Breakfast & Brainfood: All change?

Change has been a big topic of conversation at Vested recently. Not just because our industry is ever-evolving, but because here at Vested we know that change – in business terms, and in terms of our audiences’ behaviour – can be a daunting thought.

So we wanted to dig into what drives change, what it means, and how we can tap into the mechanics of change to drive awareness, engagement and action within our audiences. 

This is why we are launching Vested Change; a new proposition to help our clients navigate changing audience beliefs and behaviours, changing business environments, and changing industries through marketing communications. 

And so yesterday morning, we held the latest of our London Breakfast and Brainfood events, titled: ‘All Change?’. On our expert panel were our Change Agents: behavioural psychologist Simon Moore; futurist William Higham; and strategic forecaster, Paul Flatters – who we’ve been working with to really get under the skin of change.

The discussion opened with Paul Flatters noting that one key issue will be dealing with the challenges of an aging population, given the number of elderly people over the  age of 80 living alone is expected to double within the five to ten year time frame – and what this means more broadly in terms of housing, intergenerational wealth and health.

And whilst it seems obvious and an often discussed topic: how many brands are really prepared for the opportunities and challenges it will present for them?

According to futurist William Higham, the uncertain times we are living in are really shaping how the medium-term horizon will play out. What’s more, changing attitudes in long-established consumer societies are indicating that we may be moving away from consumerism, towards community-based societies. Of these changing values, William explained, “I hate using the terms ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘zeitgeist’ – but we are seeing a paradigm shift, and we are looking at a new zeitgeist.” 

Behavioural psychologist Simon Moore’s proposition was that modern life is now a question of capacity. From the perspective of marketing and communications professionals, this means we must be wary of all of the proverbial plates that our audiences are spinning in their lives, and the fact they have no space for more ‘plates’. “The key is to understand their needs, and figure out what will motivate them to throw off one of your competitor’s plates and start spinning yours,” he explained.

The underlying message for marketing and communications professionals? When it comes to our audiences, we’re competing for headspace.

Today’s Breakfast and Brainfood offered a wealth of insight, both from our experts and our industry peers who attended. The topics explored are all things we will be  delving deeper into – not least because so many guests said we’d need to do a few more of these events to carry on the conversation. So thank you to our experts and to those who attended! We look forward to seeing you next time…