Metaverse, diversity, well-being and equity were highlighted by the report The Future 100 Trends and Change to Watch in 2023
One of the main strengths of advertising is its visionary look; ahead of time. With the purpose of anticipating future flows of trends that will become part of everyday life and people’s culture.
After the most critical period of the Covid-19 pandemic, the main global marketing communications groups are very active in behavioral mapping that can change the scene. And contribute to the activation of marketing solutions for brands, products and services. With these analyses in hand, creativity is responsible for transforming these insights into media campaigns, live marketing, activations, public relations, social, performance, brand, etc.
The Wunderman Thompson network, which is part of the English holding WPP, through its strategy area, organized the study The Future 100 Trends and Change to Watch 2023, under the leadership of executive Emma Chiu, global director of intelligence at WT.
All signs should point to a dark and chaotic year with a rocky economy. Political instability and environmental deterioration persist. However, people are determined to show resilience, innovation and joy in the face of continued difficulty. Pantone’s brilliant choice for the 2023 color of the year, Viva Magenta, captures the spritely feeling. an unconventional shade for an unconventional time, says Pantone. A joyconomy is on the move this year, with brands that offer uninhibited games for all ages (Ageless Play), and gym classes that imitate the feeling of throwing confetti, summarizes Emma Chiu in the opening text of the analysis, emphasizing that technology is also will be in the center.
The lightning-fast pace of technology sees the evolution from building to living the metaverse. Every aspect of life is being explored in the metaverse – from our digital identities to the perspective of virtual families (virtual creators, to build virtual homes (digital nesting). Most importantly, the metaverse is opening the door to a 3.0 future as a decentralized platform that slowly takes shape in the form of web 3. Communities, creators and brands are invited to form a democratic internet that belongs to everyone, introducing new formulas for everything from ownership to community engagement (crypto clubs).
Emma goes further: In addition, people are demanding that brands use their influence to improve society, putting accessibility and inclusion at the forefront: 86% of global respondents believe that to support a disadvantaged group, brands need to work with them, not just for them. Several brands are already encouraging different voices (amplifying creators from different matrices) and companies are introducing inclusive programs, details the WT director.
The mapping of trends covers the themes: culture, technology and metaversion, travel and hospitality, brands and marketing, food and drink, beauty, retail and commerce, luxury, health and work. Of the 100 global topics, linked to the central highlights, WT made a selection of 20 as the most harmonized with the cultural and socioeconomic profile of Latin America.
Among all these subjects, there is something relevant for all types of brands. But something very valuable in the report is the opportunity to go beyond the categories we deal with in our daily lives and better understand what is happening in other sectors, observes Vitor Amos, head of planning at WT in Brazil, the unit that supported WT Intelligence, WT’s business base, in the global research of trends in the Latam region.
These trends are the most relevant for the Brazilian market and all of Latin America. Although it is not divided into 10 major themes, like the global report, it covers issues that affect all sectors. Two especially relevant trends for Brazil, addressing culture, health and work, are Original Innovation, which highlights technological initiatives to build a more sustainable future based on techniques and knowledge from indigenous peoples in Latin America; and Empreendimentos Inclusivos, which shows that the entrepreneurship that has always occurred in Brazil is now receiving legitimacy from large companies and visibility in events such as Expo Favela, which had its first in-person edition in 2022, adds Vitor Amos.
Keeping an open mind for the development of innovative campaigns is one of the attributions of the study, in the words of Amos. In 2022, the global report pointed out two trends: Edible Escapism, or Edible Escapism, which places food as a possibility to discover new worlds, breaking the conventions of appetite appeal; and Euphoric Ads, or Euphric Announcements, highlighting brands that are filling their ads with color, joy and questioning the normal in advertising. These two trends served as inspiration for creating the Fanta monster chef case, an unreality show where the Fanta brand invited Twitch streamers to play with food and build unusual meals with a Halloween theme, he says.
With an emphasis on culture, The Future 100 Trends and Change to Watch in 2023, as analyzed by Stella Pirani, CSO of WT Brasil, recommends moving in this direction. We are interested in the tools and mechanisms that we can apply so that this bridge of conversation is the truest and most transformative for both sides: business and people. We know that a company’s cultural involvement has a direct impact on the purchase decision, a relationship between an inspiring brand, its growth and support for causes that benefit everyone and generate more revenue, she says.
Cultural relevance is how we measure it to understand how connected a brand is with people. Be interesting and show your interest, take part and have the courage to act when needed. It’s time to stop thinking only about campaigns and think about brand movements. The culture is alive and the brand also needs to be. Mapping the culture, creating connections between brands and people at the right time and on the right platform is essential. And the way we create this participation involves a lot of co-creation and collaboration of different teams from different disciplines, explains Stella Pirani.
Only with a deep and sensitive understanding of cultural expressions can we better connect our brand with people and create experiences that truly transform, says Mariana Manso, senior creative strategist for Coca Cola.
The world is changing faster and faster and with brands that put consumers first, we need to be constantly adapting to keep up with them. The Future 100 2023 report provided a very inspiring and clear vision of how Brazilians and Latin Americans are behaving in the post-pandemic world, providing a cultural context for planning our brands. This is an essential tool for us to help consumers take care of their health on a daily basis, developing solutions that are relevant to their routine and participating in the conversation in an engaging and creative way, reasons Fernanda Marcondes Pincherle, marketing director self care & skin health at Kenvue ( Part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies).
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With Future 100 Latam I will be able to equip myself with trends that are closer to my reality and the day to day of the projects I work on, admits Felipe Ritis, WT Brasil strategist. Of all the trends, I like to think that those that I considered the strangest and most distant are the ones that have the most potential to inspire me and provoke fruitful reflections, especially creatively, explains Mariana Hasselmann, director of content and influence at the agency.
In addition to being accessible, inspiring and relevant for anyone working in communications, I believe The Future 100 is one of those reports that we should always share, both in groups and having it on our radar all year round. All trends can contribute or serve as inspiration for future projects. The most important thing, I would say, is to stay on top of the ones that most speak to your brand. Only you know your product so well and know when that trend will add more to your work, concludes strategist Poliana Amaral.
Through the eyes of Isaac Serruya, WT’s associate creative director, the trends highlighted by the survey help ideas flow. And Julia Tetsuya, who is part of the strategy core, believes that it is an invitation to leave the everyday context and inspire new perspectives based on what is new in other categories, countries and realities.
Read the full story in the April 10, 2023 issue
(Credit: Richard Horvath on Unsplash)
