It’s often been said that we’ll run anything on B&T. But this story about the Icelandic cucumber shortage is out there even for us. Or is it? Edward Heaney, iProspect’s strategy director, thinks there’s a lesson for us all in the matter.
A cucumber shortage in Iceland seems like a strange headline. The fact it was driven by an innocuous salad recipe shared by TikToker ‘cucumber guy’ makes it peak 2024, and the power of ‘passive content exposure’ in action.
The rise of this phenomenon is reshaping consumer behaviour and having a trickle-down effect on brand strategies, interest groups and cultural norms.
“Passive content exposure” refers to encountering content without actively seeking it out. While this isn’t anything new, shortform video discovery platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have exponentially increased the level of short-form content people are exposed to daily. WARC revealed that, globally, an average user now spends 34 hours a month on TikTok, 28.05 hours on YouTube, and 15.50 hours on Instagram – approximately 16% of our waking hours! From goat yoga to cottage cheese bread recipes, these platforms are serving up a personalized smorgasbord of content that seems to know what will interest us, before we do – or at least that’s what the promise is.
The rise in popularity of these platforms, can in part, be attributed to the fact that they simplify our decision-making process, and reduce the mental load required thanks to passive viewing.
As Professor Scott Galloway says: “The biggest mistake we make in marketing is believing choice is a benefit. No, it’s a tax. Consumers don’t want more choices; they want more confidence in the choices presented. TikTok has taken this to a new level by eliminating the burden of choice entirely. Its content is a continuous stream of videos where the decisions are made for you. Your only choice: what not to watch.”
While I don’t have a ‘strong’ urge to try goat yoga, the increasing exposure to this type of content is making it easier to connect people to niche interests and influence cultural norms. As a result, this phenomenon is shaping both consumer behaviours and how brands respond, opening a valuable avenue for influence.
Cucumber isn’t the only food experiencing viral success, with cottage cheese bread surging in virality thanks to short-form content. In May, related searches skyrocketed by 679%, much to the delight of the cottage cheese industry bigwigs and a possible reason why Bulla Dairy appointed Margaret their chief cottage cheese officer.
This surge isn’t just a coincidence.
Social media algorithms, which favour fresh, viral, and interest-related content, have played a significant role in propelling cottage cheese into the spotlight. Whether orchestrated by industry leaders or a natural outcome of digital trends, the impact on consumer behaviour is undeniable – it literally got me to make bread out of cottage bloody cheese.
Social media companies have increasingly shifted from prioritizing content from ‘trusted’ sources to emphasizing user-generated content. This change, along with a focus on maximizing time on platform has led to the delivery of more dramatic and emotionally appealing content. This has contributed to a significant role in popularising more fringe activities such as parkour, e-sports, drone racing, and ultramarathon running, the latter of which has seen a remarkable 1,676% increase in participants in recent years.
Once considered niche or extreme, these activities are now reaching wider audiences and increasing consumer eccentricities through consistent and widespread exposure to passive content, and the ripple effects should not be ignored by brands.
But what does a cucumber salad driving supermarket shortages, the rise of cottage cheese recipes, upside-down pineapples in shopping baskets, and increasing numbers of ultramarathon runners mean for brands?
In today’s digital landscape, consumers are encountering a surge in passive content exposure, which accelerates the discovery of extreme fringe interests, creation of new trends and normalization of unconventional behaviours and consumer eccentricities. For marketers, this new landscape is both a minefield and a potential gold mine.
The key to success? Moving from a reactive to proactive approach.
To accelerate their growth, brands need to anticipate our wants to differentiate — knowing us before we know ourselves – as being reactive will increasingly no longer be enough. As outlined in dentsu’s latest Consumer Vision 2035 report, brands will need to anticipate and shape the future of what consumers crave, are passionate about, and flock together for.
As passive content continues to rise, reshaping everything from consumer behaviour to cultural norms at a rapid pace, brands that navigate this dynamic environment with agility and foresight will thrive. Conversely, those unable to adapt may find themselves as obsolete as last week’s cucumber salad recipe.
Now off to see what this goat yoga is all about!
