A playbook for marketers: Crossing the chasm between values and behaviour

Marketers love to talk about and understand the values of their target audiences. But the truth is that today what people say they value doesn’t match what they do, making understanding your audience sometimes contradictory, uncomfortable and difficult to navigate.

Inside the gap between what we say and do

Contradictory paradigms have always existed in society, but today, they’re far more pronounced – this is an era dubbed by cultural anthropologists as ‘Metamodernism’

These aren’t fleeting trends. They reflect the real-world push and pull shaping spending. They are patterns brands must recognise, respect and respond to. Here are the highlights:

1. We care about others yet we are more self-centric than ever

People want to do good, but they are stretched thin. Unpredictability and mental load are rising, and self-protection often wins over social contribution.

2. We are sacrificing to survive yet splurging to indulge

As financial pressure builds, people are cutting back on big-ticket items. But small indulgences and treats – beauty, snacks, collectibles – have become emotional lifelines.

3. We are obsessed with the future yet can’t stop living in the past

Australians are embracing AI and automation with one hand while clutching at nostalgia with the other. Throwback fashion, retro rituals and comforting content remind us of simpler times.

4. We care about sustainability yet the intention–action gap is widening

People still talk about caring for the planet, but financial strain makes it harder to act. Brands too, are pulling back, viewing sustainability as a cost centre rather than a growth driver, while it becomes more of a customer expectation and less of a market differentiator.

5. We are health obsessed yet unhealthier than ever

Wellness, biohacking and longevity trends are everywhere. Yet people are also rejecting the buzz, oscillating between natural simplicity and advanced science-backed rituals.

6. We are connected and busy, yet bored

Digital connection is constant, but the emotional payoff is missing. People are overwhelmed by the noise and underwhelmed by what’s being said. Aware of the pitfalls of tech, craving to look away, yet often unable to do so.

7. We are rebellious and individualistic, yet regressive and conformist

Australia is polarising. People feel free to express individuality but are also fearful of missteps, caught between progress and cautious conservatism.

Aliya Hasan

How can brands navigate this era of cultural chaos?

1. Brand for beliefs. Market to behaviours

The values–behaviour gap isn’t hypocrisy, it’s survival. Marketers must recognise contradiction as coping and strive for more empathetic marketing. Understanding emotional trade-offs helps brands connect and avoid misfires.

Successful brands will strategically appeal to values and tactically respond to behaviours. Long-term brand building and short-term demand conversion must work harder together to drive results.

2. Time to build for layered truths and tensions

If you’re expecting linear consumer behaviour or if you’re still stuck with blunt demographics and blanket stereotypes, you may be missing the point. Today’s consumers move between optimism and apathy at pace.

People are craving progress and comfort at the same time. They are looking for control in a world that feels out of balance. And while they say one thing, they are often conflicted between their real and ideal self.

This means that audience niches and mindset shifts may come and go for your brand. Smart brands will keep up with these transient segments, showing up in a multi-dimensional way that’s raw and relatable, more meaningful and less vanilla.

3. Stop chasing uniformity. Start designing for complexity

Brands have long prized ‘matching luggage’ marketing but consumers live in a hyper-fragmented ecosystem. This creates the need for brands to show up in nuanced ways, where little signals add up to project a brand’s holistic identity. Think of brands as resilient systems that flex rather than flatten. Flexibility isn’t brand dilution, it’s brand evolution. Distinctive brand assets are no longer limited to static visuals. They’re increasingly tonal and behavioural.

Brands winning amidst the tension

Some brands are proving that success comes from solving colliding tensions and are demonstrating how to show up in people’s lives in real and memorable ways.

ALDI’s roaming ice cream trucks tapped into the pull between nostalgia and the future. By serving retro flavours at retro prices, it gave Australians a taste of the past while offering an affordable indulgence during a cost-of-living crunch. A simple idea that reinforced ALDI’s position as a brand that understands everyday pressures.

Who Gives a Crap combined self-interest with social good through its glow in the dark toilet paper. The amusing product turned an everyday essential into a talking point while staying true to the brand’s mission to improve global sanitation.

It shows that fun and purpose can coexist, making the brand feel both human and meaningful. Brands like these are leaning into the reality of modern life. Their work resonates because it is honest and full of moments that feel practical, playful and self aware.

The call to action for brands is to think laterally and show up fearlessly

Brands today have an opportunity to shape culture, not just follow it. Brands that thrive will be those that know their brand truth and can express it with empathy and creativity. Whether it be designing comms for human paradoxes and imperfections, or sharpening portfolio strategy for market polarisation. Understanding these truths and tensions is not just cultural insight.

It’s strategic advantage.

Insights from Nature’s proprietary Truths and Tensions 2025 report