedia and Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries highlights how a growing disparity between consumer and marketer values can lead to campaigns that focus on trends consumers don’t care about.
The findings, based on surveys in August of 2,206 adults and 200 marketer and agency professionals, found:
- Only 60% of consumers have heard of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) versus all surveyed marketers knowing about them.
- Half of the surveyed consumers have never heard of an Aperol Spritz (the currently trendy Italian wine-based cocktail) versus only 3% of marketers.
- A third of consumers have never heard of “charcuterie,” while all marketers are familiar with it.
- Over half (62%) of consumers have never heard of the HBO hit TV show “Succession” versus less than 5% of marketers.
- Almost one-third of consumers have never heard of pickleball, while all marketers have heard of it.
The findings further found that despite prioritizing similar values — including family, health, and safety — consumers value religion, the military, and freedom of speech much more than marketers do.
“This report illustrates a cultural chasm between what consumers hold dear and the compass by which marketers navigate. It's high time that marketers acknowledge that chasing the new and shiny isn't always the path to hearts and minds,” said Gladwell, the author and futurist, in a statement. “There’s nothing more critical to understanding what people want than looking beyond your personal perspective.”
Exploring attitudinal differences, 80% of marketers said their career is a major part of their identity, compared to only 42% of consumers. The top two “cool” activities for consumers were traveling around the U.S. and having barbecues, while traveling to Europe and going to the gym were the top for marketers. In comparison, the top two “cringe” activities for consumers were NFTs and being vegan or vegetarian, while marketers said that making a recipe using cottage cheese and watching NCIS were more cringeworthy — both of which consumers put in the “cool” category.
“Based on these results, we need to challenge ourselves as we build marketing and media plans to be sure we use real consumer data and not just trust our instincts and personal experiences,” said Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. “These personal biases are too detached from the consumers most marketers are trying to engage, and which are often behind major marketing misfires.”