It's that time of year again.
Here's the deal.
Below, you’ll find a collection of South & Central American innovations which are (re)defining customer expectations. These innovations – and the 5 big consumer trends they represent – show you glimpses of what your customers will want next.
From DISRUPTIVE BRANDS to CAPACITY CAPTURE, getting familiar with these 5 trends will help you stay ahead of accelerating expectations, and lead YOU to actionable innovation opportunities.
Readers who are serious about understanding the direction of consumerism across multiple dimensions will have already spotted that these trends don’t sit in splendid isolation. They are a handful of near-future fragments of the Bigger Picture (more on that below). But each one is also a killer opportunity to take to your team right now.
So: read, think, debate. Then get going with building brands that matter, products that delight and campaigns that people can’t stop talking about!
DISRUPTIVE BRANDS
Fresh businesses challenge preconceived notions of how industries operate
Across SCA, DISRUPTIVE BRANDS have entered the consumer landscape, radically shifted their typically traditional markets and rapidly attracted legions of devoted customers.
Consumers are drawn to these companies for their cheap(er) products, hassle-free models, and efficient service channels. Not to mention that they often perceive these new businesses to be more fun than the region’s established (read: stale) brands. Customers’ expectations? Completely rewritten.
The ripple effect created by DISRUPTIVE BRANDS who have successfully hacked their sector causes consumers to challenge the preconceived notions of how every brand in every sector operates. South & Central America has been particularly receptive to disruption thanks to frustration with large institutions (both political and commercial). In Brazil, 29% of consumers have absolute distrust in information from companies (IPG New Realities Study, August 2016). New entrants have different ways of thinking; they are a breath of fresh air for stagnant industries.
In 2017, major businesses – from telecom giants to national banks – will find that their clients aren’t as entrenched as their infrastructure. Scale and heritage offer no protection – the only solution will be to relentlessly adapt to changing expectations.
Innovation examples
Your response
How can your brand adapt?
Success as a DISRUPTIVE BRAND in the SCA region may involve drastic shifts in how you currently operate. The first step is to recognize your own vulnerability in the marketplace.
Our model of Trend-Driven Innovation is built on the urgency of identifying when entrepreneurs, competitors and businesses around the world bring a better way of doing something to the consumer. Can your team truly dissect which brands (large and small, local and global) are handling pricing, product design, customer service, delivery or marketing better? Your organization must learn from them all and make sure that, rather than falling short of changing expectations (and begging for disruption), it is adapting and driving them higher. No, it isn't easy, but it's your only option going forward.
Parent mega-trend:
fuzzynomics —
The divisions between producers and consumers, brands and customers will continue to blur.
EQUALIZATIONALL
Where next?
At TrendWatching, we’ve been tracking the global evolution of (F)EMPOWERMENT and witnessed how women across South & Central America have found themselves increasingly empowered and respected by modern organizations.
In 2017, brands will broaden their scope even further, to offer EQUALIZATIONALL services, products, marketing and experiences that appeal to groups who were previously left behind or marginalized.
Traditionally, products, services and marketing initiatives in SCA were targeted towards a very homogenous group of people and were not inclusive to the region’s diverse array of segments, whether that was new fathers or disconnected rural inhabitants. In 2017, brands must urgently break from this reductionist view of the marketplace.
This goes far beyond inclusive advertising or product offerings. SCA brands’ internal cultures are also under scrutiny from the public eye, thanks to increasing transparency and the region’s vigilance on social media (as some of the most active users in the world). In countries plagued by wage gaps and exploitation of labor, consumers are paying close attention to how brands treat their employees. Going forward, every element of your business has to be EQUALIZATIONALL.
Innovation examples
Your response
There are a vast numbers of ignored and underserved groups in South & Central America. Yet this means there are endless ways to innovate around this trend.
What would your market look like if equality impacted the way every single consumer was recognized, treated and served? This needn’t be a rhetorical exercise or feel like a distant utopia. Identify those who are currently left behind by brands and show them the respect they deserve. They, and those outside their group, will reward you with love (and spending!) for proving your brand exists to better the lives of ALL it serves.
Parent mega-trend:
post-demographic —
Time to throw out the old demographic models of consumer behavior.
Built-In Brands
Creative use of untested channels will surprise and delight
In 2017, BUILT-IN BRANDS will look to their existing service channels and offerings for creative ways to better utilize resources and provide more (yes, more!) to their consumers.
Life moves quickly in SCA, and citizens do their best to cram as many experiences as possible into their day. That’s why they’ll appreciate brands that go the extra mile and help them push that further. Yet delighting time-starved customers isn’t the only reason to embrace this trend in 2017. Brands that figure out how to take advantage of their existing channels (or hijack another organization’s) can expand their reach without making risky or large-scale investments in new infrastructure. In a region where multiple countries face political unrest and/or economic uncertainty, the BUILT-IN strategy is especially prudent!
But remember: for consumers, BUILT-IN BRANDS are all about efficiency and accessibility. Latin America’s urban population is growing at a rate of 1.5% per year and is projected to account for nearly 90% of the region’s population in the coming decades. With fast-paced, competitive city-living, convenience is key and SCA’s consumers will delight in time or effort saved.
Innovation examples
Your response
Look to your existing channels. Can they be repurposed for marketing, sales or even customer service? And look at other brand's channels in other sectors – that might be the key to reaching and delighting consumers before your competitors. Just remember: becoming a BUILT-IN BRAND is about providing more. As SCA consumers feel increasingly time-pressed, seamless efficiency and convenience become ever-more desirable.
OK, we admit it, this trend isn't just about convenience... it's about fun, too!
Can you playfully build in bonus value during otherwise wasted time (as Reebok did with the daily commute) or add surprising offerings onto frequently-visited under-utilized spaces (as BBVA did with the ATM)?
Parent mega-trend:
better business —
Why 'good' business will be good for business.
Batalladores Emergentes
In 2017, smart brands will do their part to fuel SCA's entrepreneurial fire
An entrepreneurial spirit (born from desire and necessity) will strengthen in SCA in 2017, led by armies of BATALLADORES EMERGENTES!
The growing desire for autonomy in work has two major drivers. Firstly, high unemployment rates and economic troubles continue to plague multiple parts of the region with varying degrees of severity. According to the World Economic Forum, youth unemployment (or informal employment) is uniquely high in Latin America. As a result, the gig economy in Latin America is urgently appealing to citizens.
Secondly, the pursuit of self-employment has been turbo-charged by the pervasiveness of (comparatively) affordable smartphones that allow participants to make any moment or task an opportunity to gain value. Meanwhile, mobile payments are flourishing and powering transactions. What’s next for tech-powered entrepreneurial empowerment? See Deco the chatbot below for one idea.
BATALLADORES EMERGENTES aren’t waiting for companies, NGOs or governments to help them – they are getting to work. But that doesn’t mean they won’t welcome your support to make the leap from cogs in the gig economy to fully-fledged founders ;)
Innovation examples
Your response
Identify any barriers that might stand between citizens and their desires to be successful in their own right. Is there a way for your brand to be involved in the development of their business venture? Perhaps your brand can partner with startups, offer incentives or simply provide a (physical or digital) space for productive conversations. These entrepreneurs may launch their own DISRUPTIVE BRANDS that shake up entire industries – smart SCA brands will get on their side ;)
Another way for brands to get in on the action? Create a PEER ARMY: a network of connected peers that can deliver wide-reaching value for customers (be sure to reward them adequately!).
Parent mega-trend:
fuzzynomics —
The divisions between producers and consumers, brands and customers will continue to blur.
Capacity Capture
SCA brands do their part to better the world through resource maximization
In 2017, smart SCA brands will capture idle capacity and claim lost value from wasted resources –all for the good of society and the planet. While BUILT-IN BRANDS surprise and delight through innovative channels, CAPACITY CAPTURE is about creating a guilt-free form of consumerism.
The business models and cultural impact of the sharing economy grow ever stronger (in Brazil, even kids can use a bikeshare). The concept of resource maximization, paired with access-over-ownership consumerism, has radically altered Latin Americans’ expectations around utilization and waste. Inhabitants have grown accustomed to the idea that they can use cars by the minute, access office space by the hour, eat food cooked by a neighbor and more… Within that context, ‘traditional’ business processes appear increasingly wasteful. And no modern consumer is comfortable with the social, ethical and environmental implications of waste!
See how the below brands are already tapping CAPACITY CAPTURE by minimizing waste and offering consumers guilt-free options.
Innovation examples
Your response
A hyper-transparent marketplace means SCA consumers are more aware than ever before of wasteful business models. Now, they expect all brands to utilize their resources as efficiently as possible for the good of the world around them.
One way to unlock CAPACITY CAPTURE? Examine your production and delivery cycles for space to effectively claim value in lost resources. If you're feeling really ambitious heading into 2017, why not provide the guilt-free consumption of a CAPACITY CAPTURE initiative whilst simultaneously providing the convenience of a BUILT-IN BRAND? Go on, give it a shot!
Parent mega-trend:
better business —
Why 'good' business will be good for business.
The Bigger Picture
1. Trend-Driven Innovation
Spotting trends? It all starts with innovations...
The not-so-secret secret to spotting trends (including the five in this Trend Briefing)?
Stop watching customers and start watching the innovations – products, services, campaigns – flooding into the market now. Draw lines between similar innovations, and interrogate them for the new customer expectations they’re helping to create. If that sounds like your thing, you’ll find the end-to-end guide to our complete methodology in our book, Trend-Driven Innovation.
But your next question might be ‘how do we process the thousands of innovations out there?’ Well, it helps to have a Trend Framework…
2. Trend Framework
16 mega-trends which provide structure and context when tracking innovation.
Too often, professional trend watchers imply they have an inherent gift that enables them to divine the future. Now, we don’t want to be the ones to spoil the party, but the five trends you’ve just read didn’t just emerge from a top-secret, caffeine-fueled brainstorming session.
We map all the expectation-changing innovations we spot against our Trend Framework: 16 mega-trends – the big, slow-moving currents – that, taken together, form our complete picture of consumerism today and where it’s heading.
Having a robust and comprehensive Trend Framework allows us to assess the implications of the hundreds, if not thousands, of innovations we see on a daily basis and that we receive from TW:IN (TrendWatching’s global network of spotters) every day.
You’ll now understand how, while tracking sustainability-focused initiatives as part of our BETTER BUSINESS mega-trend, identifying a cluster of innovations which disrupt customer expectations around utilization and waste led us to the CAPACITY CAPTURE trend.
Check out the interactive visualization below that shows how this all comes together for clients of our TW:Premium service, who get full access to the 16 mega-trends, 120+ trends and 15,000+ innovations in our online platform.
Note: the visualization below contains innovations added in the last three months.
The complete Trend Framework
An interactive visualization showing these 5 trends in context
The 5 trends featured here are important, but they represent just a small fraction of the consumer landscape. Clients of our TW:Premium service get full access to all the 16 mega-trends, 120+ trends and 15,000+ innovations in our online platform, as shown below.
Note: the visualization below only contains innovations added in the last 3 months. But you get the idea :)
Get going!
As always, we wrap up these annual Trend Briefings with a call to action...
While it‘s our job just to watch trends, ambitious business professionals should read these trends with only one thing in mind: how to apply these trends and create compelling new innovations that will delight your customers (and win new ones!).
We can help with that too!
Yes, customers have never been more demanding. Yes, there’s never been more competition. Blah blah blah. None of this is going away in 2017 (or 2018, or 2019…). However, trends are the secret weapon that help you turn this overwhelm to your advantage. But you already knew that ;)
So, take our CONSUMER TREND CANVAS, a free one-page guide to analyzing and applying trends. Dive into its simple, practical, step-by-step process to creating innovations that are deeply grounded in what customers want, desire and expect. Then win.