TRENDS 2019 - Juan Isaza

Juan Isaza – The Insight Point – www.juanisaza.com - @juanisaza

2019
OF
CLASS
Perhaps the most difficult thing when
it comes to selecting trends for 2019
has been to summarize the issues that
will impact us this year into eight
themes. Many issues relating to
politics, the economy, technology and
culture occur to us that will impact the
new year. With respect to the entirety
of the trends, one can note that some
of the trends can be seen more as
large umbrellas containing many
observations. This indicates to us that
it will be a very active year, full of ideas
and proposals that will originate from
all corners of the planet.
Many of the themes that have been
noted in previous years’ reports will
continue to impact our reality in this
new year. This is the case with
blockchain and its multiple
applications, the transformative power
of artificial intelligence and data
across all industries, the desire to live
in a more minimalist fashion, and the
debate about the truth of the
information that we receive via social
networks.
As such, one can find the eight themes
that indicate significant changes in our
reality below, themes that raise
questions, but which, above all, in most
cases come with opportunities that
brands can capitalize upon. As we
always say, innovation and the
generation of value are the best
response to changes in the
environment.
A happy and very creative 2019!

EXTREME POLARIZATION
SURVIVING ANXIETY
POST-AUTHENTICITY
VIVE LA SOLITUDE
PARALLEL REALITY
DISCONNECTION TIME
MASCULINITY REINVENTED
ENVIRONMENTALLY SERIOUS

EXTREME POLARIZATION
If in recent years we thought we were living in a
polarized world, we discovered that it was only the
beginning. The citizen feels that it is increasingly
difficult to find points in common during
conversations about politics. He or she feels
exasperated to the point of starting to point the
finger at those who motivate this division. Issues
such as refugees, inequality and moral and
religious views will continue to divide us during
2019.

The Pew Research Center, which historically
measures polarization in American society
based on the size of the gap between the two
parties' approval of the president, says that we
are at levels that have never been seen before.
And according to a study published by CBS, 81%
of Americans say they can not agree with the
other side on basic facts. Surely the results are
very similar for measurements carried out in
some countries in Europe, Asia or Latin America.
The year 2019 will be a year during which we will
see more polarization to the point of generating
social or even geographical fracturing. Several
issues will be edging societies towards division.
The first is related to inequality. One of the most
commented upon political books during the final
months of 2018 was written by Steven
Pearlstein of the Washington Post, which
questions whether capitalism will survive while
demonstrating that as inequality increases, so
does polarization.
Refugees and their increasing numbers across
various latitudes will be an issue that will
continue to fuel polarization in many societies.
At the same time, religious persons will
inevitably exist as a factor in the division.
Politics and morals will become increasingly
difficult to separate. In 2019 there will be a lot of
discussion about the applicability of moral
principles to new fields such as artificial
intelligence of tools that will begin to make
decisions that for some will be incorrect from an
ethics point of view. As one of its primary trends,
LSN Global talks about ‘Morality Recoded’ and
anticipates that we will be facing moral
dilemmas that will test the understanding of
what it means to be human and that many will
want to approach this from a religious
perspective and others from a practical
perspective.
The people, tired of the division and feeling the
tense atmosphere of each conversation, will
seek to identify who are responsible for the
division. The independence and objectivity of
social networks and the media will continue to
be questioned. The hopeful thing is that
initiatives that seek to unite society will be
increasingly discussed. More in Common and
Better Angels are civil organizations founded
within the United States after the 2016 elections
for understanding the social visions of various
groups and trying to identify some common
ground. We will see people who prefer to
completely ignore politics while we will see
leaders inviting societies to forget the visions of
one or the other side of the political spectrum
and focus on what unites them and not on what
separates them.
An article on the online magazine Medium
predicts that as the world becomes more
polarized, so will brands, and cites Nike as an
example, with its campaign protaganized by
controversial sportsman Kaepernick, this
campaign having resulted in a boycott by
some political groups in the United States.
However, it is clear that only brands with a
strong conviction and a large amount of
credibility will be able to enter into such high
voltage discussions. The others will find
better opportunities by focusing on the
factors that unite and reconcile societies
even if those points are increasingly scarce
or, for some, may be perceived as having a
low impact on audiences.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES
http://bit.ly/morepolarized
http://bit.ly/polarizedamerica
http://bit.ly/capitalismsurvive
http://bit.ly/moralityrecoded
http://bit.ly/moreincommonorg
http://bit.ly/polarizationbrands

SURVIVING ANXIETY
Last year we said that fear would lead people to
become increasingly uncertain about everything. If
the economic slowdown began to become
worrisome during the previous year, in 2019 it
seems inevitable. We begin to note the
consequences in people's lives. Several studies
show a signiﬁcant increase in levels of anxiety in
the population and people are beginning to look for
alternatives for handling these small or large
attacks of uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the American Psychiatric
Association recently published a study in
which it revealed that 39% of Americans say
they feel more anxious during the most recent
year, and Barnes & Noble bookstores reported
that book sales related to the management of
anxiety grew 25% over the previous year.
As others have noted, we live in a moment in
history where we have more data and more
information than ever before, and yet we live in
a permanent sense of uncertainty. This
generates a permanent desire to escape and
makes it more and more difficult to abandon
short-term, survival thinking. According to
some research, we are living with the highest
labor turnover in recent decades. The
economic issue will be the factor that will
drive the feeling of anxiety. Most analysts
agree that an economic ‘crash’ is unlikely but
that a recession is possible. Factors that add
to this risk include the performance of the
stock market, Brexit and the United States’
trade war with China.
It is interesting in this context to analyze the
growth of some alternatives for the treatment
of anxiety. The use of cannabidiol, known as
CBD, is growing and it is experiencing a boom
corresponding to the legalization of marijuana
in Canada and in a growing number of states
within the United States. One notes formats
ranging from candies to vaping options. In
fact, while reducing tobacco consumption,
according to a study published by the BBC, the
number of people who vape has multiplied by
7 in the last five years and according to the
New York Times is the largest growth in the
consumption of any substance that has been
noted.
According to The Economist, marijuana use
will grow up to 40% thanks to deregulation.
Many traditional companies have begun to
note the opportunities for this growth, in many
cases, to associate their products with the
benefits of treating anxiety. Recently, the AB
InBev brewery reported that it is developing a
non-alcoholic beverage in conjunction with
Tilray, a company that produces cannabis
derivatives. But this will not be the only thing
that will come in this area. We will hear about
adaptogens, natural products that come from
ayurvedic Chinese medicine and which act to
control stress through hormonal regulation.
Although they are not new, they will begin to
gain a place in the lives of many more people
in the West, overwhelmed by the pressures of
everyday life and prisoners of uncertainty.
The pressures that the consumer experiences
today arise from many sources. Fears about
changes in the workplace, the comparing of
themselves with the lives of others that
results from social networks, as well as the
fundamental questions about life that are
becoming more and more critical in societies
where people note how the retirement age is
increasing and everything this implies for
current and future life. So brands have a
great opportunity to help people see the
positive side of life and of the present. This is
particularly relevant for categories of
products or services that can have a real
impact by reducing this feeling of anxiety.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES
http://bit.ly/moreanxious
http://bit.ly/bnbooksanxiety
http://bit.ly/jobquittingrecord
http://bit.ly/economycrash
http://bit.ly/cbdgrowth
http://bit.ly/bbcvapinggrowth
http://bit.ly/nytimesvaping
http://bit.ly/abinbevcannabis

POST-AUTHENTICITY
After years of fascination with the concept of
authenticity, the term has begun to wear out. What
is really authentic in a world where everything can
be forwarded, 3D printed or falsiﬁed? The concept
of honesty, a value that generates much more
credibility, is replacing authenticity. From
authenticity we also turn the page on the concept
of the “hipster.”

The same elements began to be produced in
quantity: wood with recycled appearance,
Edison bulbs, industrial furniture, tiles, retro
glass cups used as glasses... The search to
put authentic elements everywhere ended up
rendering everywhere inauthentic. If we really
think about it, the effort to be authentic is a
contradiction in itself. For some, the hipster
culture was the result of the financial crisis of
2008 because people began to value history,
heritage and longer-lasting objects more. But
more than ten years have passed and those
classic objects ended up being produced in the
millions made of plastic in a factory in China.
The online magazine Medium recently
published an article in which it defines this
moment in history as the era of post-
authenticity. The first of the themes that it
talks about has to do with fake news and how
this has spread such that people are not able
to recognize what is reality and what is a lie.
The format of social networks has a lot to do
with this deterioration of authenticity because
the publication of the perfect photo trying to
seem spontaneous, generates less and less
interest. At the same time, seeing something
online is no longer a guarantee that it is the
truth and people are beginning to become
increasingly aware of this.
In recent years, software companies like Adobe
or Lyrebird have developed tools that with just
a few minutes of audio, can generate the
“authentic” voice of someone reproducing the
speech you want. Just a simple assembly of
images to have a message or even a video that
quickly goes viral in WhatsApp, for example.
With this, a political candidate can earn points
or generate rejection within a population in a
matter of seconds. Facebook has modified
WhatsApp to make it more difficult for users to
send messages to large groups. Even so it is
almost impossible to control false ideas that
may be perceived by many as something real.
The essence of the concept of authenticity
comes from being genuine, being oneself as
one interacts with others. That is why in a
world where everything can be reproduced,
copied and made viral, perhaps a more useful
concept is honesty. Today it is very difficult for
people, companies or institutions to be truly
genuine, for their proposals to be unique and
unrepeatable. But, on the other hand, it is
possible to demand that they tell the truth. The
citizen wants to be told the origin of things,
their true intentions or the destiny of their
spent resources. In 2019 we will see how
building upon transparency and honesty
achieves more impact.
The presence of influencers in social
networks will remain very strong in 2019.
But we will see more consumers sharing
their brand experiences and becoming
influencers on a smaller scale. Big social
network celebrities promoting products and
services will begin to be seen as part of that
“false authenticity.” In 2019, brands should
encourage the emergence and consolidation
of micro-influencers who, although they
lead networks that have less reach, achieve
much more credibility with their audiences.
In summary: More honesty and less ‘false
authenticity’
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES
http://bit.ly/postauthencityera
http://bit.ly/forbesauthenticity
http://bit.ly/afterauthenticity
http://bit.ly/recreateanyvoice
http://bit.ly/whatsappeconomist
http://bit.ly/endofinfluencers

VIVE LA SOLITUDE
Solitude is a concept that has always had negative
associations. But in a world in which we will see
more and more single people, other visions begin
to be generated. In 2019 there will be new
solutions for solitude. The concept of being single
will be redeﬁned in the eyes of many. But, at the
same time, alarms are generated when solitude
means depression or puts people's health at risk.

According to an IPSS [National Institute of
Population and Social Security Research (of
Japan)] study, 40% of households in Japan will
be composed of a single individual by the year
2040. In the United States, the number is already
42% versus 39% a decade ago. The growth of
single-person households is a reality in virtually
every country in the world, as well as the growth
of being single as a civil status. On the positive
side, a study published by CNN states that,
paradoxically, single people have more sex than
married people or those who live as a couple. It
also concludes that people who stay single have
better levels of self-esteem and, in most cases,
particularly women, enjoy better health.
On the other hand, being single seems to have
other not-so-positive connotations. According to
a Pew Research Center study, housing costs are
forcing people to live with housemates or
apartment-mates. In this way, new, alternative
forms of the traditional family begin to be arise.
Nowadays, the emergence of communities of
single people does not mean living under the
same roof. Fribo, a robot developed in South
Korea, helps people who are alone to interact
with others by creating virtual accompaniment.
When the robot detects that the person is alone
at home doing some domestic work, Fribo
informs their friends who are also alone so that
a conversation and, in this way, a form of
companionship is the result.
But the issue of solitude is also worrying from
other perspectives, primarily when associated
with depression. In the United Kingdom,
awareness of suicide has grown, where it is the
leading cause of death in men under 45 years of
age. Several years ago, the initiative called
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) was
founded to generate awareness and offer help
and support to men. One of the most talked
about actions of CALM occurred last March
when Londoners were surprised by Project 84,
which reproduced the bodies of 84 young men
(corresponding to the number of suicides per
week in the country) on top of an emblematic
tower. Suicide rates in the United States have
grown 30% in the last 17 years, so the issue will
be increasingly relevant and will be more present
in the media.
Solitude will now be perceived in a less
stigmatized and more positive way. And also,
society will be more and more inclined to ensure
that solitude does not mean a risk. We will see
novel ideas such as the one led by former
Google employee, Fei-Fei Li with a Stanford team
that used voice recognition, facial expressions
and algorithms to make every smart-phone a
device for the early identification of signs of
depression.
Last April, the cafeteria chain Costa
Coffee launched an initiative called ‘The
Chatty Café’ where people could activate a
sign on their tables to indicate that they
were open to chatting with some stranger
while drinking their coffee. Brands that
explore the opportunities to create value
among the population groups that live
alone can profit from a trend that can
provide many benefits in the medium and
long term. The brands that fit into their
lives will remain forever.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCIAS:
http://bit.ly/timetobesingle
http://bit.ly/sharinghousing
http://bit.ly/friborobot
http://bit.ly/calmhomepage
http://bit.ly/campaigncalmddb
http://bit.ly/detectiondepression
http://bit.ly/costachattycafe

PARALLEL REALITY
With the help of technology, physical spaces allow
us to experience personalized experiences. There
are more and more proposals that allow the same
space to be experienced by each inhabitant in a
different and personal way. In previous years we
had talked about how brands create fluid and
frictionless experiences. The trend is strengthened
with other examples that will allow us to
understand the new relationships of people with
spaces.

Data and technology have transformed much of the
experience we have within physical spaces. Last
November, Suning, the Chinese appliance retail
giant, launched the Biu stores, the first in its
category to have no personnel at points of sale and
which work through facial recognition and RFID
technology. So buyers just have to take the
products and cross the exit hallway. The complete
experience is regulated with the help of artificial
intelligence from the analysis of the flow of clients
and their preferences.
Something similar will happen with advertising in
physical spaces where it will be easier to address
people according to their profile. In some of the
subway stations in Sao Paulo, sensors were
installed to identify the number of people waiting
for the subway, as well as their mood and
demographic characteristics (gender and age) and,
in this way, to offer advertisements about brands
and products that best fit. Similar developments for
cell phones allow for experiences that traditionally
have only existed in physical spaces. The purchase
by L'Oreal of ModiFace, an augmented reality and
artificial intelligence company, is proof of how
companies that have traditionally been strong in
retail are still obsessed with offering experiences
that open new opportunities for experimentation
with products, thus expanding the possibilities that
until now were limited to physical spaces.
The principle of using the virtual to improve the real
experience continues to motivate new proposals.
Euromonitor predicts that data and artificial
intelligence will make it possible to better select the
location of chairs for a show, for example, by
placing families with children of similar ages or
people with complementary profiles near each
other. And to the extent that something is clear, it is
that physical spaces will be more effective than
ever. The Economist made a recount of the artistic
installations that were inaugurated last year
throughout the world. It identified 107 large spaces
dedicated to art, including museums, theaters and
cultural spaces. There will be many opportunities to
integrate technology when it comes to attracting
the public and maximizing their experience within
those spaces.
Finally, relating to the theme of the coexistence of
physical spaces and virtual spaces, it is important
to note the increasing relevance that electronic
games acquire to the point of being formally
considered to be a sport. The ESL, which is the
most traditional video games league, is one of the
most important sports brands in the world today.
According to a Clairfield report, the growth of
eSports revenues between 2015 and 2020 will be
more than 35%. In some countries such as
Germany, television channels have begun to
transmit gaming matches, in some schools they are
already accepted as sports and it is increasingly
common to see fans go to physical spaces to
watch their idols play live. Which is, then, another
fact that demonstrates the parallel reality that will
be experienced in physical spaces where, with the
help of technology, each one ‘augments’ their own
experience.
Many leading retail brands have understood that
virtual and augmented reality are no longer a
‘fun toy’ and have noted the strategic value they
entail. There are at least three large areas in
which a parallel reality mentality can develop,
enhancing the point of sale or any other physical
space. The first being the generation of content
with the help of augmented reality to generate
emotional connections and attract the interest of
visitors. Secondly, there are all the opportunities
that allow people to try on products or see them
placed in their own space before buying them
and that some brands like Ikea have developed
particularly well with their Ikea Place
application. Finally, and perhaps most
importantly, it relates to the opportunities for
personalization of the experience from the data
that allow each visitor to experience it in their
own way.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES
http://bit.ly/suningstores
http://bit.ly/saopaulometro
http://bit.ly/lorealandmodiface
http://bit.ly/euromonitorvenue
http://bit.ly/economistculturebiz
http://bit.ly/gaminigreport
http://bit.ly/appikeaplace

DISCONNECTION TIME
From all directions we are exposed to ideas and
initiatives inviting people to disconnect, to depend
less on technology and to rediscover outdoor
activities. 2019 seems to be a year in which we are
going to question the appropriateness of the
relationship with the cellular phone and also with
technological advances in general. We may see the
ﬁrst anti-robot movements.

A couple of months ago, one of the leading
telecommunications companies in the United
Kingdom launched a campaign with a strong
message: “Phones are good”, with humor and taking
a tour of different moments of history, inviting
people to recognize the advantages that being
connected today brings us. This fact is significant
because it does not seem so obvious that in the 21st
century someone would need to defend the value of
technology in our lives. The truth is that various
initiatives are warning us about excessive use of
electronic devices. In an article in Wired magazine,
the power of social networks and their ability to
convert us into ‘zombies’ by the generation of
dopamine in our brain was recently contemplated.
We will see many proposals inviting people to enjoy
the outdoors more, to spend more time with people
in real life and to control the hours they spend on
social networks.
One of the characters considered among the most
innovative of 2018 according to Fast Company was
Graham Dugoni founder of Yondr, a company that
produces small cases in which people put their cell
phone during an event in order to block the signal
and that can only be opened when leaving the place.
Another similar innovation is by Palm, the legendary
company that created the digital personal assistants
in the 90s, and that now offers the market a small
phone that is synchronized with the user's smart-
phone and that allows access to certain
functionalities while silencing all alerts. The idea is
that it is a device that can be carried for a weekend
or an exit at night to be connected but without the
dependence of the cell phone.
The advances of artificial intelligence will be
increasingly questioned from different perspectives.
The threat that these can represent for certain jobs,
the dangers of some advances such as self-driving
cars and their legal implications. A Gartner study
revealed that 65% of consumers in the United States
and the United Kingdom think that advances in
artificial intelligence will destroy their privacy.
California signed a new law last September that
requires companies to let consumers know when
they are speaking to an AI-fueled chatbot online. A
few months ago, Singapore announced the creation
of an advisory board to shed light on the issue. This
board will include the big technology companies and
also academics and authorities seeking to create a
framework for the subject. We will see many other
countries that will be establishing similar
organizations.
And although for many, technology is more
important than the man in the world today, the reality
is that, as we have heard from many experts,
progress will be consistently realized towards the
integration of man with machine. In 2019 there will
be a lot of talk about cobots, collaborative robots
that are developed to make the work of humans
better and more efficient. With respect to mobile
telephones and artificial intelligence and the use of
data, we will be living through a period of transition
towards more intelligent utilization where it is clear
that it is the person and their needs that will have to
prevail.
Vodafone has recently announced a
program called ‘What will you be?’ which
seeks to prepare close to 10 million
young people for the jobs that will be
required in the future as part of the
digital economy. Brands that bet on
helping to close the gap between people
and machines will discover a great
opportunity to connect with people and
communities. Similarly, brands that
motivate people to enjoy the best of
technology as part of life, and not
instead of life, will earn people’s
appreciation and respect.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES
http://bit.ly/phonesaregood
http://bit.ly/mobilezombie
http://bit.ly/howyondrworks
http://bit.ly/palmsmartphone
http://bit.ly/smartcobots
http://bit.ly/vodafonewhatwill

MASCULINITY REINVENTED
For years we have heard about the growing power of
women. Surely there is a lot missing in terms of
equal rights, particularly in the workplace, but the
reality is that we are ﬁnally approaching a historic
moment in the equitable relationships of power in
many corporations and governments. This is why the
signiﬁcant reflection about the role of men,
historically accustomed to playing leadership roles,
appears. In these times that we live in, the
reinvention of masculinity is urgently needed.

The famous futurist Faith Popcorn said a few
months ago that “it is the end of the era of man,
the end of the era as the dominant force in culture
and the transition will not be easy”. In his report
he said that men are furious and lost and said
that one piece of evidence is that 70% of suicides
in the world are committed by men. Women, on
the other hand, are experiencing a great moment
when they can finally make decisions about
whether or not they want to get married and
whether or not they want to be mothers. And
although there is still a long way to go, there are
very significant advances such as the fact that in
the United Kingdom companies have had to start
reporting gaps in wages between men and
women.
How should we rethink the role of today’s men?
This is the obligatory question. In an article called
‘What happens with Toxic Masculinity?’, the
sociologist Michael Kimmer said “masculinity is a
role that men play for other men to judge us,
criticize us, evaluate us and decide whether we
are doing well or not”. There are many elements
that define the essence of masculinity. One
example is violence as an expression of force,
which for some has been at the center of what it
means to be a man and that it is important to re-
evaluate this from the education perspective,
seeking to replace damaging stereotypes.
Some brands begin to explore these new
masculine roles. It is interesting to mention the
campaign developed by Mercedes-Benz in
Australia called “Tough Conversations” that
included a documentary in which the artist Henry
Rollins traveled all over Australia asking different
men what ‘toughness’ means to them. Another
case that has generated a lot of impact in the
media is that of football teams such as Los
Angeles Rams, who have recruited two men into
their group of cheerleaders. Other teams like the
New Orleans Saints' that will follow this trend
representing a gigantic paradigm shift in a
traditionally masculine environment such as the
NFL.
There is no doubt that questions about
masculinity come at a time when there are more
and more conversations about the concept of
gender. The theme of sexual identity will be one of
the most motivated discussions in 2019. We will
continue to hear a lot about “gender self-
identification”, the idea that humans can be better
classified based on the decision of each
individual rather tan biological sex. Some
universities in the United States are noted as an
example where the student is allowed to choose
the pronoun with which they wants to identify
themselves. They are topics that will be
increasingly controversial. The most interesting is
to understand the opportunities that arise from a
much broader view of the concept of gender.
For years, Unilever’s Axe benefited from creative
concepts that highlighted the seductive power of
men. The proof that we are facing a new reality is
the change that Axe has begun to make in its
communication for more than a year. Its latest
campaign was inspired by the searches that men
do on Google saying “it's good that a man ...”
validating doubts as whether it's okay to be
skinny, to wear pink or not to be interested in
sports, among many other stereotypes. In the
United Kingdom they created a temporary store
where men could find all the products which
would make it easier for them to rid themselves
of labels. There are many lessons for brands
both when it comes to addressing men and
women, apart from gender stereotypes.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES:
http://bit.ly/futureofmasculinity
http://bit.ly/genderwageuk
http://bit.ly/conversationsmercedes
http://bit.ly/malecheerleaderla
http://bit.ly/economistgender
http://bit.ly/axeitsokforguys
http://bit.ly/popupstorelynx

ENVIRONMENTALLY SERIOUS
In recent years, the conversation about taking care
of the planet has been increasing in volume due
both to the climatic changes that we began to
experience and to the negative or insufﬁcient
response that some governments have provided on
the issue. 2019 may be the year in which citizens
make a real and tangible commitment with
changes in lifestyle that favor more
environmentally friendly solutions.

Last October, the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
published a report warning countries to act
immediately. It indicated that climate change is
having devastating effects on human rights
including life, health, food and housing. It seems
that after postponing the issue or leaving it as a
secondary point on the agendas, people are the
ones who are listening most to this call and
demanding that the environmental issue have the
important place it merits. It is the people who with
their actions are pushing the commitment of
companies and governments. The financial
services company Aspiration created the Impact
Measurement that collects data on the
environmental commitment of 5,000 companies
so that their clients can consult the environmental
impact of their purchasing decisions.
A good example in citizen leadership is provided
for the issue of mobility. Vaticina Fjord, which will
have fully integrated public transport and
individual transport by 2021. More and more
people will be transported with an ecosystem
mentality where they will decide in each case the
option that best suits them, and with that, very
likely that benefiting the planet. Uber in the United
Kingdom is promoting an initiative for drivers to
convert to electric vehicles. It is expected that
twenty thousand drivers will make this conversion
such that by 2025 all of the cars that are part of
the Uber platform will work with this form of
energy.
In 2019 we will hear more about the importance of
environmental commitment relating to clothing.
The consumer will support brands that receive
used garments and facilitate their recycling. There
will be a lot of support for initiatives such as
Evrnu, which has developed a process that takes
cotton from used garments and turns it into new
fibers. Public opinion will reject practices that are
considered a threat to the environment. Following
a scandal last October, Burberry publicly
committed to ending the practice of burning the
brand's unsold clothing and assured that those
items will be reused, repaired or recycled.
There is no doubt that this step from discussion
to real action for the benefit of the planet will
directly impact daily life. According to The
Economist, 2019 will be the year in which
veganism will be an increasingly widespread
practice. This will be particularly true among the
“millennials” (who in 2019 are for the first time the
largest population group, having overtaken the
“babyboomers”). 25% of them claim to be
vegetarian or vegan. Unilever and Tyson Foods are
pushing initiatives to develop meat-replacement
products. And perhaps one of the most striking
cases will be that of Just, a start-up that has been
founded to create chicken meat using cells from
their feathers. In this way it will be possible,
literally, to eat the breast of a chicken knowing
that the animal is still alive, running through the
field.
For 2019, the environmental issue is an
obligatory portion of the agenda of all brands. It
has long ceased to be optional. So perhaps the
most interesting thing now will be the ability of
brands to identify opportunities for innovation
based on environmental issues being promoted
by people. An inspiring example is that of
FinalStraw, which upon noting the widespread
rejection of the use of straws or plastic straws,
has created a collapsible straw made from
stainless steel that people can carry with them
all the time and thus avoid environmental
damage without depriving themselves of using
an object that allows one to enjoy drinks more.
The idea has been so well received that it has
managed to raise 1.8 million dollars on
Kickstarter and is already in the manufacturing
phase.
FOR BRANDS…
REFERENCES
http://bit.ly/climatechangeIPCC
http://bit.ly/aspirationaim
http://bit.ly/uberukelectric
http://bit.ly/evrnufibers
http://bit.ly/burberryunsold
http://bit.ly/yearofvegan
http://bit.ly/justculturedmeat
http://bit.ly/finalstrawkick

The compilation of trends included here is the
result of capture, ﬁltering and evaluation of many
direct and indirect sources. Among them worth
mentioning:
www.adage.com
www.adweek.com
www.bbc.com
www.bloomberg.com/businessweek
www.businessinsider.com
www.buzzfeed.com
www.cnbc.com
www.cnn.com
www.digitaltrends.com
www.economist.com
www.emarketer.com
www.entrepreneur.com
www.euromonitor.com
www.facebook.com/business/insights
www.faithpopcorn.com/
www.fjordnet.com
www.forbes.com
www.forrester.com
www.fortune.com
www.hufﬁngtonpost.com
www.iconoculture.com
www.independent.co.uk
www.lsnglobal.com
www.luckie.com
www.mashable.com
www.media.mit.edu/
www.medium.com
www.mintel.com
www.newsweek.com
www.nielsen.com
www.npr.org
www.nytimes.com
www.pewresearch.org
www.psfk.com
www.singularityhub.com
www.slate.com
www.sparksandhoney.com
www.springwise.com
www.ssir.org
www.techspot.com
www.thecoolhunter.net
www.thinkwithgoogle.com
www.kantarfutures.com
www.techcrunch.com
www.thememo.com
www.theverge.com
www.time.com
www.trendcentral.com
www.trendhunter.com
www.trendland.com
www.trendoriginal.com
www.trendwatching.com
www.vice.com
www.washingtonpost.com
www.wired.com

Vice-President of Strategic Planning at DDB Latina, the DDB Worldwide division
that includes Latin America, Spain and the US Hispanic market. He writes
regularly for his blog www.juanisaza.com. He lives and works in Miami.
Reports from previous years since 2010 are available on
www.slideshare.net/juanisaza
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juanisazaplanner/
Twitter: @juanisaza / Instagram: @juanisaza
Design: Pablo Dávila
This document can be totally or partially reproduced
provided that its source and authorship are adequately
cited.

TRENDS 2019 - Juan Isaza

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TRENDS 2019 - Juan Isaza