FEATURE23 December 2019

Common values

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Brexit Features Impact North America UK

The advertising and marketing industry is different from the general population at a moral values level, according to new research. Katie McQuater looks at what this means for businesses

Common-values

After the Brexit vote in 2016, the political and media establishment reacted with surprise and shock when 52% of the public called the political elite’s bluff, defied the polls and, ultimately, highlighted how false assumptions can lead us to a false sense of security.

While the outcome, along with the election of Donald Trump as US president a few months later, prompted soul-searching from many, it was a stark reminder of the need to get out of our own filter bubbles.

In the context of media and marketing, some have pledged to conduct more research to address this, with one ad agency even launching an initiative to ‘go into the wild’ to talk to ‘real people’. However, according to a new study from newspaper group Reach (formerly Trinity Mirror) and research agency House51, the issue runs deeper than geography. Their research has highlighted how the advertising and marketing industry actually differs on certain fundamental moral values compared with the mainstream population.

The study ...