• by Larissa Faw , February 3, 2015

From grass-fed animal husbandry to the concept of story-living, it seems every agency, futurist and trendspotting firm unveiled their own top trends for 2015. 

Now, Los Angeles-based advertising agency Ignited has considered 100 trend reports and identified 15 key trends for 2015 from the most relevant end-of-year predictions.

"Upon sifting through all of these trends, we narrowed it down to the ones that we think will have the biggest impact on our business in the near future," says Frank Striefler, SVP planning & strategy, Ignited.

"Where in past years, many of the trends were focused on tech and digital, what we've seen sorting through 2015 predictions is more of a reaction to the ubiquity of the technology in our lives," he adds.

"There is a huge cultural shift and it begins with the flattening of social norms," Striefler says. For instance, Kill It or Fill It describes how pop culture and social media have ushered in an age of impatience, making it impossible for people to wait for things. Therefore, if brands are unable to fast-lane their customers, then they need to make them forget they are waiting by providing unforgettable experiences.

Disney, for instance, has transformed waiting in line at its amusement parks to becoming part of the experience. The start of the ride now happens as soon as someone steps in line.

"It encompasses a bigger picture about society and culture," says Striefler. "This shift sheds light on people's mentalities changing and will be one of the biggest trends that will impact how brands fit into peoples' lives. The flattening of social norms is a wild card, and brands should think beyond conventional segmentations and start looking for commonalities across their cohorts instead."

Millennials are dissatisfied with the current marketing campaigns that have long been the status quo — calling for brands to “drop the act” and “get real” with more authentic conversations. Ignited believes Meta Marketing will find brands embracing self-depreciation in a relatable way to show that they "get it." Newcastle, for instance, released a faux Super Bowl ad last year featuring actress Anna Kendrick that made fun of Super Bowl ads. 

Another trend delves into lingo. Today's social vernacular is rapidly changing to include more stickers, emoticons, emojis and slang. Brands must keep up with these evolving terms in order to connect with younger consumers. No brand, for instance, should still be using the term "swag" in 2015. 

The “Secret and Surprise” portion of Ignited’s report outlines how marketers are increasingly wowing customers by surprising them. People are drawn to the unknown, so when brands create mystery, they break consumers from their regular day-to-day routines and ultimately develop stronger relationships.

"People and their preferences are changing," says Striefler. "Brands have new opportunities to engage and connect with individuals, based on their changing values and behaviors. We expect to see more creativity in the way brands reach their audiences in more meaningful ways."

There is no denying the burgeoning popularity around private social networks, such as Whisper and Snapchat, and the rise of ephemeral content will no doubt continue to soar and expand into other forms of content. Consumers are likely to embrace brand experiences that enable them to connect fleeting memories with physical locations. 

Beyond the GIF, in the coming year, content marketers will need to include more visual images for greater appeal. Ignited recommends brands incorporate animated infographics, parallax effects and 3-D infographics to better communicate ideas and messages.

Ignited also looked back at 2014 predictions to see which ones continued to remain relevant past their initial surge. To that end, the trends with staying power include campaigns that encourage consumers to embrace flaws, womenomics and the joy of missing out.

This is the first year Ignited has compiled this trend list, with executives planning to continue to release similar reports throughout the year and into next. The complete 2015 report is available here.