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Conspicuous Commitment Is The Next Era of Status
Understanding a Culture in Transition
Jasmine Bina
May 02, 2023
Brands get lucky once, maybe twice every generation, when the rules of status change and social equity is suddenly up for grabs. What we deem cool or meaningful in our culture shifts, and seemingly overnight, new brand leaders are born while once-exciting incumbents become aged and outdated.
Concept Bureau Senior Strategist Zach Lamb believes we are in the midst of one of those rare shifts right now.
No longer are we obsessed with flaunting material possessions and extravagant experiences; instead, we're witnessing the rise of people showcasing their unwavering dedication to self-work, vulnerability and personal growth.
Take, for example, the fact that people in the dating scene today prioritize - oftentimes require - therapy and emotional openness in potential partners. The quest for self-improvement has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, from ice baths and meditation to wellness supplements and biohacking.
Status is moving from the indulgence of conspicuous consumption to the self-denial of conspicuous commitment.
Zach argues that the more you commit to the difficult, the fearsome, the hard-won, the more you signal this new form of prestige.
He also answers an unexpected question: Are we losing our sense of community in favor of individualism? Or is this new focus on the self ultimately leading to a more genuine and authentic way of living?
If you deal in any premium or luxury category, this is a must-read. The thinking here has already started to reshape our work at Concept Bureau, and it will likely do the same for you.
As Zach’s piece delves into this collective journey inward, analyzing how our desire for personal betterment is redefining status and social values, ask yourself what invisible opportunity your brand is leaving on the table.
The ways we seek to distinguish ourselves have dramatically evolved as we prioritize discipline and personal growth over material success.
That means everyone has to play by new rules.
Master of the Universe
Here's what we've been consuming.
Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds (James Clear): "Convincing someone to change their mind is really the process of convincing them to change their tribe. If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too. You have to give them somewhere to go. Nobody wants their worldview torn apart if loneliness is the outcome."
End-of-Life Dreams (Commonweal): "'In all my years of listening to the dreams of my patients, I never once heard a patient talk of seeing Jesus in a dream.' Yet, Egan believes that the dreams are nevertheless often profoundly spiritual. Although religious figures rarely appear in end-of-life dreams, deceased family members, particularly parents, are pervasive... Talking about families, she writes, 'is how we talk about God. This is how we talk about the meaning of our lives. That is how we talk about the big spiritual questions of human existence.'"
Blind Consumerism Is Over: Brands Find New Meaning in the Existential (Adweek): "This interest in a more intentional and nature-centric approach is reflected in everything from the U.K.’s steep waiting lists for city allotments and the rewilding of our homes and urban environments to the trend of Buddhist symbolism in tattoos and the unwavering appetite for immersive art and design experiences like the Mandala Room at New York’s Rubin Museum. Where do brands come in? They’re engaging with more “spiritual” ideas in ways that range from the playful to the cerebral."
Don’t Call It a ‘Mood Board’ — It’s a ‘World’ (The New York Times): "Among professionals, however, mood boards have become passé... 'As the word ‘brand’ has evolved to include everything from the tone of your content to the kind of music you play at your store or restaurant to the kind of art you have up, creating a more comprehensive brand world has become much more important. They become living, breathing documents that can change and evolve.'"
The Myth of the Broke Millennial (The Atlantic): "Impressions of generations tend to form early, and they often get cast in amber. As a scholar of generations, I’m well aware of that. But even I was surprised when I returned to my study of Millennials to look at the generation as it enters middle age. The surprise was this: Millennials, as a group, are not broke—they are, in fact, thriving economically."
The Age of Average (Alex Murrell): "In the age of average, homogeneity can be found in an almost indefinite number of domains... There are many reasons why this might have happened. Perhaps when times are turbulent, people seek the safety of the familiar. Perhaps it’s our obsession with quantification and optimisation. Or maybe it’s the inevitable result of inspiration becoming globalised... But it’s not all bad news. I believe that the age of average is the age of opportunity."
What Are People Even Doing All Day? (The New York Times): "The workday used to have a predictable rhythm. Not anymore. In this era of flexible work, people are using their time in new ways. The Times Magazine asked nine Americans to keep video diaries to help us explore the freedoms and burdens of flexible work. Scroll to see 24 hours in their lives."
Dawn of the new pagans: ‘Everybody’s welcome – as long as you keep your clothes on!’ (Guardian): "The sacredness of nature is one core pagan belief that holds obvious appeal now. As Hutton puts it, paganism fulfils 'a need for a spiritualised natural world in a time of ecological crisis'...Then there’s paganism’s attitude to women: there are goddesses as well as gods, and there’s the veneration of a sacred feminine."
Did you hear that?
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Raw Beauty
Creative inspirations for the other side of your brain.
