Innovating is a challenge for any company. It means perceiving, reflecting, anticipating and reacting to context, market and social transformations, which are often really subtle. Such changes can be discovered — and used as a powerful tool for strategic business management — through research and trend analysis. “Trends research and analysis consist of figuring out new and emerging mindsets that will have great impact in society and hence on how people consume,” says Andrea Greca, a specialist in qualitative trend research and founder of the company Berlin.
According to Lucas Saad, founder and director of the branding and innovation consultancy Saad, the results of this type of research are very important when it comes to a strategic project. “While the essence of the company must remain true to its roots, its promise, products, services and experiences must respond to social evolutions and the way people adapt to them”, explains Saad.
When we talk about consumer trends, two of the most analyzed audiences are the Y and Z generations. According to Nielsen, the Y generation, also known as Millennials, is made of youngsters born from 1977 to 1995. This group has great importance because it’s believed that their buying-power exceeds one trillion dollars. This makes them great influencers to both younger and older generations consumption. Here in Brazil they represent more than 45 million people. Since Millennials grew up in the context of the turn of the century and the global economy, they value concepts such as “collab”, “sustainability” and “social issues”, for example.
The Z generation, however, which is composed of younger individuals born after 1996, is only now entering the labor market, according to the CDL/RS Association. Flexible and adaptable, the Z generation was born in a completely digitized era and feels no need to distinguish between online and offline. For them, words such as “fluid,” “experimentation,” “online activism,” and “horizontal hierarchy” are essential.
According to Andrea, the main function of research and trend analysis is to help fight uncertainties that every innovation process faces. “Crossing trend data with information from market research allows considerable risks reduction,” she says. For Saad, it is really important for a company to understand what consumer expects and how it will change in the short and long term. “Working with this methodology brings us closer to the consumer and allows us to look objectively at every angle of a business, generating insights for our customers and also anticipating how competitors and the market will react to external transformations,” he explains.
Performing assertive trend analysis is a key part of the branding process so that companies can understand how culture works and transforms, building a purposeful future where brands and people really dialogue.
