It shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear that we are living in an era of exponential change. Those of us who work in the world of advertising and media research know that the world we live in is a fast-moving one, both socio-politically and culturally. Ray Kurzweil, resident AI expert for Google and author of The Singularity is Near, argues that exponential change is now the norm. He predicts that the world’s current rate of change is not a unique dot in human history but will get faster year-on-year. This growth of change is exacerbated by the amount of data that we are exposed to, 90% of the data that exists in the world was created in the last 2 years.
How do Human’s React to fast-moving change
If fast-moving change is now the norm, what does this mean for the human mind? According to our latest wave of QT data, 46% of British consumers often feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available to them online and this is having an adverse effect on their ability to feel confident in their choices. According to research conducted by the Decision Lab, “information overload decreases our cognitive capability and can lead us to make suboptimal decisions”.
Too much change has a similar effect, as once we recognise change this often leads us subconsciously to process and understand more information in order to feel secure. In psychology, the Kubler-Ross’ change curve is a loose framework showing how we deal with significant change. While the order of dealing with change can differ, the act of recognising and processing change is always the first step in the consumer journey. Therefore, in a world where increasing rates of significant change and information overload is becoming more prevalent by the day, it is likely that British decision beleaguerment is not going away.
Where can brands step in?
So, what can brands do to help? The most important thing they can do is recognise their own importance as a cornerstone of confidence going into the future. Stability is not a bad thing. In fact, 70% of consumers want brands to offer them guidance that is clear and easy to digest. People want to rely on brands in an era of fast-moving change. Being a familiar face to turn to could help to boost brand loyalty in a period of great uncertainty.
Source: QT, Decision Lab
