David Akermanis

How hope & fear can be a powerful framework to deepen trends and foresight thinking.

Cultural relevance is an issue that brands are grappling with across categories. We wrote not too long ago about alcohol brands and cultural relevance, but...

For alcohol brands, building cultural relevance starts with cultural understanding. Brands need to recognize that popularity and trends are byproducts of culture, and focus on identifying the communities and sub-cultures that matter to their target customers, recruiting differently, and building with the people who matter to their brands, instead of for them.

Trends don’t change very often. And that’s‌ kind of the point. Their job is to make sense of and unpack an observable shift in culture,...

The most successful companies don’t just react to change. They anticipate the category, consumer, and cultural changes that have the potential to derail or propel their business forward. Strategic Foresight at The Sound is outcomes-focused and driven by human and cultural understanding, grounded in present-day action.

Break out of today’s frame to develop a clearer picture of tomorrow. We’ll help you identify opportunities that lead to competitive advantage, anticipate risk, and more intelligently evaluate the future potential of innovation ideas.