Contextual brands in the age of instability
Leaders and consumers alike are navigating a macro environment shaped by trade conflicts, persistent inflation, geopolitical instability, and deep political polarization.
The result is a world that feels increasingly unfixable and intensely heavy. Amid a constant flow of global crises, a collective numbness has set in, creating a quiet dissonance about how to process the state of the world.
We sought to understand what consumers are actually asking brands to do for them, surveying 3,000 people across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands; alongside collaborating with The Marketing Society to interview senior global marketing leaders (from organizations including Barclays, British Airways, Diageo, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Trainline, TUI, and Rolex) and learn whether or not marketers are reading that signal accurately.
This report offers strategic insight into how you can best meet consumers in the current moment by examining our key findings across three dimensions:
- The consumer mindset. What are people actually feeling in this current moment, how that is reshaping their spending, and why the numbers reflect a new baseline rather than a disruption to ride out.
- The regional picture. How macro volatility at a global level is producing meaningfully different emotional realities at a regional level, and why that must be taken into account with how brands respond.
- The strategic implication. What it means to be a ‘Contextual Brand,’ where brands fit into the four jobs within the current consumer lifestyle, and which questions every business leader should be asking before deciding what comes next.
Strategic Navigators
DEPT® Strategic Navigators is a global think tank created to help brands navigate unprecedented change; from technology and geopolitics to shifting consumer behavior and economic uncertainty. We provide 360° thinking across thought pieces, working sessions, and bespoke analysis to help teams understand and act on emerging challenges.
By monitoring evolving situations, collaborating on real-world problems, and capturing the voice of the global consumer through proprietary research – we turn signals into strategy.
