• by Danielle Oster , 2 hours ago

A new report from The Harris Poll finds that many brands may not be keeping up with shifting consumer attitudes, relying on outdated paradigms that aren’t resonating in “The Age Of Dissonance.”

At a time when automation and social media algorithms can lead to a sea of sameness, consumers are looking for authenticity and real-world experiences. According to the report, 82% of Gen Z and millennials expressed a desire for brands to bring people together in spontaneous ways, and 76% said the best social media trends are those that “show up in real life.”

Younger audiences also show a mix of AI adoption and anxiety around its capacity to disrupt the job market.

Marketing Daily caught up with The Harris Poll Chief Strategy Officer Libby Rodney to discuss the report and its takeaways for brands.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marketing Daily: Does consumer fatigue with standardization, and pursuit of authenticity, clash with brands’ increased focus on investment in automation?

Libby Rodney: There’s this algorithmic pull toward the middle, because we live algorithmic lives on social media. Companies pursue that pull toward one look and feel that performs well, and we see that in how luxury travel design has started to look the same, with 80% of consumers saying Instagram has created this “copy-and-paste” effect in luxury travel. l. Brands are going to be in danger if they let AI handle these types of things, and begin to look like everyone else, and everything starts to feel the same.

Young consumers in particular want to break that mold of being pulled toward the middle, because they want to be defined by their own individual identity, which shows up in trends like shopping at thrift stores.

There is an ecosystem where AI could be a good investment, it depends on where in processes brands use it for efficiency. Brands like Aerie are getting positive recognition for saying they’re not going to use AI photography or AI models.

Brands walking away from real human characters, or models, on the other hand, might be in real heated territory, as well as other areas where its use is seen as taking human jobs. There was real pushback from younger consumers when Duolingo – which had been a Gen Z darling – announced they would replace some of its workforce with AI. If AI is taking jobs, whether models or entry-level positions, they are going to feel cheated.

Marketing Daily: Gen Z has expressed increased interest in in-person retail. How is a desire for trends that “show up in real life” shaping brand behavior?

Rodney:  We're in short supply of third places. There’s a real desire for brands to fill some of that gap in the retail tourism space. Seventy-three percent say shopping at a retailer feels like being part of a cultural moment.

Also, there’s  this growing awareness that online social experiences that don’t lead to real-life experiences are a real missed opportunity for brands. Too often brands think in a divided world. There’s a full-circle connection coming back to brands when they can take something that started online, provide in-person experiences offline, and then bring it back online again.