Miss the Trend, Miss the Train!
I wanted to summarize Rohit Bhargava’s “Non Obvious Mega Trends” quickly because it covers important undiscovered needs. The book offers a method to continuously uncover these needs and raises awareness about it. The latest edition, translated from the 2020 publication, even includes our GOYA (Gez Oturma Yerinde Artık) tactic, referred to as “Understanding the Customer Journey.”
Since 2011, brand strategist Rohit Bhargava has studied the thinking of many innovators and business leaders, revealing trend changes in his nearly annual books up to 2020. To truly understand trends, officials must visit the places where our customers interact with our products. That’s why GOYA is so important for our success. Engaging with customers while GOYA is as crucial as observing.
Bhargava’s five-step method for understanding trends and their opportunities is practical and useful. I recommend reading it closely:
- Be a Good Observer: Notice what others miss.
- Be Curious: Always ask why.
- Be Adaptable: Learn to persist through challenges.
- Be Thoughtful: Consider other perspectives.
- Be Clear: Define ideas simply and clearly.
In the book’s later chapters, Bhargava explains each step-in detail with examples to help us understand better.
Rohit Bhargava explains ten different non-obvious trends:
- Amplified Identity:
These are individuals pursuing fame. On a global scale, the shift towards individuality leads us to invest more time in creating, managing, and showcasing our own narratives. Our social media profiles, our online identities, have become the sole expression of who we are—perhaps even our self-portraits.
What will the Amplified Identity trend bring or take away? This intense focus on self in the digital world offers a chance for those who have historically been silenced or marginalized. These individuals now have the chance to express themselves and gain a more favorable perception. On the flip side, an inflated sense of self can also lead to narcissism, criticism, and vulnerability.
- Ungendering:
This trend entails stepping away from gender labels. As gender plays a diminishing role in defining our lives, new opportunities emerge for those who recognize these changes in how we view ourselves, our actions, and our interactions with teams and clients.
This shift can lead to debates and, if misunderstood, cause depression and anxiety. Leaders and brands that are sluggish in their response or make poor decisions risk missing out on opportunities, with the possibility of facing backlash from discerning consumers. Positively viewed, new identity definitions create new target audiences in the market. For instance, products traditionally used exclusively by men or women may be embraced by both.
- Instant Knowledge:
Today, getting information from experts and even well-known authorities is faster and easier than ever. With information becoming more accessible and the costs of higher education soaring, the importance of on-demand learning is likely to grow. However, this megatrend carries a concerning disadvantage.
Is society now replacing detailed learning and wisdom with quick, superficial knowledge? How successful can this new generation be?
- Revivalism (Escaping Technology and Life’s Superficiality via Nostalgia):
The Revival megatrend can be regarded as a coping mechanism for our rapidly changing world. We yearn to return to the familiar times we once lived in. We are drawn to the romanticism of memories, seeking out handcrafted items and enduring historical brands. However, our affection for bygone eras can only be fulfilled by leveraging modern technology to preserve the legacies of yesteryears. The Revival megatrend involves reviving and protecting the past.
- Human Mode (Return to Production by Human Labor):
The growing importance of uniquely human experiences and personal touch emerges as a side effect of advancements in automation. People who crave face-to-face interaction tend to trust authentic personalities, brands, and products, despite their flaws.
Notwithstanding the belief that technology has eroded our human values in recent times, innovations such as realistic holograms and digital avatars present new, tangible methods for interacting with others and cultivating empathy through virtual reality.
With these innovations, elderly care methods are set to change significantly, potentially addressing loneliness and the need for companionship. However, due to their high costs, these services might become exclusive privileges for a select few. Addressing the challenge of balancing the demand for human-centered experiences with the cost of making them widely accessible will be essential.
- Attention Wealth (Skepticism Against Manipulation):
In the information economy, the currency is attention. As reports on shortening attention spans increase, brands, media organizations, and politicians are exerting immense effort to capture it, hoping to provoke extreme emotions like shock, anger, or pleasure, as these have become sources of wealth.
However, the race to grab attention involves creating artificial avatars and setting up deep fake schemes to manipulate our admiration or anger, distorting our opinions and views. They achieve this by leveraging the latest technology.
What we need to do is recognize how valuable and sought-after our attention has become and be more discerning about how we allocate it.
- Purposeful Profit (Sustainable and Ethical Practices):
In the past, brands backed initiatives that matched their core values discreetly, avoiding overt promotion and functioning as silent supporters rather than making public displays. Today, on the other hand, consumers expect brands to be more vocal. Companies are designing positive business models to earn consumer trust, acting ethically in their relationships with employees, and engaging in social responsibility projects, allocating resources to these initiatives. They are no longer satisfied with just their profits but are also budgeting for these social gains. Just as consumers choose brands with this awareness, employees are now preferring workplaces with a larger social purpose alongside commercial goals, seeking out companies that aim to make a difference in the world.
- Data Abundance (Easily Accessible but Not Yours):
Social media and smart devices have led both companies and consumers to be overwhelmed with data they struggle to interpret. The problem often lies in the fact that this data is not only vast enough to harbor risks but also too large to provide meaningful insights. Sorting, grouping, and providing automated recommendations for analysis increasingly seems to be the domain of machine learning.
Consumers, the source of this data abundance, are becoming more frugal and selective with their information. They are now more aware of how, why, and by whom their data is being used, and the cost of using their data is set to rise.
- Protective Tech (“Your Privacy” Under Threat):
Soon, smart homes will anticipate our arrival and get ready to greet us. Smart health monitoring will keep track of our vital signs and alert us when needed. AI-driven investment assistant programs will provide recommendations for managing our finances, while drones will oversee our security.
Smart tech, with its predictive power, is already making our lives easier and safer. However, to deliver these benefits, these technologies must “listen” to us continuously, gathering information about us and our surroundings around the clock. As protective technology becomes more sophisticated, debates will intensify regarding how much of our daily lives should be subject to monitoring and the significance of personal privacy and freedoms. This is especially true as technology providers become wealthier and societal expectations for greater benefits rise.
- Flux Commerce (Breaking Down Industry Boundaries):
The conditions under which products and services are offered—whether to buy, rent, subscribe, or other options—are rapidly evolving. New business models now allow even products to be offered as services, along with the emergence of direct and alternative distribution methods. Embracing the rapidly changing and increasingly uncertain landscape of commerce—those who adapt to the flow—will become the key players in this new era.
According to the author, these trends present diverse opportunities for various brands. In light of all this, it’s imperative for world leaders, companies, brands, other institutions, and consumers to reflect and reassess our stance: What kind of world do we want to live in?
One of these trends alone—gender identity, which has fundamentally shaped culture—has the potential to change our social lives, relationships, and even communication styles! As gender becomes less of a defining factor in how we live and set our boundaries, we’ll need to explore new ways of interacting and engaging with others both socially and commercially. The evolution of family relationships and their social and cultural implications raise many questions and uncertainties. However, this shift also creates new business opportunities.
This situation is likely to spark numerous debates, potentially leading to societal polarization. Companies and brands showing favoritism might either miss opportunities or get exposed by sensitive consumers for their actions.
Here, it’s crucial to focus on a key point: When following trends, it is essential to heed the broader public’s sensitivities rather than just those of niche subcultures. Rushing to capitalize on trends without careful thought could lead your business or brand into significant controversy—like Benetton once did.
In the meantime, remember these two quotes from the book:
“The most reliable way to forecast the future is to try to understand the present.” — JOHN NAISBITT
“Trends are profits waiting to happen.” — MARTIN RAYMOND
At Yıldız Holding, we are undoubtedly well aware of the importance of tracking global trends—a subject I personally prioritize. This is why we diligently analyze trend reports from around the world, striving to meet our consumers’ unmet needs better than anyone else; so here we are: #MUTLUETMUTLUOL (Make Happy, Be Happy). On this note, I would like to share five trends from Mintel’s 2024 Global Consumer Trends report that we have conducted extensive brainstorming on:
- The Human Element: Understanding skills and emotions to navigate a world dominated by algorithms.
- Relationship Renaissance: The need for new relationship models amidst increasing health deterioration from seeking comfort in screen-based interactions.
- Beyond Money: Consumers will reassess what is truly important, shifting focus from mere wants and needs to how value is generated.
- New Green Reality: The responses and choices of consumers and brands to issues encountered within the new climate understanding of sustainability will be decisive.
- Positive Outlook: Brands and consumers will develop a new understanding of working together to cope with uncertainty.
I have given a brief overview, but Rohit Bhargava recommends going beyond reports and actively exploring and identifying emerging trends ourselves.
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