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The Rebellion is Coming!

By David Kidd, BPR

Hey this is not a call to arms nor is it a suggestion that you should become Doomsday Preppers.

Kantar’s Millennium Monitor is a study that’s been running since 1999 and measures the mood of society by examining social values and community sentiment. It found that society moves through four different stages in a cycle: Enjoyment, Conformity, Rebellion and Power.

Right now we’re living in the age of Conformity. Soon, however, that’s all going to change. We’re on the cusp of a new revolution which will, according to Kantar, challenge the status quo, changing everything and finding a better way. Businesses that do not recognise this new, rebellious view among consumers and alter their own behaviour accordingly, may not survive.

After Conformity follows periods of great change. The last great period of Rebellion was in the 1970s, when, after two wars, society wanted to embrace peace and love. This was also the period when attitudes towards gender equality dramatically changed.

Our own period of Conformity is underpinned by Covid lockdowns where we lost our personal freedoms and consented to being controlled for our collective safety. There was the desire for stability, which the current cost of living crisis is currently playing on. The Millennium Monitor says that times of Conformity are marked by feelings of dissatisfaction and vulnerability, fuelling the desire for the next phase of change.

According to the Kantar study, we’re very much overdue for this transformative period which can be an exciting time for businesses and brands. There’s the opportunity to break out from old-fashioned modes of thinking and try something new (in the Millennium Monitor, 53% of respondents said they were actively seeking new experiences).

Cross-generational rebels 

As the Report highlights, businesses need to avoid the belief that ‘Rebellion’ is only reserved for young Millennials and Gen Z-ers. Across generations we’re seeing a rejection of societal expectations and labels in favour of a path that prioritises individual desires.

The study goes further: for retirees (older Gen X-ers and Boomers) this looks like coming out of retirement and going back to work to achieve a sense of purpose and to contribute. Almost 40 percent of new workers coming back to work since the start of the pandemic are aged over 55 years old. And they’re doing it on their own terms, shunning the ‘9 to 5’ and creating career paths that work for them. Meanwhile, Gen Z are saying ‘no thanks’ to any and all labels; any constraints that society may want to impose on them. And in between the two is a demographic who’ve redefined their relationship to work over the past two years – quietly quitting and concluding living to work is not aspirational.

So where does radio sit in an age of Rebellion?

Well, I’ve leave you with this finding from the Kantar study:

72% of respondents said that “it was very important that a brand makes it clear what it stands for and stays true to its values” which will become even more important in an age of Rebellion.

In my recent article “What Makes a Brand Great” one of the keys points was:

Authenticity. Authenticity builds trust with the audience by being honest and transparent about what the station promises to do and delivering on it. Any brand can make promises via marketing, but the best deliver on those promises and earn the trust of their customers as well as the community. Amazon is a great example of a company that has built a reputation as being “authentic”.

Tell them what your station stands for …what your brand promise is….and then DELIVER ON THAT PROMISE 24/7.

The Rebellion is coming!!!