The great 2020s values reset: Does your brand need to pivot?
Culture has clearly shifted dramatically again, creating contradictions that are hard to reconcile. Sustainability advocates coexist with viral haul videos. Bargain stores thrive alongside 'quiet luxury' trends. Digital nomads gain followers while 'tradwife' content increases. These opposing forces reflect our cultural moment.
When I encounter these kinds of incongruities in my work as a brand strategist, I look beyond surface behaviors to personal values—our deep-seated beliefs about what matters in life that, unlike fleeting opinions or attitudes, are foundational and drive everything else when they shift.
The most insightful values data I've encountered comes from Kantar (registration required), which shows a significant values reset has occurred in the 2020s. Their analysis, titled '2025 US Outlook: Values in Volatile Times,' tracks values changes each year between 2019 and 2024, and the findings reveal three striking shifts:
1. FINANCIAL SHIFT: GETTING AHEAD
Kantar's data reveals that Americans are embracing bolder approaches to success, with values of wealth, status, and indulgence rising significantly between 2019-2024 while selflessness and humility declined. This shift manifests in part in the uptick of ' finfluencers ' promising shortcuts to wealth and the rise of luxury brands offering instant status through limited streetwear collaborations, while side hustles and social-media monetization demonstrate the aggressive pursuit of financial advancement.
2. LIFESTYLE SHIFT: GETTING STABLE
Facing persistent uncertainty, Americans now prioritize structure and order over control. Kantar's data shows rising values of order and obedience as people seek stability rather than managing life's complexities alone. This explains both subscription services that reduce decision fatigue and security-focused brand messaging—in today's volatility, simplified choices have become premium offerings.
3. SOCIAL SHIFT: GETTING ALONG
Exhausted by divisiveness, Americans are prioritizing harmony over arguing. Kantar's data shows community and belonging rising between 2019-2024, while advocacy declined. This explains the surge in moderated communities and conflict-free entertainment. Brands that facilitate belonging without adding to social division find increasingly receptive audiences.
To me, this comes across as an era of 'pragmatic self-interest,' driven largely by generational change. As Gen Z continues to come of age, we're seeing a movement away from the idealism that characterized Millennials toward a more practical, inward-facing approach. It isn't just Kantar data showing rising values of wealth and status; a 2023 Wall Street Journal study found that money is the only priority that has grown in importance since 1998. This reset makes sense given declining institutional trust, inflation, and constant volatility.
What does this reset mean for your brand? At my agency, we've witnessed how brands that adapt early to these shifts gain substantial competitive advantages. Two questions emerge: Does your brand need to pivot? And if so, how?
FINANCIAL SHIFT: PURPOSE MUST DELIVER PERSONAL VALUE
With purpose marketing dominating brand strategy in recent years, many ask if it's still relevant in this new values landscape. The answer is yes, but with an important adjustment. Today's consumers practice 'oxygen-mask ethics'—secure your own position before helping others. They want brands to make their world better, not just promise to fix the world.
One of my company's clients balances this through their purpose of 'inspiring and building better lives and communities,' using their 'Unstoppable Together' campaign to show how expertise and care deliver tangible personal financial benefits that extend to community impact. Successful brands will connect higher purpose to immediate personal value, recognizing that both capital-P Purpose and small-p personal purpose matter.
LIFESTYLE SHIFT: BALANCE SECURITY WITH MEANINGFUL CHANGE
Consumers crave structure but reject returning to the status quo. Kantar reports (registration required) 80% of Americans believe 'the pandemic has shown me there are better alternatives to the old way of doing things'—creating a tension between stability and reinvention.
One Medical exemplifies this balance by completely reimagining healthcare delivery while providing consistent, reliable care. Similarly, Stripe brings stability to online payments through reliable infrastructure while fundamentally changing how businesses handle commerce with developer-friendly tools and transparent pricing. The idea is to deliver reliability in ways that challenge conventions, offering predictability that still promises progress.
SOCIAL SHIFT: HAVE A CLEAR POV WITHOUT ADDING TO DIVISION
As values of community and belonging rise while advocacy declines, brands need a nuanced approach to their positioning. You can and should have a clear point of view—consumers still expect brands to stand for something—but deliver it without contributing to social hostility.
My agency's client's 'Doesn't Kill to Ask' campaign illustrates this approach by reframing gun violence as a public-health issue focused on asking about unlocked guns in homes children visit. They created common ground even gun owners embraced, resulting in exposed individuals becoming 2.5 times more likely to ask about unlocked guns. The key is advancing values while building bridges, not burning them.
Today, that Hermes belt might be back in style but worn with a different intent. Similarly, your brand may well need to pivot—not by abandoning your core identity but by recalibrating how you express it in this new values landscape. Take an honest inventory: Does your purpose deliver personal benefits before promising to save the world? Do you offer both stability and meaningful innovation? Can you maintain clear values without adding to division? The brands that will thrive aren't just meeting consumers where they are now but recognizing the deeper currents driving these shifts and evolving alongside them.
The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
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