That’s a bigger proportion than the demographics we so often see cropping up in traditional consumer research briefs – Mums, Millennials, Gen Z.
There’s been a marked increase in people not just having a day-job. That 9-5 landscape that has dominated for so long is being eroded at an exponential pace.
Side Hustlers make up a gigantic portion of the country, and yet little research has been done and no big brand has been bold enough to talk to them successfully.
And given everything that’s gone on in the last 18 months, it’s unsurprising that this increase in side hustling has been exacerbated over the past year by the pandemic – with the additional challenges around finances, time and values – but it’s a phenomenon that’s been bubbling away for years and we believe will fundamentally shift the consumer landscape.
Through speaking to hundreds of Side Hustlers across the country, and building relationships with 24 incredible Side Hustlers, we believe this underground seismic shift is going to hugely impact the way that a quarter of the population interact with your business and brand.
So we’ve embarked on a journey to understand what side hustles are, how they affect the people that do them, and why big brands need to sit up and listen.
Side Hustling is not a temporary, young, phenomenon; increasingly more women and older generations are taking part. 46% of side hustlers have more than one hustle on the go and 65% of them plan on keeping their side hustle forever, alongside their main job.
This is what side hustling looks like in the UK today. Meet Lucy - a 55-year-old part doula, funeral celebrant, Audible voice over actor and stadium announcer, who loves her modular career and plans on keeping it just that way.
And Margot, a self-confessed sneakerhead, who at 22 lives for skateboarding, making bootleg sneakers and running her online clothing brand, when she's not working at her job in a local homeware store and screenprint studio.
To bring the grind to life we made a 'choose your own adventure' game. In a world where more and more people are taking up side hustles, you got to find out if you had what it takes to get up early enough in the morning, dodge HMRC, and grind your way to success.
Beyond a cultural and consumer interest piece, this project has uncovered some valuable foundational learnings for businesses and brands.
A largely underground and untapped cultural shift, side hustling brings into consideration a re-evaluation of occasions and new need states, a re-consideration of audience segmenting, how language is used within campaign and comms development, and considerations for culturally relevant and tone-appropriate creative partnerships with agency, brand and talent.
Download the report and see for yourself.
