JWTIntelligence Marks 10 Years of '10 Trends'

J. Walter Thompson, the world’s best-known marketing communications brand, today released “10 Years of 10 Trends,” marking a decade of annual trends forecasts. The report explores 10 of the most compelling macro trends identified since JWTIntelligence began its annual forecasts — trends shaping societal behaviors and attitudes, and defining the business landscape today. It maps how these trends have evolved to now, and casts an eye forward to where they are headed next.

“These are mega-trends for our time,” says Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of JWTIntelligence. “They are defining the decade and impacting every aspect of how consumers live and how brands do business, and will continue to do so for many years to come.”

“JWTIntelligence was set up 10 years ago with this precise aim of understanding and interpreting this kind of change for brands,” Greene added. “It was a pioneering move at the time, and the continued relevance of these trends pays testament to the strength and tenacity of the experts at JWTIntelligence and J. Walter Thompson as a whole.”

“10 Years of 10 Trends” takes an in-depth look at trends from past forecasts whose impact will be felt into the near future, revisiting each trend from a 2015-and-beyond perspective. Each trend is underpinned with insights gleaned from a JWT SONARTM survey of consumers across 12 markets and a spectrum of industry experts and innovators — making this report a truly global snapshot. Internationally renowned experts, academics, authors and innovators, as well as planning and insight directors from J. Walter Thompson’s formidable global network have also contributed their insights to this report.

“10 Years of 10 Trends” includes:

Everything Is Retail (from 10 Trends for 2013): Anything and everything will be a retail channel as mobile connectivity unites the digital and physical worlds, and brands find ways to merge discovery and purchase opportunities. 

Food as the New Eco-Issue (10 Trends for 2012): “Sustainable” is becoming a new buzzword in food as today’s educated eater comes to better understand how food choices affect the environment and what consumers, brands and governments can do to drive positive change. 

Mobile Device as the Everything Hub (10 Trends for 2009): Mobile phones are truly an “everything hub” as more things get digitized or connected and as people take to the smaller screen to watch video, spend, shop, track their health, learn, play and more. 

Going Private in Public (10 Trends for 2013): With privacy increasingly elusive, people are struggling with how to maintain a vibrant digital identity.

Buying the Experience (10 Trends for 2007): As the desire to “do” rather than “have” deepens, consumers are seeking ever more novel, shareable and amplified experiences.

De-teching (10 Trends for 2011): As people grapple with tech’s role in their lives, there’s a sense that the negative effects will outweigh the positive if we don't find ways to use it more mindfully.

Predictive Personalization (10 Trends for 2013): Big Data analysis, artificial intelligence and other new technologies are creating novel ways to anticipate and cater to individual needs. 

Queen Trumps King (10 Trends for 2008): Women are moving ahead as gender dynamics change rapidly in the home, the workplace and culture, and as determination strengthens across genders to engineer greater equality. 

Retooling for an Aging World (10 Trends for 2010): The full impact of the demographic shift from young to old has yet to be felt: Brands will need to do much more to adapt for older consumers—a cohort that’s rebranding aging altogether.

Cooperative Consumption (10 Trends for 2008): The sharing economy has grown up, while also giving rise to a backlash. Although this new business model is a serious threat to some brands, others are finding creative ways to tap into it. 

For this report, JWTIntelligence conducted quantitative surveys using SONARTM, JWT’s proprietary online tool, from Sept. 20–Oct. 3, 2014, across 12 markets. A total of 6,063 adults aged 18-plus were surveyed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S. The report also includes input from an array of experts across sectors.