The End of the Bigger Is Better Era

By Jane Kariuki

There’s a point in time when the world experienced great prosperity, and everything appeared to be on an upward trajectory. Life was good. This period, prominently experienced by the baby boomers, spanned the 1950s to 1980s and was characterized by peak mass-consumer culture. The “bigger is better” philosophy was sold around this time, and success was visibly measured by acquiring larger homes, oversized cars, large music systems and even bigger television sets.

Unfortunately, this period did not last long, as things shifted, introducing periods of economic strife that brought to the fore the realities of these oversized acquisitions. Very few of the people who could afford the 3.9-litre vehicles of the 1980s would be willing to use them as daily drivers today. The same applies to the bulky television sets which, while giving a pleasurable viewing experience, were as hard on electricity consumption as the ovens of those days.

Yet looking at it from a different perspective, perhaps the difficult financial situations of the present day may be good for innovation because technology companies are finding ways of achieving the same level of satisfaction with lower consumption. Obviously, for things like television sets, bigger may always be better for viewing experiences, but it helps when you don’t have to worry about electricity tokens with every movie you watch. Innovation has truly transformed energy consumption, and I bet you that we may have a 100-inch TV today that uses less energy than a 32-inch TV of yesteryear.

Today, the real measure of innovation is increasingly about doing more with less. The modern consumer wants the same, or even better, experience without the excess that came with older technologies. Modern refrigerators can preserve food far more efficiently and washing machines can handle larger loads with less water. The latest air conditioners also deliver better cooling while using less electricity, gains that may not always be visible, but are increasingly felt in the cost of running our homes.

This shift is important because the definition of luxury itself is changing. Having a large TV, for example, is no longer necessarily a sign of extravagance; being able to enjoy a premium viewing experience without an equally premium electricity bill is perhaps the smarter form of luxury. The same applies across our homes, where efficiency is becoming the defining but invisible feature of good living.

And this is where I believe the next era of consumer technology will be defined. Households will continue being more conscious of energy costs and environmental pressures will intensify, with innovation being relied upon to deliver comfort and performance while using fewer resources.

Perhaps, then, the lessons of the age of excess are not entirely negative. The bigger-is-better era gave us many of the technologies and lifestyles we enjoy today. But the next chapter will require a completely different philosophy, that ‘better is better’. Better performance, better efficiency and better experiences, without necessarily demanding more from the consumer’s pocket.

(The writer is the Head of Marketing at LG Electronics East Africa)