When an entirely vegan dinner menu is served at short notice at the 77th Golden Globe Awards on January 5, 2020 in the name of environmental and animal protection, this sets a sign that will be important for your next innovation.
Or let me put it in different words:
Companies that develop innovations can never be sure how the market will react. However, the future is not as unpredictable as it may seem.
Whenever I work with companies to develop their innovation strategy, we look at customers today and in the future. The social megatrends play an important role in this. Because the majority of people want to follow the new trends. As long as your innovations help customers to follow these social trends, your future is in good shape. Such trends are therefore valuable opportunities that should be used in the early phase of every innovation process.
Trendwatching.com highlights 5 megatrends for 2020, which I would like to take a closer look at:
Eco Shame
In 2020, consumers will switch from eco-status to eco-shame. It’s the pressure to go green.
Brand Avatars
Human brands are taking on a powerful new, “human” shape. Dynamically personalized products and services (metamorphic design)
Individualized on a daily basis as a service. (OK, that sounds really complicated!)
The Burnout
Intelligent brands help people who are suffering from the pressures of modern life.
Civil Media
Social networks as meaningful networks that empower communities.
Let’s take a closer look at the “eco shame”. What is behind it?
Eco Shame: the pressure to go green
In 2020, consumers will switch from eco-status to eco-shame.
Up to now, “go green” was special. If you wanted to say „yes“ to eco, you had to pay extra. A Tesla in the garage, a zero-energy house built, the clothes made of bamboo and eco-cotton, the shoes made from recycled ocean plastic and food exclusively from the organic shop. So far, you needed deep pockets for such a lifestyle and many people could not afford such a luxury, even if they would have liked to go this way. It was something special for an elite.
According to trendwatching, this will change in 2020. Eco will become affordable and widely used. There will be no reason not to switch to eco. And whoever does not participate will be ashamed. Like me when I stood in line at the eco bakery at the farmers market. Everyone had their cotton bag with them. Some even brought the paper bag from last time. I stumbled in a low voice: „I would need a paper bag, please.“ A Deja Vue at the vegetable stall. I have a lot of vegetable nets, but unfortunately, they are always at home when I need them. This is the ecological shame: you are ashamed that you do not participate.
What are the right innovations for this?
Products and services that leave no or only a small carbon footprint and all the services that help to do so. So, everything that helps to alleviate environmental damage. This is e.g. a credit card that captures the carbon footprint of purchases and refuses to pay when a custom limit is reached. This is the sports shoe and clothing made of ocean plastic. This is the automated agriculture without pesticides and pollutants that weeds with image recognition and that is after all, the vegan gala menu at the Grammy Awards.
Can you save your customers an ecological disgrace where it is emerging today?
The insider tip: you should rely on such products and services!
Next time I’ll tell you more about brand avatars, which offer a whole new dimension of communication and relationship as ambassadors and product and service interfaces.
Innovation and innovation management are critical success factors for corporate success.
See you soon,
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