July 2021 Memo – Numbers Driving The Narrative - Narrative Strategies

1993 – The last time the U.S. experienced inflation at the levels now predicted for 2021-2023

• Year-over-year consumer prices increased 5.4 percent in June 2021, the largest increase since 2008.
• Economists forecast inflation to increase by 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, followed by an increase of 2.3 percent per year in 2022 and 2023 – the highest average annual increase in two decades.
• The World Bank now projects food prices will see the largest annual gain in a decade.

WHAT IT MEANS: President Joe Biden is counting on a strong economy to support a policy agenda that includes infrastructure spending, clean energy investments, and corporate tax increases. The Fed has said repeatedly that recent price increases will slow as the economy continues to reopen and corrects the historically low prices last year resulting from the coronavirus. Several economic indicators are positive, but Americans may feel increased financial pressure in the months ahead. These evolving dynamics could affect voter attitudes towards more progressive policy proposals.

80 – Percentage of employees who expect their employer to act on issues like racism, climate change, misinformation, and even vaccine hesitancy

• The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the landscape of trust across the globe, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. Businesses are now the most trusted institutions while government is at an all-time low.
• 60% of people globally say business involvement is necessary for their countries to overcome their challenges.
• Nearly 80% say their most trusted institution is their own employer.

WHAT IT MEANS: More than ever, businesses are expected to be a change agent for society’s most pressing issues. It’s no longer good enough to deliver a product. Engaging and serving stakeholders, including employees, is now seen as a core responsibility for businesses. That means companies and CEOs will be increasingly expected to take positions on potentially divisive political issues.

1 – World ranking for stress levels among U.S. and Canadian employees

• More female workers (62 percent) than male workers (52 percent) in those countries reported higher levels of daily stress.
• Fifty-one percent of those 40 and older experienced higher levels of stress, compared to 64 percent for workers under 40.
• Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce finds that burnout prevention requires both high engagement and high employee well-being – but only one in three U.S. employees are engaged at work.

WHAT IT MEANS: While America has largely turned the corner on COVID-19 as a public health crisis, its lasting effects likely affect not just the economy, but also the workforce, for years to come. For many companies, the pandemic redefined employee engagement and work-life balance. This dynamic collides with the new reality that employees are not just workers, but also stakeholders, and companies will increasingly be expected to make well-being a priority.

Half a Billion – Number of new users who joined social media platforms between April 2020 and April 2021

• However, not even 1 percent of social media users are unique to any one platform.
• Hootsuite reports that most brands rely on paid efforts to reach significant social media audiences – and those brands don’t need to leverage an organic social media presence to take advantage of paid placements.
• Meanwhile, streaming officially overtook broadcast as the most common platform for TV consumption, but no single platform owns more than 6 percent of total consumption time.

WHAT IT MEANS: As it becomes harder to reach audiences through traditional avenues like mainstream news, digital platforms are surging. Large user bases and cross-platform utilization present advertisers with a growing number of opportunities to reach audiences through targeted and cost-effective advertising. However, a lack of “brand loyalty” among digital users means advertisers likely have to engage with multiple platforms for messages to sink in.

88 – Percentage of U.S. adults who say news outlet is an important factor in determining the credibility of a news story

• Americans ranked news organization as a more important factor than sources cited, who shared it with them, and the specific journalist who reported it.
• Republicans are far less likely to trust their primary news source if it’s considered mainstream; Democrats are far more likely to trust mainstream news.
• The U.S. ranks last in trust in media among 46 surveyed countries.

WHAT IT MEANS: It’s becoming harder to advance narratives with a single breakthrough headline or news story. Americans have picked sides when it comes to news consumption, while others are simply tuning out and choosing to consume their information elsewhere.