I recently found myself in a personal situation that I think reflects one of the issues I've been thinking and reflecting on for some time.
The other day, I went on a short bike ride in the mountains. This time, I went alone. After a few laps around the hills, I noticed I had a puncture. I changed the inner tube without any trouble, but when I tried to pump up the tyre, I realised that the gas canisters I usually use were empty.
Fortunately, I was already on my way back and my house was only about 5 or 6 kilometres away. Since the weather was nice, it was simply a matter of patience and treating it as a stroll.
While I was changing the tyre, about six cars passed by on the quiet track, which isn’t a small number. However, only one driver stopped to ask if I needed help. The driver was an older man, probably from the Boomer generation. Ultimately, he couldn’t help me as he didn’t have the means to inflate tyres either, so I thanked him for his kind offer and told him to carry on, saying that I would continue walking at a leisurely pace.
Of course, this episode has no statistical value: it is merely an anecdote. However, it made me think about how the collective mindset of our society is evolving.
Recently, at Punto de Fuga, we conducted a psychosocial study of different generations called 'Re-Generations'. In the study, we analysed four different generations:
- Generation Z (1995–2009)
- Millennials or Generation Y (1981–1994)
- Generation X (1969–1980)
- Baby Boomers (1949–1968)
The aim of the study was to identify the differences and continuities between generations in key aspects of social and personal life.
One of the many aspects we wanted to analyse was the main factors contributing to happiness in each generation. To achieve this, we asked the following question:
“From the list of aspects below, choose the ten that in your personal opinion are the most important for feeling happy with your life today.”
Participants could choose from 30 possible aspects, grouped into five broad categories:
- Health and well.being
- Social relationships and family
- Finances and work
- Leisure and consumption
- Collective mindset
The most surprising finding of the analysis was that the younger the generation, the less influence aspects related to the collective mindset have on their own happiness.
In a way, the results point to a clear trend: a progressive shift in the concept of happiness from the collective to the individual.
Looking at the data in detail, we saw a clear generational pattern. Among the Baby Boomers, three of the 15 most relevant aspects relate to the collective mindset:
- Living in a society that guarantees the well-being and basic needs of all people.
- Living in an egalitarian society (regarding gender, background, etc.).
- Feeling that the actions I take help to improve the environment or sustainability.
Among Generation X, only one of these aspects appears:
- Living in a society that guarantees the well-being and basic needs of all people.
In the younger generations (Millennials and Generation Z), no aspect related to the collective mindset appears among the top 15 factors of happiness.
Undoubtedly, the shift towards a society where collective factors play a lesser role in determining happiness is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained from a one-dimensional perspective. Cultural changes, economic transformations and the evolution of family models, as well as other factors such as the impact of technology on our relationships, may be influencing this shift.
Disciplines such as sociology, social psychology and politics are likely to provide more in-depth interpretations of this phenomenon. But even without conducting a detailed analysis, it is clear that this trend could have significant implications for the future shape of society.
And this raises an interesting question for the world of market research:
What implications might this phenomenon have for marketing and for the way brands connect with people?
If happiness is becoming more individualised, it could also profoundly change the way brands connect with society.
For decades, many brands have based their connection strategies on shared values such as progress, community and the common good. Advertising has largely served as a platform for shared narratives.
However, if happiness increasingly becomes a matter of personal preference, the common ground could shrink, forcing brands to adopt increasingly personalised and specific segmentation strategies.
In light of this phenomenon, a number of questions arise:
- Will brands find it increasingly difficult to connect with large sections of the population?
- To what extent will they have to hyper-segment their communications?
- Could there come a time when this communicative segmentation becomes unsustainable?
In the coming years, the real challenge for brands may be not only to refine their segmentation strategies in order to connect with increasingly individualised audiences, but also to rediscover the values, emotions or experiences that can bring people together again.
Carlos Claver
Account Manager
