Client News Future 100 Trends Report

The 10th edition of The Future 100 report launched earlier this year. The Future 100 report covers trends under the headings of culture, tech, travel and hospitality, brand and marketing, food and drink, beauty, retail, luxury, health, and innovation. As the year unfolds, we look at five key cultural trends.

  1. Prosocial Effervescence – the Loneliness Epidemic has featured in the recent news agenda. 66% of people globally say there is no sense of community anymore. Many are yearning for the energy and buzz of a shared experience, like being in a choir or at a festival. Brands should help people to connect.
  2. The New Etiquette – 80% of global respondents agree that people are behaving badly these days. As brands focus their marketing attention and budgets on facilitating togetherness, community, and collaboration, setting guidance on behaviours and creating a fair environment will help create a more connective experience.
  3. Decelerating Hype Cycles – TikTok trends are accelarating – latte makeup, brat girl summer, mermaid glow… The rate at which new trends are manufactured and hyped up is intense. While we cannot ignore fast-moving trends, we need to understand the reasons behind them. People are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer pace of life and the number of trends they are consuming, following and recreating daily. Lots of brands, especially in the luxury sector, are choosing to slow down to give people the chance to savour a full experience before moving on.
  4. Luddite Mode – Gen Z is managing to seamlessly switch between being totally connected and a full digital detox. This might seem contradictory, but it does offer an opportunity for brands during each of these phases. Our client HMD, Human Mobile Devices’ latest innovation, Skyline has been built with Gen Z firmly in mind. The super-slick smartphone comes with a powerful new in-built detox mode with bespoke app and contact blocking, allowing users to tailor their detox to their needs. A good example of this trend IRL.
  5. Intentional Communities – we wrote a blog post last month on the Family Fallacy and how the traditional family unit has changed. Only 38% of people in Ireland feel that brands and companies are in touch with their family’s life and needs. Brands need to consider or reconsider how they cater to today’s family. Consumers trust, prefer, and support brands that understand their needs. They want to see themselves and their peer group truly represented in campaigns.