ROYAL ASCOT DAY FOUR
Friday 19 June 2026
Phew! According to a new report from VCCP, one of Britain’s largest advertising and marketing agencies, Britain isn’t broken!
That will come as something of a surprise to those of us who had begun to suspect otherwise. After all, the last decade has delivered Brexit, a pandemic, inflation, soaring energy bills, political turmoil, shrinking public services and the general impression that every Quango and government department now requires three committees, two spads, an overpaid consultancy and an equality impact assessment before changing a lightbulb.
Yet VCCP’s research, based on a survey of more than 1,500 consumers, argues that the cumulative effect has not been to break the public but to change it. Britons have become more resourceful, more self-reliant and more willing to solve problems for themselves rather than waiting for somebody else to do it.
The agency identifies two factors that increasingly determine behaviour. The first is how hopeful people feel about the future. The second is how proactive they are in responding to challenges. Combine the two and, after what I imagine was a lengthy meeting involving PowerPoint presentations and expensive biscuits, the researchers conclude that Britain now consists of four broad groups: Architects, Hustlers, Coasters and Retreaters.
I’m still reeling from the BHA’s marketing report that talked about The Teds and The Flat Caps. The latter group were essentially traditional working and lower-middle-class racegoers and punters. They liked betting, form, familiarity, and racing’s heritage, and often had family or cultural connections to the sport. They were seen as authentic racing customers who didn’t need much explanation. Teds were the opposite. More aspirational, younger, urban and experience-led. The name was derived from the “Ted Baker” customer profile, and they were interested in style, social occasions, hospitality, fashion, premium experiences and the broader event - or as some called it, not interested in racing at all.
