Brandwatch Bulletin #63: Happy Campers

It’s going to be an 'in tents' year.

We hope you had a restful weekend, but if you didn’t, maybe you’re daydreaming about a holiday. If you’re considering camping, our data shows you’re not the only one.

Let’s get to it.

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Get your tents at the ready

Last year, many people had to reconsider their holiday plans. With barely any planes flying and leisure and entertainment experiences of all stripes closed, there wasn’t much to do.

Unsurprisingly, camping was a big hit. It got people out of the city and into nature where social distancing was far easier. And it’s a simple solution. All that’s needed is an empty field, camping equipment, and something to pass the time to complete your vacation.

We can see this reflected in search and social media data, with camping interest for both areas peaking in July/August 2020. We can see the trend recurring this year, too.

As it stands, search and social interest in camping is a little above where it was last year. This potentially means camping will be an even bigger hit in 2021. This isn’t too surprising, especially as people remain cautious about travelling too far afield, and many countries are still experiencing or showing signs of dangerous levels of Covid-19.

This also follows our previous research into people living vicariously through YouTubers and other creators. We specifically spoke to Simon, who produces camping videos, who told us about the spike in interest in his channel during lockdown. It seems likely people are champing at the bit to transition from passive spectator to active camper.

Speaking of YouTube, there’s another sign camping is going to be massive this year. Last week saw the highest amount of YouTube camping searches ever. Clearly people are on the lookout for advice, tips, and inspiration.

Of course, seeing the effort needed for a truly successful camping trip will put a few people off. Then again, there’s always glamping, which is also seeing very high levels of search interest at the moment.

Beyond getting out into nature and breathing some fresh air, is there anything else drawing people to tents and campfires?

We looked at our mentions around going camping to see if any topics stood out. One of the biggest was the internet, with 19k mentions including the topic alongside camping being posted over the last year.

The general theme of these? It’s not complaining about the lack of internet on campsites. Instead, it’s the prospect of leaving the internet behind. With the rise of doomscrolling and ‘Zoom fatigue’, we can’t say we’re surprised.

What should we cover next?

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Thanks for reading

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Stay safe,

The Brandwatch React team

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