I’m ready to go home.
If, as intended, you’re reading this over your Saturday morning coffee, I’m now back in London, reunited with Tara and the girls. My week-long voyage to Cannes Lions, the global advertising and media conference, is a wrap.
Before Cannes, our family did a week in Paris and did all the things. The weather was scorching, the air conditioning scarce. One highlight was the septuagenarian French woman in the apartment across the courtyard from our Airbnb who spent the evenings buck naked with her windows wide open, clearly not giving a f—k, so long as it kept her cool. Sweltering heat aside, Paris was awesome.
I left for Cannes last Saturday. Maddie moved into her dorm in London. Tara and Noelle headed for Portugal. The conference was completely over the top, but also a far greater business investment than I could’ve hoped. Maybe I’ll write about that another time.
In Cannes, three of us stayed on a boat we chartered and “branded,” complete with a live-in captain, steward, and cook. I say “boat,” instead of “yacht,” and “cook,” instead of “chef,” only to make it sound marginally less obnoxious. To be fair, it was something of a hack. With hotels and Airbnb rates jacked to the roof, not to mention scarce meeting spaces and available restaurants, being able to sleep, eat, entertain, and host meetings in one centrally located “home” was relatively economical. Still, we were far from roughing it.
The boat crew was local. Their English was a four out of ten – compared to our zero out of ten French. So, communication was tricky, particularly in the first few days, as they walked on eggshells trying to figure out if we were assholes.
As an aside, I wondered aloud in the weeks leading up to our trip whether we would feel a different vibe from our European counterparts. America’s leaders haven’t exactly been charming to our foreign friends lately. Alas, people were as nice as ever.
So, the last night on our boat, we invited the crew to join us for dinner, an overture that made them confused, if not entirely uncomfortable. We convinced them, nonetheless. By the end of the evening (and several bottles of chardonnay we shared), we navigated the language barrier. The previously shy steward regaled us by singing a traditional French song at the table. We laughed together. We exchanged numbers and social channels. We became friends.
At one point, we asked them: In the parade of people who occupy the boats they serve, who made the best guests? In unison, without pause, they yelled “Americans!” – a response none of us expected in the current geopolitical climate. Consistently, they said, their American occupants were the friendliest, funniest, most generous, even the most respectful to women – the last being a particular callout of the female steward and chef. Even acknowledging their obvious bias in the moment, my heart was warmed beyond belief.
It was a welcome reminder that leaders and policies come and go. What stays is how each of us treats people, how our empathy manifests, and how we carry ourselves.
We were treated very well by our British, French, and Portuguese hosts throughout our trip.
But I can’t wait to get back.
Here’s what we’re seeing:
Consumer confidence is uninspiring. Our Economic Sentiment Index fell a minuscule tenth of a point in this week’s reading, which is essentially flat if we’re being honest about margins of error. Views on the job market fell the hardest (though still minimally), offset by somewhat rosier optimism for the long-term U.S. economy. None of our other metrics moved even one point on our scale. The roller coaster of uncertainty and relief has now settled into doldrums.
Overall financial health, however, improved a bit in May. Since I skipped writing last weekend, I’m sharing this a week late. Our Consumer Financial Health Index ended its three-month skid, as Americans are feeling better about their savings and investment outlook. Troubling, though, is the continued increase in concerns over household debt. This is the time bomb that worries me the most. Check out the full report to see the fascinating shifts by generational cohort.
Support for Pride Month and other cultural/heritage events is up this year. In last week’s 3 Things to Know, we found a YoY surge in consumers’ attitudes about companies’ efforts supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and other diversity initiatives, which runs completely counter to the prevailing narrative. Figure it out for yourself, so I can keep my political views to myself. We also saw that a growing number of Buy Now, Pay Later users aren’t paying off their balances. Finally, we looked at the high popularity of limited-time menu options at fast-food restaurants. How’s that for a hodgepodge?
Americans’ views on the Administration’s immigration policies are complicated. In this week’s 3 Things to Know, we got a bit deeper into political issues than normal. For starters, we found highly nuanced sentiment around Trump’s immigration efforts. People are generally supportive of the steps the Administration has taken to secure the border, much less so about the deportation policies and humanitarian implications. Second, we dug into attitudes about government spending, learning that public infrastructure and transportation are the only categories where a majority of Americans support increased government dollars. Lastly, we looked at declining observations of Juneteenth in the U.S. workforce.
People are sleeping less this year, and it’s highly predictive of their media behaviors. Likely due to all the chaos and uncertainty of recent months, the percentage of Americans who report sleeping less than 6 hours per night climbed, while those sleeping more than 6 hours fell, compared to the same time last year. We also studied the correlations between sleep duration and media consumption, uncovering a few unintuitive factoids. For instance, the most prolific sleepers watch a lot more TV/streaming content. They’re also more partial to pop and rock music, while under-sleepers prefer country. More interesting discoveries are here.
Formula 1 fans are a valuable bunch of people. A complete coincidence, vis-à-vis the panel I saw with Zak Brown this week, our team published a study on the growing universe of F1 fans – and they are growing, like crazy. It’s not just about the larger audience – they’re about as attractive for marketers as you’ll find…young, affluent, and interested beyond a single team or driver. They’re more likely to travel to visit friends this summer, more likely to upgrade a major appliance in their home this year, and much more optimistic about the future. Related, we verified the impact of streaming docuseries on building fan interest in new sports.
More awesomeness from the InsightStore:
- Here’s how young Americans are planning to spend their summer;
- Interest in clean beauty products is holding steady amidst economic headwinds;
- You missed one webinar on how publishers can thrive during economic chaos;
- And a second webinar on how the current state of uncertainty is affecting travel, recreational sports, and more.
The most popular questions this week:
Do you prefer upscale or traditional when it comes to food trucks?
Do you generally support or oppose the idea of outdoor dining in your community?
How do you feel about moving back to the neighborhood where you grew up?
Do you think it’s normal to feel tension with your in-laws?
Answer Key: Yes…The Police, for one; Traditional; Who doesn’t?; Probably not; Sure…I’m 1 for 2.
Hoping you’re well.
