This is not your captain speaking, but for any nervous fliers out there, hope might be on the way: an Austrian startup seems to be making good progress on using software to reduce in-flight turbulence. The seatbelt sign is now off, you can continue reading the rest of this newsletter.
Scroll down to read about the girlfriend effect, Simba, and how TikTok might have changed advertising.
Stats to power your week
👻 For decades horror programming was broadcast late at night or kept behind content ratings. But streaming has made it easier than ever for young people to find spooky stories. And they’re certainly keen on it – Gen Z are 22% more likely to prefer horror films, and are also 22% more likely to prefer horror TV. Something to keep in mind as more ghoulish tales aimed at teens and tweens come to the scream. We mean screen. GWI Core
🤳 In our latest Zeitgeist survey we’ve rerun some questions, originally asked in February 2021, asking consumers what they want from ads. The biggest trend points to the growing influence of TikTok and perhaps the waning influence of Covid-19 – there’s been a 31% increase in the number who want social media ads to be entertaining. GWI Zeitgeist (US/UK)
🏰 The Walt Disney Company celebrated its centenary earlier this week. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are still liked by 32% of 8-11 year olds, but they’re no longer Disney’s hottest property – Iron Man (37%), Simba (36%), and Captain America (34%) outrank them these days. The House of Mouse is also the Villa of Simba. GWI Kids
🪞 Fact check: we can confirm that popular TikTok trend “the girlfriend effect” has a ring of truth to it. Compared to their single counterparts, UK men in relationships are 76% more likely to enjoy spa holidays, 72% more likely to use facial moisturizer, and 65% more likely to use hairstyling products. GWI Core
📠Spare a thought for the poor fax machine. Covid has changed many things about the world of work, but one of the less-heralded office trends has been the near-terminal decline of telecopiers, with the number of professionals who use one dropping by 41% since 2019. Who’s still faxing? Among others: Japanese businesses, HR managers, and healthcare workers. GWI Work
What’s on our radar
Netflix will open its first brick-and-mortar outlets in 2025, in what looks to be hybrid stores and immersive experiences.
A recent election in Slovakia has shown the difficulty of dealing with deepfakes during polling time, while the UK had a similar moment during party conference season. Some more positive examples of voice cloning have been seen in reconstructing a Cyberpunk 2077 actor and the BBC’s former football scores reader (both with their family’s blessing).
We now seem to be entering a new stage of generative AI’s growth, with more companies using it as part of the overall fabric of their work, not just as a headline-grabber. But in somecases it’s proving controversial.
As happened with crypto, we’re also seeing more attention come to AI’s environmental footprint – but new hardware might make it a lot greener.
Typical. You wait decades for a miraculous weight-loss drug, and then two come along at once. As with Ozempic, diabetes medication Mounjaro is showing promising results in combating obesity in a recent study.
Is luxury going through a vibe shift? Change is certainly afoot in China. Its Gen Zers are getting thrifty in the “Stingy Economy”, its shopping streamers are adapting with “quiet selling”, and outbound tourists are choosing McDonald’s bags over Hermès bags.
TikTok favorite Laufey wants Gen Z to fall in love with jazz, which could be easier than you might think – globally, jazz is more popular with them than indie music or EDM.
Chart of the week
As the dust settles on the pandemic years, it’s helpful to revisit many of the predictions from that time, and some of the attitudes we took for granted.
The initial stage saw a spike in the number of consumers who wanted brands to be socially responsible (or eco-friendly, as lockdowns had a side-effect of bringing the state of the environment into focus), but this hasn’t persisted. After quarters of decline, it’s now below the figures from 2019.
There’s still 4 in 10 consumers who want brands to do these things, but take note: both datapoints in the chart are still behind the biggest wish consumers have of brands – listening to customer feedback.
Local lowdown
Tea with Germany
It may seem a strange concept to any Brits reading, but Germans are bigger tea drinkers than you might think. The difference is: you can put the milk away, as it’s technically infusions that Germans have the taste for.
51% in Germany drink fruit tea (or “Früchtetee”), and 45% drink the herbal kind, putting them well ahead of all other countries in our Core Plus research.
If you’ve got the taste for tea made the German way, your best bet is to head to Saxony, the region with the most drinkers and where their way of consuming it is culturally protected.
