In case you missed it, “authenticity” was Merriam-Webster’s 2023 word of the year. It rose to fame for brands to trade perfection for being unapologetically themselves with declarations of transparent business practices and taking a stance on social issues.
But authenticity done wrong can be vapid, used as a shield. The guise of “this is just who we are” is used to excuse poor questionable business decisions and stand high on performative social issue mantles without making any real changes.
To truly demonstrate the value of being “real”, brands should stop answering “How are we authentic?” and instead answer the question “How are we sincere?”, scrutinizing the real, customer-centric value delivered across the brand experience.
“Think small” has been the marketing mantra for years, with hyper-targeting, microinfluencers and highly personalized experiences.
But 2023 enlightened consumers about what more they could want: getting swept up in hype.
We’re going to movie theaters in droves, streaming services like Netflix are launching their own live events to enjoy binge fests together en masse, and concerts have become a spectacle, resulting in blockbuster films that extend the experience into silver and small screens.
Hype culture has rebounded to the mainstream as the currency we exchange in “water cooler” conversations to find connection to the people around us.
The need for personalization isn’t going away. But in 2024, brands need to break down the silos between digital, brand, media, and experiential and lead a truly integrated effort to evaluate what role the brand can play in culture.
In 2023, our couch potato time spent in fantastical worlds transformed into IRL novelty in our daily lifestyles, from how we shop, travel, dress and experience physical spaces.
Consumers young and old are embracing “main character energy”, with shows like Emily in Paris spiking travel itineraries and romance novels taking over #BookTok.
We’re dressing like we’re on vacation everyday, whether in airport-ready matching sets, Coastal Grandma style, or highbrow Eurocore.
We’re flocking to DTC brick and mortar stores like Glossier and Allbirds with sci-fi and hyper-realist designs, abandoning the starkness of minimalism for richness of color.
As brands deepen their understanding of their audiences, they should explore not just what content captivates their attention, but why it matters to them.
In 2023, we overspent, indulged and re-embraced #YOLO, pining for missed opportunities with “Revenge Spending”.
In 2024, the pendulum will swing towards Restorative Spending - making money decisions with a higher order intended to make ourselves feel whole.
We’ll restore financial savviness, prioritizing good financial decision making and playing the long game.
We’ll restore what’s old, as seen in the top Instagramfashion trend “Buy Less New Clothes” and surge of resale markets like thredUP.
And we’ll restore savings, paying down debt in exchange for better mental wellbeing. Brands must connect emotionally, but also pragmatically to show how products and services add meaning and benefit to consumers’ lives, now and in the future.
With enough influencers in the U.S. to match the population of Miami, the creator economy has all the makings of a near-boiling disruption: breadth across demographics, depth in impact, and nearly no guardrails beyond #SponCon.
Influencers are the top most-believed information source today, yet soft misinformation detection on critical topics has turned passive scrollers into doubters of truth.
Children have catapulted into multi-million dollar channels, but without the application of conventional child labor laws established. And for professional, full-time influencers, they’re tied to a never-ending creation cadence or they could fall victim to falling behind and lose their livelihood.
As brands continue to amplify the role of influencers in reaching customers along the journey, brace for a rising tide of change and stronger enforcements to keep information accurate and creators protected.
