GIM Study: "New seriousness" hits marketing

The results of the new representative GIM study "The 'Personality Shift' through the Corona Crisis" show: The corona crisis is currently shifting the value structure of many consumers towards a "new severity".

For many, it is more a matter of maintaining their own prosperity and relying on well-known and well-tried concepts in everyday life. However, Generation Z is an exception: It still strives for a hedonistic life that is geared towards fun and experience.

The "new seriousness", however, also has consequences for brands and their communicative strategies. Media and advertising communication should not further increase people's anxiety. In addition, creative implementations should generally be less shrill and colourful, but rather focus on seriousness and solidity. 

GIM Managing Director and responsible for the study, Dr. Jörg Munkes, comments: "Understanding people's personalities and value orientations is crucial for successful brand management and communication. In the current phase, brands should primarily provide reassurance and appear credible. The desire for proven values is very pronounced among people. The maxim: 'Hedonism? No, thanks! - but Back to Basics!"

The representative GIM study is based on two survey waves (January 2020 and end of April 2020). It is based on the nationwide GIM society study "Wie tickt Deutschland" (How does Germany tick), which is characterised by a continuously conducted survey using a proprietary online survey tool.

We provide the complete study report "The Personality Shift through the Corona Crisis" free of charge (click here, only available in German).

You can download the press release on the topic here (only available in German).

Also interesting: While the "Personality Shift" examines how the corona crisis is currently shifting the value structure of many consumers, the GIM foresight study "The Black Swan COVID-19" deals with the anticipation of future value changes.