This document discusses 7 emerging digital trends for 2020: 1. Memeification - Brands are increasingly adopting meme culture and internet humor in their social media strategies, though risk backlash if not done authentically. 2. DM Slides - As social messaging apps grow in popularity, brands must shift from feed-based to conversation-based engagement strategies. 3. Remixed Reality - Augmented reality is scaling up and brands have more options to leverage AR in innovative ways across budgets. 4. Normfluencers - Younger audiences prefer more authentic online personalities compared to highly curated influencers of the past. 5. Soundtrack Brands - As audio platforms like podcasts boom, brands are developing

1. •••••
2020
DIGITAL TRENDS
TECHNOLOGY+BEHAVIOR

2. status: it’s complicated.

3. •••••
2019
The Techlash
2020
The Reckoning
2018
The Wrist Slap

4. CREDENTIALING
A fluid standard of bona fides that
signals expertise, importance, or fame.
INVISIBILITY
A longing to go offline and off-the-record
to regain a sense of freedom.
DABBLEISM
A desire to try and learn new things at a
pace that inhibits mastery.
BURNOUT
A sense of heightened personal pressure,
professional stress, and societal anxiety.
UNDERCURRENTS
2020
•••••

5. MEMEIFICATION
DIGITAL
& SOCIAL
TRENDS
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
DM SLIDES
REMIXED REALITY
NORMFLUENCERS
SOUNDTRACK BRANDS
GAMESTREAM
DO IT FOR THE (HOLO)GRAM
2020
7TRENDS
TO FUEL THE
INERTIA OF
PIONEERING BRANDS
TO ENLIGHTEN,
INSPIRE, AND ACT
•••••

6. determine whether a trend is
right for your brand
DECIDE
examine what the patterns
mean online over time
DECODE
spot and recognize emerging
patterns of behavior
IDENTIFY
ideate ways for brands to
leverage or influence the trend
APPLY
USING AN INNOVATION ARC
••••

7. MEMEIFICATION

8. MEMEIFICATION SPECTRUM
bottle cap challenge Area 51 Bird Box challenge summoning circle florida man 30-50 feral hogs bada** tees Keanu Reeves

9. the
internet
WILL
COME
FOR
YOU
2015’s CRINGE COURT 2019’s CRINGE COURT
@BrandsSayingBae r/FellowKids

10. SO WHAT?
brands are quick to co-opt culture. as online
culture distinguishes itself as a unique space,
brands will adopt its look and language. in this
case, memes. brands are drafting off memes for
social engagement, content, and tone.
the memeification spectrum is sprawling, with
brands like hostess (and of course, the
venerable wendy's) playing it pretty PG while
certain unexpected brands like bugles and slim
jim are going full-on 'netz.
warning: as good as the internet is at memes, its
superpower is judgment. in 2014, twitter’s
@brandssayingbae called out corporate social
handles that used "bae.” fast-forward to 2019,
that's a minor offense as brands turn to online
culture to guide their strategy, holding their
breath in fear of appearing on reddit’s
r/fellowkids.

11. DM SLIDES

12. social feed app
social inbox app
Source: Kepios analysis, October 2019
SOCIAL INBOX APPS > SOCIAL FEED APPS
2.4 billion
2 billion
1.6 billion
1.3 billion
1.13 billion
330 million
330 million
310 million
300 million
1 billion
314 million
500 million
on snapchat
210M DAUs create
3.5 BILLION
SNAPS
Monthly Active Users (MAUs)

13. PROLIFERATION OF INBOX APPS
GROUP CHAT SECURE CHAT STATUS CHAT ENHANCED CHAT
DIE WITH ME
THREADS
New entrants and old standbys are surging as new era of social takes shape.

14. SO WHAT?
brands need to move from a feed addiction to
an inbox ideology.
this means reorienting content and engagement
strategies around thoughtful, value-driven
exchanges. community managers just got a
promotion.
it also means having a distinct social brand
voice is more important than ever.
example: Chipotle launched its rewards program
in partnership with Venmo, sliding users guac
cash for signing up.
warning: this is not the same as an email or text
strategy. social inboxes are different
environments and while expertise is
transferable, it’s not wholly equivalent. dialogue,
not delivery.

15. REMIXED REALITY

16. *RECORD SCRATCH*
26% of consumers say
AUGMENTED
REALITY
is the most likely technology
to make them think a brand is
INNOVATIVE
ranking higher than:
- artificial intelligence (19%)
- facial recognition (18%)
- chatbots (6%)
- cryptocurrency (4%)
Source: Diffusion study commissioned by YouGov, October 2019

17. diverted experience enhanced experience
MOVING FROM TO
leveraging augmented reality as
a substitute to an already
existing value exchange
delivered better elsewhere.
e.g., product specs, nutrition
overlays, recipes.
leveraging augmented reality to
fill creativity and convenience
vacuums not currently possible
in other forms.
e.g., immersion, alerts,
proximity, try-ons and purchase,
annotations.

18. REMIXED REALITY SPECTRUM
flat stickers
& animations
INTERACTIVE
annotated hotspots 360 walkaroundsobject drop-ins total overlaysresponsive games
ADDITIVE
responsive try-ons
IKEA PLACE
APP
WANNABY’S
WANNA KICKS
360 NYC
AR MAP
INSTAGRAM STORY
STICKERS
TOY ‘R US
SNAP PORTAL
HARRY POTTER
WIZARDS UNITE
No place on the spectrum is inherently better than another. The type of AR depends on the
user’s unique need for information, convenience, entertainment, or creation.
MICROSOFT
HOLOLENS

19. SO WHAT?
AR’s rapid scaling through improved hardware
and data speeds means brands have access
across numerous budgets and needs in 2020.
AR style should consider the message,
experience, and outcome a brand wants to
deliver. from additive to immersive, the
spectrum is broad. let’s reframe AR from a
technology to a touchpoint.
something as simple and adored as a branded
GIF sticker becomes an entrypoint into an AR
game. or an animated effect that makes
collaborative user-brand content more
shareable.
example: Gatorade’s Highlights app

20. NORMFLUENCERS

21. INFLUENCERS ARE DEAD, LONG LIVE INFLUENCERS
Welcome to the trough, y’all.
Source: Gartner, August 2019

22. 63%
OF GEN Z SOCIAL USERS
SEE LITTLE OR NO
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THEIR OFFLINE
AND ONLINE SELF
Source: PSFK and Suzy, July 2019
2017 2019
Nastya Swan Emma Chamberlain
TRENDS CONVERGE, INFLUENCERS EVOLVE
DIGITAL
BURNOUT
GEN Z
& ALPHA
+ +

23. SO WHAT?
authenticity is arguably 2019’s buzziest
buzzwod, and it means different things to many.
whether it’s realness or rawness, the principle is
that it’s an online portrait closer to a life actually
lived offline.
2012 to 2017 was an era of influencers built on
a curated self, the portrayal of only the best,
most admirable moments. today, gen z is
ushering in a class of influencer that’s more
relatable than aspirational.
‘normfluencer’ is still a genre existing on a scale
of real realness to manufactured realness, let’s
not kid ourselves. nonetheless, it’s a breath of
fresh air.
example: Huji Cam app creates raw, nostalgic
treatments for photos
Source: Selena Gomez x Coach, Instagram March 2018

24. SOUNDTRACK BRANDS

25. podcasts
music streaming
voiceassistants
co-listening
audio
books
1-in-5
Am
ericans
listen
to
audio
books
66%oflistenerswho
streamathomeare
co-listening
60% of Americans 12+
stream music at least
weekly
weeklypodcast
listenershipisup200%+
inpast5years
1/3rdoftheU.S.pop
usesvoiceassistantsat
leastmonthly
Sources: IAB, Pew Research, Pandora, eMarketer, 2019
our eyeballs
HAVE BEEN SETTLED,
the new digital
frontier is
OUR
EARDRUMS

26. SOUND HAS UNIQUE
PHYSIOLOGICAL
AND EMOTIONAL
EFFECTS, WHICH WILL
DEMAND CAREFULLY
CRAFTING A BRAND’S
AUDIO IDENTITY
Source: Measuring Narrative Engagement, University College of London, June 2018

27. SO WHAT?
most leading brands are dabbling in at least
some form of soundtracking. from signature
sounds to ASMR, brands are codifying how they
“sound” to consumers.
branded or co-branded podcasts are one of the
most popular tactics, though return on effort is
difficult, even if the quality is high. the
occasionalish Inside Trader Joe’s podcast is one
of the better efforts.
sonic branding is one of the buzzier elements of
audio identity, but it’s still unclear what it
actually means.
example: Mastercard introduced its sonic brand
in February 2019, with an “audio press release”.
positioned as a “unique melody” that’s the
“sound equivalent” of its red and yellow circles.
k?

28. GAMESTREAM

29. HYPER-CASUAL
GAMES SEE
4X
SESSIONS OF
traditional casual games
RUN
RACE 3D
Source: GameAnalytics, 2018-2019

30. hyper-casual games are
EVERYWHERE
and going
MAINSTREAM
OBSESSIONS SESSIONS

31. SO WHAT?
with mindless social scrolling giving way to
more engaged digital experiences,
comparmentalizable mobile games are stepping
into the spaces.
simple social games have ebbed and flowed in
their popularity since Farmville and Words with
Friends, but the potential has always been
greater. many social games were built as
growth-hacking, data-looting ad scams.
now games can be more light and delightful,
leveraging social connections in smart (and
responsible) ways that enhance gameplay.
example: Bitmoji Tennis, a hyper-casual from
Snap Games that lets you play with friends as
your Bitmoji

32. DO IT FOR THE (HOLO)GRAM

33. IN 2012,
TUPAC SHAKUR
MADE AN APPEARANCE
AT COACHELLA
6 YEARS
AFTER
HIS DEATH
people lost it.

34. people lost it.

35. people are still
DISCUSSING IT.

36. IN 2012,
HOLOGRAMS
GOT SUPER-HOT
AND THEN DID
BASICALLY
NOTHING.
until now.

38. •••••
2020
thank you!
TECHNOLOGY+BEHAVIOR