foresight

The recent rise and staying power of oat milk has shown how we are taking actions toward sustainability, and how these motivations, while they lead to the same place, are very different and worth investigating.

What if talking about climate change didn’t have to be so hopeless and divisive? What if being part of the solution didn’t mean having to become an “eco warrior”? Turns out, more of us are better at doing things to help solve climate change than we might think—and we have the research to prove it.

A $4.5 trillion innovation opportunity? (Yes, trillion with a T). New business models to create long-term customer relationships for your brand? Read our take on why you need to look at the Circular Economy to inspire your team and fill your innovation pipeline for 2021.

As COVID-19 has forced us to slow down, we've begun to see a transformation in how and why we relax. We see people around the world taking a more holistic and proactive approach to relaxation, and a movement towards putting in the time and effort to truly "reset" ourselves. But what does this all mean as we look to the future and a world that's beginning to open up again?

At-home entertainment is helping us meet our intensified desire to connect with others during lockdown. But while some behaviors are a band-aid solution, others speak to a deeper value shift toward seeking more meaningful connection.

Why has interest in seemingly random categories like freezers, wine-making kits and gaming chairs skyrocketed during a pandemic? Our homes have quite literally been the only shelter we have from the current storm. However, this new microscopic focus on home is also forcing us to notice where it’s falling short. What’s lacking? The answers to that question will fuel near and long-term opportunities for brands.

Instinctively, one would assume that the world of eyeshadow, lipsticks and face masks would have come to a screeching halt during a global pandemic. However, despite the disruption of global supply chains and lockdown, the beauty industry and the consumer are both adapting.

During COVID-19, our desire for progress is stronger than ever, yet there’s no clear destination in sight. As the days blur together, people are engaging in new at-home entertainment behaviors to feel a sense of purpose and avoid losing this time. The Sound set off to explore these new behaviors and understand which habits will last.

As the fixed boundaries of home are increasingly tested, the feelings associated with home (stability, creativity, belonging) are harder to achieve than ever, yet perhaps are more important than ever. Our recent exploration has unearthed several paradoxes tied to home, and in doing so, revealed opportunities for brands to help reinforce these feelings, connect to their audience and echo consumer behavior within the new boundaries created by the pandemic.

How can we re-establish stability in the highly uncertain times of today? Our daily lives and routine have always provided us with a sense of stability. However, being hit by a pandemic has changed life as we knew it. Disrupted lives and looming uncertainty of a “new world” have left us in a state of flux.As we cope with the situation at hand we find ourselves leaning on Nostalgia to derive the lost sense of stability that we earlier got from our daily routines and lives.