29 March 2023

Hi folks,

We doubt the Roy family will get quite the same experience of the cost-of-living crisis in the final series of “Succession”, but they may make some trade-offs – according to GWI Travel, fewer fliers are booking business or first-class flights.

Scroll down to read more about CEOs, savings, and sustainability. 

Stats to power your week

🌲 78% of Americans believe that sustainability is important. But what does it actually mean to people? The most common things Americans associate it with are recycling (63%) and preserving natural resources (62%). The original “Don’t Mess with Texas” campaign might actually be a decent example of how the average American feels about the environment. (GWI USA Plus)

🎵 Ever since Lil Nas X dropped “Old Town Road”, TikTok has been seen by some as the next place for new acts and songs to break out. But it’s only the 13th most popular way to discover new music. YouTube (72%) is by far the most popular, followed by music-streaming services (54%) and music videos (46%). (GWI Zeitgeist, excl. China)

📱 TikTok’s CEO didn’t even have a Wikipedia entry until January, but he was in the spotlight last week testifying in front of Congress. TikTokers have since shared a bunch of videos declaring their support for him and the app, even as it faces more bans on government devices across the world. In case you’re wondering – 6% of government workers say it’s their favorite social media platform. (GWI Core, excl. China)

🐱 Cats can have little a salami, but what can consumers have as a treat? Well, if you create audiences of people who buy particular products, and then look at how much they buy those products to treat themselves, you'll find food delivery, clothing, and cosmetics to be the most popular indulgences. (GWI Zeitgeist)

🏦 With multiple bank collapses and concern about the economy circulating, how are people approaching savings in 2023? 33% of people are saving more, and 41% are saving the same amount they were 12 months ago. The most common money-saving action has been looking for ways to reduce bills such as using less electricity, which 37% of consumers have done in the past year. (GWI Zeitgeist)

💸 Cost-of-living concerns are also taking hold in vacation plans. Price comparison websites and search engines are becoming more important sources of info while blogs are down, suggesting travel is now less about #inspo and more about finding the cheapest option. (GWI Travel)

What’s on our radar

ChatGPT has new competition: Bard, Google’s AI chatbot, was unveiled to the public last week. 

OpenAI has announced ChatGPT “plugins”, which will make the technology even more widespread than it currently is. And the GPT-powered Bing can now generate images on request. 

Adobe has joined the fray with its own AI image generator called Firefly. A crucial point: the company claims it’s only been trained on public domain data. Fellow productivity firm Canva has also introduced generative AI tools, while other important AI announcements have come from Mozilla and Tencent. 

It’s not just brand designs that might include AI-generated content now, but TV shows – the Writers Guild of America has given the green light to scripts written with ChatGPT’s help.

AI-generated content is coming to games too, adding more variety to NPC chats. Does this spell the end for arrows in knees? 

Talking is intimate. So we shouldn’t be surprised if people get up close and personal with AI chatbots, or if they use them to help with difficult conversations. But like all data, conversations can leak.   

In more human-based news, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani struck out teammate Mike Trout to bring Japan its third World Baseball Classic title. It might give the sport a shot in the arm it needs – it’s now less popular for Americans to play than soccer.

There have been some important developments in the metaverse with Epic Games announcing “Creator Economy 2.0”. These tools could take the popularity of Fortnite as a platform to new heights, built on the foundation of user-created content.

Netflix has announced that they are planning to make 40 video games in 2023. 

Snapchat is integrating its virtual try-on features with retailer websites. 

Anyone looking to save money by cutting subscriptions will be relieved to know the Federal Trade Commission wants to make your life easier. 

Gen Z might have the lowest credit card debt, but the amount they owe is growing the fastest. 

Chart of the week

“Show, don’t tell” isn’t just good advice for writing, it’s also good advice for brands wanting to convince consumers they’re doing the right thing on diversity, equality, and inclusion. Across almost all industries, the biggest demand for brands is improving DE&I in their company culture, while “talking about DE&I issues” is almost always the lowest.

Beauty and fashion businesses have their own special challenge, though. As they have so much influence on how people perceive themselves, the biggest thing consumers want from them is a wide range of products that can reflect the diversity of the world at large. 

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