Knowing how Canadians see their future will help brands put people at the core of their business.
SUPPLIED
As creative consultants at Leo Burnett Canada, we’re always trying to deepen our understanding of human nature. Who we are. What makes us tick. What we desire, what we fear. Why we behave the way we do. But what happens when human behaviour shifts so dramatically?
Over the past two years, the lives of Canadians have been upended in nearly every aspect – how we work, how we shop, how we socialize, how we make plans and how we care for our families. And as the next wave of COVID-19 takes hold, the uncertainty of it all has led to increased anxiety about life in the new “not going to say it.”
As a creative consultancy that believes in solving business problems by creating human value, we wanted to better understand what Canadians are struggling with right now, and what concerns they have about their future. To do so, we went into the field and surveyed more than 4,600 Canadians over eight months, starting in February 2021, to gauge what’s keeping them up at night and how we might use this information to help brands better respond to these worries.
More generally, the HumanKind™ Study revealed that 50 per cent of Canadians are concerned that too much of their life is being wasted doing something that doesn’t make them happy and almost 60 per cent said they were concerned about the future and what hardship might come next.
When it comes to their personal lives, the findings revealed that 61 per cent of parents are worried their children have been more emotionally impacted by the pandemic than they’re letting on. As a result, one in two parents are concerned about how actively involved they are in their children’s lives.
As inflation rises and the prices of products increase, four in 10 Canadians said they’re concerned they will never feel financially secure or confident again – with women more likely to feel this way than men.
We can work with brands to help alleviate concerns and problems and, in turn, strengthen the relationship between brands and the people they serve.— Tahir Ahmad, Chief Strategy Officer, Leo Burnett Canada
And despite the well-trodden mantra that “we’re all in this together,” nearly half of Canadians (47 per cent) said that they believe their communities are more divided than ever. Those concerns extend to the future, as well, with nearly 70 per cent of respondents saying they fear as a society, we haven’t learned anything from the pandemic.
As grim as those findings might sound, this study wasn’t intended to simply be a summary of what ails us. The last thing the world needs right now is another negative headline. The findings are an opportunity to improve how people live. Now that we have a better sense for what’s on Canadians’ minds and the barriers in their lives, we can work with brands to help alleviate these concerns and problems and, in turn, strengthen the relationship between brands and the people they serve.
The study lays bare eight main themes related to the personal, cultural and environmental “human problems” identified by the survey. With each theme, we’ve identified three key “opportunities at hand” as starting points for brands to put the needs and concerns of people at the core of their offerings.
From prioritizing marginalized people and adopting equitable pricing models, to boosting transparency measures and promoting healthier relationships with technology, the opportunities represent an inflection point for brands to step up and fill the voids left by the unprecedented cultural shifts related to climate change, changes in government and the pandemic era.
To put this research into action, we’re excited to be launching a new creative product to help brands think forward to address these human problems and develop a roadmap to solving them through boundary-pushing creativity that touches on everything from products and services to customer experiences and advertising.
This is a period of real uncertainty and concern for Canadians. The challenges they’re facing are having a real impact on their quality of life and they’ve acknowledged they need help overcoming them. If there was ever a time for brands to put people at the core of their business, this would be it. This is a tremendous opportunity for brands to help Canadians move forward in more positive, helpful, human ways.
To learn more about the findings from the HumanKind™ Study and services provided by Leo Burnett, visit leoburnett.ca/humankind.
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