Feeling anxious? JWT's here to help

• JWT launches interactive site
• Help brands to understand consumer anxiety
• Appeal to marketing communications

Global - Advertising agency JWT has launched AnxietyIndex.com, an interactive site which aims to help brands understand and navigate today's consumer anxiety during the global recession.

The site, an evolution of JWT's six-year-old proprietary AnxietyIndex which was launched during the lead-up to the Iraq war to track the level and intensity of consumer anxiety, will feature daily content updates as well as major research and trend reports from the agency's global network.

"At 145 years old, we have a proven track record of leading brands through pivotal times like this," Bob Jeffrey, JWT Chairman and CEO, said. 

"We understand that this recession is unlike any other, and it's more important than ever to provide tools like our AnxietyIndex to help brands succeed in this new world order."

Pete Heskett, JWT’s planning director for Southeast Asia, explains that brands in the region need to understand how the anxiety is going to effect how people will relate to their brands as well as their communications.

“We’re throwing this open wide to the brand community – not everyone can contribute but everyone can access the content," he said.

"The research is predominantly being done in the US but it’s being rolled out to the UK, Australia and a couple of other markets. In the next year we’re planning to roll this out to Asia as well in China and India. We’ll have data on what’s happening in those markets with anxiety. People from right across the JWT network are contributing new stories on what other brands are up to and how they cope with it - how consumers are reacting to it - and it’s giving us a really amazing flavour of stories from all over the world.”

JWT said that while the content is compelling enough to appeal to a wide readership, the main audience will be those in marketing communications and is meant as a tool to spur dialogue, debate and new ideas.