The grief, trauma, and physical isolation of the last two years have driven Americans to a breaking point.
— President Joe Biden
Marketing guru Mark Schaefer thinks businesses can cash in on Americans' mania.
Mania may be "the biggest marketing megatrend of the decade," he says. "It’s bigger than the metaverse because it impacts almost everybody."
Businesses can monetize mania in any number of ways, Schaefer suggests. They can:
- Offer customers spas, massages, and "stress-relieving activities like yoga, meditation, and running;"
- Provide them sleep aids, alcohol, comfort food, and games;
- Offer psychological counseling (both online and in-person);
- Support customers' hobbies (painting, knitting, cooking, woodworking, etc.); and
- Deliver products and services that capitalize on nostalgia.
"If you think this through," Schaefer says, "the changes being forged by stress and mental health could impact how, when, and where customers shop, how they consume content, and who they trust."
I think Schaefer is onto something.
The pandemic has brought about a sea change.
Every day is now a Manic Monday.
- First, redesign your frustrating telephone tree. Allow customers the option of skipping all announcements and dialing the CEO. Encourage them to leave him verbally abusive messages and offer weekly prizes for the most creative ones.
- Retrain all customer service reps (CSRs) to impersonate Mr. Rogers. Retain only those whose impersonations are dead on.
- Provide cannabis-laced cookies and brownies in your reception areas and waiting rooms. Serve customers only CBD-infused coffee and tea.
- Imprint punching bags with the faces of your senior executives and place the bags throughout your offices.
- Send post-purchase surveys that allow only complaints.
- Instead of tee shirts, give away branded straight jackets.
Mania represents the marketing megatrend of the decade.
How will you cash in on it?
POSTSCRIPT: I don't make light of America's mental health crisis, only marketers' urge to monetize it. Should you be suffering, find a quiet room, grab a cool beverage, and sit down and read Jon Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness.
