Looking Back on My 2010 Forecasts for the Decade Ahead

Here are the 10 predictions for the decade ahead that I wrote in January 20101 Anxiety for AuthenticityIf there is one overwhelming trend globally after the financial folks turned out to be wanting and everyone from Bernie Madoff to many others were found to be posers there is a great deal of skepticism among consumers as to what is fake and what is real In such a world marketers must ensure that they their actions and their spokespeople are the real deals There is a huge premium for authentic real and dependable in a world gone crazy and fake2 Celebration of CautionRisk is questionable The days of spending more than one earns and deep leverage seem to be behind us at least in an extreme form The people with savings China and India among others now seem to have the high moral ground over those who have been prolific in spending Brands must recognize this resetting and be nuanced in their celebration of consumption3 MobilityFinally the platform of the future appears to be clear and itamp160will be mobility With over two billion phones we are on the cusp of a dramatic change in communications Due to the rising affordability of smart phones we can anticipate that between Blackberry Google Android Nokia Ovi and Apple iPhone the smart phone revolution will really take off in 2010 and within three years most quotphonesquot will be mobile computers that combine real time data social networking and highly empowering and entertaining applications4 Real Time Social PlatformsSMS which is still the world39s mostused communication medium is a social platform But with 350 million Facebook users tens of millions Twitter users and a range of local and international innovations Google real time search that combine real time and social we are going to see an explosion in the impact of both wordofmouth and realtime information For instance in many ways the best way to keep abreast of the 119amp160terror in Mumbai was Twitter and realtime NDTV live streams Expect every media company and consumer brand to invest in realtime listening and response in 20105 The Rise of The PostDigital WorldThe world is going increasingly digital but a most media and marketing is analog and b people are analog Thus it is wrong to become overly hysterical even in advanced digital penetration countries by screaming about quotdigital at the corequot What is important is people and their needs and passions at the core and most of us combine the real and virtual worlds in ways that allow us to connect and save money and time and pursue our passions We use mobile tools to have realworld meetings and we enhance realworld occasions with digital augmentation Just like Walmart stores are paying a lot of attention to digital capabilities one can expect digital companies like Amazon to have analog or realworld presence Today besides Kindle you will see Amazon stores and maybe even bookstores just like Apple has its online store and its real stores6 Youth UprisingIndia is unique among major nations in having a demographic dividend with most of its population under 25 But we expect all over the world including in the nations that are aging fast Japan and Western Europe and possibly China with it39s one child policy a combination of technology dismay with the world and inauthentic doings of the old and just plain quotfedupnessquot to see a generational shift But quotthe times they are a changingquot as Bob Dylan sang Marketers must take the rise of youth into account These are not the youth of yesteryear but people who are increasingly committed to a better world They are folks that care about sustainability community and leaving things better than they found them This is not just about sex and money7 PurposeDriven MarketingThe hardest question a brand a marketer and a person will have to answer is quotWhat do you stand forquot or quot What is your purposequot My sister company Leo Burnett has a great insight which notes that increasingly in the future you will be judged by what you do and not what you say or as Leo states quotActs not Adsquot We anticipate brands and marketers will have to show and not tell One of the filters they will be evaluated by are by their actions and how they improve society8 EnvironmentSustainability and environment will become key factors in how consumers evaluate brands and begin to calibrate their own behavior Brands will need to understand their carbon footprints and be able to explain how they are being proactive about cleaning up This will also be a quothavequot vs quothavenotquot or rather a quotwhy are you lecturing us you western folksquot emotion that will find its way into the nuance of marketing9 MongrelizationOkay this is not a real word but it is more powerful than globalization which has already happened Mongrelization will occur where cultures and capabilities from different nations expertise and industries meld and blend Part of this will be due to global companies like Google Samsung Infosys Lever and Procter It will also come about as Reliance invests in DreamWorks and Bollywood and Hollywood give birth to something new A huge impact of technology is the ability to share ideas and create new value10 SurpriseLess than four years ago the following did not exist Facebook Twitter Amazon Kindle Apple iPhone and App Store Mumbai Terror the Financial Meltdown a Black American president The most important thing about the future is to be nimble and flexible to react to the only thing that is certain among all my predictions The future will surpriseIn next week39s post I will attempt to identify the key trends for the decade aheadClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Looking Back on My 2010 Forecasts for the Decade Ahead

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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