From the Library of Quick Study, June 2024
Maybe the most disruptive thing is the thing that doesn't disrupt
Hi. Hey. Hello. This is The Other 90, a blog about strategy from your friends at Quick Study. Today’s newsletter takes about 3 minutes to read.
If you’re behind on planning for Q4 or getting ready to kick off planning for 2025, we’re here to help. Reach out to us at hello@quick.study and we’ll custom build a sprint that gets you an effective, actionable strategy.
Let’s start here:
Millions of TikTok users and beyond were exposed to a blatant example of Soloculture thanks to this viral video of a woman comparing what she sees in the comment section of a TikTok to what her boyfriend sees (uploaded here because the embed was being weird, sorry!):
I’m not sure people truly realize how individual their consumption has become, and moments like this help jolt the consumer to attention in ways that are hard to top. Once people become aware of this type of siloed experience, they tend to look for more ways to control what they consume, which leads us to our most recent research…
Control State: Our Newest Study Guide is Out Now
Last month, we released new findings that show Americans want more control over their relationships and interactions with brands. What they don’t want, however, is total control. Our Study Guide includes research from the “consumer empowerment” movement that shows how important control (or just the perception of it) can be to improving brand loyalty, purchase behavior, and more. We also have some tips for how brands can better approach the topic of control in their comms planning and messaging. Definitely check it out!
Disruption vs. Integration
Blackbird Spyplane dropped an interview with Alison Roman last week in which she expressed her general fatigue with the idea of disruption in relation to food. “Everyone’s disrupting, and it’s exhausting,” she said. “And sure, it’s nice to have options, but I don’t wanna ask people to spend their money on something that’s not necessary.” Jonah Weiner of BBSP referred to this as a “VC-backed mindset” but the obsession with disruption is, of course, much bigger and older than that.
Ever since there was a norm, there have been people trying to disrupt it for their own means. More recently, brands have tried to make disruption the norm in order to stand out, sometimes using social media, collaborations, physical stunts (whether real or digital fakes), etc. Heck, about 8 years ago my team wrote a literal math equation called the Science of Hype that quantified the disruption potential of an idea based on its novelty, scarcity, and influence.
But for a while now, disruption has actually been the norm, and that’s not necessarily for the best. As we hit the summer of 2024, an already volatile year is chugging toward its inevitably explosive fall, and I struggle to see the role most brands think they can or should play in “disrupting” such a moment in America and abroad. We warned of the need for a new mentality in our 2024 preview “Hiding in Plain Sight”, where I wrote:
“The most natural approach to relevance, and frankly the approach I hope to see more from brands in 2024, is to hide in plain sight for the subcultures that matter to you most… It’s about your brand becoming so synonymous with an action, a moment, or a thought, that it doesn’t feel like an intrusion to be there.”
In the piece, we included things brands could be doing more of, such as:
Making a complicated aspect of your consumer’s life easier, whether it’s related to your product’s use directly or indirectly.
Respecting consumer’s time by broadcasting messages through channels they’ve opted into that truly provide value.
Supporting creators and influencers that have real, natural affinities for your brand in ways mega-influencers cannot and do not.
Choosing not to speak on every trend or internet topic just because it might get a few likes. (This feels particularly important to remember for the next few months!)
Is your brand doing anything on this list? Or is it disrupting for the sake of disruption? It’s not too late to adjust.
The Other 90 is written by Rob Engelsman, a former baby model and now Cofounder & Strategy Partner at Quick Study. To find out more about how we help brands and agencies get to smarter plans faster, email hello@quick.study. You can also find Quick Study on LinkedIn.