Want to create content and campaigns that really connect? It’s time to get curious
DEEPER ENGAGEMENT If curiosity is so vital to our lives though, why have we all waited until now to explore it? What is wrong with what has gone before? Our lives are more complex than they have ever been, and traditional life paths have splintered into a myriad of opportunities. Yet our content plans, media buys and sales still rely on the fact every man living in Liverpool aged between 35-44 and working in an office thinks exactly the same way about everything. That they will be responsive to the same messaging and words. This isn’t true. Think about everyone you went to school with - you weren’t all friends then, so why assume you’d all hold the same beliefs now? By incorporating curiosity into our strategic thinking, we can move outside demographic boxes, and produce content (branded or editorial) that reflects how people engage with the world, not just what check box they currently sit in. But, just as audiences are not all the same, neither are curiosity types. We identified five distinct ‘Curiosity Cohorts’. Each one represents a different curiosity style and how someone engages with and explores the world. Using our proprietary data, trend analysis and industry expertise, and combining it with your existing or target audience data, Sticky can chart which cohorts you should be speaking to and the best way to engage them.
A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE Curiosity can vary, though. Some people are naturally more curious than others. World events can diminish or enhance curiosity. In the report, we’ve identified six key global trends that impact curiosity journeys - including ‘Mass Mistrust’, a reflection on today’s media and editorial landscape, which highlights the impact fake news has on the global psyche. The rise of false information can make some people shy away from traditional media (diminishing their curiosity) and seek out their own answers (enhancing their curiosity), regardless of fact-checking or control. It can make people question who to turn to (diminished curiosity), while also providing the opportunity for brands and publishers to showcase why they should be believed (enhanced curiosity). As content creators, regardless of where we sit on the publisher, brand, marketer spectrum, we are naturally relentlessly curious. It is a superpower that fuels our work. We need curiosity to be able to do our jobs, but what does that mean for brands as a whole? Sticky’s research and case studies have revealed that utilising our approach to curiosity can help you move beyond traditional audience segmentation, uncover true motivations behind purchasing decisions, improve brand out communication, build better resonance with comms, reward desired behaviours, and fundamentally drive intended outcomes. How can a new method of audience segmentation deliver on all this? Simply put, curiosity-driven content answers an inherent need in us as humans. It satisfies a hunger and in doing so releases dopamine in our brains. This hit of dopamine rewards our audiences for engaging with our content, and beyond that, allows them to associate our content with that sense of joy dopamine brings. Our brains crave this sensation, and quickly return to brands which satisfy our curiosity.
NICK BAIN | SENIOR STRATEGIST, STICKY
A quick Google to see where else you’ve seen that actor. That pub quiz question you are sure you got correct, no matter what the quizmaster says. The hours you spent choosing just the right pair of trainers, hotel, car, job, etc, etc - all simple examples of how we explore our world through curiosity. Curiosity is an intrinsic human behaviour and emotion. It fuels our discovery, enhances relationships, and connects us with the world. And as publishers and creators, it can drive our content and creativity forward.
As we grow, our curiosity evolves. As toddlers, we are filled with wonder at things in our immediate reach. Through childhood and beyond, we use curiosity to fill gaps in our knowledge, motivate ourselves, fulfil desires, and to discover more about the people in our lives. Taking it to the next level, we can use curiosity with purpose to build and foster links between things we never thought to connect. Sticky’s report, The Power of Curiosity , brings all of this to life and showcases how an individual or audience’s curiosity can empower you as a publisher or brand.
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