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14.12.2010 "Big ideas" make a comeback

Rising demand for organic products, the popularity of tablet PCs and a return to big advertiser ideas will be trends to watch in 2011, according to The Futures Company. The trends consultancy, a unit of WPP Group, has unveiled a number of predictions which it believes will influence consumers over the coming year. Its main expectations included a transition away from a recessionary mindset on the part of advertisers, which will instead seek to create highly engaging campaigns. "Having taken out almost all available costs and facing reluctant consumers in booming and sluggish markets alike, marketers will be forced to turn to big hits ... [to] jumpstart momentum for topline growth," the company argued. The types of products promoted may also undergo a shift in various categories, following the move towards "hybrid-brow" offerings. Such items could incorporate food brands fusing ingredients from different countries and cultures, combined restaurant and retail outlets, and smartphones seamlessly transferring between applications.

Natural and organic ranges might witness a parallel hardening in interest, as shoppers emphasise fresh, newly-picked fruit, vegetables and other goods. Broader "touchie-feelie" values are similarly emerging, defined by attributes like texture and motion, stimulating purchases of everything from tablets, such as the iPad, to powdered food ingredients. However, several less positive developments were anticipated to reshape the trading environment, The Futures Company suggested.

B.L. 14.12.2010