Evolving Aspirations:
Navigating Status
By Samira Brophy • 10 mins read
What we find aspirational today is quality over flaunted wealth, and a belief that enrichment includes enjoyable experiences. But how do marketers tap into this?
Key takeaways:
1
What we find aspirational today is quality over flaunted wealth, seeing ourselves as the keepers / drivers of our success and a belief that enrichment includes enjoyable experiences.
2
We have moved from a view that affluence is associated with perfection, heritage, and hierarchy to a new articulation of affluence defined by action and authenticity.
Campaigns that tap into their audience’s idea of success drive results. For example:
TUI and Leo Burnett UK increased emotional connection by 13%, driving passenger volumes up by 30%, by focusing on experiences as a means of enrichment and self-actualisation.
DFS and Pablo created £57 million in additional revenue, and increased campaign profit with an ROI of £3.24 by embracing individual autonomy which we aspire to.
Vodafone and Oglivy UK challenged perceptions, setting an aspirational goal increasing non-user consideration by 30%.
Ipsos recently released a report called Signs of Success which did a deep dive into what it means to be successful in the UK today.
Things have moved on since the 80’s when most studies centred around physical status symbols like microwaves and video recorders. In the 1980s, 14% of Britons owned a dishwasher vs. six in 10 of us now.
Decades of prosperity later, mass attainment of material goods make markers like these less salient. Aspiration in today’s world entail not only acquiring enough wealth to live a secure and stable existence, but also the freedom to enjoy it.
But, what does this shift in how we perceive success mean for marketers and how they communicate?
- In a world of quiet luxury, how do you whisper loud enough to reach your target consumer?
- Have you taken both current and future consumers into account?
- How do you balance out the deep held values on what is aspirational with values specific to the social media world?
Luxury: Whisper don’t shout
Whilst Britons enjoy the finer things in life, they don’t want to flaunt their wealth. Just 10% of Britons say they like to own or do things that display their wealth, while a significant 70% disagree – and a third strongly oppose it.
However, half of Britons (48%) agree that they often spend extra on higher quality products, including two-thirds of those with six-digit household incomes and half of those who consider themselves to have been very successful in life.
Offline vs. Online beliefs
The thing that’s the same about our online and offline beliefs is a desire for autonomy. The thing that’s different is that good treatment of people matters less online vs. being the most important factor for success offline.
The factors we consider essential to achieving success tend to be internal, such as how we treat others, our ability to work hard, and innate skills and talents. As a society we tend to believe that our success is defined by our own actions.
The online sentiment around “making it” reinforces this desire for autonomy, with being able to eat and drink what you want, chasing your own future, and financial control all being frequently mentioned.
Overall people take a meritocratic view of what it takes to be successful
Overall people take a meritocratic view of what it takes to be successful
However, interestingly, the largest indicator online for success is having ‘haters and impersonators’. Despite the negative experience for the individual, being impersonated online and being a victim of ‘hatedom’ is often perceived as a badge of honour and a sign of an individuals success.
This connection between online abuse and success may in part be due to resentments around a perceived lack of recognition. Though more than half of Britons (56%) identify as highly successful, only a third (34%) feel they are recognised for their successes.
Online mentions of ‘making it’ reveal the topics people consider as signs of success
What a changing view of luxury means for marketers
Ipsos analysis suggests a shift in how we perceive affluence. We have moved from a view that affluence is associated with perfection, heritage, and hierarchy to a new articulation of affluence defined by action and authenticity.
Courage, entrepreneurialism, and balance are the new signs of success, so what new signals might luxury brands, or brands with premium offerings, need to emphasise to create an affluent experience?
Let’s look at some ways in which recent Effie winners and finalists were able to understand evolving aspirations and navigate status effectively for their brands.
Cultural shifts toward authenticity social values and responsibility
Traditional affluence
Historically grounded, inherited
- Perfection, precision
- Old, traditional, classic
- Abundance, intensity
- Rules, standards stability
- Individuality, self-interest
- Wealth, profit
- Hierachy, elitism
Future-facing affluence
Born out of entrepreneruial spirit and a certain type of smartness and courage
- Authenticity
- New, innovative
- Balance, self-limitation
- Freedom, change, own rules
- Social responsibility, sharing
- Influence, impact
- Network, connections
Case studies
In summary
As our expressions of success evolve, so must marketers’ ability to appeal and create offers and communication that feels aspirational. Here are our three pointers to achieving that:
1
Enriching experiences to self-actualisation: As stated earlier on, aspiration in today’s world entails not only acquiring enough wealth to live a secure and stable existence, but also the freedom to enjoy it. Focus on experiences and enrichment beyond material status symbols.
2
Challenge preconceptions and set aspirational goals: Ipsos brand work shows how shared values are increasingly important as a measure of brand success. We value autonomy so providing common goal that is attainable through an individual’s or a brand’s actions is well regarded as a shared value.
3
Celebrating individual autonomy and modernising aspiration: We don’t value household goods as ‘status symbols’ the way we did four decades ago. To make them aspirational in a modern way, they can be re-defined as a means of expressing individuality and personality.
Get in touch
Samira Brophy
Senior Director, Ipsos samira.brophy@ipsos.com
Samira is an Ipsos expert on brand and communication work, with 20 years of experience spanning creative and research roles. She leads Ipsos’ earlystage campaign development offer, is a thought leader on ad effectiveness, and works with clients to adopt a misfit mindset and make bolder, highly creative campaigns that audiences value.
