To capture the attention of consumers and stay relevant in the long term, brands need to detect, observe and understand the growing cultural trends that matter to their audiences. Here are three dynamics we believe will open new growth opportunities for brands in the future and that we invite marketers to examine closer.
Fuelling fandoms
Technology has made connecting those with likeminded interests much easier, turning fandoms into a more involved pastime. Previously niche interests like gaming have given way to behemoths like esports, successful new gaming sub-genres, or even fandoms for game developers themselves. Digital platforms continue to enable fandoms to develop further, with platforms such as Reddit where communities can define their own governance rules or Patreon and Kickstarter that allow communities to finance projects they support.
Brands need to understand how these fandoms function, what services or platforms they need to thrive, and ultimately how to communicate to them in a nurturing way.
Rise of the digital self
As connectivity and digital capabilities increase, there has been a growing convergence in people's physical and digital selves. From areas to socialise and interact online to the idea of Metaverses within games, online personas are becoming just as valid as real-world counterparts.
This has significant ramifications to advertising and e-commerce, creating whole new spaces that allow for greater interactivity and closer replication of brick-and-mortar stores with added flexibility and without significant overhead. The digital content and products mimic their real-life counterparts such as digital fashion collections, VR storefronts, in-game concerts, and entertainment releases.
Multi-sense interfacing
The integration of virtual assistants in people’s daily environment foretells the emergence of ambient computing, where devices sit more discretely in the background, and of natural user interfaces, which can be used intuitively through multi-sensory inputs.
As these trends become more commonplace, consumers will expect technology to react efficiently and naturally to their instructions regardless of how they give them, via sound, gestures, sight, touch or even thought. This means brands will have to adapt and be readily recognisable even if there's not a visual component to the transaction, for instance, through sonic identities.
This article is excerpted from the report Future Focus 2021: Brands Accelerated.
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