Public Media Underwriting’s Value Proposition Was Built for These Uncertain Economic Times
New research from Ipsos details how the current economic uncertainty is impacting consumer spending and behavior, and offers some meaningful takeaways for business decision makers and public media underwriting teams alike.
Financial Anxieties and Consumer Spending
First, let’s look at the relationship between the current financial picture and consumer anxiety. The 2025 Ipsos Financial Anxieties Study finds that Americans are feeling more resource-restricted in 2025, pointing to factors such as rising interest rates, increasing housing costs, tariffs, growing income inequality, and stagnant wages. The data also shows that this economic uncertainty is expanding and creating widespread consumer distrust as a result. This is not really surprising when you consider that, according to Ipsos, 7 out of 10 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and 65% are seeking ways to reduce their spending.
This financial anxiety is only heightened for older Americans, who cite inflation, political instability and changes in Social Security as factors decreasing their confidence that they will have enough money to retire at their planned age. These Americans are adjusting their lifestyles or finances accordingly, making cuts to their discretionary spending (73%), delaying major purchases (49%) and cancelling subscriptions (45%).
Yikes: growing consumer distrust and decreased spending. Sounds like a business owner’s worst nightmare right?
Well, not necessarily.
Brand Values and Preferences Persist
The Ipsos study also found that despite increased financial anxiety, consumer values still drive their spending, and a majority of consumers (68%) say they prefer brands that reflect their personal values. As Ipsos states, “In practice, that often means that consumers are more likely to reduce or eliminate spending in areas not tied to their identity, community, or culture.“
Brands would do well then to appeal to these values in their marketing. People want to see their personal, culture, and community values represented in the companies they decide to buy from, and this remains especially important to them in uncertain times, when many are presumably making spending decisions with more discretion or more sacrifice.
In short, consumers still want to belong and see themselves and their values reflected in the companies they decide to spend money with.
Social Media and “Live For Today”
That said, Ipsos also points to a modern layer of complexity that affects consumer response to today’s economic uncertainty: the influence of social media.
“Social media can build consumer desire for something even when financial pressures increase.” This has brought about what Ipsos describes as “Nouveau Nihilism,” defined as “a feeling of futility driven by economic uncertainty.” This involves a “live-for-today” mindset, embraced by 64% of Americans in 2025, where what consumers buy can “define their identity, build social currency, and provide approval.” They respond to brands that offer joy, financial education, and non-judgemental approaches.
In short, consumers also want to live for today because the future is uncertain.
So What Do I Do With This?
1. Share Topline Findings with Your Underwriters and Prospects as a Conversation Starter
Ipsos makes the following recommendations for businesses given the results of the study, and these are all worthwhile tips to share with your underwriters as you work to handle objections from them around the state of the economy. In doing so, you may open up a conversation you wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise, all the while positioning yourself as a valuable media expert and strategist upon whom they can rely:
- As Americans face more financial pressure and cut back on key expenses, aspirational messaging can ring hollow. To build trust, brands should focus on authentic, transparent, and judgment-free solutions that understand and align with struggling consumers’ practical and emotional needs.
- Under these conditions, successful strategies will offer financial flexibility. Brands can provide both immediate gratification and long-term value through accessible pricing and payment options.
- Now more than ever, companies should invest in underserved community access and explore intersectional consumer needs to build authentic relationships and unlock new growth opportunities.
2. Lean into Public Media’s Unique Value Given These Findings
Building Trust:
The Ipsos study talks repeatedly about the need for brands to build trust. Public media remains a trusted source of news, information and entertainment that our listeners and viewers not only rely on, but that they say improves the quality of their lives. This trust translates to our sponsors by association, building credibility and purchase preference for their brands.
Reflecting Community Values:
The Ipsos study shows that despite financial hardship, consumers are still making spending decisions based on their personal values, with identity, culture and community topping the list. Public media is the OG when it comes to community values. Our content not only reflects the diverse communities we serve, but public media stations are many times the only locally-owned media organizations actively working locally to engage their communities around shared values and needs. Our audiences recognize and support this part of our mission, and they see our sponsors as caring about the community by association, which enhances brand image and loyalty for these companies.
Living for Today:
Ipsos talks about the idea of brands offering joy, financial education, and non-judgemental approaches in a time when the future is uncertain. For over 50 years, public media audiences have long associated qualities like joy, education (financial and otherwise), inclusivity and transparency with our content and services. We are a perfect alignment for brands looking to communicate a commitment to these sensibilities to consumers.
Audience Loyalty and Support:
In the wake of public media’s federal funding loss, local stations are seeing a surge in individual donations from the communities they serve. Public media audiences and members are fiercely loyal to the service they love, and they are stepping up to support it in a big way, even in uncertain times. Indeed, even under the financial pressures outlined above, our audiences are choosing to pay for something they can get for free. They are also predisposed to reward the sponsors who join them in supporting what they regard as a vital community resource.
Back It Up with Other Research
The Ipsos Study is the latest in a host of other research that echoes many of the same themes. For example, Greater Public’s recent RUN Study confirms the craving for community and local connection, and speaks to the vacuum of trust among audiences and the desire to be uplifted. RUN findings also confirm that public media is well-positioned to deliver on unmet needs and community services. Likewise, Porter Novelli’s monthly mood and mindset survey shows Americans craving peace, stability and kindness, and echoes the Ipsos findings that consumers still expect brands to step up and support their values, especially when it comes to acting locally in their communities.
In short, if, as all of these studies suggest, “Belonging is the New Brand Loyalty,” then local businesses belong on public media.
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