Annual report finds as 2020 forced the world
to re-examine how it lives, works and plays, 2021 will see seven
trends emerge that map out new, hopeful territory for businesses,
consumers and society
NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2020 /CNW/ - As the COVID-19
crisis redefines how economies and society as a whole function,
human ingenuity has sparked a wave of innovation set to be the
blueprint for the decades to come, according to a new report from
Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
"Fjord Trends 2021" — the fourteenth in a series of annual
reports from Accenture Interactive's global network of designers
and creatives — found that organizations will have the opportunity
to map out new territory as they embrace new strategies, services
and experiences to meet evolving human needs.
"Throughout history, after a global crisis, a new era of
thinking begins," said Mark Curtis,
head of innovation and thought leadership for Accenture
Interactive. "As we look to the future, a wealth of potential
worlds opens up in front of us. Some are scary, some are exciting,
and all of them are largely unexplored. What we do now will define
the rest of the century. Businesses have the ultimate permission
and space to think and do differently."
The annual report found that the pandemic has brought clarity
and surprises alongside its chaos and tragedies. It has highlighted
what is important to people and inspired community spirit and
at-home innovators. As a result, a brand new set of challenges
has emerged for businesses: how to respond from operational as well
as communication perspectives; how to meet consumers'
constantly changing expectations; and how to stretch their
empathy — all while fighting for survival in a
precarious economy.
Providing practical advice on how organizations can help shape
the 21st century renaissance, Fjord Trends 2021
examines seven emerging trends expected to shape business, consumer
behavior and society:
- Collective displacement: How and where people
experience things changed in 2020, leaving them with a shared sense
of displacement as we collectively seek new ways and places to do
the things we need and love to do. How we work, shop, learn,
socialize, parent and take care of our health has changed for many
of us, and brands need to seek new ways and offer new experiences
to interact with people.
- Do-it-yourself innovation: Innovation is increasingly
being driven by people's talent for coming up with new ways, or
"hacks," to deal with their challenges, from the home worker using
their ironing board as a standing desk to the
parent-turned-teacher. Technology plays a new role — as facilitator
for people's ingenuity and as a result, people's creativity is
shining through. With individuals from politicians to personal
trainers repurposing platforms like TikTok and video games to stage
concerts and get important messages out. Everyone wants better
solutions, but the era in which a brand was expected to create a
finished solution is transitioning to one where brands are creating
the conditions for personal innovation.
- Sweet teams are made of this: Those who work
remotely now live at the office, which is having a huge effect on
the reciprocal agreement between employer and employee and the many
assumptions around it — such as who has final say over what
people wear for a work-related video call in their own homes or
whose responsibility it is to preserve home-workers' right to
privacy. Even with the promise of widespread vaccination on the
horizon, a permanent shift has taken place in the relationship
between people and their work and between employers and their
teams. The future won't be one-size-fits-all — a lot of
prototyping in the world of work can be expected for some time to
come.
- Liquid infrastructure: Because the way people
acquire products and engage with services has been displaced,
organizations have had to rethink the supply chain and the use of
all their physical assets and focus on points of delight — such as
the immediate gratification many took for granted in store — in the
last few feet before purchase. This requires that companies build
agility and resilience across their organization so they can adapt
quickly to change. Expect more change to come, often driven by
sustainability.
- Interaction wanderlust: People are spending much
more time interacting with the world via screens and, as a result,
have noticed a certain 'sameness' caused by templated design in
digital experiences. Organizations must reconsider design, content,
audience and the interaction between them to inject greater
excitement, joy and serendipity into screen experiences.
- Empathy challenge: People care deeply about what
brands stand for and how they express their values. The pandemic
has shone a light on many broken and unequal systems across the
world – from access to healthcare to equality. As a result,
companies must work hard to manage the narratives that shape their
brands, prioritizing the subjects that matter most to them and
building their behaviors around those subjects.
- Rituals lost and found: The cancelation and
disruption of rituals — from celebrating birth to bidding farewell
in death and everything in between — have had a significant impact
on the greater collective's well-being. This trend points to the
prime opportunity companies have to help people in their search for
meaning through new rituals that bring joy and comfort. It
starts with understanding the blank space left by a lost ritual and
designing the right thing to take its place.
"Innovation doesn't start with technology, but as we've seen
over the past year, it can be a powerful tool to augment human
ingenuity — even out of chaos," said Brian
Whipple, group chief executive of Accenture Interactive.
"The next year should be one defined by hope. We've witnessed – and
been part of – great changes in our society. These trends are a
blueprint for how we think and what we do next — what we take with
us and what we leave behind. We can do better and people deserve
better."
Each year, Accenture Interactive crowdsources trends in
business, technology and design for the coming year from its global
design network of 2,000+ creatives in more than 40 locations. Fjord
Trends 2021 focuses on how people, organizations and brands are
meeting human needs. To read the report, visit:
accenture.com/fjordtrends21 and discuss on Twitter
#FjordTrends.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company with leading
capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries,
we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and
Operations services — all powered by the world's largest network of
Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 506,000
people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity
every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace
the power of change to create value and shared success for our
clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Interactive is reimagining business through
experience. We drive sustainable growth by creating meaningful
experiences that live at the intersection of purpose and
innovation. By connecting deep human and business insights with the
possibilities of technology, we design, build, communicate and run
experiences that make lives easier, more productive and rewarding.
Accenture Interactive is ranked the world's largest digital agency
by Ad Age and has been named a Most Innovative
Company by Fast Company. To learn more,
follow us @AccentureACTIVE and
visit www.accentureinteractive.com.
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