The Meta Trending Trends: 2018
Top 19 Overlapping Cultural Trends From 13 Reports
When the air gets brisk, the stockings get hung, and the OOO notices get shared, it all means one thing: trend reports are coming.
Today, organizations attempt to flex their cultural foresight savviness by authoring a number of trends for marketers to leverage in the year to come. In the highest form of irony, the trend report has become the trend. But with so many to read and not enough time, I decided to read them all from you, conducting a meta-analysis…
I combed through 300+ trends from 13 reports by: Forrester, Foresight Factory, JWT, Sparks & Honey, Ogilvy, Fjord, Landor, Facebook IQ, Trend Hunter, Contagious, Deloitte, Edelman, & Mindshare.
Why do this? Conducting a meta-analysis increases our “sample size” of trends and accounts for individual author bias, allowing us to recognize what’s agreed upon. We can calculate reliability as a proxy for accuracy.
After my analysis, I’m excited to share the top 19 prevalent, overlapping trends for 2018. Below, you will find the most recurrent trend themes, personal descriptions, and how each organization named their trend.
The 2018 Meta-Trends —
01. Clarity Now 🔎
Society will promote its desire for transparency, validity and absolute truth
In Transparency We Trust — Fjord
Transparency in Action — Landor
Transparency Trailblazers — Contagious
Blockchain Inches Forward — Forrester
Blockchain Changes the Rules — Landor
Blockchain to Blockchains — Deloitte
Mechanized Truth — Foresight Factory
Civic Marketing — JWT
Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility — Landor
02. Mindfulness in Vogue 🙏🏼
Meditation and play will be leveraged to overcome chaos and anxiety
Armour Therapy — Sparks & Honey
Destruction Therapy — JWT
Therapeutic VR — JWT
Adult Play — JWT
Mindful Play — Landor
Peaceful Play — TrendHunter
Industry of Calm — Facebook IQ
Stress-Free Tech — Trend Hunter
03. Widespread Inclusivity 🌎
Race, religion, capability, and size will all be offered a seat at the table
Intersectionality — JWT
Empowered Intersectionality — Trend Hunter
Adaptive Communities — Sparks & Honey
Assistive Tech — JWT
Plus-Sized Luxury — JWT
67% Movement — Sparks & Honey
One-Size Fits None — Trend Hunter
04. Mainstream AR 📱
AR will progressively find its way in both novel and functional practice
AR Gets Real — Ogilvy
AR Reaches Mass — JWT
Everyday AR — Facebook IQ
Augmented Reality — Edelman
Augmented Experiences — Landor
Augmented Package — Trend Hunter
Policing Mixed Reality — Sparks & Honey
05. Underlying Algorithms ⚙️
Data and algorithms silently guide decisions for both better and worse
Algorithms at Work — Landor
The Algorithm Wars — Forrester
Slave to Algorithm — Fjord
Ambient Prediction — Sparks & Honey
Automatic for the People — Mindshare
Dynamic Data — Contagious
06. Cyborg Penetration 🔬
Tech will find itself closer to flesh and brain, blending man and machine
Under the Skin Tech — Sparks & Honey
Second-Skin Wearable — Trends Hunter
Smart Contact Lenses — JWT
Creativity Meets AI — JWT
A Machine’s Search for Meaning — Fjord
No-Collar Workforce — Deloitte
07. The Cannabis Norm 🌿
With legalization, marijuana will shed its taboo status, now welcomed
Ganjanomics — JWT
Cannabis Community — Trend Hunter
Cannabis Occasions — Sparks & Honey
Cannabis Fine Dining — JWT
Shapeshifting Stimulants — Sparks & Honey
08. Human-Like Computers 🤖
Technological capability will eagerly emulate human ability, impressively
Computers Have Eyes — Fjord
Internet of Eyes — JWT
Internet of Ears — JWT
The End of Typing — Ogilvy
The Empowered Machine — Forrester
09. Crumbling Big Tech 🔌
Consistent faults in digital institutions and infrastructure will be revealed
Big Tech Backlash — JWT
Seriously Serious — Ogilvy
Content Certainty — Trend Hunter
Truth Labs — Sparks & Honey
Security for Profit — Forrester
10. Food Flashes 🍭
Culinary works will take on fresh, alluring aesthetics satisfying eyes as well
High-Brow Confection — Trend Hunter
Format Over Flavor — Trend Hunter
Algorithmic Food Design — JWT
Picture-Perfect Food — Facebook IQ
Cosplate — Sparks & Honey
11. Amazon, The Behemoth 💸
Amazon will continue to flourish, swelling in both power and presence
Amazonification — Contagious
Amazon Awakening — Ogilvy
Amazon Everything — JWT
Amazon as Advertising Powerhouse — JWT
Triumph in the age of Amazon — Edelman
12. Retail Maturation 🛒
With online shopping, brick-and-mortar spaces will evolve in their purpose
Retail Experience Harmonization — Forrester
Retail Reinvention — Sparks & Honey
Retail Residences — JWT
URL Goes IRL — JWT
13. Participatory Entertainment 📺
Media will invite cooperation with unique, tailored experiences for viewers
Interactive Storytelling — JWT
Real-Time Authorship — Sparks & Honey
Collaborative Narrative — Trend Hunter
14. Redefined Masculinity 👔
What “manly” means will be refuted with reconsidered traits and styles
Modern Masculinity— Contagious
Detoxing Masculinity — Sparks & Honey
New Wave Men’s Grooming — JWT
15. Hello, China 🇨🇳
Globalization will push China’s once foreign norms closer toward the U.S.
West, Meet East — Facebook IQ
China’s Cultural Export — Sparks & Honey
Chinese Tech Goes Global — JWT
16. Craving Detox 🍎
Clean, healthy living will be elected over more established toxic choices
Clean Chic — Sparks & Honey
Trendy Teetotalism — JWT
Wellness Cocktail — Trend Hunter
17. Packaging Reduex 📦
What houses products will be re-inventive with modern, noteworthy benefit
Next-Gen Packaging — Sparks & Honey
Packaging That Thinks for Itself — Landor
The Anti-Pack — Landor
18. Gender 2.0💄
The idea of boy vs. girl will be questioned as characteristics shift and blur
Agender — Sparks & Honey
Wo/men’s Wear — Facebook IQ
19. Longing for Nostalgia ⏳
Throwbacks and reboots will emerge faster, blending the present with past
Near Nostalgia — Sparks & Honey
Upleveled Nostalgia — Trend Hunter
Matt Klein is a cultural theorist and strategist analyzing the psychosocial implications of our technology to consult on business decisions.
Complete series: The Trending Trends: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022
This piece is an educational review and does not infringe upon any copyright material as covered by Fair Use, Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107.
