For more than a decade, marketers have leaned hard on fear the niggling anxiety that if customers didn’t buy now or log in tonight they would be left behind.
But a swelling counter‑current is remaking that playbook. Consumers are weary of alerts, limited‑time drops, and endless scrolls, so they opt out and find joy in the remaining space.
Welcome to the age of JOMO, the Joy of Missing Out.
Why the pendulum is swinging
Digital fatigue is measurable. In Deloitte’s 2024 Connected Consumer study, 37 % of respondents worried their online activity could expose them to harmful content, up eight points in a year. (Deloitte)
That anxiety translates into behaviour: downloads of “digital‑detox” or mindfulness apps rose 16 % year‑on‑year, according to Sensor Tower data. At the same time, offline experiences such as craft workshops and silent retreats routinely sell out months ahead.
Marketers have noticed. Jeep’s recent Argentina platform positions its vehicles as tickets to unconnected adventure by explicitly trading “FOMO for JOMO.” (Little Black Book)
IKEA’s 2024 “Wonderful Everyday” spots celebrate staying home with a book rather than chasing nightlife. (Instagram) Heineken built a “boring” retro phone to nudge party‑goers off their smartphones. (WSJ)
The anatomy of a JOMO consumer
- Values presence over participation. The event feed matters less than how they feel during and after the event.
- Seeks mindful media. Long‑form articles, playlists for concentration and “slow TV” win time‑on‑screen while doom‑scroll content is culled.
- Wants brands to subtract friction. More straightforward pricing, fewer notifications, and shorter menus are read as acts of respect, not minimalism.
- Measures success internally. Instead of “likes,” they prize sleep quality, savings rates or steps walked.
Five principles for crafting JOMO‑friendly campaigns
1. Build absence into the plan.
Calm’s annual “Day of Rest” shuts the app for 24 hours, gifting users a choice to unplug entirely. That self‑inflicted silence drives more paid subscriptions the following week, proving that scarcity can be additive when it respects wellbeing.
2. Give permission to say “no.”
Dove’s “Detox Your Feed” teaches teens how to unfollow toxic accounts, turning rejection into empowerment. (Top Social Media Agency) Brands can mirror this by spotlighting opt‑out pathways, such as skipping a month, downgrading easily, and pausing notifications.
3. Move the story offline.
Pop‑ups that ban phones at the door or loyalty perks redeemable only in physical stores convert curiosity into tactile memory. Jeep’s “JOMO road trips” and Amstel’s camping kits deliver exactly this leap from screen to scene. (Rhythm Agency)
4. Go slow with content.
Instead of 30 TikToks a week, publish one richly documented field guide, podcast episode or research report. Patagonia’s long‑form essays on repair and reuse routinely outperform its sales announcements because depth now signals sincerity.
5. Measure depth, not reach.
Replace raw impressions with dwell time, repeat purchases, and referral quality. If each interaction feels restorative rather than demanding, a campaign can shrink its audience and grow lifetime value.
Case snapshots
| Brand & Year | JOMO Tactic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jeep (2025, Argentina) | TV & OOH declaring “Skip the feed—find the track” | 12 % lift in weekend test‑drives (Little Black Book) |
| IKEA (2024, global) | Film depicting a quiet night in; #MyRoomMyRules challenge | 8 % rise in bedroom‑range sales (Instagram) |
| Heineken (2024, Europe) | Limited‑edition “Boring Phone” with monochrome screen | Earned 3 B media impressions and 35 k device wait‑list (WSJ) |
| Dove (2025, US/UK) | Social toolkit to curate healthier feeds | 2× engagement vs. prior CSR campaigns (Top Social Media Agency) |
Start small: audit every customer touchpoint and mark where “pressure” outweighs “pleasure.” Could you replace the countdown timer with a calmer copy line? Collapse three onboarding emails into one? Then pilot a micro‑JOMO activation, perhaps a weekend “quiet inbox” pledge, measuring satisfaction and churn deltas.
Resist the instinct to abandon urgency wholesale. JOMO campaigns still convert when they surface genuine relevance (think: curated recommendations, not algorithmic tsunamis).
The art lies in allowing customers to re‑enter on their terms. As Forbes observes, brands that facilitate digital breaks build trust that pays forward in loyalty and advocacy. (Forbes)
Looking ahead
FOMO will never vanish entirely; scarcity and social proof remain psychological levers.
The brands winning 2025’s mindshare are those courageous enough to let silence, slowness and selective absence do some of the talking. The payoff is a consumer who doesn’t just notice your message but feels better for having met it, which is joy worth opting in for.