10 takeaways from the Marketing Society's 'Trendspotting: Creativity' event

This week, our team went along to The Marketing Society’s highly anticipated Trendspotting event to learn about the latest in creative trends from some of the best in the biz. Covering three topics ‘Marketing x Gaming’, ‘Creative bravery’ and ‘Marketing Gen Z’ the event was incredibly insightful, and left us with an abundance of learnings to implement in our content. Interested in finding out more about this session? Here are our top ten takeaways:

On Marketing X Gaming

1. The power of gamification shouldn’t be underestimated. With over 3.2 billion gamers globally, and major players such as Netflix, entering the gaming sphere. Endless advertising opportunities await, and they are ours for the taking.

2. It’s time to rethink our definition of a ‘gamer’, we are all gamers. Over the years, the definition of ‘Gamer’ has evolved, and we need to move with the times. Whilst ‘traditional’ console gamers are still very much in existence, the introduction of apps such as Candy Crush, Nike Run Club and even Duo Lingo have subtly weaved gamification into our everyday lives, leaving plenty of opportunity for marketers to leverage this.

3. Gaming is shaping culture. Adopting an ‘Ear to the ground’ approach to cultural trends and happenings is essential in any creative industry, and gaming? It’s shaping this culture. Giants such as Roblox are influencing the likes, dislikes and behaviors and interactions of the next generation of consumers, just like print mags and blogs did for Millennials. So, if you want to know the best way to appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, then it might be time to grab a controller.

On Creative Bravery

1. Safety isn’t the opposite of bravery, laziness is. It can be all too easy to instinctively assume we need a big, brave, outrageous idea upon first read of a brief, but good ideas don’t always have to be brave and sometimes safe, functional ones are the real solution. Don’t be afraid to adopt this attitude.

2. The best creative work comes from finding your own way of doing things. As previously mentioned, producing brave, world-changing ideas isn’t always the answer, or what the client is looking for. The best creative work often comes from your team's unique stamp. So, prioritise meaningful collaboration, find your team’s unique, star qualities, and flex on them.

3. We should normalise client briefs being a two way conversation. We all know that collaboration is key when producing creative work, and this applies to client briefs too. Have a suggestion that would make your client’s outcome more effective? Interested in approaching the brief a little differently than requested on paper? Don’t be scared to book in some time with your client to collaborate and optimise their briefs.

On marketing to Gen Z

1. Marketers have to stop generalising Gen Z, and embrace cultural intelligence – Gen Z aren't a homogeneous generation. Every single Gen Z has their own wants and needs, and if these aren’t being met, they will quickly disconnect. So how do we meet these needs? The solution lies in cultural research - and not the traditional “sitting behind a desk” kind. Marketers must put themselves in Gen Z’s shoes, engage directly with these consumers and get down to the core of their likes and dislikes.

2. Cancel culture is out, Crush Culture is in. It’s no secret that the life-cycle of digital moments has shrunk dramatically, but this is especially true when it comes to the behaviour of Gen Z audiences. In fact, a recent study revealed that 75% of Gen Zs would switch from a brand that received bad PR. Their obsessions are fleeting, but when Gen Zs fall for your brand, they fall hard, just like a high school crush.

3. Gen Zs need in-person experiences. With new digital advancements happening each and every day, it can be easy to assume that’s what Gen Z want to see from us. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In a post-pandemic world, Gen Zs crave authentic and tangible, in-person experiences. They value real experiences where they can make memories and unplug from their devices.

4. Don’t forget to have fun. Gen Zs aren’t on socials to be sold to, in fact, obvious sales-based content is a major turn off for them. They’re online to be entertained, to have a good time and connect with others with shared interests. When creating content for this audience - don’t forget to have fun!

Interested in how we can help you implement these trends into your 2024 content strategy? We’d love to hear from you, so get in touch here.