Immediate Media: Joyful mindsets linked to higher receptivity to brands
When audiences feel joyful, they are 11x more likely to recommend products to friends and family, and nearly 5x as likely to spend on goods related to their passions.
That is according to research from Immediate Media, which also found that people are more willing to explore unfamiliar brands and consider more expensive, premium options when in a joyful mood.
The Joy Advantage study builds on 2025 research with the University of Sussex that established a link between people’s passions, brand touchpoints, and wellbeing. That original Joy Test research found that scrolling social media was the activity that brought people the least amount of joy from a list of 21 other “leisure pursuit” activities like listening to music, reading a book or engaging with one’s local community. This was true even as social media scrolling was the most frequent behaviour measured in the study.
“It is striking to see the activity we do with the most frequency, social media scrolling, is the activity we enjoy least, suggesting that if we are led by what intrinsically motivates us as opposed to algorithms we can experience more joy and immersion,” commented University of Sussex Professor Robin Banerjee.
In contrast, the latest study found that engaging with content an individual is passionate about with magazine brands made audiences 240% more likely to feel “positive and energised” and 400% more likely to buy a product advertised alongside that content.
The Joy Advantage study was conducted by Immediate in April 2026. It surveyed 2,095 total respondents: 1,039 from Immediate’s audience, recruited via its Insiders’ panel, and a nationally representative sample of 1,056 people.
Immediate’s audiences were found to be 66% more likely to say they would buy any product advertised in a magazine brand than when scrolling social media, regardless of category.
“When a brand shows up around the things people love, they reach an audience more receptive to commercial messaging and more likely to take action,” described Jon Restall, Immediate Media’s advertising director for trading and clients. “These are not soft metrics. [They] are ones that our premium environments are built to deliver.”
The findings add to a broader swath of marketing research pointing to the importance of reaching consumers in a positive mindset, aligning with studies including Mindshare’s Meaningful Connections and Thinkbox’s Context Effects. It comes weeks after independent media agency Craft Media unveiled its new Anti-Ultra-Processed Planning Cookbook, which likened chasing reach without considering audience receptivity to delivering empty calorie campaigns.
Echoing those findings, Restall said that doomscrolling “delivers content without nourishment”, leading to lower levels of engagement. In contrast, “passion-led content” that is intentionally sought out by, rather than spoon-fed to, audiences “puts people in a frame of mind where advertising is welcome rather than tolerated.”
Immediate Media counts 1.3m paid subscribers, the vast majority of which are digital. Like other publishers, its advertising business has been challenged this year by declining referral traffic from search, as well as the institution of a ban on paid online advertising for less-healthy food (LHF) products, which has affected its food brands.
“Our strategy is focusing on things we can control,” Cath Waller, Immediate Media’s MD of advertising, told The Media Leader. She argued that Immediate’s subscriber base provides some of the most valuable audiences for advertisers, because they are opting in to seeing content they enjoy and are highly engaged with.
Restall echoed: “Our business is about bringing joy to people based on their passions.”
Publishing more broadly, Waller said, is especially good at driving consideration and “bringing brands to life”.
She added: “If you brand is not remembered, your brand is in trouble.”