Sophie Hamilton, marketing executive, PML Group, shares new iQ research in this week’s Out \ look
iQ 2022 Research – Part 2
Last week we reported that 59% of Dubliners would use the words ‘hopeful’ or ‘optimistic’ to best sum up their feeling for the year ahead. This compares to 21% who would use the words ‘pessimistic’ or ‘anxious’. 17% of 16-24s describe themselves as ‘excited’ about 2022, more than double the percentage of any other age group. We presented further detail on attitudes towards personal finance, job security and the trajectory of the pandemic in 2022. This week, we publish the second part of this research study, which was carried out among 300 16–54-year-olds in Dublin, with fieldwork carried out by Ipsos MRBI.
First up this week we look at personal health and, in this regard, Dubliners are very optimistic about the twelve months ahead. More than half – 56%- believe they will have a better year health-wise in 2022 with younger age groups and females most optimistic. The only age bracket where this falls into a minority rather than a majority is the 45-54s, at 39%. However, they don’t necessarily believe it’ll be a worse year, with a further 49% believing it’ll be the same as 2021.
Overall, respondents are optimistic that 2022 will be a better year in terms of indicators such as personal finances, job security, health, and socialising.
Looking at personal finances, 48% of the respondents expect 2022 to be better than 2021 with a further 31% believing it will be the same as 2021. That leaves just one in five who think their personal finances will deteriorate in 2022. On this topic, males are more optimistic about 2022 than females and younger age groups more hopeful than their older counterparts in the study. 53% of males expect a better twelve months ahead for their personal finances compared to 43% of females. For 16–34-year-olds the figure is 64% vs. 33% among 35-54s.
When it comes to the wellbeing of family, optimism levels are even higher. 61% of all respondents think 2022 will be a better year for the overall wellbeing of their family. There’s a significant difference here between males (55%) and females (66%). All age groups are also above 50% in believing this outlook for 2022, but the DE social class group dips below this important marker, coming in at 44%. The peak level of optimism regarding family wellbeing is among the female 35-44 age group, at 72%.
We all know it’s been another tough year for the hospitality sector and although restrictions have eased in the second half of the year, our social lives were extensively curtailed in 2021. However, the feeling among our respondents is that 2022 will not be like that again. In fact, more than three quarters of 16–24-year-olds think they’ll be having a better time of it in 2022. Those levels of optimism peak in that age group and trend downwards through the age groups, all at quite a high level. Overall, 63% think 2022 will be a more fun year for socialising, with just 13% believing it will be worse. Peak levels of optimism regarding our social lives in 2022 comes among males 16-24, at a whopping 81%.
Travel will be on the agenda for a lot of restless people in 2022, an area of life missed by so many for the past two years. Based on our iQ research, Dubliners feel that opportunities to travel will be much more plentiful in the coming year. 69% think 2022 will be better than 2021 for opportunities to travel, up at 75% among ABC1s. In terms of age groups, 16-34s is at 74% with the 35+ age group at 65%.
What the research we have shared over the past two weeks clearly shows is that Dubliners are generally hopeful for the year ahead. New variants are a part of the roller coaster of this pandemic, along with many other unknowns, but as we stand, at the tail end of 2021, the public are optimistic that they will be healthier and happier in 2022. For brands aiming to make positive connections with consumers through marketing, that can only be a good thing.
More detail on any of this piece of research is available from the team at PML Group.
OOH Greets Festive Season
‘Christmas never felt so good’, according to the new campaign on OOH for Disney+ this cycle. Let’s hope that’s true and certainly the exciting shows, such as Hawkeye and The Book of Boba Fett, displayed on digital bridges and bus shelters, will add to our entertainment this year. Advertising at this time of year can of course be very emotive. An Post and Vodafone are tapping into themes of connectivity and family in their Outdoor offering this year. Vodafone are using bus shelters to encourage consumers to ‘Believe in stronger connections’ while An Post can be seen on large format and digital panels, featuring family images and a call to ‘make more memories’ this Christmas.
For many, memories of Christmas include traditional favourite foods and drinks. As 7UP pronounce on their cycle 25 billboards and bus shelters…it’s ‘Clearly Christmas’. No Irish Christmas cupboard is complete without a bottle or two. The same can be said of chocolate. Cadbury are back this year with their Secret Santa promotion, using instantly recognisable imagery and colours on 6 Sheets. Nestlé’s Quality Street Intrigue campaign is all about the love on 6 Sheets and retail digital.
The now-traditional Guinness ‘footprint’ creative features this year on large format, 6 Sheets and Digital OOH. The campaign is always very well received in our research with the creative very much resonating with the public. The McDonald’s festive menu campaign carries plenty of appetite appeal with enticing photography that will drive footfall to its restaurants in the coming weeks.
Data in Action
In OOH, data is not geared towards hyper-personalisation but towards creating more interesting advertising and a better experience for consumers. The networks now exist in Ireland to make that impact scalable and truly powerful. As we move beyond the third-party cookie, unblockable channels like Dynamic OOH will be more prominent and brands’ own customer insights and third-party feeds will become vitally important in creating bespoke solutions that can take data and transform it into usable digital OOH content.
A current example of such an approach is Spotify using Digital OOH to showcase aggregated ‘2021 Wrapped’ data, giving a more macro-level take on the nation’s listening habits, complementing the more personal package delivered directly to their individual customers this week.
Place and Time
Carlsberg is using location shout-outs as part of the initial roll-out of a Dynamic Digital OOH campaign for Christmas. The Liveposter-enabled campaign will run in the festive build up with more dynamic triggers fuelling various creative messages in the weeks to come. Location-based marketing is a powerful method of connecting consumers to brands and experiences in the right place, at the right time. We know from research how relevance in content translates to effectiveness in terms of neurological activity, recall and sales and this campaign from Carlsberg is a pertinent example of optimising your message by location to add relevance.
And, finally….
Last chance to order your OOH media pack for 2022. We can arrange delivery to your office or workplace. So, if you would like to receive a pack simply fill in your details at the link below and we’ll take care of the rest.
https://pmlgroup.ie/marketingpack2022/
