• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 18, 2021

Dentsu has published an ambitious study looking at evolving consumer trends and behaviors through the next decade.

The research is based on in-depth interviews with futurists, academics, authors and other experts, as well multiple proprietary consumer surveys from more than 20 countries and other resources.

The project began before the pandemic and has adjusted for it.

According to the company, the idea is to provide “a new perspective on the drivers of long-term, sustainable brand growth.”

One thought-provoking idea (among many) from the study: By 2025, there will be a mainstream, trans-national political party known as “Rebellion Extinction.”

By 2026, “the right to select your own gender identity is enshrined within the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights.”

And seven years from now, Cannes Lions will offer a new award category: “Best Brand Engagement With Personal AI Service.”

By 2030, per the report, expect to see consumers selecting specific “titan brands” to be their “main lifestyle partners, becoming an integral part of their commercial activity and everyday lifestyle.”

The report discusses a number of trends that each carries specific implications for brands. “But across almost all of them sits the concept of ‘inclusive intelligence,’ the study concludes. That’s defined as the “ability to incorporate new views, values and behaviors into their value proposition against a backdrop of widening inequality, societal dislocation and ethical complexity.”

This concept will be a key battleground for brands to understand and master over the next decade, the report states, requiring brands to determine how best they can close divisions surrounding identity, influence, integrity and other major societal forces.  

The caveat to all this: Disruptive elements that emerge in the coming years will take trends and behaviors in new directions.  Kind of like what just happened over the past year.

For more on the report, go here.