#55. Voice of the Customer → We Are Bored
Listen
In this episode, we talk about how brands can help adults shift from using their phones to satisfy boredom to engaging in enjoyable hobbies. Marketing teams, this episode is for you. And for adults, this is for you too.
Every episode is based on what people send in, message boards I read online, or the great conversations I've had with others. I give brands a perspective on problems adults face in the world we all live in, and the opportunities to solve them.
André Brathwaite hosts the Voice of the Customer on the Forms of Recreation podcast.
The opinions expressed are solely those of Forms of Recreation and do not necessarily reflect the views of any brand mentioned. We encourage you to check their corresponding websites for further information.
-
Episode 55
Voice of the Customer → We Are Bored
____
Close your eyes and picture this.
You are getting ready
to head out to the gym,
because you feel a bit guilty
eating 5 slices of pizza
and a piece of black forest cake at work.
Hey, it’s your boss's birthday.
It’s an unwritten rule, right?
Ok. What were you doing?
Getting ready for the gym.
Water bottle? Check?
Sneakers? Check.
Keys? Check.
As soon as you open the door,
it starts raining.
Ugh.
You find yourself frustrated
yet low-key relieved at the same time.
As you sit down,
you look up at the ceiling
and wonder what to do next.
1 minute of boredom later,
you pull out your phone
and you start scrolling.
Scrolling through messages,
scrolling through pictures,
scrolling through videos,
and scrolling through articles.
You laugh at that video
about that one guy who built
an obstacle course for squirrels.
You tear up after your mom
sent you a long article titled:
never stop believing in yourself
Oh, looked what popped up.
New episode.
Why not lay back and listen
to a podcast
about the important role
earthworms play for healthy soil.
Hmmm. Farm life.
You start wondering if there is any
homes in the countryside for sale.
Yep. There is always something
that grabs your attention.
3 hours have passed.
It’s 10:30 pm, which means,
it’s time to get ready for bed
with a bit more scrolling in between.
Ok. Let’s look at this a bit deeper.
You scrolled,
not for three minutes.
Three hours!
That’s almost as long
as a flight from Miami to Costa Rica,
and if we were flying,
we would end up taking
out our phones up there too!
Why do we do this?
Well, let’s be honest.
Screens have been around
before you and I were born.
They have brought us information
and entertainment.
In the beginning,
people had to go outside their homes
to find a screen,
then they were available
in their living rooms,
now they are in our pockets,
and it seems like
it will be on our faces
sooner rather than later.
Don’t get me wrong.
The technology we have today
has been useful and convenient.
We also can get sucked into
devices, like phones,
if we are not careful,
especially when boredom sets in.
I recently went online
and read a question asked on Reddit.
For those who don’t know,
Reddit is a forum-style website
with thousands of communities
where members can ask
just about anything.
Ok, back to the question.
j0eali asked,
“What’s a hobby that actually
replaced your phone scrolling?”.
More than 330 members
left comments about their hobbies,
cross stitching,
reading,
LEGO,
chess,
and puzzles just to name a few.
Brands. This part is for you.
You have the resources,
the teams, and the influence
to help us better use our boredom.
In Episode 8,
I spoke about LEGO,
Adult Fans of LEGO,
and the communities
around the world people can join.
The brand offers a number
of in-person activities
in destinations like
Legoland in Shanghai
and Lego House in Denmark.
Find out more at Forms of Recreation,
a website to discover product brands
that host in-person activities
for hobbyists.
So there you have it.
Marketing teams.
Go beyond selling a product.
For the rest of us.
Put your phones down
and enjoy your hobby.
