Great Minds - Truth About Britain

At a time of great change and uncertainty, what is Britain really thinking? Join us for a live webinar on Thursday 4th August as we explore identity, community, creativity, crisis and the role of brands and businesses.

Based on the recent findings from McCann Worldgroup’s Truth About Britain report, we’ll be joined by EVP, Global Head of Human Sciences, Dr Rodney Collins, and Board Planning Director, Mark Broughton-Foxall, for an insightful discussion on Britain’s truth and what it means for brands.

This one-hour webinar took place on Thursday 4th August at 10 am. Missed it? Catch up below.

Truth About Britain: Everything You Need to Know
In recent years, we have endured a pandemic, a war and a human rights catastrophe and are also facing significant price rises. Understanding how the British public are responding and how brands should respond is crucial.

Truth Central, McCann Worldgroup’s proprietary research and thought leadership unit, launched the latest instalment in the Truth About Britain research series earlier this year. The team have been tracking the mood of the nation for 15 years, through royal weddings and Brexit, vegan sausage rolls and extinction rebellion, COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.

What’s the truth about Britain today?
Getting to the truth about Britain brings with it a level of complexity and variety. As part of the study, we received over 350 statements defining the truth about Britain, and they demonstrated an impressive range. On the one hand, celebrations of diversity and personal freedoms were expressed, but on the other, views of growing social fracture and individual conceit were also shared.

Calls for decency in an age of indecency
There’s no doubt that we are all familiar with the outrage, the cancel culture and the onslaught of indecency that the nation wakes up to daily. Headline after headline reverberates with violations of justice, equality, fairness, harmony and in our data the mindshare that these violations hold tracks with the headlines. All this points to a view that the moral and ethical fabric of the nation is unravelling, with 44% believing that society is less moral today than it was twenty years ago.

The joy of being British
But it isn’t all doom and gloom. In the study, we found that there has been an impressive decline in the anger Brits feel about immigration. There’s also a growing sense of community and the type of joy that community brings ranges from social acceptance and belonging to a commitment to locality and hospitality as articulated across the quotes.
 

Crisis and the role of brands
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that things can change quickly. Since the Truth About Britain study was completed in March, several significant events have taken place, leading to a layering of multiple crises.

So, is crisis the new normal? 85% of Brits are anxious that the world is reaching some kind of tipping point, whether that be environmental, geo-political or financial.

However, brands have an opportunity to help as 74% of people said brands have an important role to play in bringing our society together. 77% also say that they want a brand that reassures them, up from 64% in 2018.

The key role for brands at this time of multiple crises boils down to reassurance. Brands should be questioning how they can be more reassuring to their customers, both in their wider communications and the customer experience.

Catch up on the full webinar here and learn more about the Truth About Britain study here.