Going Out on a Whim: Proposing a Structure for Spontaneity
New research shows Americans are looking for more spontaneity in their lives. Can brands step up and make it happen?
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Let’s start with the summary:
Brands should be creating more low-risk opportunities for consumer spontaneity. Our research at Quick Study shows there is a hunger for more spontaneous activity from Americans of all ages, and that many of the largest barriers could be minimized by companies in their lives. The result is a win/win: A welcome return of spontaneity to the cultural landscape and more affinity for the brands that make it happen.
And now, how we got there:
A non-exhaustive list of cultural discussions we’ve seen in 2024:
To us, that list and the conversations it sparked seem linked by a shared sense of lament for something unspoken. There’s a pervasive feeling that culture is missing something, has recognized symptoms of what thing is missing, and is looking for ways to get that thing back or find a new thing altogether to replace it. What that “thing” is has been quite the matter of discussion. At Quick Study, we’ve come to believe one of the big things culture is missing is spontaneity. More specifically, people are missing the permission to be spontaneous in a world that has become dictated by calendar invites, guest lists, trending topics, performance reports and timed entries.
What makes spontaneity important? For one, it’s possibly the purest form of personal agency. The element of making a choice on a whim has long been considered something that makes humans human. In fact, only with the technological advancements of recent decades have scientists begun to better understand how spontaneity connects to other brain activities. Even though the burgeoning subject is still so new that the scientific definition of what constitutes a “spontaneous thought” is in question, there are results that point to how spontaneous thought activates and utilizes the brain in ways that “on-task” thought doesn’t. Far from being ill-thought-out or poorly considered, “spontaneous and off-task thoughts involve complex, dynamic orchestration of activity across distinct networks at the whole-brain level.” We might see the stereotype in our minds of the “free spirit” who lives on the margins, unencumbered by their inbox or a calendar and decide that person is careless, but in reality, it’s likely their way of operating requires the same type of complicated considerations that a more routine person does.
This shift in human behavior has been driven over time by a fetishization of stability and certainty that has trickled down from the mentality of the Fortune 500 and into our personal psyches. We want ROI, guaranteed results that our choices were the right ones. We praise efficiency and seek it in all aspects of our lives. We tend to reward answers but not the process. But in the background of this cultural shift, has the yearning for spontaneity actually waned, or is it simply being suppressed?
Given the cultural conversations…
…revolving around the idea of spontaneity, we wanted to quantify if there is a shift in how people view being spontaneous and tease out some of the influencing factors. A new poll from Quick Study of 502 Americans shows that almost 75% feel their relationship with spontaneity has changed in the last 5 years in some way. 63% believe they are the same level of spontaneous or less than they were 5 years ago. Only 13% of Americans feel “much more” spontaneous than they were 5 years ago.
Some of our key findings further confirm common assumptions about who has the opportunity to be spontaneous & how, while others challenge existing beliefs. For example, we initially expected more people would feel less spontaneous today compared to 5 years ago, but the results were actually even - 37% feel somewhat or much more spontaneous than they did 5 years ago while 36% say they feel less.
The differences are clear once you dig into the demographic and psychographic data. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found that the older you are, the less spontaneous you feel compared to 5 years ago. But that doesn’t mean young folks are immune from the issue at hand: despite being the most likely generation to say they are more spontaneous than they were 5 years ago, over ⅕ of Gen Z says they are less spontaneous than they used to be (56% said somewhat or much more spontaneous, 22% said somewhat less or much less). As an 18 year old female from California said, “I would love to have the level of spontaneity I did when I was younger.” (Wouldn’t we all!)
Some other key findings:
Men are likely to feel that they’ve become more spontaneous, while women are likely to feel less spontaneous than they did 5 years ago.
Parents actually feel more spontaneous than they did 5 years ago (by a 5% margin).
There is a big divide regarding combined household income - those over $125,000 feel much more spontaneous than they did 5 years ago and those under $125,000 feel much less.
Unemployed Americans feel much less spontaneous than they did 5 years ago, while those who are employed full-time feel more spontaneous.
Americans with bachelor's degrees or higher feel both more and less spontaneous than those without a college degree, who generally feel the same level of spontaneity in their lives as they did 5 years ago.
In addition to their sense of spontaneity and how it has shifted over time, the survey respondents also helped paint a picture of the key barriers to spontaneity that exist today: changing economic conditions, the limitations of time, and a general anxiety of the unknown.
It’s clear that the general perception amongst Americans is that spontaneity has become a luxury that’s too risky because of all of society’s moving parts. To keep life efficient, we must know what the menu looks like and what we’ll order before we get to the restaurant. We must look at the setlist from previous shows to make sure the band will play the songs we want. We must use Instagram to chart out exactly what photos we’re going to take and where we’ll take them on our vacation. We want to get our money’s worth, ensure we squeeze the most out of the experience, and take it for all it’s got. As Melissa Kirsch of the New York Times wrote a few days ago, “We’re careful to avoid spoilers for books and movies, but we don’t tend to think about other pre-received information in the same way. We know that novelty is key to happiness, but we’re researching the bejesus out of our lives and any possibility of surprise is eliminated.” In other words, we’ve collectively become too self-conscious to be spontaneous.
In his book, “Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity”, Edward Slingerland traces the identified importance of spontaneity back through the philosophers and thinkers of history. He paints the link between spontaneity and self-consciousness as an ongoing central tension of humanity: “All of these thinkers tell us that, if we can just get into a state of complete spontaneity and unselfconsciousness, everything else will work out. …We are being urged to get into a state that, by its very nature, seems unattainable through conscious striving. … This is the paradox … the problem of how you can try not to try.”
What if the challenge of trying not to try was less of a burden?
Does de-risking spontaneity, even a little, make people more likely to do it? Our study found that if perceived barriers were removed, 79% of Americans would be willing to embrace more spontaneity in their lives. Google Search trends show people are at least thinking about being spontaneous, but perhaps the barriers discussed earlier are holding them back. And that’s where the opportunity is.
Imagine that the inherent risks and downsides of being spontaneous are like walls we build around the chance to be spontaneous. Many companies currently contribute to or act in ways that make those walls too high for the average person. While most of these barriers won’t disappear anytime soon, the space within those walls — where spontaneity could thrive — could be de-risked. The container as it looks today may be daunting, but the right brands can turn that container into a PlayPlace for spontaneity.
Consider the long-term success of the immersive show Sleep No More in New York, which is getting set to close after running since 2011. The show, based on Macbeth, is set in a multi-level warehouse with 100 rooms and over 20 characters that the audience can freely run around with and explore so that each patron experiences the show in their own way — a true “choose your own adventure.” You're encouraged out of your comfort zone but are still in a safe space. There is risk — you may lose your friends for a few hours and you will almost certainly not see everything you’d like to —but the walls have been lowered to bring forth the best experience possible. No wonder why some fans have seen it (experienced it?) over 100 times.
Being an ambassador for spontaneity can be a direct path to showcasing a brand’s selling points. Seatgeek’s “Expect the Expected” campaign, for example, explicitly played on spontaneity, framing the ticket resale app as a controlled experience that enables spontaneous ones (that sentence is a new personal record for ex- words). In one swing, their ads de-risked the situation for two types of spontaneous people: the early ticket purchasers who will now feel safer to buy tickets early since they can resell them if they decide they don’t want to go to the event anymore, and the late ticket purchaser who decides last minute they want to see an event and need a trusted resource to make it happen.
Permission to be spontaneous for consumers, whether explicit or implied, is perhaps most visually represented by the impulse buying that occurs in physical retail. Research around impulse buying at physical retail shows time and time again that the right environment can create a spontaneous purchase. Our own shopping mall conversations last year with hundreds of customers often linked impulsivity to fun. Tactics as simple as a “spin the wheel for a deal” experience give shoppers permission to be spontaneous in a way they didn’t plan to be initially. In our survey, many told us about spontaneous shopping decisions they’d recently made:
“I bought a pair of yoga pants spontaneously because they look so good.” - 56 y.o. female, Illinois
“I was shopping recently with only the intention of buying a few groceries. However, I came across some indoor smart cameras; and after browsing for a few minutes decided to purchase them.” - 37 y.o. male, Texas
“I recently bought Halloween decor on a whim.” - 40 y.o. female, Texas
Mystery grab bags are another way to easily create the space for spontaneity: a customer pays a set price for something they know will be at least that value without knowing exactly what it is. The NY Mets offer a $100 mystery memorabilia assortment at their games, guaranteeing at least 2 items worth $100 or more — the fun is finding out what the items are and which players potentially signed them. Both the wheel and mystery bags have also made the move online, where retailers have been gamifying discounts and selling excess inventory as “mystery products” more than in the past.
Spontaneity for brands doesn’t have to be complicated. The rise of surprise and delight tactics on social media in the 2010s showed how easy it can be to make a mark if you are plugged into the right conversations (back then, they were usually on Twitter). Today, brands often try their hand at those tactics on TikTok. Lululemon or E.L.F. Cosmetics sending gifts to their most outspoken (and sometimes paid) supporters isn't a new concept, but doing it in a way that “surprises” the receiver creates a sense of spontaneity and the kinds of reactions that viewers love. It’s also important to remember that spontaneity on social media doesn’t have to mean off-brand; the super viral Stanley cup that survived a car fire in 2023 was a perfect opportunity for the brand to play up an RTB (the bottle is indestructible) while also acting in a positive, spontaneous way with the woman who lost her car.
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In all of these examples on social media and beyond, companies have found ways to reward spontaneity and use it to broaden consumers’ consideration set. It offers people something we know they’re missing and craving while providing an environment that reduces anxieties and minimizes downsides.
So, what are the biggest opportunity areas for brands?
And how big do they need to go to make an impact? We asked our respondents to rank the areas of their lives where they would be most open to having more spontaneity if given the chance. The top-ranked category across all demographics was trips/travel. After that, responses differ by age and other identifying factors.
For example, the top 5 for Gen Z:
Trips/travel (47% ranked it in the top 2)
Shopping (32%)
Dining/eating (30%)
Attending events (27%)
Dating (24%)
Compared to the top 5 of Americans 35-64:
Trips/travel (50% ranked it in the top 2)
Attending events (34%)
Dining/eating (34%)
Shopping (23%)
Content consumption (what you watch, listen to, read, etc) (22%)
While travel & events create obvious opportunities for spontaneity, we also saw spontaneous actions on a smaller scale, too:
“I spontaneously finished up all of my chores in one day; instead of multiple days it usually takes.” - 26 y.o. female, Oklahoma
“I went to a different grocery store instead of my usual.” - 39 y.o. female, Indiana
“I drove to a nearby town.” - 39 y.o. male, Kansas
“We decided to go out and get milkshakes.” - 32 y.o. female, Florida
“I decided to allow someone in a private space without planning.” - 26 y.o. female, Pennsylvania
“Gathered my family and went on an outing without planning it first.” - 30 y.o. female, Iowa
These answers, coupled with the rankings, tell us that when thinking about being spontaneous, people see spontaneity as more than just one thing. Some want their spontaneity to have a specific and substantial action attached to it, while others just need a little side quest in their day. They carry different levels and types of risk, but both are examples of areas where brands could play a more active role moving forward.
At the end of his book on the philosophy of spontaneity, Slingerland wrote, “If we can manage to not push too hard when trying is bad, and not think too much when reflection is the enemy, the flow of life is always there, eager to pull us along in its wake.” The flow of life has felt more like riding a roller-coaster inside a tornado for Americans the last few years, but brands have an opportunity to play a more active role in reintroducing spontaneity in ways that de-risk it enough for everyone to enjoy. A little more in-the-moment thinking could make life a lot more fun, and make your brand more successful, too.
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.