Goldilocks Jubilee spirit unites nation as 31m attend celebrations

MPG Media Contacts’ latest research looks at attitudes to the Jubilee, including celebrations and advertising…

This is Britain’s third crack at celebrating the length of time our monarch has been on the throne and research from MPG Media Contacts suggests that this time the nation will throw off apathy and celebrate the Queen for the being the bulwark of Britain’s society over six decades.

In 1977 Britain was a nation riven with industrial strife, nuclear war was seen as a real possibility and a nation really needed cheering up, this was a Jubilee that was a little too cold.

In 2002 we celebrated the Golden Jubilee, questions over the Queen’s handling of Diana’s death in 1997 persisted and some felt that the Royal family were using the “showbiz” of a Jubilee to paper over the cracks. This Jubilee was just a little too hot.

In 2012, then, the monarchy has finally got it just right.

The Queen’s advancing years inspire more respect, William and Harry are perceived to be more “in touch” with the nation and the former Miss Middleton is universally loved. 31 million will attend private parties alone, taking into account those who attend street parties as well as official events around the nation it appears as though this will truly be a meaningful celebration for the whole nation.

‘Britain’s organisers’ have been galvanised by the Jubilee spirit. Every group has one and in fact you probably know several. The organiser is the person who makes you try a different pub, go to a new restaurant, always goes on holiday somewhere different and probably throws more parties than anyone else you know.

It is a big job, but every group needs an organiser; the size of the task probably helps explain why they only represent about one in 10 of the adult population. We should be impressed then that 12% of the population are planning a dedicated Jubilee event for friends and family, suggesting that even those not traditionally in the role of organiser have been inspired by the Jubilee spirit. Even with a rather conservative estimate that each party will have five attendees that means almost 31 million people (over six in 10) will be attending a Jubilee party.

MPG Media Contacts asked a sample of 2,000 nationally representative respondents about their attitude to the Jubilee and what they planned to do to celebrate, or not.

Denise Turner, head of intelligence at MPG Media Contacts said: “MPG Media Contacts research has shown that people seek to add meaning to their lives individually and as part of a wider social group. With 44% of people saying the Jubilee makes them feel like part of a great nation and virtually everyone celebrating the Queen in some way over the long weekend brands have a great opportunity to tap into that feeling of national unity.

“We can see that Marmite have achieved that with their “Ma’amite” activity that 55% thought was an appropriate celebration of the Jubilee. As the Jubilee kicks off a massive summer for Britain brands need to take these lessons forward to the Olympics and beyond to ensure that they add meaning to consumers lives. Those that don’t risk fading into meaningless obscurity.”

The Goldilocks Jubilee

56% think we celebrate the Jubilee just the right amount with and almost one in four (24%) think we should celebrate more. Britain’s appetite for celebrating the monarchy seems to be building and it appears that we are regaining our taste for street parties.

Last year approximately one million people took part in street parties in celebration of Will and Kate’s nuptials. Our research estimates that three times that number will attend street parties this year, a figure that organisers concur with. While this is still well short of the 10 million who celebrated the Silver Jubilee on the streets in 1977 it represents a significant increase, suggesting that Britain really is in the mood to party in honour of its sovereign.

When celebrating the nation’s ultimate matriarchal figure, family is key

The most popular activity planned over the Jubilee weekend is to spend time with a partner (39%) closely followed by visiting friends and relatives (38%). In good news for the tourism industry 34% plan to take a short break. Perhaps worryingly 15% plan to catch up on housework.

Over half agree that the Jubilee will let them spend more time with family, even if they aren’t planning a special activity. Perhaps in a demonstration of the connection that the capital feels towards the Queen, Londoners are most likely to spend the extra holiday time with family (60% planning to do so). Unsurprisingly, this is also more of a female phenomenon with 56% of women agreeing against 46% of men.

Pride, rather than patriotism

While almost a third (32%) say the Jubilee makes them feel patriotic toward the UK pride is the stronger feeling with 53% agreeing that it makes them proud to be British. However, those planning to do something to take advantage of the extra holiday are a third more likely to feel pride in the UK with 70% of these people agreeing the Jubilee makes them proud to be British.

North-South Divide

Those fighting for the future of the UK will be disturbed to note that feelings of patriotism and pride inspired by the Jubilee in the UK are lowest in Scotland and highest in the South East. The figures in Scotland are 22% and 39% for patriotism and pride respectively against 39% and 65% in the South East.

Little economic impact

Two thirds think that the Jubilee will have no impact on the short term (66%) or long term (68%) economic future of the UK. While only around 10% feel more confident about the UKs economic outlook as a result of the Jubilee.

Known unknowns

Although only 42% say they are aware of events planned to mark the Jubilee 68% say they are aware of the pop concert at Buckingham Palace on 4 June and 63% are aware of the pageant along the Thames the day before. The national service of Thanksgiving at St Pauls on 5 June is least well known.

Interestingly while awareness of all dedicated events is highest among those 55+ it is 18-24s who are most likely to have tickets to those events – almost six times more likely than those 55+.

An oasis of calm?

With increasing turbulence in business, finance and politics the nation is not planning to modify behaviours a great deal. Relatively small numbers are planning dedicated Jubilee activities, the majority are happy with the level of planned celebrations and those that are planning specific activities are spending time with family and friends.

Consumers expect event specific advertising

We asked people what they thought of three brands that had carried out specific Jubilee activities – Sainsbury’s, Marmite and Kellogg’s.

In general the overwhelming majority of opinion was positive with 56% thinking that the Sainsbury’s ad offering to help make the Jubilee extra special was appropriate. 55% thought that Marmite re-naming their product Ma’amite and changing their jar to a red rather than yellow lid was appropriate. 50% thought that the Kellogg’s resurrection of their 1950s packaging was appropriate.

It seems that consumers expect brands to respond to these events with some kind of messaging, the key is to be meaningful for consumers so that your brand stands out from the crowd.