2015TRENDS

CULTURE VULTURE

THE TRENDS

OUTSOURCING CONTROL 1  

SENSORIALISM 2  

INTERNET-ENABLED INTIMACY 3  

AGE OF SHALLOW KNOWLEDGE 4  

MARKETING IS A GAME 5  

UNBUNDLED 6  

RISE OF GOOD INTENTIONS 7  

NEW NARRATIVES 8  

THE NEW CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION 9  

LONG TAIL OF COMMERCE 10  

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OUTSOURCING CONTROL

Many of us know that controlling our impulses is key to our success in life - from

navigating the side of fries to shutting off Facebook to get some work done. The

digital age has made self-control even harder – with the likes of Facebook,

Twitter and Youtube giving us more ways to while away the hours when we

could be doing something more productive. And with smartphones, we can be

distracted anytime, anywhere.

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But technology isn’t just the problem, it’s also increasingly the solution. Apps like Moments and Offtime help consumers measure and manage distracting smartphone usage. The Acorns app helps consumers save money by rounding every purchase up to the nearest dollar, and invests the difference in low-cost ETFs. The iBag is a programmable handbag that prevents you from accessing your wallet at certain times of the day, and in certain locations. And products like Sproutling, Kuduso, and Pawtrack all help outsource management of family members (from babies, to kids, to pets).

Sprouting

iBag Vessyl

Kuduso Paw Track

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Consumers are looking to brands to help them outsource control. The percent of Americans who agree that “I would like a trusted company to help simplify my daily life” has increased from 31% in 2012 to 42% today.

% AGREE “I WOULD LIKE A TRUSTED COMPANY TO HELP SIMPLIFY MY DAILY LIFE”

SOURCE: MINDSHARE’S MINDREADER

2012

31%

2013

36%

2014

42%

SENSORIALISM

With fragmented audiences and increased multi-tasking, consumer attention is

harder to come by. One solution is to create more multi-sensorial experiences -

psychologists have found that using more of our senses increases engagement

and memory of content.

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Technology is providing new canvases for such multi-sensorial experiences. The most obvious recent examples are virtual reality and 4D. Both Nissan and Dos Equis have both recently used Oculus Rift to create new experiences with their products and advertising. Volvo recently created a virtual reality experience with Google Cardboard (which turns smartphones into virtual reality machines) for the launch of its new SUV. And both Marriot and Ralph Lauren have recently created 4D experiences to engage consumers.

Marriott “Teleporter” Ralph Lauren “4D Catwalk”

Nissan “Chase the Thrill” Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man”

Volvo Google Cardboard

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“Station to Station” Project

Homeland vibrating mobile ads

Drone Painting, Ars Electronica Futurelab

Sonos, NYC

In the same way Andy Warhol combined art and commercialism to create a new movement in modern art, technology is combining with the senses to give new palettes for creative media. The opportunity for brands is to use these palettes to create new ways to stimulate consumer senses.

In addition, technology is creating new ways to stimulate the senses individually. These include Levis placing video installations on trains, drones that paint light pictures in the sky, British Airways pairing their food menu with music (to help improve the taste experience at 35,000 feet), and Homeland launching the fourth season with vibrating in-app ads.

INTERNET-ENABLED INTIMACY

A combination of consumers feeling safer in the world, Millennial trust, and

more digitally connection has helped technology fuel more intimacy between

strangers and friends alike.

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The rise of the sharing economy continues. In a similar vein to AirBnB, the startup Eatwith brings strangers together for dining experiences. EatWith provides a marketplace that connects diners and hosts, creating a unique social experience where guests get to know one another while also eating an authentic, home-cooked meal.

Technology itself is opening up new routes to intimacy. Apple’s new iWatch will enable users to share their heartbeats, the artist Daniel Sher has created a number of technologies that enable people to physically share their feelings at a distant (e.g. blowing a kiss), and the T.Jacket is a jacket that hugs its wearer and can be controlled remotely – designed specifically for mothers of autistic children in mind.

Brands should look to how they facilitate or create consumer intimacy with technology in creative ways.

Apple iWatch “Heartbeat” Daniel Sher, “Saying Things That Can’t Be Said”

T.Jacket

AGE OF SHALLOW KNOWLEDGE

As the amount of daily content increases, our ability to read, watch and listen

to everything we want to gets harder. At the same time the pressure to know

what’s going on is increasing. A third of Americans agree ‘I feel a pressure to

stay up to date, but I don’t have time to read all the articles I want’.

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To cope we skim the surface. For example we’ll read a headline and the first couple of paragraphs of a story, then move on. 47% of Americans ‘prefer to browse the headlines rather than read detailed information’. We’ll pick relevant pieces of information from Facebook, Twitter or emailed news alerts and then regurgitate them. And new tools like The Skimm are helping us do this. As the New York Times points out, ‘it’s never been so easy to pretend to know so much without actually knowing anything’.

“I PREFER TO BROWSE HEAD-

LINES RATHER THAN READ

DETAILED INFORMATION”

47%

SOURCE: MINDREADER

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We’re living in an age of shallow knowledge where brands need to keep things to the point, and where there’s an opportunity to give consumers the toplines they need to navigate the world of content and information.

MARKETINGIS A GAME

Many consumers have always understood how marketing works. However, with

the explosion of new marketing tactics and the pressure to grab consumer

attention in a fragmented media environment, marketing feels more like a game

now than ever.

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Consumers generally feel less interested in ads. The percent of consumers who agree “advertising helps me learn about the products companies have to offer” has decreased from 52% in 2005 to 41% today. And 66% of consumers agree that they “feel like I’m always being marketed to”.

Tactics like retargeting and native advertising, though effective, only highlight the new ways the game is played, with savvy consumers on the lookout for ways in which to play the game to their advantage. For example, knowing that there may be patterns in travel companies’ dynamic pricing, 47% of consumers have tried to “purchase travel tickets on days when I believe prices are lower”. And 31% of consumers say “when shopping online, I’ll intentionally leave items in a “shopping basket” in hopes of receiving a discount from the store (e.g. via email, or in an online ad)”.

31%  23%  

74%  62%  

52%   41%  

2005   2006   2007   2008   2009   2010   2011   2012   2013   2014  

%  Adults  Agree  I  o/en  read  ads  in  magazines  just  out  of  curiosity  I  like  television  commercials  that  make  me  laugh  AdverEsing  helps  me  learn  about  the  products  companies  have  to  offer  

SOURCE: SIMMONS

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As a reaction, going forward we may see more examples of companies looking to help consumers step out of the game. Recent examples include the anti-Face-book service Ello, and the data privacy company Disconnect.

As a brand be aware that some consumers will understand how the marketing game works, and will either be put off by it, or play it to their advantage.

Ello

Disconnect

UNBUNDLED

As consumers continue to expect more tools, products and services tailored to

their needs, industries continue to follow suit.

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Content is unbundling in the media space. Following Netflix’s success, the cable networks HBO and CBS are both setting up digital streaming services available to non-cable customers – a potential start in the unbundling of cable content. And Amazon has been unbundling TV show production, allowing consumers to vote on pilots they want to see turned into full series.

In the technology space, Google’s modular phone prototype that consumers can swap out pieces of (like the camera) is moving forwards, and Tesla is opening up its patents to companies who want to use them in good faith – a move to encourage a step change in the electric car space.

Google’s Modular Phone

HBO GO CBS All Access

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Finally, we see the effect unbundling has had in the QSR space. McDonalds’ recent sales decline has been attributed in part to the customizable options offered by companies l ike Chipotle, and the new Taco Bell ordering app that enables customers to customize the ingredients in their orders.

As a brand consider how unbundling affects your industry, and how you can be an early mover if appropriate.

Taco Bell Mobile Ordering App

RISE OF GOODINTENTIONS

We know from psychological research that as humans we are notoriously

obsessed with the intentions of others. Gossip (which takes up around 60% of

our day-to-day conversations) is all about helping us understand the reputations

and intentions of others – so we know who to befriend and who to avoid.

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In a social media age where our ability to build and maintain friendships is on full display, showing our intentions is even more important. Things like the ice bucket challenge, #givingtuesday, and Movember all help to raise money and awareness for important causes, but also give consumers a way to communicate to the world that they care and that their intentions are noble.

Brands themselves are often chosen on their intentions – especially among highly social and socially connected Millennials. Toms Shoes, Whole Foods, Chipotle and Starbucks are all examples of these types of brands. If you want to show that you have good intentions as a brand, showing you support your employees is the number one thing you can do as a brand to show you care, followed by following through on promises, and putting people over profits.

Ice Bucket Challenge #givingtuesday Movember

Starbucks offering up free college courses to employees via Arizona State University

Toms – helps people

NEW NARRATIVES

Digital media and a changing consumer mindset have given rise to new ways to

tell stories with content.

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A smarter more educated consumer means that a market for shows and content with substance has grown. For example, Short of The Week, a site dedicated to showing a new, smart short movie every week. Game of Thrones has spurred a number of mash ups – from “Simpsons” artist Adrien Noterdaem visualizing the entire cast in the famous yellow, Simpsons form, to The Bleacher Report creating The Game of Zones - a blending Game of Thrones characters and themes with the context of the NBA Playoffs.

Short of the Week The Game of Zones

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Different narrative approaches have been trending too – from the shifting character perspectives in the movie Gone Girl and the TV show The Affair, to the recent ‘choose your own adventure’ executions by Honda and Philips.

Finally there have been interesting creative uses of existing media inventory. Virgin America produced its 6 hour pre-roll ‘ad’ called Blah Airlines which followed minute-by-minute the apparently tedious experience of f lying from the east to west coast on a competitor airline. And the comedy short Too Many Cooks became a viral hit after appearing in the ‘dead’ infomercial timeslot at 4am ET in October.

Virgin America “Blah Airlines”: 6 hour preroll Adult Swim “Too Many Cooks”: 4 AM

THE NEW CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

Consumers are changing how and what they say about themselves with the

products and brands they buy. As Tommy Hilfiger and Abercrombie and Fitch

have found out in recent years, the appetite for wearing big logos is waning.

36% of US consumers say they dislike wearing brand logos of any kind.

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The logo-less movement relies more on other cues about the product consumers are using. For example, in the fashion space Lily Pulitzer and Salvator Ferragamo are recognizable from the patterns they use – and you have to be in-the-know to notice them.

To this end, we see a trend towards being conspicuous about how smart you are. For example, interest in brands like Tesla and products like craft beer have been increasing, and many of the new wearables play to consumers’ desire to show their tech savviness.

If you’re a brand that consumers buy to display their identity, then you may need to consider whether you’re part of the new conspicuous consumption trends.

Athos fitness Intel and 50 Cent Smartwatches

THE LONG TAILOF COMMERCE

Over the past few years there’s been an explosion in mobile payment products

and services. Though still not the dominant transaction method for many

purchases, there have been pockets of success. For example, the Starbucks

app continues to rise in popularity as does the money transaction service

Venmo. Instagram and Twitter both allow consumers to purchase off the

service, and though Apple Pay hasn’t taken off yet, many expect an upsurge in

usage this year or next.

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Outside of payments, commerce is changing in other ways. Google recently announced ‘Project Wing’ – a drone delivery service that competes with the potential Amazon drone service – as well as expanding their shopping delivery service, Google Express, to more cities and merchants. Amazon themselves have announced a 3D printing store for consumers to customize a set catalogue of products.

Finally, in the new world of digital commerce consumers seem unaffected by the recent spate of data hacks among the likes of Target, eBay and Home Depot. The assumption may be that their banks and credit card companies have got their backs.

Commerce is changing, slowly but surely. As a brand, ensure you’re keeping up with the next step change in this space.

Google ‘Project Wing’ Google Express

Team

AIMEE GOLDFARB

ALEXIS FRAGALE

AMANDA DEMAURO

ANQI ZHU

ASHLEY FITZGERALD

CATHERINE O’BRIEN

GRACELYN BATEMAN

JAMIE KHOO

MALU BONJANOVICH

MARK POTTS

TIFFANY JACKSON