Author: Vox Media Insights & Innovation

It’s no secret that moving is one of the most stressful life events— and yet, we’re always doing it. Not even a global pandemic can stop people from changing addresses, as the last ~2-years have proved. Ever since March 2020, when our “new normal” began, it’s seemed like more Americans have been on the move than ever before. It’s an event some have called “The Great Migration.” However, it is important to differentiate the current phenomenon of relocation from the original Great Migration, which refers to the movement of nearly six million Black Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970. Just how “Great” has this current phase of pandemic-era relocation been? To find out, we partnered with the research company Corus on a survey of over 2,000 Americans who have recently moved. Our aim was to: Understand COVID’s impact on moving Identify who moved and why Determine whether the move was positive or negative Find out how moving may have impacted patterns of spend What we found was somewhat surprising. By 2021, the majority of those who were willing and able to move due to Covid had already done so; as a result, nearly six million fewer Americans moved this year because of the pandemic. Read on for more discoveries and how marketers can help fill the gaps in times of transition. JUST HOW GREAT HAS THE “GREAT RELOCATION” BEEN? From February 2020 to December 2021, about 56 million Americans, or about 17% of the population, moved to a new home. That sounds like a lot, but when placed in historical context, it’s a number that has been steadily trending downward for more than 50 years. Even taking into account these low expectations, the number of people who moved in 2021 was still 9% smaller than in 2020. You would have to go back to 2007, the year of another global crisis (that would ultimately lead to the Great Recession in the U.S.), to find an annual drop that significant. Perhaps Covid has actually acted as a deterrent to moving— the opposite of what we’ve been thinking. To find out how much unrealized demand there is for moving, we asked 6,478 Americans who didn’t move during the pandemic whether they wanted to. The results were striking: nearly four in ten said that they would have moved, but for other challenges. Clearly, “The Great Relocation” isn’t so much about numbers as it is about Americans moving under extraordinary circumstances and with more unknown factors than before. Why did moving drop so sharply in 2021, and not in 2020 when the pandemic began? In 2020, almost six in ten Americans who moved said that Covid factored into their decision.  Many of these moves were temporary, especially among college students whose campuses were shut down, and young workers who were laid off or furloughed. This fueled a surge of migration that partly offset the number of people who would have moved otherwise, but decided against it because of the pandemic. However, by 2021 a majority of those who were able and willing to move because of Covid had already done so, and as a result, nearly six million fewer Americans moved in 2021 because of the pandemic. In fact, when we break out the top reasons for moving during the last two years by whether Covid was “decisive” in the determination to move or “not a factor,” we see big differences. Above all, those who moved because of Covid are likeliest to say it was because they were seeking work (21%). Not far behind are two closely related reasons: because they lost their job (18%) and because their partner was offered a new opportunity elsewhere (16%). All three of these reasons were cited at much lower rates by those who say that Covid was not a factor in their decision to move. However, it would be wrong to suggest that most Americans who moved during the pandemic for economic reasons did so because they had no other choice. More than half of this cohort say they decided to move of their own volition. Either way, it was most often people of working age— those with kids and with jobs— for whom Covid presented the kinds of problems that relocating might solve. For many such Americans, the pandemic also provided an opportunity to move and pursue other goals unrelated to Covid. But it’s different for older Americans. When they move, it’s often due to specific life changes, like retirement. All things equal, they are therefore far less likely to move than younger people.  Starting at around 45 and advancing with age, the share of elderly Americans who move each year falls further and further below their share of the population. Although they were (and still are) at much greater risk from Covid, for most older Americans, it was unclear that moving would decrease rather than increase their risk of infection. For these reasons, the elderly were much less likely to say that Covid was a factor in their decision to move. THE GREAT FRESH START  Although relocating for work was a major storyline of the pandemic, when we add up the total number of moves due to economic factors, it turns out to be a very small share of the total migratory picture. Women had a greater tendency than men, by a difference of 17 percent,  to say that the move was the product of necessity instead of choice. THE GREAT REGRET It’s clear that women tend to be better at adapting to a new move. Whereas five out of every ten men said they felt either “a little” or “a lot” of regret over moving, just four in ten women said the same. By the same token, nearly four in ten men said they are “seriously considering moving back in the next six months,” compared with fewer than three in ten women. The single most predictive variable for movers’ remorse was

The finance industry has undergone a digital transformation. For decades, institutions have been our most trusted financial advisors, but the rapid rise of FinTech has allowed us to take matters into our own hands— literally. Through mobile smartphone apps, FinTech offers consumers new levels of access, power, and control, and as a result, they are now re-writing the traditional rules of finance to work in their favor. FinTech also creates new opportunities for financial inclusivity. By providing everyone equal access to products and services, FinTech aims to right the wrongs of the past and level the playing field for the future. But while these messages of empowerment, equality, and self-reliance resonate with today’s consumers, this new world of digital finance remains mostly unknown. To better understand how the finance industry is evolving, Vox Media partnered with Woo Brand Research on a survey of over 3,000 general consumers. 85% of those surveyed feel that technology has made it easier for them to access their financial information, and 82% believe technology has given people the confidence to take control of their finances. Still, overall usage on mobile finance apps remains low (with the finance-savvy Vox Media consumer being the exception to the rule). Now is the time for brands to build meaningful relationships with consumers and help guide them on their path toward financial freedom. Here’s our rundown on how consumers are shaping the new financial future. APPS ARE THE FUTURE Right now, 68% of consumers do most of their banking online. However, there is a growing desire to do more from their phones; in fact, over half (53%) say they would prefer to do all their banking on their smartphone if they could, and 52% say they would use their mobile phone to pay for everything. This desire, coupled with last year’s increase in finance-related mobile app installs, highlights the integral role apps will play in our financial futures. Because our phones are always close by, apps provide the accessibility and control to easily manage our finances anytime, anywhere. We already see 41% of consumers saying that if they could, they would use mobile apps to do everything finance-related. Some key trends among apps: Among the categories we tracked, we see just about all mobile app installs increasing from a year ago— a sign of their growing popularity. While the percentage of apps installed for bank and savings accounts from traditional institutions like Bank of America, Chase, Citi, etc, remained the same, they continue to be the most-installed type of app for finance management. While app installations continue to trend upwards, their actual usage remains low. Right now, more than 50% of consumers have mobile apps for banking, personal wealth management, and digital payment. Credit monitoring apps are also becoming more popular, with the expectation that they will continue to grow at a high rate given the increase of data security breaches. Falling in the middle are mobile apps used for investing, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), loan acquisition, and buying insurance, at about 30-40%. Real estate and investments currently fall at the lower end, with just over one-fourth having these types of apps.  However, there is great potential based on the current real estate market. Among consumers who do not currently have a mobile app installed for any one of these categories, on average, about one-fourth say they are open to getting them in the next year. Millennials are most likely to have a financed-related app installed for each of these categories, followed by Gen Z. Gen X are currently using mobile apps mostly for banking, digital payments, and credit monitoring, but based on their age and earning power, investing in this group makes fiscal sense in the other categories as well. EDUCATION CAN HELP CONSUMERS BUILD CONFIDENCE  While installations of finance apps continue to rise, as of now, only half of consumers understand how to use them. In order to grow the market, companies (both old and new) must first commit to educating consumers on the benefits and advantages of their apps over traditional products and services. Only 47% of those surveyed say they are comfortable using apps to manage their financial portfolios.  For the rest, learning more about the inner workings of these apps, including their benefits and security parameters, can help alleviate current insecurities. Marketers should be cognizant of the fact that how they market to each of the generations may involve a certain level of customization, particularly for Gen Z and Gen X. We say this because: The “newbies’’ among Gen Z are, for the most part, at the beginning stages of building their financial portfolios.  As true digital natives, they don’t need guidance on how to use finance apps, but they do require education about what the apps do and how they can benefit from them. Gen X have had many years of practice managing their finances, but mostly through traditional products and services. In order to capture Gen X’s attention, marketers should focus on helping them transition from the past to the present, including education on the benefits of apps to their financial security and safety. LOYALTY IS FLEETING, AND NO BRAND OR COMPANY IS IMMUNE Consumers are making financial institutions work harder than ever before for their business and loyalty.  As new disruptive companies enter the market and offer consumers more choice, big brands that once dominated the industry are no longer safe.  Consumers demand  innovation and will not hesitate to switch brands if they find something better. 41% feel that more established financial institutions are not offering enough new technology products and services. 39% say they are not loyal to any one mobile app brand and they will switch if they find something better. 32% prefer to support new and upcoming mobile app brands vs. those that have been around longer. BANKING VS. INVESTING AND PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT Despite the learning curve, consumers are more familiar with banking apps than they are with investing and personal wealth management apps, which translates to

As we round the corner on the pandemic and continue to make progress toward solving the many challenges of the last 15 months, marketers will need to acknowledge the role empathy plays in the reopening. While there is strong hope about re-emergence, it’s important for marketers to understand that because of the pandemic we have all experienced collective loss that we will need to continue to cope with in order to create a more resilient society. Brands need to understand consumers’ path to a post-pandemic life, with acknowledgement of loss in their messaging in order to connect with consumers. Working with SightX & ATCS Insights, we surveyed ~2,500 people & studied social conversations and found that: As a society, we share a common bond through loss and coping, and only after understanding that can we speak to re-emergence A healthy understanding of coping can be used by brands and publishers to play a key role in rebuilding a healthier and more resilient society Understanding what consumers want from brands is critical for how to  message and what to message RECOGNIZING LOSS & GAIN Many of us have spent years in marketing thinking about brand building, inspiration and aspiration. But as we discuss “what’s next” for marketing, today’s consumers are increasingly looking to brands for messaging that acknowledges our collective experience, including hardships, during the pandemic. With that knowledge, there is nothing more authentic and important than understanding the consumer through the lens of loss, coping and resilience.  Adam Grant wrote a salient article about how we all feel like we are “languishing,” and the belief that if you don’t understand what someone has lost, you can’t inspire them to re-emerge feeling better. In our work, we found that the vast majority of consumers, three-quarters, stated that this year brought some form of loss.  On average, a consumer stated that they experienced loss in three areas. Here’s how the data fell out: People felt the most loss around time, connection, and their own health.   Right now, people also feel closer to their families and have actually gained a greater sense of personal development and identity. HOW LOSS IMPACTS CURRENT MINDSET 66% state that they currently feel negative, choosing words like  “tired,” “frustrated,” and “tense” to describe the moment. We worked with research firm ATCS Insights and found that in early March 2021, there was a significant spike in social conversations around the concept of “pandemic numbness” on Twitter. At that time, consumers reacted to the excessive exposure to news around Covid-19 deaths by creating an emotional disconnect from the pandemic. People found it more difficult to focus, be creative, and live productive lives. As we re-emerge, this mindset of loss is important for marketers to recognize because we found audiences to half strongly believe life will “continue to be hard (46%)” with the added “pressure of going back to life as it used to be (45%).” THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF COPING Understanding loss is a start, but shifting the focus to coping is even more critical.  When we choose to embrace this nuance, we start to understand the consumer more fully, which actually unlocks our ability to  powerfully market. We utilized a well-defined psychological model, the Coping Circumplex Model, to understand how we are all coping with loss. The model is based on the assumption that individuals in stressful situations face two tasks: they need to solve the problems created by loss, and regulate their emotions during a tough time. We found that the experience of loss actually trumped the loss of something itself. In fact, regardless of the type of loss experienced, there was absolute consistency to how we coped. Further, if we experienced either a loss OR a gain, we had higher scores in coping than those who didn’t lose or gain at all. Using the Circumplex model, we saw that most consumers used “acceptance” to cope, followed by media, then planning. They also turned to connection with others, indulgences such as food and alcohol, and denial of the pandemic itself, though less frequently. ACCEPTANCE & LEARNING The first phase with any type of loss is acceptance, then learning.  Consumers showed a surprising amount of resilience, with about ⅔ hoping to learn and grow from the experience. MEDIA, A CRITICAL ROLE WITH COPING Within the psychological model, we sought to understand the tools one might use to cope.  We hypothesized that some would use media, some would turn to food, and others would turn to vices like drugs and alcohol. We found media was one of the major and most significant tools used to cope.  We escaped through TV, music, and social media connections, and gathered important information from news and podcasts. As marketers continue to contemplate responsible media, this data reinforces the ability brands have to be present, take part in, and even sponsor the activities happening around media as a coping tool. PROACTIVE PLAN OF ACTION Nearly half of consumers are starting to make detailed, focused plans. As we’ve seen in other work, like the post pandemic process and the re-emergence of gatherings, consumers are looking to marketers for guidance. CONNECTION, RELIGION, & EMOTION During this  challenging time, there have been moments where we’ve needed emotional support in both our personal and professional lives. This is where spirituality and  mental wellness may come in. OUR INDULGENCES: SOME GOOD… SOME LESS GOOD Our indulgences can play a major role in coping.  For two-thirds of audiences, they may be sugary sweets that recall childhood, or healthy activities like working out.  For others, it might be over-eating or drinking alcohol.  According to the model, a few of these are considered behavioral disengagement activities and are actually not about coping at all, but denial. DEFIANCE & REFUSAL Despite the fact that much of our coping can be positive, it should be noted that one-third of consumers continue to be in denial about their loss.  This reinforces the fact that for some, the world may be reopening, but their own emotional

In our last study, we talked about how the post-pandemic recovery process will kick off with celebrations, dinners, and hugs with our friends and family.  We couldn’t agree more and decided to look into the return of gatherings. To do this, Vox Media worked with Bastion db5 to survey ~1,000 people to understand mindsets around socializing during the summer of 2021. Gatherings will return in a big way, and most want to host. Get-togethers are about meaningful connections. Hosting will be a logistical challenge that requires a bit of instruction, stress relief, and levity. Post-pandemic parties will have some practical constraints. The cognitive dissonance of gatherings is a brand opportunity. PARTIES AND GATHERINGS ARE BACK Meeting up with family/friends in person came in as the #1 choice for “what I am looking forward to most,” even higher than travel, live events, and dining out. In 2021: These gatherings are likely going to take place in our homes, with 82% willing to host, and  61% open to an indoor hybrid party. Whereas pre-COVID people may have been excited about the superficial elements of parties (Pinterest-inspired decorations and recipes), human interaction is the main motivator for gatherings in 2021 (48% listed it as the top motivator). When asked for the top three reasons hosting was important to them, respondents cited connecting with people they don’t see day to day (31%), celebrating an important occasion (30%), and creating new and lasting memories (29%). Conversely, 18% wanted to try new food/drinks while 17% said they love the details of party planning. WHEN WE SAY EXCLUSIVE, WE MEAN IT Hosts are eschewing “polite invites” with ~70% inviting friends and family, and fewer people open to inviting coworkers (21%) and neighbors (29%). And no crashers: about 2/3 of hosts say they are ready to turn away uninvited guests. THIS PARTY IS GOING DIGITAL SOCIALLY… BUT NOT HOW YOU’D EXPECT Interestingly enough, video apps like Zoom may even have a place in our hosting, with 46% saying they would offer a virtual component. But the inclination to share or brag on digital is being met with hesitancy, with 42% saying they definitely would not post publicly about the event. Is the next evolution of the digital space about fostering an “inner circle” as opposed to widespread promotion? A POST-PANDEMIC PARTY… A PARTY WITH CONSTRAINTS? As many of us re-enter the social scene, it will come with the anticipated stress of party planning and going. 39% anticipate feeling stressed as a guest, while 55% anticipate feeling stressed as a host. Apps and brands may be able to facilitate a feeling of normalcy and comfort during upcoming events. 76% are likely to enforce rules for a covid-friendly party, and 81% are VERY likely to patrol during the party to enforce these rules. In fact, a full 49% of party goers are already anticipating having their temperature taken before being allowed in. The most important elements of post-pandemic gatherings reinforce this: After hosting an event, 86% would clean up more than normal, either by deep cleaning themselves or hiring a professional.  The implications here present an opportunity for party planning apps, cleaning brands, and even food brands to meet consumer demand for different types of portioning & serving. While there are some constraints, hosts are trying to be responsible, not fun suckers. Only 30% would ban hugs—a real stat! Just for good measure, 86% are more excited to plan/host events this year than in the past. Vox Media visitors were less likely to feel stressed about hosting (52% vs. 55%) and more excited to host (92% vs 86%).  However, Vox Media’s audience is more likely to enforce rules for keeping their party Covid-safe (85% vs. 76%) with rules like sanitizer/hand-washing stations (58% vs. 55%) requiring masks (49% vs. 42%), and enforcing social distancing (47% vs. 40%). WITH ALL THE CONSTRAINTS, HOW CAN BRANDS HELP?  It’s clear that these gatherings will come with a need for some direction and perspective. Even amidst the increased caution around gatherings, party planners are still looking for party/event games (33%), budget friendly inspiration (30%), and decor ideas (29%).  At the moment, Covid-friendly innovations (28%) and single-serve options (27%) are secondary to the more traditional entertaining inspiration consumers are seeking. While the vast majority (95%) will do at least part of their shopping in person, only 5% are exclusively shopping online.  Party goers are looking to shop at big box stores like Target and Walmart (36%), traditional grocery stores (27%) and warehouse club stores (23%) when it comes to physical stores.  However, the pandemic has certainly changed our online shopping behaviors. More than 30% will be preparing for these parties leveraging online stores like Amazon. In party prep, hosts plan to purchase the party essentials, with a distinct focus on disposable items: COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, A BRAND OPPORTUNITY While all party guests and planners understand the need for greater safety, there’s a bit of cognitive dissonance happening. We want to be Covid-safe, but we still want some hands-on (read: germy) party elements, perhaps as a way to return to familiarity and convenience. The items with asterisks, in particular, may require brands to help balance consumers’ wants and needs with safely shareable products. VOX MEDIA’S AUDIENCE CARES ABOUT THE DETAILS & ARE WILLING TO SPEND Aside from being more prepared and more excited, the Vox Media audience are definitely looking to have more sophisticated gatherings, with a focus on style, bold flavors, and elevated style. MOST IMPORTANT: THE MOMENTS OF RECONNECTION For most of us, the emotional and mental toll of isolation has left us yearning for quieter moments of reconnection. Small gatherings, even small pleasures such as sharing a meal and playing board games, can feel intoxicating. Looking forward to reconnecting with people (48%) Rediscovering socialization (31%) Combating loneliness (32%), mental toll (28%), or the sense of being overwhelmed (24%) Perhaps the silver lining of the past year is the fact that we will cherish and appreciate having friends over. Bastion db5 is a consumer insights and

Almost a year into the pandemic and Americans have begun to settle into this current normal. And while the vaccine roll out has fostered a renewed sense of hope and dreams of traveling to far-off destinations, for many of us that is too far off—we need a change of scenery and a break from it all, sooner rather than later. Travel has been long known to help relieve stress, which may play a large role in why Americans look to travel as an essential part of their lives. Vox Media wanted to understand how travel is evolving in the wake of the pandemic— and in our new report, we found that humanity is ever resilient and ever nomadic. Even with all the talk of travel stopping, research shows 60% of Americans have either traveled or plan to travel in the very near future….To break it down: 22% have traveled recently for pleasure 38% haven’t traveled yet, but plan to in the next 6 months 40% of Americans haven’t travelled and won’t until they are vaccinated While the tourism and travel industries were heavily impacted, research shows that in 2021 there will be a large opportunity when focusing on the mental health benefits of travel, as well as local travel and experiences.  The Vox Media audience, in particular, is more likely to engage in these new forms of travel. WE ALL NEED A MENTAL ESCAPE The mental and emotional toll of the pandemic along with the need to unplug from our daily lives has built up over the past year which is likely to spur a bounce back in travel and tourism amongst travel intenders and travelers alike. Traveling (even when following Covid-19 safety protocols) may have helped folks feel less overwhelmed with everything going on in the world. And folks see the benefits:  72% said they needed time to unplug and think they will need it again soon. Reasons to travel primarily remain the same with the need for different scenery, de-stressing, and making new memories indexing the highest. VOX MEDIA CONSUMERS EMBRACE TRAVEL…BUT MAKE IT LOCAL The Vox Media audience has always had a deep appreciation for travel — 71MM users were leisure travelers as of March 2020. This trend continues despite Covid-19, with 76% of the Vox Media audience looking to go on a local vacation in the next 12-months. At a demographic level, men and parents also pop as key audiences that want to stay local: Q: I appreciate local tourism now more than ever (Top 2 Shown:) Men: 60% (vs women at 51%) Parents: 59% (vs non parents at 52%) Eater readers: 72% (vs 53% for non Eater readers) These positive differences between Vox Media Travelers and Non-Vox Media show how valuable this audience is across the travel and tourism industries. In general, our audiences are also showing increased interest in different ways to travel, such as long term rentals or camping: LOCAL TOURISM: DISTANCE AND TIME DEPENDS ON LOCALITY Many have been forced to keep vacations close to home, but where you live matters. New Englanders are more likely to stay within a 250 mile radius, whereas those in states like North Dakota, South Dakota and Kansas are willing to drive 500 or more miles.  There is less variance regionally, but again, those in the western midwest or west coast are more apt to drive longer distances. CULTURE Vox Media travelers are also more likely to do activities or engage in cultural experiences while vacationing: 7.1x more likely to go to a comedy show compared to Non-Vox Media travelers 5.4x more likely to go to a concert/gallery opening  compared to Non-Vox Media travelers 4.9x more likely to attend live musical performances compared to Non-Vox Media travelers 2.0x more likely to go to a museum/aquarium compared to Non-Vox Media travelers Brands within these categories are far more likely to reach an in-market audience when advertising on our brands compared to non-readers. Other audiences that are interested in cultural experiences include A35-44, men, parents, and HHI $200K+ TRAVEL INSIGHTS BY DEMO There’s some appeal to traveling for everyone, whether it’s the idea of seeing family after several months, or getting away from family after several months. When marketing to folks, consider that: Even though the pandemic is considered the ultimate stop in our normal lives, it’s time to restart and re-adjust to growing consumer demand. Methodology: Custom Vox Media quantitative survey fielded via Lucid in November 2020. Sample Size: 300 travel intenders and 567 travelers  *based on N=521 before enforcing respondent quotas

Meet the Social Advocates, Active Defenders and Modern Benefactors

As part of our continuing research on policy perspectives, consumers’ media diets, and how media consumption affects society, Vox Media commissioned a survey of ~2,500 subjects from January 10-14, 2021, in partnership with research firm SightX. Our goals included: Assessing the extent of polarization on issues commonly identified as controversial Identifying areas of consensus regardless of political identification Charting a new path for media organizations to encourage responsible, active consumer engagement Articulating the role of the consumer in advocating for better discourse As part of a media organization, we at Vox Media strive to hold ourselves and our teammates to high standards of ethics across our journalism and advertising. We encourage marketers to evaluate their media partners closely and frequently to ensure that advertisers are aligning with responsible dialogues, rigorous fact checking, and thoughtful perspectives. And, as consumers realize their agency in shaping the national narrative, we hope that they will also increasingly support media organizations that advocate for and practice high-quality journalism. Below you can read more on our findings: ON POLARIZATION When asked, people have a muted perspective on their own polarization. While some may classify themselves as staunchly conservative or liberal, 70% of people would consider themselves middle of the road. This political spectrum, shown below, mirrors a bell curve and begs the question—Are we more polarized by our self-identified labels versus the issues that matter? After looking at this data, Vox Media dug further and examined how people think about issues, whether that polarization impacts their desire for change, and the need for media to play a consistent role through responsible journalism. ON POLICY ISSUES There is no doubt that a wide gulf exists between the very liberal and the very conservative when it comes to political issues. However, the data below suggests that the majority of society fundamentally agrees on the pressing issues that the government should address. While we can see that there’s a large difference between very liberal and very conservative people, the majority agree that the US government should regulate guns, care about individual rights of the disenfranchised, create a national health care system, care about the climate, and do significantly more for the American people during COVID, even if it means we are going to go into more debt. ON SOCIAL PLATFORMS One of the critical components to polarization—or the perception that we are polarized—is the current media landscape. When it comes to social platforms, consumers are quickly realizing their impact and role in furthering the divide. The following are some collected stats around platforms: ON NEWS News, in general, should also seek to foster constructive and caring conversation, as 50% state that news media is disrespectful to parties that hold different views and 43% state the news is mean to the other side. This in turn trickles down to our interactions. About ¼ of people stated they’ve been in a real or virtual shouting match as a direct result of the digital content they disagree about. For those that classify themselves as very conservative/liberal, that number actually increases to nearly half. 47% feel upset with the “other side” 44% say they trust people in the US, which means the majority actually don’t trust others in the US 35% believe society has left them behind. For the very extreme conservative/liberal, it’s closer to half A FRAMEWORK OF UNDERSTANDING & ACTION  Our findings demonstrated that our actual differences of opinion, even on so-called controversial issues, are milder than they seem. Consumers perceive some news media and social platforms as contributing to our general sense of polarization, as well as accelerating the spread of negative information. We thought it might be useful to apply systems thinking to the problem in order to chart a way forward. Systems thinking is  a holistic approach that seeks to understand how the individual parts of a system work individually, and how the interaction of those parts can drive overall change. In response to bridging polarization and driving systematic change, the following key elements would need to be addressed: Individuals become aware of how media contributes to polarization Individuals desire more structural changes promoting sustainable healthy content Individuals are willing to change our own behavior and accept responsibility STRUCTURAL CHANGE: THE NEED FOR MORE SUSTAINABLE AND SUITABLE CONTENT A critical component to finding common ground will be altering or improving our media diets. The hope is that consumer expectation will evolve into an expectation of better content from digital sources. The new pillars of healthy content are as follows: WE NEED PERSPECTIVE FROM PEOPLE WE DON’T AGREE WITH 77% enjoy content that shows both sides of the story 76% I think content that humanizes people I specifically disagree with is important 65% the news should differentiate between issues we disagree on and the character of the people WE SEEK TRUTH AND OBJECTIVITY 74% There needs to be a stronger mechanism to verify truth of a headline before publishing it 68% I want content that is more objective than opinionated WE WANT TO BUILD A BRIDGE AND CREATE COMMONALITY 67% we need to read and watch things that cover our common ground more often 60% state that when they disagree with someone about an issue, they seek content to try to learn about other’s POV WE LOOK TO REFLECT NOT REACT 58% agree, The things we consume online should encourage reflection BEHAVIORS: FUTURE FORWARD & READY TO COMPROMISE As we look forward, we are all ready for a new, more promising perspective. This survey was done right after the Capitol Insurrection—90% of people stated the present and future are “most important,” with the majority towards the future as opposed to the present or past. The entire sample of people, regardless of politics, stated their readiness to move closer to the center through compromise, congeniality, and common ground.  Here’s what they all strongly agreed with: 76% believe in the importance of getting things done, even when they don’t get everything they want 73% stated it is important to compromise 68%

A Q&A with Stephen DiMarco, Chief Digital Officer, Kantar & Edwin Wong, SVP Insights & Innovation

At the end of April, a month into an unprecedented nationwide lockdown, 67% of people told us that they were concerned that society would be changed permanently. Heading into the last weeks of 2020, it’s apparent that the virus has indeed changed us. Covid-19 has put into question the very fundamentals of “normal” that we’d all come to unthinkingly accept, but despite the disruption, the pandemic has also created a rare opportunity to reflect on our lives and, potentially, to reset them. To better understand audiences’ new behaviors and shifting sentiments, explore this roundup of all the research our Insights & Innovation team shared this year. DIGITAL LIVES (AND HOW TO MAKE THEM BETTER) Breaking the Algorithm As much as we have advanced our digital lives to create algorithms to optimize engagement, time spent on site, and drive scale, we have yet to construct algorithms that challenge ourselves to be better to one another. Simplicity Leads to Malignancy Understanding complexity is crucial to all of us understanding each other, but the oversimplification of the information we consume online has led to a regression of empathy. Quality journalism can bridge the gap. THE FUTURE OF MEDIA Why Podcasting Is a Powerful Medium for Any Marketer The opportunity for marketers to reach audiences on audio. Podcasts deliver trusted and relevant content in a focused, rich, and powerful package, that audiences say they can’t get anywhere else. Why Supporting Local Journalism Is Good For Business Supporting local journalism is incredibly important in building incremental audiences and communities, making for a valuable environment for advertisers to target relevant consumers and drive action. POWERING PURPOSE  Why Equality Matters Gauging the public’s pulse on areas of inequality in America and how Vox Media’s readers and non-Vox Media readers define equality: what issues matter most, expectations of brands, and the role of journalism. Vox Media Audiences and the Black Lives Matter Movement in Numbers Finding universal support among Vox Media audiences for the Black Lives Matter movement— as our readers look for ways to drive action and create lasting change. Misinformation in an Era of Disruption Dissecting the conditions that have enabled misinformation to proliferate, discussing how to overcome the obstacles to consensus, and charting a way forward. Credible Context in Journalism Examining journalism’s role in overcoming the obstacles imposed by rampant misinformation and the actions marketers can take to combat the noise. CONSUMER TRENDS Unprecedented Times and Unprecedented Shopping Understanding what “normal” means for consumers in terms of their mindset, media consumption, and values. 2020: a Year When We Tried New (mostly local) Brands Vox Media research explores how the pandemic adjusted our current routines and rhythms including how and where we shop. The Holidays: A New Marker for Meaning This holiday season consumers and marketers have adjusted their practices, habits, and attitudes when it comes to creating a cheerful season in an otherwise stressful year.