THE TRENDS REPORTMay 2016

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A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF TRENDS IN MARKETING, STORYTELLING AND DIGITAL

CULTURE LOCALLY AND ABROAD.

CREATIVITY AND A NEW

REALITY

We are approaching an age of science-fiction, where virtual reality becomes a part of our lived reality, and humans may soon have a lesser intelligence than our own creations. But we stride boldly forward, only able to imagine what this incredible new future may look like.

When the artificial becomes real.

Facebook On The Path To Sentience.Hot off the back of Facebook learning how to understand pictures, those sharp tech folks in Menlo Park have now taught Facebook how to read.

Utilising ‘deep learning’ technology, Facebook will now be better at interpreting not only the content of text-based posts but, more significantly, their intended meaning. This will help Facebook better understand its users and assist in making more appropriate recommendations (and ultimately allow Facebook to know everything about our lives when it rules the world as a super-intelligence some day).

READ MORE Source: FacebookImage: TechCrunch

Elon Musk Wants To Share Artificial Intelligence.It has been well documented that South African-born Elon Musk is basically a real-life Tony Stark (though somehow even more outrageous). Not content with just taking mankind to space or building super electric cars, Musk has turned his attention towards creating artificial intelligence.

OpenAI, a new venture founded by Musk and Y Combinator’s Sam Altman, has poached many sought-after AI researchers from companies like Google and Facebook to work on research that the company ultimately hopes to share for free. Why? “It can reduce the probability that super-intelligence would be monopolised.” Sounds like a good plan. Let’s just hope they don’t accidentally create Ultron before then.

READ MORE Source: WiredImage: MIT Technology Review

Magic Leap Has A Vision Of The Future…… seen through a ‘photonic lightfield chip’. Augmented reality? Virtual reality? Those tech breakthroughs are so 2015. It’s all about ‘mixed reality’ now.

Magic Leap is a secretive startup with a boatload of investment money and a prototype product that has been sampled by only a select few. All this only serves to enhance the mystique surrounding their groundbreaking headset — similar in intention to Microsoft’s HoloLens, but reportedly far more impressive. It’s unlikely that anything from Magic Leap will be available to us simple members of the public anytime soon, but in the meantime the little snippets we do get paint a fascinating, exciting, and possibly frightening picture of our future reality.

READ MORE Source: WiredImage: Magic Leap

INNOVATION AND DISRUPTION

Technology has transformed our lives and enables us to live with more freedom than ever before. But is it also making us unable to disconnect? Bombarding and overwhelming us with constant content and marketing?

How do we switch off but stay connected? How do we live in this digital age?

A new kind of lifestyle.

WFA Wants Global Online Ad Standards.The ad-blocking phenomenon has been increasing rapidly in the last few years, and research showed a 90% increase in ad-blocking in 2015.

To combat this trend, the World Federation of Advertisers wants to cater advertising to consumers with a set of standards, as opposed to continuing to overwhelm people with obnoxious ads. “Advertising has always been cultural wallpaper and we have a duty of care to make it as attractive and engaging as possible,” says WFA president David Wheldon. I wonder what he had hanging on his childhood bedroom wall? Maybe this.

READ MORESource: Campaign LiveImage: Marketing Land

Slow Marketing Is Taking Off.Sloths are adorable creatures, and people are starting to take a leaf out of their proverbial lifestyle books.

Fed up with the incessantly increasing pace of life in the digital, connected, and ‘always on’ age, some have turned to ‘slower’ ways of living — from slow food to slow fashion. A number of brands have had success with campaigns that subvert the flash-bang, grab-your-attention-at-all-costs style of advertising in favour of content that allows people with hectic lives to enjoy a moment of peace. Or cats.

READ MORESource: Campaign LiveImage: Pass The Pretty

The ‘Out-Of-Office’ Experience.As video conferencing and team messaging services become ubiquitous, many companies are moving away from the traditional centralised office setup and towards a looser structure that allows employees to work remotely.

Now new ventures, like Lisbon’s Surf Office, are cropping up to give remote workers an office-like space to hang their hat, but with unique perks and add-ons. Anyone else feel like a Cape Town Braai Office needs to be a thing?

READ MORESource: BBC

Image: The Stack

MEDIA JUJITSU

As digital media grows at a rapid pace, it may be challenging for media buyers and sellers to keep up. One platform is the new frontier, while last year’s ‘hot new thing’ seems to have cooled off. It’s a Wild West out there, but bold gunslingers have the opportunity to take advantage of this media gold rush.

The natural selection of digital evolution.

Snapchat Is More Popular Than Twitter.And that’s about it. Snapchat apparently has 150 million daily users worldwide, eclipsing Twitter’s count (less than 140M). And with daily video views that rival industry leader Facebook, Snapchat is quickly becoming a social media monster.

That an app originally conceived for sexting compromising images got here is incredible - who would have thought a platform that gives you less time to engage with content would be a hit. Maybe we should start making trend reports that self-destruct… or have nudity.

READ MORE Source: AdAgeImage: Fast Company

Get With The Programmatic.The use of programmatic ad buying is undoubtedly on the rise in the digital space, and many traditional publishers are now hopping aboard the gravy train (though obviously there is still plenty of work involved).

Publishing groups like the Financial Times and The Economist are embracing programmatic ads, especially as a way to offload inventory that would otherwise go unsold which could lead to millions in additional ad revenue. “The value of media hasn’t changed, just because the way of buying it has.”

READ MORE Source: The DrumImage: Experian

Mary Meeker’s Miraculous Media Mayhem.A trend report within a trend report? It may be like “trend report-ception”, but Mary Meeker’s annual effort is an industry-wide event. Many of the highlights are pretty much what you would expect, but there are some interesting and impressive tidbits.

If you are either very brave or very bored you can find the full 213-page version of the report here.

READ MORE Source: AdweekImage: Online Learning Insights

CONNECTING THE UNCONNECTED

There are many ways to connect with consumers, but one of the best and most lasting ways is via the heart. And while this is often achieved through emotionally-resonant advertising campaigns, it can be infinitely more effective and meaningful to have a real impact on people’s lives. Drawing a connection between improving your business and benefiting society can be significant for any modern brand, and it is a trend we are happy to see catching on worldwide.

Doing well by doing good.

Tinder To Swipe Right On Flexible Gender Options.Tinder has announced that they will debut more gender options to benefit people in the LGB and, most significantly, T community (that’s “transgender”).

To cisgender folks, it may seem trivial, but giving people the opportunity to express themselves in ways that are important to their identity is key to connecting with consumers from all walks of life. And really, if Tinder is the current standard for online dating, transgender people deserve equal opportunity to have their appearance callously and superficially judged with the flick of a finger.

READ MORE Source: EngadgetImage: Refinery29

Africa Connected.Africa has, unfortunately, been late to the online party, but thanks to the wide proliferation of mobile devices, internet use and social media adoption across sub-Saharan Africa are now growing faster than the global average.

However, it appears that mass media, like TV and radio, still offer the greatest penetration among Africans, with broadcast and outdoor advertising providing the greatest impact. No longer the ‘dark continent’, it is clear that opportunity abounds. Brands would do well to take notice and enter this growing market. It’s time to include Africa.

READ MORE Source: BizCommunityImage: TechBooky

No Good Deed.Everyone acknowledges the importance of sustainable business practices, but there is also an acknowledgement that businesses need to be able to justify sustainable practices financially.

One big issue facing businesses with sustainable aspirations is the “green split”: where consumers express a willingness to pay higher prices for green products, but do not ultimately put their money where their mouth is. Sustainability consultant Freya Williams explains the importance of marketing that conveys a green message, but retains the true voice of the brand. She uses Tesla’s success as a good example.

READ MORE Source: Campaign LiveImage: Harwood Levitt

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