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What if your brand could predict the future?
What if your brand could predict the future? The epidemiology of trends.
At CultureCasting, that's what we do.
After years in advertising agency strategy and planning departments, one thing became crystal clear to me: it is no longer possible to buy peoples attention. Our culture moves at light-speed. Here today, meme tomorrow. Too often, brands try to draft off of cultural moments in an effort to become a part of the zeitgeist. But by then, it's too late. The moment is gone, and with it, the opportunity to be a genuine part of a cultural moment.
During my time at Google, I began modeling a combination of search data (as a proxy of consumer interest) and social sentiment (as a temperature check for cultural appetite) in an effort to predict prevailing trends. What if brands could see over the horizon, and identify the behavioral, attitudinal, and societal changes that would be arriving in the next 18-48 months? After several month of adjusting query methods, measurement protocols, semantics, and timelines, I created a methodology that accurately predicts...
- what developing trends will fully mature and become a part of the cultural conversation in the next 18-48 months;
- when will they surface, scale, and fully mature;
- where in the mediascape and real world those trends will be expressed;
- and which brands have the highest probability of owning conversations and equities embedded in each trend.
In the same way epidemiologists can predict the spread of a contagion, my CultureCasting methodology has been proven to successfully predict trends, align them with brand values, and help brands create cultural capital. Whether you're a Fortune 50 company or (especially) a challenger brand, CultureCasting can help your brand own genuine cultural capital in authentic, sustainable, actionable ways - long before the competition sees it coming.
What if your brand could predict the future?
With CultureCasting, that's what I do.
After years in advertising agency strategy and planning departments, one thing became crystal clear to me: it is no longer possible to buy peoples attention. Todays culture moves at light-speed. Too often, brands try to draft off of cultural moments in an effort to become part of the zeitgeist. But by then, it's too late. The moment is gone, and with it, the opportunity to be a genuine part of a cultural moment.
During my time at Google, I began modeling a combination of search data (as a proxy for consumer interest) and social sentiment (as a temperature check for societal appetite) in an effort to predict prevailing trends. What if brands could see over the horizon, and identify the behavioral, attitudinal, and societal changes that would be arriving in the next 18-48 months? After several months of fine-tuning query methods, measurement protocols, semantics, and timelines, I created a methodology that accurately predicts...
- what developing trends will fully mature and become a part of the cultural conversation in the next 18-48 months;
- when will they surface, scale, and fully mature;
- where in the mediascape and real world those trends will be expressed;
- and which brands have the highest probability of owning conversations and equities embedded in each trend.
In the same way epidemiologists can predict the spread of a contagion, my CultureCasting® methodology has been proven to successfully predict trends, align them with brand values, and help brands create cultural capital. Whether you're a Fortune 50 company or (especially) a challenger brand, CultureCasting can help your brand own genuine cultural fuel in authentic, sustainable, actionable ways - long before the competition sees it coming.
Macro vs Micro Trends: Understanding and Activating For Maximum Impact
Through my proprietary methodology, I am able to identify two distinct kinds of trends, each with distinct and important implications for brands.
Macro-Trends are the broad expression of a changing value, preference, behavior or attitude. For (an older) example, in the Food, Beverage & Restaurant space we see a macro-trend we call "Evolving Protein Preferences" - the global move away from animal-based proteins to more sustainable forms.
Micro-Trends are the individual, specific expressions of the macro-trend. In the case of "Evolving Protein Preferences," micro-trends to focus on in the near term include things like "Farm-to-Table-To-Bin-To-Farm" (a consumers desire to understand the entire ecosystem surrounding the life cycle of their food). In the longer term, "Edible Insects" is a micro-trend to consider: insect protein is the highest-density protein farming method available, and (believe it or not) insect protein powder-based protein bars are already available in mass retailers like Trader Joe's, with whole-insect snacks following fast behind.
Nearer-term trends have implications for Marketing, Sales, Communications, PR, Promotion, Social Media and Events. Longer-term trends can influence Product Innovation, Research & Development, Marketing, Brand, Legal, Corporate Affairs, and more.
By understanding and maximizing the dynamics and interplay of Macro and Micro trends, brands can gain an upper hand in earning consumer attention and trust, and claim perceptual territory before competitors have a chance.
Let me put this one-of-a-kind, action-oriented methodology to use for you.
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