Seven years ago I wrote a blog criticising vegan activists for their extreme protest in Melbourne’s CBD which brought the city to a standstill in peak hour and meant I nearly missed a speaking engagement. At the time I was looking purely at it through marketing lens (and one of extreme personal frustration) suggesting that actively terrorising commuters and compromising their right to earn a living was probably not how to win over a core target market for your cause. At the time I suggested appealing to people like me to ‘dabble’ in veganism on a trial basis rather than offer up a very harsh ‘all or nothing’ option that made meat the enemy and an ‘all-in’ lifestyle that people like me, quite frankly, find it difficult to commit to, regardless of the rationale and arguments for health and the environment. You can imagine some of the hate mail I received, which kind of validated my entire point. I maintained my stance that it would be a much better result for 20% of people to be vegan 20% of the time, rather than 5% of the population being vegan all the time.
And today, it seems that many people are now rejecting binary, black and white labels and either / or choices and opting for this and that – and not just in dietary choices.
Take the fitness industry for example. A decade ago, if you were a member of a gym, you were likely to be a member of just one gym. Today, you might be a member of Anytime Fitness but you might also have a Pilates or yoga membership (or both), belong to a running club and also try cross fit once in while, even a regular ice bath and sauna at one of the many recovery centres popping up all over the world.
This has become known as fitness grazing – not being pigeonholed into any one approach or modality but doing a bit of everything.
Wellness is seeing the same contrast in behaviour, almost contradictory lifestyle choices that are often justified as ‘balance’ … counteracting an indulgent night out with a three-day fast and a regular regime of anti-aging supplements.
This consumer trend is also extending into how we’re making conscious decisions around sustainability and the environment. And here we see a mix of extremes in an almost self-imposed ‘offset’ scenario. Meaning, I might return from a trip to Europe and balance that with taking public transport, walking or biking for a few weeks.
This mix of extremes is permeating lots of different industries. Consumers are becoming creatures of contrast and I’m here for it. In fact, I recently committed to being vegan one day a week. I know, the purist vegans may scoff, but hey, it’s a start and who knows where it might lead?
What contrasting behaviours are you noticing in yourself and other? Let me know in the comments!
