8: How We Consume Fear in a Time of Crisis, and the Brands That Change the Story

Times of uncertainty have a way of revealing the mindset of a society, and today’s imminent threats - from COVID-19 to political instability and global warming - are revealing a mental shift that emotion-led brands are responding to. 

A new league of brands has created businesses around beautifully designed, high style, premium disaster kits and products that are suddenly relevant in a space that’s gotten very little attention in the past. Meanwhile, the world’s elite have invested in luxury bunkers, exotic real estate and indulgent doomsday plans. 

When did disaster preparedness become so fashionable? What can these companies teach us about branding in a time of crisis?

We speak with BBC and Vox journalist Colleen Hagerty, eschatologist and end-of-world expert Phil Torres, and founders Ryan Kuhlman and Lauren Tafuri of the popular disaster kit brand Preppi to explore the different narratives and deep rooted human beliefs that make sense of this trend. 

Don’t be misled by beautiful design and luxury veneers. There’s something going on in the subtext here that can explain a meaningful shift in our cultural values.  

Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode:

• Exploring Our Endless Obsession With the End (Psychology Today) 
• Psychology Reveals the Comforts of the Apocalypse (Scientific American) 
• Most Americans are not prepared for a disaster. Now survival kits are all over Instagram. (Vox) 
• The US Town Prepping for ‘Devastating’ Disaster (BBC) 
• Doomsday Prep for the Super Rich (The New Yorker) 
• How To Think Like A Brand Strategist (including a study on Costco) (Medium)

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