Contents1. The post-truth worldIntroductionGlobal market overview5. Experience on demand3. The new consumer pro-activity
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7. Shop as you view2. New Kids on the Blockchain6. Artifcial Intelligence4. Rethinking targeting
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8. The Voice
Trust
Immediacy
Inclusivity
Seamless interactionWelcome to Global Intelligence 2018: The Year Ahead.
This is the sixth annual trends report that we have
produced at Zenith, but this year we have taken a
different approach under a new name. Rather than
concentrating on a single theme, as we have done
previously, this year we have cast our net more widely.
We have reviewed what the most eminent cool hunters
and futurologists expect to be big in 2018, rather than
looking for emerging niches that might be happening
in a corner of Silicon Valley or Berlin. We have also
brought the report into our Global Intelligence stable
of products, which now includes all the market
intelligence, forecasting, insight and thought-leadership
reports we produce at Zenith.
When we were investigating 2018 trends, we found that
most trends identified in 2017 were still highly relevant
and were only becoming more so. In view of this, we
decided to identify the top eight recurring consumer
and technology trends, discuss how these trends took
shape in 2017 and predict how they will evolve in 2018.
We then assessed how these trends offered growth
opportunities for marketers in 2018.
We have also taken the liberty of including some
Zenith trends material from our Advertising Expenditure
Forecast report, which is now in its 30th year. The
work we have done on the key trends in media and
marketing investment points to an emerging battle
between ‘The Big’ and ‘The Small’. We live in a world
in which the big digital platforms are gobbling up ever
more adspend – as are the big cities. More people are
becoming urbanites and metropolitan and so we are
seeing category growth polarising to the dynamic big
cities. Big tech is also on the march and our analysis
shows that the ratio between digital adspend and tech
investment is going in the direction of technology.
So as we predict further concentration and
consolidation in 2018, what else will brand owners
have to navigate this year Our eight key trends come
in pairs, which set up in some cases tensions and in
others amplifications.
In 2018, news organisations and other environments
in which brands appear will struggle to rebuild
consumers’ trust in them and demonstrate transparency
to advertisers. In this environment, blockchain
technology will begin to offer new tools for creating
transparency and verification.
Next up is inclusivity in a world rocked by 2017’s
scandals relating to sexual harassment and gender
inequality. We observed a righteous movement
where finger pointing to faults is at an all-time high.
Brands will need to take a lead in publically inclusive
behaviour at a time when data-led targeting and
activation approaches are leading to more ‘exclusive’
communications strategies.
Immediacy will be a pressing concern for us all with
the ongoing march of AI. We predict more brands
will be concentrating capability and investment
in delivering more tailor-made experiences. The
challenge is intimidating as in-the-moment experiences
and exceptional service are now seen as basic
requirements by many consumers.
Seamless interaction will become critical in the
shopping arena, with shoppable content featuring
in live event formats and voice shopping gathering
momentum.
Enjoy reading our 2018 trends and we hope they help
you figure out where to place some bets this year.
Introduction。