In the first of his upcoming blog series for The Drum, Alex Lubar, chief executive at McCann London uncovers some surprising truths about Britain today – informed from McCann Worldgroup’s proprietary insights team – Truth Central.
15 minutes of Privacy
“In the future everyone will want to be anonymous for 15 minutes”. An exaggeration or has Banksy - the artist who values his anonymity above all else, nailed it with this quote?
According to our latest Truth Central insights, a staggering 91% of British people see privacy as a fundamental human right – which begs the question… why aren’t we more protective of our online data?
We think this fast erosion of privacy is down to sheer convenience. People today are time-poor and over half of the nation’s parents are happy to part with their personal data if it will shave time of the clock. But what people are most sensitive about sharing are their instant messages… not their browsing history or personal photos – embarrassing as they might be.
Gen Z – a new cohort or just another generation?
They are known as digital natives. They never had to experience the growing up of the mobile phone from brick-sized, snake-playing device, to sleek and smart – a computer in their pocket.
But they were born into a time of extraordinary conflict and unrest, with 73% of Gen Z in the UK expecting bad things to happen in the world. When I was 20 it was a different ball game. I was optimistic and also pretty sociable, hence my surprise to learn that the average Gen Z-er in the UK considers online gaming the modern way to hang out with friends. For Gen Z gaming is the ultimate form of self-expression and they are most likely to own a game console, above a credit card and even a social media account.
In fact, unlike their earlier cohorts – Millennials – 55% of UK Gen Z said they are actively trying to reduce their screen time.
Diversity is crying out for diversification
Diversity has been burning the ears of industries across the board. But what we’re seeing is the diversification of diversity itself. Today over half the UK’s population believes gender is a fluid concept with Facebook users now able to choose from 71 gender options!
Diversity is no longer just being measured on the gender scale – but it’s being defined by cultural nuances like origin and class. People’s self-perception and how they want to be seen is also changing. 16% of UK men say they want to be perceived as somewhat feminine, whilst only 2% of women want to be perceived as masculine. People are also searching for different qualities in others – as UK respondents reveal the most important thing for a man to be today is not kind, not intelligent and not supportive, but honest.
Sustainability is the new black
Sustainability for brands has extended beyond a nice-to-have. According to our insights, people in the UK rate environmental issues above other causes and 50% said they bought a product solely because of its brand purpose.
Plastic has become the villain of the natural world. Britain’s national treasure, Sir David Attenborough took plastic from hero to zero on one cold December evening in 2017, when primetime TV aired shocking images of marine life sharing oceans with our plastic waste. Now 1/3 of the UK population are prepared to ban plastic products altogether.
Gone are the days where our life aspirations evolved around our careers and personal relationships. Our research puts bettering the world for others at the top of most people’s wish list. Maybe we have Gen Z to thank for that. Time will tell.
Look busy – the robots are coming
There’s a fear of robots taking over our jobs. It’s not a completely irrational fear – but it can be explained away. When we asked people which of the following they thought would be eradicated in the next 10 years – High Street Stores, High Street Banks, Cashiers or Plastic Carrier Bags – over one-third said all of them. But to design the offline stores and banks, to build the automated checkout points and find alternative carrier bags – we will rely on the creativity and dexterity of people.
I leave you with this. Human and Machine are in the boxing ring. The machine has all the moves it’s been programmed with, but the person can get creative with its punches. And as we like to say: creativity is the only way to survive.