Friday 5: Need-to-know numbers from this week

  1. Employers are hiring, but do marketers want the job? Well not exactly. Some 22% of them want a totally new career path with “greater purpose” 

Why should you care? 

This new research from Hays and the Chartered Institute of Marketing highlights how the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the marketing industry and wider jobs market. While looking for a new job or career path is far from news (especially for the under 30s, who are looking for a ‘career experience’ rather than a job-for-life/climbing the corporate ladder), it’s interesting to see how Covid has impacted marketers’ career priorities: 6 in 10 now plan to change jobs in search of hybrid working practices. 17% even said they plan to look for an entirely new role based entirely remotely. 

 

2. Concerns over provenance are transforming the UK food shop – since the start of the pandemic nearly half (48%) of UK consumers are paying greater attention to where their food comes from using kitemarks and other means

Why should I care?

The survey of more than 1,000 UK adults conducted by Proagrica (a global provider of technology solutions for the agriculture and animal health industries) found 71% of us are reducing food miles by purchasing local produce, while 57% are shifting to less-polluting food types and reducing our meat and dairy consumption.

Graeme McCracken, Proagrica’s CEO, says: “Many were making considered food choices to minimise their carbon footprints before the pandemic. However, our research shows COVID-19 has pushed more people to think about the types of food they are eating and how it is produced. This is informed by two underlying concerns –  environmental impact and health.”

 

3. 59.4% of consumers don’t trust influencers, TrustPilot Reviews or the company website selling the product

It comes as no surprise that most people don’t trust influencers when it comes to buying something based on their “truthful” review, but what’s shocking is new research which shows consumers don’t actually trust any of the following sources:

  • TrustPilot Reviews
  • The company website selling the product
  • People they follow on social media
  • Google Reviews
  • News Websites
  • Blogs

Why should I care?

While most people don’t trust any source from the list above for an honest review, respondents were more than twice as likely to trust someone they follow on social media as the company’s own website. With influencer marketing set to become a £13billion industry this year and 75% of brands planning to allocate a significant budget to influencer marketing – what can be done to rebuild consumer trust in influencers and brands more broadly? 

Despite the research finding mixed results in terms of whether users trust social media influencers, it’s still a fast growing channel that marketers are continuing to invest in. With the growing prevalence of TikTok and short-form video content from influencers, perhaps we’ll see the trustworthy brands/influencers rise to the top – it’s much easier to build trust and a genuine relationship through video, rather than a posed photo with generic ad copy underneath! 

 

4. Game on: 37% of mobile gamers purchased a product because of an in-game ad

Why should I care?

The Drum and YouGov surveyed 1,200 US adults to reveal their attitudes towards in-game ads. While the research comes from the US, it still provides valuable insight into the wider gaming/ecommerce industry as the UK will likely follow the trend. 

Mobile gamers have always had a rocky relationship with in-game ads as many complain about their interruptive nature. However, it now appears that a significant number of people say they are watching ads and making purchases as a direct result.

Interestingly, a large portion of mobile gamers appear to understand the value exchange of watching an ad in order to receive free game play. Roughly half (51%) of mobile gamers say they would prefer to watch ads rather than make in-game purchases. 

In-game advertising is a very underestimated and untapped ad medium relative to the time and money spent by gamers. Nicole Pike, YouGov’s global sector head of esports and gaming sums it up in The Drum piece: “The positive association between in-game ads and a free gaming experience makes the integration a natural and value-added experience for mobile gamers.”

 

5. Footfall in UK’s hospitality and restaurant sector increased around a third (32%) in the week immediately following the re-opening of indoor hospitality on Monday 17 May

Why should I care?

Because the research was carried out by our wonderful client Huq Industries! But also, something you might not expect is that the North West region saw the largest jump in activity, rising by an average of 39%. However, Greater London came last on the list of UK regions, showing a rise of only 22%.

In the 15 towns and cities showing the greatest rises, the increase ranged between 44% and 56%, suggesting that indoor hospitality added half the number of customers again.

According to Conrad Poulson, chief executive officer at Huq Industries: “It’s interesting that London saw the smallest increase in people returning to indoor hospitality. This could be due to lingering nervousness, or the easy availability of home delivery options. It does suggest that restaurants, pubs/bars and hotels in London may have to work even harder to attract people back after the lockdown.”