Well, it looks like someone took the words right out of our mouths. Or, more accurately, right out of our 10 Trends for 2010.
Yes, a recent study assessed over 3,000 brands to see how they measure up on down-to-earth-ism. Not surprisingly, many brands at the top of this list are dependable, traditional, long-running staples for American consumers: Kraft Foods, Morton Salt, Ace Hardware, John Deere, etc. And, the study seems to describe them in this manner, defining down-to-earth-ism with descriptors such as being real, true, grounded, authentic, and even “innovative” in some cases.
However, we think there’s more to down-to-earth-ism than these passive brand characteristics. Down-to-earth-ism is also about actions. When we originally introduced down-to-earth-ism, we pointed out that this trend replaced big, sweeping claims (which may feel unattainable in the current economic climate) with “an aggregate of small promises that are consistently achieved.” It’s easy to see how the aforementioned brands live up to this statement, as they create numerous tangible improvements to consumers everyday lives. The top ranking brand from the study – WalMart – essentially delivers this message in their “Save Money. Live Better” messaging, suggesting that the repeated action of saving a few pennies here and there will regularly pay off for consumers in their daily lives.
In an interesting parallel, Newsweek recently published an article that called out a corresponding trend in architecture. The author finds that the iconic, challenging, and flamboyant buildings of the past decade are increasingly giving way to subtle, efficient, and functional priorities (such as the North Caroline Museum of Art pictured above). While extravagant buildings have certainly been tempered in the short-run by the real-estate bust, there also seems to be an architectural corollary to the idea of the new austerity. Architects are finding the pull of eco-friendly buildings, smarter urban planning, and collaborative design to be, in some ways, just as fulfilling as creating the next Beijing Bird’s Nest (which, tellingly, is now occupied by tacky retail stalls, or – even worse – hampered with vacancies). The fact that this ascetic aesthetic so closely resembles consumer behavior seems to support the idea down-to-earth-ism is more than just a temporary response to tough times. Instead, brands that keep themselves grounded may find themselves best positioned for long-term success.
