June 27, 2022
The year 2022 has so far unfolded in three stages. It started with an air of deja vu, with a large wave of Covid, strict sanitary measures, and all accompanied by the start of a Russian invasion in Ukraine. Quietly, the measures faded away to make way for a full resumption of activities. Combined with various factors (war in Ukraine, confinement in China, etc.), this recovery unfortunately contributed to a sharp rise in inflation.
Resumption of activities: winners and losers
Gradually during the spring, the sanitary measures were relaxed, which allowed a certain return to normal in several areas. This recovery has had winners and losers. In particular, we were able to witness the return of large-scale shows and festivals, a recovery in tourism and the return of several employees to office towers. All of this had a positive effect on traffic city centersabandoned for two years.
In return, some organizations that saw their activities flourish during the pandemic have suffered the backlash of the recovery. This is particularly the case of Goodfoodor even Netflixboth of whom lost followers, a reality they weren’t used to.
A few months earlier, Facebook announced a loss of subscribers for the first time in its history. As every year, Facebook was at the heart of the news, among other things because of a dizzying drop in its share price as well as its development projects in connection with the metaverse.
A pandemic that has changed habits
In the coming months, it will be interesting to see what will remain of the habits acquired during the confinements of the past two years.
On the online grocery side, for example, the pandemic will have had the effect of accelerating demand. This led Métro to open a first center order processing online as well as offering annual subscriptions on delivery. other players have also invested in their grocery delivery service.
As far as work habits are concerned, compulsory telework is gradually being transformed into voluntary telework. Like many other subjects over the past two years, remote work could create divisions between a part of the population (40%) who can benefitand the other portion which cannot enjoy it.
Still on the subject of telework, a questionnaire conducted by the BMO Chair in Diversity and Governance with 29,000 respondents revealed that 84% of employees say they are more effective in teleworking and that 80% want to continue after the pandemic.
With the labor shortage intensifying, managers will have to be sure to listen to their employees’ needs in terms of the way work is organized, because the latter often have the embarrassment choice in terms of jobs. The name of the McDonald’s restaurant chain’s recent recruiting campaign, ” Interview us is also very revealing of this new balance of power between employee and employer.
Galas under threat but still creativity
Sanitary measures seem to have made life difficult at awards evenings, the interest in which seems to have declined in recent years. In the United States, the gala Golden Globes was not presented on TV, while at home, the end of the Artis Gala was recently announced.
Luckily, more award shows continue. This is the case of the Idea awards, which again this year crowned the best creative communications. In the Grand Prix Advertising Creation category, the lg2 agency won top honors for the campaign As milk spokesperson. The agency also won the Business Results and Strategy Grand Prize for in the countryside created for Hydro-Quebec.
Shattered confidence
For the rest of the year, the subject of inflation should remain in the news, while that of a possible future recession should take up more and more space. This will certainly not have a positive effect on consumer behavior.
In the United States, their confidence is already at the lowestwhile in Canada, consumers expect already have to reduce their level of savings and consumption, by buying less expensive items in the grocery store or by limiting their outings to restaurants.
If consumers seem rather pessimistic about the coming months, this does not seem to be the case for North American marketing managers. According to a survey conducted in the spring by the dentsu agency with more than 500 marketing managers in Canada and the United States, 77% of respondents said they were optimistic about the future of the economy in the next 12 months. A large majority of them are also thinking of increasing their marketing budget. Auspicious!
Prepare the rest of the year with Isarta Formations:
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