Martin Raymond & Chris Sanderson

Co-Founders

The Future Laboratory

23
Sep

10:20am – 1:00pm

Living in the Future

The Future Laboratory co-founders—Martin Raymond and Chris Sanderson—are leaders in world trend forecasting and understanding the ever-evolving needs of the global consumer. Editor-in-chief of LS:N Global (the online global lifestyle news and consumer insight network for the retail, luxury, technology, food, alcohol and hospitality sectors), Raymond has written and co-edited several books, including crEATe (Gestalten), The Tomorrow People: Future Consumers and How to Read Them Today (Financial Times Prentice Hall), and the ubiquitous Trend Forecaster’s Handbook (Laurence King publishing). Sanderson is responsible for delivering the company’s extensive global roster of conferences, media events, and LS:N Global Trend Briefings, which he co-presents with the team in London, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Stockholm, and Helsinki. Clients who have booked The Future Laboratory’s inspirational keynotes include Gucci Group, the European Travel Commission, Retail Week, Selfridges, M&S, Chanel, Harrods, Aldo, H&M, General Motors, BBDO, Design Hotels, Conde Nast Media, and Omnicom.

presentation recap

Future Forward

Trend Briefing Part I—Backlash Brands

Collaboration is taking us to new levels of engagement. But it needs to creative—as G. B. Shaw said, “A camel is a horse designed by a committee.” We now live in the time of Generation C: They are collaborative, creative, critical, conversational… just like smart brands are becoming. As the founder of Patagonia says, “If you are not pissing off 50 percent of the people, you are not trying hard enough.” It’s true that consumers’ negative comments are just a click away. But TripAdvisor and Twitter do not run your business, you do. The problem with instant-response marketing is that you risk getting it right for one at the expense of the many. Budweiser combats this by saying, “Why change our stance? We are not craft or authentic. We are big, loud, and vulgar.” Some brands are learning it’s not always good to listen.

Trend Briefing Part II—E-motional Economy

By connecting people viscerally with things that create pleasure and ease, you instantly create a bond. The way we communicate our message now has to become more complex to meet requirements of the 21^st-century consumer, needing more multilayered emotional engagement. It’s not enough to just make people feel safe. We are witnessing a type of marketing we call “Melancholy Optimism,” which mixes loss and bleakness with a note of happiness and expectation. It creates a complex feeling, and until now we’ve rarely used complex emotions for branding. Design, too, can be used for “Mood Manipulation,” as seen with Tuve hotel in Hong Kong and its Swedish isolation effect. Brands must recognize the importance of emotions and engage with the new dialogue around them.

Speakers Overview