Quarantine culture

From entertainment to ecommerce, stay-at-home cultural trends provide opportunities for brands

As quarantine and stay-at-home orders have kept us indoors for months, our entire way of life has been upended. But, forced to adapt, we’ve found new ways to make connections, exercise, learn, teach or just keep busy.

Swift’s latest Global Social Conversation Report identifies notable cultural shifts during the lockdown period and outlines how brands can respond to these new behaviours.

Gaming cements its role as a place for community

Gaming communities have been finding ways to support each other during self-isolation. For example, players of Animal Crossing and Minecraft created virtual, in-game graduation ceremonies.

There have also been a variety of cross-industry partnerships in esports, such as the American basketball NBA 2K – the first esports league operated by a professional sports league – partnering with ESPN to broadcast the entire season on ESPN 2.

Meanwhile, non-gaming brands such as Nike and Kaiser Permanente have entered the esports industry to promote mental and physical health for gamers.

Social joins streaming as a new alternative to the cinema

When cinemas closed, a production company in China released an entire film on TikTok. Lost in Russia received 600m views in just three days. According to a Weibo survey, most believe the cinema experience can’t be replaced but one in five say that both are acceptable.*

In the US, Trolls World Tour was made available for rent on streaming platforms, pulling in $100m since its release on 10 April.**

Risk-free virtual travel provides an escape from lockdown

Brands and travel industry professionals have created virtual tours using VR and 360-degree videography in order to attract tourists.

Disappointed holidaymakers “recreated” their cancelled vacations: one virtual holiday went viral after an American mother got creative with her TV, an office chair and a mobile phone after she had to cancel her family’s Disney holiday.

Social is open for business

The integration of social media and shopping is accelerating in China. In June, the platform Kuaishou will start supporting in-app shopping during live streams.

Facebook launched Facebook Shops, where small businesses can create a free online store; while Instagram is now helping influencers monetise their IGTV videos.

And TikTok started testing shoppable content features for influencers last autumn and has rolled out a gift-giving feature during the pandemic.

Implications for brands

Brands can take advantage of these changing trends and the greater time that consumers are spending shopping online by increasing shoppable social content, focusing on local targeting and delivering heightened ecommerce experiences.

*Source: The Hollywood Reporter
**Source: Wall Street Journal

For more in-depth insight, download Swift’s COVID-19: Global Social Conversation Report