By the end of the next decade, as the pace of consumer change accelerates and social media matures, a stronger, deeper linkage between consumers and brands has driven brands to change more quickly too. For example, brands have shifted their messaging or morphed key attributes to compete effectively in a world of viral memes. Some…
Details
By or before 2030, consumer data is so rich and deep that brands essentially create themselves based on detected patterns of consumer need, rapidly filling an identified brand niche. Systems detect gaps in brands through methods such as social media monitoring, click-through rates, or A/B testing. They also look outside the immediate product space for…
Details
Fostered by Millennial interests, in 2030 game-playing is the leading form of entertainment among crucial consumer demographics. Brand managers respond by embedding their brands into gaming experiences that mix the virtual with the real. Ubiquitous adoption of augmented reality has made brand-oriented gaming as common as playing Angry Birds was in 2013. Consumers engage in…
Details
Intelligent, customizable brands seek out consumers. With the influx of data analytics about consumer needs, sentiment, and lifestyle choices, by 2030 brands are seeking out users, rather than users seeking brands. Consumers no longer pay attention to brands because AI brands now know what consumers need, and present them with appropriate, individualized choices at the…
Details
Personalization has been on everyone’s list of important trends for more than a decade. But in high-volume consumer goods it’s hard to execute in a cost-effective way. Here are two prominent examples I ran into during travels last fall. Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign, including printed bottles with first names, debuted in Australia in 2012…
Details
Brands that create themselves … brands that know what you want before you need it … brands that respond to consumer aspirations … Welcome to brands and branding in 2030! Brands 2030 is ten forecasts that provide a provocative look at ideas and trends that could shape the future of brands and their interactions with…
Details
Last August, the travel site Orbitz found itself in a kerfuffle when the Wall Street Journal reported that the site was showing Mac users higher-priced hotel rooms than the ones it displayed to PC users. Orbitz retorted that its tracking data revealed that Mac users do, in fact, spend an average of $20-30 more per…
Details