Confidant Zeitgeist
The Cult of Everything
How Cultural Fragmentation is Redefining Brand Devotion
Every week, we crank out The Zeitgeist, our weekly roundup of noteworthy campaigns and trends.
Earlier this year, we featured a Plain English podcast where The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson suggested that the fragmentation of media and culture has created an environment where "everything is a cult." That made us wonder - if this is true, what does that mean for brands and comms people? So, we teamed up with our friends at Vytal, the Gen Z-focused market research firm in our Nostos Network, and looked at how niche community subculture overlaps with brand devotion. Our findings from a study polling 1,000 Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z Americans validate the impact of brands that authentically show up in subcultures instead of striving to align with the mainstream.
See below for a few key stats. For a deeper look, check out our press release and short whitepaper.
Thanks to Eleanor Hawkins at Axios for sharing her take here.
45% of Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X Americans Feel More Connected to Niche Communities Than Mainstream Culture
Nearly Half of Respondents Prefer Brands That Cater to Specific Interests
88% of Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z Americans Are Engaged in Niche Communities
51% Say Feeling Part of a Brand’s Community is Important
Half of Respondents Use Brands as a Way to Express Their Identity and Values
Disengagement is More Likely to Result From Not Executing the Basics Well Than Misaligned Values
