New York City, New York Jan 7, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - The Sound, a global brand agency specializing in consumer exploration, brand strategy, and innovation, has published a thought piece detailing the new entertainment behaviors of people around the world.
Titled Sustaining the Boom in Home Entertainment, the study utilized a mixed-methods approach which included a data remine, a proprietary survey, and social listening to understand how their home entertainment behaviors and motivations have been impacted since COVID-19 lockdowns took effect.
As it turns out, in the early months of the pandemic, people found “quick fixes” to address what they thought would be a temporary situation. With the realization that there would be no “return to normal” and that life must go on, they have now found ways to adapt to get through this period.
“The great pause has allowed us the time and space to be present and deeply reflect, reevaluate what is truly important and reset ourselves, and—out of necessity—be more real with each other, exposing our vulnerabilities and showing our humanity. COVID-19 is revealing shifts in what we may value for the longer term,” says Grace Gan, Senior Director of Consulting who led the initiative.
During the pandemic our core motivations have intensified and become more purposeful revealing the shifts in 4 “areas”:
- Transform & Evolve (from always being on the fast train (to somewhere) to redefining personal progress);
- Engage & Bond (from collecting connections to carefully curating them);
- Reset & Rejuvenate (from reactive, quick fixes to holistic, proactive healing);
- Be Responsible & Reliable (from giving in to the pressures of unrealistic expectations to reprioritizing those that are truly important).
To illuminate the “shifts” in how people are satisfying these 4 motivations, The Sound conducted research with a 3 pronged approach: 1) From May-October 2020, they conducted secondary research to continuously analyze trends around 4 motivations 2) In May/June 2020, they collected 210 stories from people age 18 - 65 living in lockdown around the world 3) In September/October 2020, they leveraged social listening tools to analyze consumer-generated content via social media sites, blogs, forums, Reddit, etc. to capture changes in sentiment around the initial themes.
Speaking directly to the home entertainment industry, Gan thinks while our situations may change (meaning: a global pandemic), our core motivations remain constant, and deeply understanding the motivations driving our new behaviors–and the shifts in what we may value as a result–are the key to getting your brand ahead, and planning for tomorrow.
The Sound team point to several key questions they believe home entertainment brands should be asking themselves to enhance connection with consumers:
What is the core motivation behind engagement with your brand today?
What motivation(s) could your brand better satisfy tomorrow?
And how can you leverage motivations and the shifts in what we may value to shape communications and innovations to meet expectations in a post-pandemic world?
In conclusion, Gan hopes that businesses can utilize The Sound’s findings as an opportunity to understand how well they are delivering on needs and core motivations to stay relevant, or even become part of the routine. Additionally, she hopes that home entertainment brands will expand the view of their sandbox from direct category players, to the real competitive set. Knowing this provides not only insight into who brands are truly up against, but also sheds light on need-gaps to fill, and leverageable strengths to win.
For more information, visit Sustaining Boom in Home Entertainment to read the full study.
Media Contact
The Sound: Exploration, Strategy, Innovation DARIA@THESOUNDHQ.COM 7785130255 45 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10010, USA http://thesoundhq.com
