EMERGING TRENDS FOR 2018 JANUARY 2018 - Adshel

EMERGING TRENDS FOR 2018
          JANUARY 2018

“We keep moving forward, opening new
doors and doing new things, because we’re
curious and curiosity keeps leading us down
                new paths.”
                   Walt Disney

Building on what’s new
Five emerging trends for 2018

‘Being Woke’ - …aware of and actively
   attentive to important facts and issues
(especially issues of racial and social justice)
                 - Merriam-Webster Dictionary

1. THE “WOKE” GEN
Brands tested marketing to the ‘Woke’ generation in 2017, but
marketing ‘woke-ness’ can fail spectacularly (hello Pepsi &
Kendall Jenner).

Heinken’s ‘Worlds Apart’ experiment recruited six people with
strong beliefs about feminism, climate change and transgender
rights. They then paired them with people who held opposite
beliefs and challenged them to work together on joint tasks. The
final task required them to build a bar together.

The participants were then given a choice; sit down at the bar
with a Heineken and have discussion over their differences - or
leave. The results are beautiful to watch.

Social awareness brand campaigns done well will inspire and
encourage discussion and provide a invaluable stamp of
approval from the Woke generation.

Source: trendwatching.com

“Trust the robot.”
  Andrew Ng, Chief Scientist Baidu.

2. HEY SIRI, GATEBOX…
2017 was the beginning of virtual home assistants, with Google's
Home and Amazon’s Alexa launching into the market.

Japan’s Gatebox aims to go one step further.

Gatebox is a virtual home robot with its own distinct personality,
hobbies, likes/dislikes. It is displayed as a holographic anime
character that can have conversations with you, provide
weather updates and automate household tasks.

With recent census stats revealing that more Australians are
living alone, devices like Gatebox can offer companionship
and help around the house to those who want it.

Source: trendwatching.com | Gatebox | ABS Census 2016

“Would you like to see it one more
  time? You may have blinked
         and missed it”
         - Tim Cook while launching Apple Pay

3. CHECK OUT FREE
 In January 2018, Amazon opened its Seattle Amazon Go store
 where checkouts are a thing of the past and the in-store
 experience is designed to be even easier than online.

 With new technology, consumers can take items from the
 shelves, put it into their baskets and the items are automatically
 billed to their account. Customers walk out the door without
 any transaction friction.“

 Gone is the need to eye the size of other people’s trolleys when
 choosing a line to stand in, gone are the days of still asking for
 help when the self-serve goes awry. This is the era of
 transactionless consumer experience and potentially millions of
 retail workers looking for new jobs.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/ ; https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011

“The most valuable commodity I know of is
              information.”
         - Gordan Gekko, Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street

4. HYPER CUSTOMISATION
  Online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter has taken data and
  customisation to a new level.

  Using it’s database of customer surveys as well as behavioral
  data, the e-retailer is now able to personalize every online
  visitor’s shopping experience and customising
  recommendations.

  Using image recognition it also offers tips and suggestions to
  help users purchase items that complement existing outfits.

  No more mismatched outfits. (What do you mean blue and
  green should never be seen?)

Source: trendwatching.com

“China is going to be the world’s largest
consumption place and that engine is going
       to drive the world economy.”
                - Alibaba CEO, Jack Ma

5. RISE OF THE ‘DAIGOU’
  In recent years, an underground network of ‘daigous’ has
  emerged in Australia. Daigous are local go-betweens who
  purchase Australian products to sell to Chinese consumers in
  China who are weary of fake and overpriced products sold in
  their local market. Numbers of daigous are estimated to be in
  the tens of thousands.

  ‘AuMake International’ is the first listed retail company in
  Australia. Acting as a one stop shop catering for the Australian
  Daigou and the Chinese tourist. With six Sydney locations
  operating (and 11 more planned for June 2018) Australian
  brands will need to understand the importance of these
  networks to tap into the profitable Chinese market.

Source: ‘Chinese Daigous’ SBS, October 2017

So what now?

TO FOLLOW OR TO LEAD?
It’s all good to get excited about trends but the question for marketers is, “are you a follower? Or
are you a leader?”. The answer is never wrong, indecisiveness and ambiguity are the enemies.

Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman, says “Consumers expect brands to lead the
movement for change and address critical problems.”

Consumers thrive on the new and exciting, the challenge is continuing the relationship well
beyond the shiny and new to a deeper and long term engagement that is rewarding for all.

Is your brand leading the way to new innovations, technologies or cultural trends? Or is it waiting
in the wings waiting for things to change, hoping that you jump just at the right time and place,
with the right marketing strategy to the right market. Simple!

What are you doing new (or different) this year?

Source: MarketingWeek 2017 | Edelman 2017

For more information on trends to
 watch in 2018 contact us today
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