
I keep hearing people say the same thing in various kinds of conversations, and in all different contexts: “strange times.”
We all hoped the tailend of pandemic restrictions would signal simpler times, but it just hasn’t turned out that way – war, wildfires, and international tension are all feeding into the pot of uncertainty and recession.
When I wrote this article about beauty consumers in 2022, there was a focus on balancing economic uncertainty with post-pandemic freedom. Now looking ahead to 2024 there’s still no clear sense of stability coming up, and all consumer industries have to accept that the key challenge of product marketing continues to be the balance between what people need and want right now, and the obstacles they expect to face in the future. There’s no point in pretending nothing’s happening; but at the same time, beauty brand marketing content can offer a much needed break from warnings about inflation and energy price hikes.