People won't care if 74% brands disappear: Havas report

As most brands have not been able to meet people’s expectations, people will not care if about 74% brands vanish today. This was the startling revelation in Havas Media’s annual Meaningful Brands report titled, 'The rise of the change makers'. 

However, there is some hope for brand marketers. The report observed that while most brands have failed, yet, some have unlocked how to be more meaningful and they are reaping the benefits by significantly outperforming the market.

Conducting its 'Meaningful Brands' study annually since 2009, Havas aims to bring data science, insights, and an understanding of people to the core of its strategic methodology across businesses, brands, and markets. Commissioned with YouGov, the survey captured responses of over 1,56,500 respondents.

The annual survey examined a brand’s impact and equity based on consumers’ perceptions and expectations across three parameters, its personal, functional, and collective benefits—listed across 40+ dimensions and attributes. The most Meaningful Brands are the ones performing well on all three metrics.

“We have been investing in Meaningful Brands study for more than 16 years, and these insights now take on even greater prominence in our work through our shared Converged strategy and operating system. We launched Converged to transform the client experience by building bridges between creativity, media, production, and technology. A shared understanding of today’s consumers is essential to this vision and to unlocking more meaningful growth for our clients and their brands,” said Yannick Bolloré, chairman and CEO of Havas.

While 70% of people feel the world is going in the wrong direction globally, 69% won’t let the tough times keep them down, the survey found. Nearly 67% of respondents representing more than 2,600 brands in 24 markets reported being happy today vis-à-vis in the past and 59% feeling optimistic about the future.

This year’s Havas report has coined a new term, ‘permacrisis’ to describe the permanent state of crisis that world has been experiencing in recent years. Stating that while in 2022, The Collins Dictionary named ‘polycrisis’ its word of the year, as 2024 comes to a conclusion, ‘permacrisis’ is a more apt descriptor for a landscape. It is characterised by escalating climate change, the cost of living continues to soar, political differences are dramatised amidst the biggest democratic election year in history, and conflict, violence, and humanitarian crises continue to affect millions around the world.

In the permacrisis scenario, the conventional wisdom would have painted people as victims of circumstances. However, the Meaningful Brands study reveals a different picture. It shows that 56% people are feeling more in control of their lives, with about 69% trying to be physically and mentally healthy and 63% trying to be environmentally responsible.

These findings indicate a new sense of personal agency—a feeling of being empowered to take charge of the affairs related to health and environment—shown by people. Playing on the word meaning, the report states that the findings also point to an upcoming emergence of a new era of ‘agency’.

The other green shoots of hope alludes to artificial intelligence (AI). While its rise brings ethical, environmental, and even existential challenges, it also offers new opportunities for growth and prosperity with technology creating exciting possibilities.

Mark Sinnock, global chief strategy, data, and innovation officer, Havas Creative Network, explains, “We have entered a new era of agency where the only way to survive is to adapt. We see people take a step forward. They still expect help, and consumer centricity from brands, but they also feel a new sense of optimism and empowerment to affect change and build the future they want.”

Stating that the current hyper-changes are affecting people in different ways, Havas has created six distinguishable psychographic portraits that reveal how people’s desire and the need for change are being manifested across the general population today. Terming the classification as the ‘faces of change’, it names these classes as the committed citizens, progressive optimists, carefree pragmatists, pressured advocates, challenged sceptics, and disengaged pessimists.

Although responding to adversity in varied ways, the ‘faces of change’ are united by an expectation from brands to act decisively, understand their personal needs, and put them in the driving seat, the report observes. Based on the responses gathered during the survey, it prescribes a few good practices for brands to follow.

These include the need to show more humanity and generosity when times are tough (voiced by 73% respondents), need to do more for the good of society and the future of our planet (said by 71%), doing more to support local communities/causes (70%), need to help me (the respondent) to save money (68%), to make my day-to-day life easier (63%), and to help me save time (61%).

Lastly, the survey respondents also recommend brands that they must empower people to become change makers themselves. The report concludes with five guiding principles for brands to address people’s new expectations by empowering them to become change makers:

• Invest in pragmatism to support essential needs of saving time/money and simplifying lives

• Lead with tech optimism, yet also care and caution

• Boost holistic health and quality of life across generations and populations

• Promote purpose and the greater good with act and impact to drive change

• Celebrate communities and foster connections for a more inclusive future

“People are far from blind to the challenges in the world today, but they feel a sense of agency over their happiness. Brands that understand this new resilient and optimistic consumer and empower them to build the life that they want, will build loyal, lasting relationships with their customers,” said Joanna Lawrence, global chief strategy officer, Havas Media Network.