TRENDS

2016. TO WATCH IN

Welcome to our very personal choice of hot topics that will influence consumer behavior in 2016.

Once again, we chose the from-to perspective. What’s important: it is no hot-or-not list! Each pairing is a trend and its counter-trend, or the evolution of one hyper-relevant phenomena.

As such it reflects our belief that consumer trends are an evolving system of those mindsets that drive expectations and choices, and should play a key role in creating brand experiences. Enjoy. And let us know what you think! The Trendbüro-by-Avantgarde Team maja.overbeck@avantgarde.de

TRENDS 2016.

JOURNEY FROM

•  Customer decisions are taken within a journey along brand contacts

•  Brand stories are generated by a sequence of touch points

•  Brand loyalty based on complementing brand contacts

MOMENTS TO

•  Decisions are based on countless micro-moments of brand experience

•  Brands need to cater to intent, need and context of the moment

•  Brand agility beats brand strategy

1

Moments after the announcement of Bastian Schweinsteiger leaving FC Bayern for Manchester United headphone maker Beats by Dre released the video “By-your-side”. An emotional clip that captures the strong feelings of Schweinsteiger’s fans in the very right moment.

BEATS BY DRE. LEVERAGING ON HIGH EMOTIONS. 1 MOMENTS

Everyone knows this moment: You have a car, but need a totally different vehicle for a particular occasion. Be it a skiing trip or furniture removal, Clutch offers a car flat rate that provides you with the perfect car for every day. A monthly fee includes everything but gas and let’s you swap vehicles daily if required.

CLUTCH. A CAR ON THE SPOT. 1 MOMENTS

RELEVANCE FROM

•  Brand perception and impact is filtered by preferences, needs, lifestyle

•  Seeking personal story value in brand experiences

MEANING TO

•  Seeking shared values with brands •  Brand intention and purpose as decision drivers •  ‘Make the world a better place’ becomes #1 selling

point, especially with GenZ

2

Fathom is reinventing cruise vacation for a younger target group combining the love for travel with the desire to make a difference: it aims to provide the opportunity to build community with like-minded travelers, become immersed in another culture, and work alongside its people to create social impact; e.g. on a 7 day trip to Dominican Republic where travellers work with residents in existing programs to improve local live.

FATHOM. TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE. 2 MEANING

Nike Community Stores claim to add a social benefit to the retail experience: aiming to empower a healthy local community through the unifying spirit of sport they support local youth sports programs and hire at least 80 percent of store employees from within a five-mile radius.

NIKE COMMUNITY STORES. BEYOND SALES. 2 MEANING

ONE-CLICK FROM

•  Convenience through simplexified user experience •  The whole world with the touch of a button •  Choose the one that ranks first

ZERO-CLICK TO

3

•  Brands eliminate obstacles •  Automated need fulfilment via new kinds of

subscription •  Personalization supported by AI

Taking the Amazon Dash Button to a new level Amazon Pantry is an automated delivery service for everyday goods. Customers can compile their personal Pantry Box and have it delivered regularly. What’s more, Amazon Dash Replenishment Service enables connected devices to order physical goods from Amazon when supplies are running low.

AMAZON PANTRY. AUTOMATED SUPPLIES. 3 ZERO-CLICK

MasterCard offers an optional “SecureCode”, an extra password when shopping online. The security feature is used 3 billion times a year and is now being revolutionized: MasterCard introduced a facial recognition verification built into their app. In other words: All you need to do is snap a selfie to verify a payment.

MASTERCARD. PAY WITH THE BLINK OF AN EYE. 3 ZERO-CLICK

DIGITALIZATION FROM

•  Global mass connectivity in real-time •  Technology enables relevant and efficient brand

communication •  Data-enhanced creation of brand relationship

HUMANIZATION TO

4

•  Rise of ‘human’ feeling in brand contacts •  Enabling personal contact to regain brand loyalty •  Feeling individually treated = ownership of

experience

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

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3500

4Q11 4Q12 4Q13 4Q14

Messaging via text surpassed ‘traditional’ social networking in 2015. Consumers are increasingly using modes of one-to-one contact. Over the last four years WhatsApp, FB Messenger, LINE and WeChat grew markedly faster than the established social networks Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

NEW SOCIAL MEDIA. RISE OF TEXTING APPS.

Big 4 Social Networks

Big 4 Messaging Apps

Business Insider Intelligence: Users of Messaging Apps and Social Networks in millions

1100

150

2450

2950

4 HUMANIZATION

Enjoy is an online retailer that offers free personal delivery by experts who guide customers during their first steps with a new product. Enjoy employees spend up to one hour explaining and setting up a product. They deliver to any location, including workplaces or coffee shops.

ENJOY.COM. NO MORE CRYPTIC MANUALS. 4 HUMANIZATION

In partnership with Spotify Uber created a sense of ownership in the Uber experience. When getting into an Uber-car your pre-selected playlist starts playing. You can even discover new music through Uber’s featured playlists, specially curated for the city you are in.

UBER-SPOTIFY. RIDE ON YOUR OWN TRACKS. 4 HUMANIZATION

EXPERIENCE FROM

•  Unravelled buzzword still on the rise of relevance •  Total brand X defines brand success

DISCOVERY TO

•  Enables personal ownership •  Richness of content is key •  Empowered by technology (VR, periscope etc.)

5

Forgotify lets Spotify users listen to the tracks that haven't received a single play on the music-streaming service, despite being part of its vast library. Obviously there is a very good reason some of those songs have never been played … So, the reason to browse Forgotify is pure lust in individual discovery.

FORGOTIFY. AUDIO DISCOVERY. 5 DISCOVERY

Darklands is a cutting edge men’s fashion shop that moves to a new space within Berlin every season, thus demands some effort to enjoy the experience. The blend of art, couture and music makes the store one of the most unique real-life browsing experiences.

DARKLANDS. THE BERGHAIN OF FASHION. 5 DISCOVERY

SERVICE FROM

•  Putting the customer into centre •  Convenience & speed as lighthouses •  Traditionally the most relevant tool to generate

brand loyalty

CONCIERGE TO

•  Putting the individual into centre •  Brand treats that have been reserved to luxury so far •  The little emotional extra added to functional service

6

Valet parking is only familiar in an environment of luxury. The Startup Luxe brings valet parking to the overcrowded streets of cities. Ordered via app, trained valets will not only park the car in one of their secure lots, they’ll also wash and refill it. When customers want to leave, their car is returned at the tap of a button.

LUXE. VALET CITY PARKING. 6 CONCIERGE

Lincoln is reinventing how car dealers interact with customers, collaborating with a world-renowned organization of hotel concierges. Dealership personnel is trained to deliver the same personalized service experience customers receive at luxury hotels. In addition, Lincoln will be providing around-the-clock online concierge services.

LINCOLN. RE-DEFINING CAR DEALERS. 6 CONCIERGE

SPECIALIZATION FROM

•  Groups of products or needs as retail concept drivers

•  Catering to immersion trend •  Creating total lifestyle experiences

CURATION TO

•  Escape the overwhelming number of choices •  Selection by a trusted or adored source enhances

value and adds story value •  Online and offline relevance

7

Story, a NYC-based retailer, completely revamps its store every three to eight weeks, bringing to life a new “issue”: From store design to products Story arranges everything around themes and constantly surprises its customers with newly curated selections.

STORY NY. MAGAZINE-LIKE STORE. 7 CURATION

From Pharrell to Arianna Huffington – Quarterly.co lets its customers choose who configures their subscription box. Boxes contain a variety of products that have personal value to the curator. The curator then adds a letter to the recipient. Since launching in 2011, Quarterly.co has doubled in size every six months.

QUARTERLY.CO. HANDPICKED BY CELEBRITIES. 7 CURATION

EPHEMERALITY FROM

•  Innovation economy leads to infinite Newism •  Declining value of the single thing and experience

FOR LIFE TO

•  The few things owned in sharing economy gain value

•  Thoughtful buying decisions •  Sustainable quality as choice driver

8

Tag Heuer has joined the smartwatch race. The Swiss watchmaker unveiled the Tag Heuer Connected Watch in November 2015. The watch retails for $1,500. To address the problem of tech becoming rapidly obsolete, Tag Heuer created an exchange program for the time after its two-year warranty. For an extra $1,500 customers can trade the watch in for a Carrera mechanical watch that can last for decades.

TAG HEUER. SMARTWATCH OF A DIFFERENT KIND. 8 FOR LIFE

The label offers free repair in case of damage for their 10-year-Hoodie. Hoodies can be repaired in two ways: inconspicuously or conspicuously. Most customers choose the second. They are proud to wear something that lasts demonstrating this with contrasting threads and "interesting" stitching.

FLINT AND TINDER. CONSPICUOUS REPAIR. 8 FOR LIFE

V-IMPORTANT-P FROM

•  Social media turns everybody into a potential star •  People turn into brands •  High impact on social followers and vice versa

V-IMPACTFUL-P TO

•  Idolized is who has impact, thus can tell a story of achievement beyond wealth and beauty

•  Shift in testimonial value

9

The partnership of Gisele Bündchen with sports brand Under Armour was launched with a film on youtube. It presented the model in an untypically raw workout showing both haters and supporters comments in real time. The undistracted model manifested the message of the campaign, “I will what I want”.

UNDER ARMOUR. WILL BEATS BEAUTY. 9 V-IMPACTFUL-P

George Clooney got company of a new kind: Delia Fischer, founder of Westwing, and two other successful internet entrepreneurs became the brand ambassadors for the #CoffeMe Nespresso campaign this year. Special character and a strong eagerness for success made them relevant for a new Nespresso target audience.

NESPRESSO. ENTREPRE-MONIALS. 9 V-IMPACTFUL-P

MADE IN FROM

•  Germany stands for traditional brand values such as quality, reliability and stability.

FIRST IN GERMANY TO

•  Germany’s role and perceived values are evolving •  Change-agent role •  Berlin as globally recognized trend and start-up

hub

10

Europe’s most powerful leader is a refugee from a time and place where her power would have been unimaginable – the communist GDR. She is now labelled “chancellor of the free world” due to her commitment to welcoming refugees and her courage in European politics. She has become the global face of a new Germany.

ANGELA M. CHANGE IN PERSON. 10 FIRST IN GERMANY

Of all possible places, McDonald’s premiered its organic beef Burger McB in Germany. During eight weeks in the fall of 2015 German patrons of the fast food chain could taste the organic beef from local farmers. McDonald’s move is a reaction to Germans’ obsession with healthy living.

MCDONALD’S. IN ORGANIC LAND. 10 FIRST IN GERMANY