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DO YOU SPEAK VISUAL?

THE AGE OF IMPATIENCE

10 TRENDS FOR 2014 AND BEYOND

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IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MOBILE AS A GATEWAY TO OPPORTUNITY

TELEPATHIC TECHNOLOGY

THE END OF ANONYMITY

RAGING AGAINST THE MACHINE

REMIXING TRADITION

PROUDLY IMPERFECT

10

MINDFUL LIVING

10 TRENDS FOR 2014 AND BEYOND

In our ninth annual forecast of trends for the near future, we see consumers both welcoming and resisting technologys

ABOUT THE REPORT

growing omnipresence in their lives. For many, technology serves as a gateway to opportunity and an enabler of hyperefficient lifestyles, but those who are most immersed are starting to question its effect on their lives and on their privacy. One result is that people are trying to find a balance and seeking to be more mindful and in-the-moment. And in a world thats become all too polished or mass-produced, they are also embracing imperfection. JWTs 10 Trends for 2014 report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year and specifically for this report. Trends dont happen in isolation. They tend to intersect and work in tandem with each other, as youll see here. And many are extensions or outgrowths of trends we formerly spotted; after all, trends with real significance cant be assigned to just one calendar year. The trends explored here, which we believe have significant weight and momentum, indicate shifts that are likely to be with us for a while. Like any complex and dynamic human phenomena, trends are not preordainedonce they are spotted, they can be shaped. With this trends forecast, we aim to bring the outside into help inspire ideas beyond brand, category and consumer conventionsand to identify emerging opportunities so they can be leveraged for business gain.

1. IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
Entertainment, narratives and brand experiences will become more immersive and altogether more enveloping in a bid to capture consumers imagination and attention.
EXAMPLE: To bring the tagline Fill Your Home with Music to life, Sonos (the maker of Internetconnected wireless music systems) created immersive installations in New York and Los Angeles. Digitized color washes, lighting and animation coordinated the color and mood of a room to the music playing through Sonos speakers.

Image credit: DJ Ecal

2. DO YOU SPEAK VISUAL?

Were shifting to a visual vocabulary that relies on photos, emojis, video snippets and other imagery, largely supplanting the need for text. Visual is a new lingo that needs to be mastered.
EXAMPLE: Tinder and similar apps simplify the online dating process by eschewing wordy profiles in favor of photos that can be scrolled through quickly. Users of Tinder are tallying up 350 million swipes per dayswiping right indicates interest, swiping left indicates a decline.

Image credits: JWTIntelligence team

3. THE AGE OF IMPATIENCE

With the mainstreaming of the on-demand economy and our always-on culture, consumer expectations for speed and ease are rising exponentially. As businesses respond in kind, making the availability of their products and services more instant, impatience and impulsiveness will only continue to increase.
EXAMPLE: eBay, Google, Amazon and grocery services including Walmart To Go have introduced same-day delivery options in some markets and are steadily expanding their availabilityand some are shrinking the delivery window down to as little as an hour. The eBay Now service provides delivery from local merchants in about an hour for a $5 fee.

Image credit: Tom Uhlenberg

4. MOBILE AS A GATEWAY TO OPPORTUNITY

In emerging markets, the mobile device is coming to represent a gateway to opportunityhelping people change their lives by giving them access to financial systems, new business tools, better health care, education and more.
EXAMPLE: Developed by Vodafone in collaboration with Turkeys Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Farmers Club sends SMS messages about government regulations, weather and market prices, tailored to farmers locations. A partnership with ekerbank lets users pay by mobile phone at the end of the year.

Image credit: GSMA

5. TELEPATHIC TECHNOLOGY
Thanks to the rise of brain-computer interfaces and emotion recognition technology, brands are getting more adept at understanding consumers minds and moods, and reacting accordingly in a very personalized way.
EXAMPLE: To showcase the power of a Kit Kat break, JWT Singapore and Nestl wired up students with headsets that tracked their brainwaves while they ate a Kit Kat bar, then generated a unique piece of art that reflected their state of mind. Students who entered the brain booth got to see what happened to their brain after they consumed a Kit Kat.

Image credit: Quavondo Nguyen

6. THE END OF ANONYMITY

Thanks to an array of new technologies and a growing drive to collect personal data, its becoming nearly impossible to remain unobserved and untracked by corporations and governments. As anonymity becomes more elusive, expect pushback from consumers and a growing paranoia around technologies and services that affect privacy.
EXAMPLE: Tescos 450 gas stations in the U.K. will start using screens made by Amscreen, a digital advertising firm, that analyze the faces of people approaching the register and target ads based on gender and rough age; they also track how long people look at the ads.

Image credit: Carolyn Lagattuta

7. RAGING AGAINST THE MACHINE

As we move further into the digital age, were starting to both fear and resent technology, fretting about whats been lost in our embrace of unprecedented change. Well put a higher value on all things that feel essentially human and seriously question (while not entirely resisting) technologys siren call.
EXAMPLE: A growing number of bands and music festivals are asking crowd members to put their phones away and experience the concert in 3D, as She & Him have requested. Others who have objected to the usual sea of phones held aloft include Jack White, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Prince and Bjrk.

Image credits: Michela Ravasio; Nick Ayala

8. REMIXING TRADITION
With social norms quickly changing and a new anythinggoes attitude, people are mashing up cherished traditions with decidedly new ideas, creating their own recipes for what feels right.
EXAMPLE: While religious affiliation is declining in the U.S. and the U.K., godless congregations such as the Sunday Assembly are adopting elements of organized religion, seeking to reap the benefits that come with ritual gatherings and the community they offer.

Image credit: isitsharp

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9. PROUDLY IMPERFECT
Imperfection and even outright uglinessthe quirky, the messy and the flawedare taking on new appeal in a world thats become neatly polished and curated. Imperfection provides an unfiltered, all too human version of reality that reflects all the diversity thats seen in everyday life.
EXAMPLE: In October 2013, the Austrian grocery chain Billa, part of Germanys Rewe Group, launched a private-label line of nonconformist produce dubbed Wunderlinge, a made-up word that combines the terms for anomaly and miracle. Another German retailer, Edeka, has tested selling ugly produce at a discount, branded as Nobody is perfect.

Image credit: Peter Mullaney

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10. MINDFUL LIVING

Consumers are developing a quasi-Zen desire to experience everything in a more present, conscious way. Once the domain of the spiritual set, mindful living is filtering into the mainstream, with more people drawn to the idea of shutting out distractions and focusing on the moment.
EXAMPLE: Virgin Atlantic commissioned content from the meditation gurus at Headspace for the in-flight entertainment system. Designed to help passengers meditate and deal with the stressors of traveling, the videos address topics such as how to get sleep and deal with boredom.

Image credit: Lumina

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DO YOU SPEAK VISUAL?

THE AGE OF IMPATIENCE

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JWTS 10 TRENDS FOR 2014 AND BEYOND, PLEASE VISIT WWW.JWTINTELLIGENCE.COM

MOBILE AS A GATEWAY TO OPPORTUNITY

TELEPATHIC TECHNOLOGY

THE END OF ANONYMITY

RAGING AGAINST THE MACHINE

REMIXING TRADITION

PROUDLY IMPERFECT

10

MINDFUL LIVING