Over the past year we’ve been taking notes on some fringe trends that have recently emerged or resurfaced. They relate to everything we do: what we eat, how we live, the technology we use and the culture we embrace.
Some have huge implications. Others are just incredibly weird. But all have some potential to disrupt the brandscape and make an impact on our lives.
This month in our ongoing FringeStream series, our monthly magazine exploring how the fringes of culture are shaping mass behaviors, we're digging into the a topic that tempts us all: FOOD. In gaining an understanding of FringeStream Food, we've unearthed some interesting findings that recognize how the simultaneous celebration of food culture and turmoil of traditional food systems have led to mainstream confusion over what to eat. Find out how empowered groups are moving beyond our over reliance on over-processed convenience food to create new opportunities and an increasing Appetite for Conviction.
This month in our ongoing FringeStream series, our monthly magazine exploring how the fringes of culture are shaping mass behaviors, we're digging into the a topic that tempts us all: FOOD. In gaining an understanding of FringeStream Food, we've unearthed some interesting findings that recognize how the simultaneous celebration of food culture and turmoil of traditional food systems have led to mainstream confusion over what to eat. Find out how empowered groups are moving beyond our over reliance on over-processed convenience food to create new opportunities and an increasing Appetite for Conviction.
Welcome to our FringeStream series, our monthly magazine exploring how the fringes of culture are shaping mass behaviors. What happens when fragmentation, diversity and the choice to live differently becomes the new normal?
This month we explore Fallout Families, which challenges us to think about family structures differently and brings to life what new family norms look like, moving beyond the traditional - and increasingly outdated - model of the nuclear family.
Over the past 10 years men have been portrayed as idiotic, coddled, domestically challenged buffoons, never to be trusted (especially with their own children). However, considering recent reports and failed brand efforts targeting contemporary men ... we thought we'd take a closer look. Check out our latest contextual piece exploring contemporary masculinity.
The Lynx Academy sponsored by Leo Burnett is a chance for students to learn from advertising professionals during the Dubai Lynx Festival.
At the end of the programme they are given a brief to present to the agency.
This month in our ongoing FringeStream series, our monthly magazine exploring how the fringes of culture are shaping mass behaviors, we're digging into the a topic that tempts us all: FOOD. In gaining an understanding of FringeStream Food, we've unearthed some interesting findings that recognize how the simultaneous celebration of food culture and turmoil of traditional food systems have led to mainstream confusion over what to eat. Find out how empowered groups are moving beyond our over reliance on over-processed convenience food to create new opportunities and an increasing Appetite for Conviction.
This month in our ongoing FringeStream series, our monthly magazine exploring how the fringes of culture are shaping mass behaviors, we're digging into the a topic that tempts us all: FOOD. In gaining an understanding of FringeStream Food, we've unearthed some interesting findings that recognize how the simultaneous celebration of food culture and turmoil of traditional food systems have led to mainstream confusion over what to eat. Find out how empowered groups are moving beyond our over reliance on over-processed convenience food to create new opportunities and an increasing Appetite for Conviction.
Welcome to our FringeStream series, our monthly magazine exploring how the fringes of culture are shaping mass behaviors. What happens when fragmentation, diversity and the choice to live differently becomes the new normal?
This month we explore Fallout Families, which challenges us to think about family structures differently and brings to life what new family norms look like, moving beyond the traditional - and increasingly outdated - model of the nuclear family.
Over the past 10 years men have been portrayed as idiotic, coddled, domestically challenged buffoons, never to be trusted (especially with their own children). However, considering recent reports and failed brand efforts targeting contemporary men ... we thought we'd take a closer look. Check out our latest contextual piece exploring contemporary masculinity.
The Lynx Academy sponsored by Leo Burnett is a chance for students to learn from advertising professionals during the Dubai Lynx Festival.
At the end of the programme they are given a brief to present to the agency.
This presentation was first presented at the latest MRS Conference by Flamingo Group Co-CEO Kirsty Fuller, alongside alongside our client Angharad Massie, PR Director at Weight Watchers on "Uncovering our toxic environment: the cultural shifts which drive our urge to eat".
This collaboration is in conjunction with a Flamingo Cultural Intelligence project, where we partnered with Weight Watchers to map the way we live in this toxic environment, exploring the key changes in our world and crucially how it affects our urge to eat. The trends that we produced translated very specifically into press coverage, Weight Watchers tool and initiatives.
Please see the 'notes' tab for full commentary below.
WINE MARKETING THE JOURNEY TO 2017 PART II EXPLORING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLEDLeapFrog Strategy
The previous postcard pointed to the distance that wine has to traverse to enter the mainstream and the need for wine marketers to be intuitive and imaginative in marketing for India. This piece will explore the enabling forces, the critical uncertainties and the potential speed breakers along the journey that wine marketers need to take into account while devising their strategies.
African-Caribbean focused Magazine of news, views and features of interest to African-Caribbean community. Seeks to promote diversity, acceptance and multiculturalism. Quarterly publication volunteer driven
Welcome to this issue of the Rewir Trend Review where we will give you the latest on the food industry. Yummy! Subscribe today for your monthly brand and business update by sending an email to rewir@rewir.com.
Welcome to this summer issue of Rewir
Trend Review where we will take you through
the landscape of food – beyond taste, smell
and consumer behavior. Yummy!
The End of Normal: When Brands and Memes CollideBackslash
How can brands compete for attention in a world dominated by Tide Pods and Yodel Boy? Backslash speaks with TBWA's Chris Garbutt, McDonalds' Colin Mitchell, Cultural Connoisseur Sean Monahan and the Co-Founders of Meme Insider.
Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners’ creative genius is undisputed but what human truths underpin 2014’s Lions?
Post-recession blow-outs, an appetite for risk and a desire to make a difference are major themes shaping this year's winners.
An overview of the macro trend of New World Order. Is the old adage of "America sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold" still current? In this New World Order where power increasingly resides with Brazil, China and India how are people responding and what are the consequences for brands?
This presentation was first presented at the latest MRS Conference by Flamingo Group Co-CEO Kirsty Fuller, alongside alongside our client Angharad Massie, PR Director at Weight Watchers on "Uncovering our toxic environment: the cultural shifts which drive our urge to eat".
This collaboration is in conjunction with a Flamingo Cultural Intelligence project, where we partnered with Weight Watchers to map the way we live in this toxic environment, exploring the key changes in our world and crucially how it affects our urge to eat. The trends that we produced translated very specifically into press coverage, Weight Watchers tool and initiatives.
Please see the 'notes' tab for full commentary below.
WINE MARKETING THE JOURNEY TO 2017 PART II EXPLORING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLEDLeapFrog Strategy
The previous postcard pointed to the distance that wine has to traverse to enter the mainstream and the need for wine marketers to be intuitive and imaginative in marketing for India. This piece will explore the enabling forces, the critical uncertainties and the potential speed breakers along the journey that wine marketers need to take into account while devising their strategies.
African-Caribbean focused Magazine of news, views and features of interest to African-Caribbean community. Seeks to promote diversity, acceptance and multiculturalism. Quarterly publication volunteer driven
Welcome to this issue of the Rewir Trend Review where we will give you the latest on the food industry. Yummy! Subscribe today for your monthly brand and business update by sending an email to rewir@rewir.com.
Welcome to this summer issue of Rewir
Trend Review where we will take you through
the landscape of food – beyond taste, smell
and consumer behavior. Yummy!
The End of Normal: When Brands and Memes CollideBackslash
How can brands compete for attention in a world dominated by Tide Pods and Yodel Boy? Backslash speaks with TBWA's Chris Garbutt, McDonalds' Colin Mitchell, Cultural Connoisseur Sean Monahan and the Co-Founders of Meme Insider.
Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners’ creative genius is undisputed but what human truths underpin 2014’s Lions?
Post-recession blow-outs, an appetite for risk and a desire to make a difference are major themes shaping this year's winners.
An overview of the macro trend of New World Order. Is the old adage of "America sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold" still current? In this New World Order where power increasingly resides with Brazil, China and India how are people responding and what are the consequences for brands?
As the Customer Obsessed Digital Agency®, Tenthwave wanted to take our customer-centric approach with our 2016 Trend Report. The information in this report should be used to help you identify opportunities in the marketplace that your marketing teams can use to develop things that matter to your customers. This report identifies and explores the 16 nascent marketing trends that will impact the marketing landscape in the upcoming year.
Every year, planners at Y&R share a roundup of today’s most interesting trends and their inherent tension. This year’s North American Trends with Tension report takes on an array of topics from big data to PC culture to food fetishization.
A lot is happening in the food sector. Our white paper "Edibles - tasting the future of food and drinks" describes the most relevant shifts within the food industry at this moment. This whitepaper not only introduces you to the concepts of phygital flavors, ethical appetites, elevated animalistics and habitual hijacking, but also shows their impact on your brand.
Whitepaper by Fitzroy Amsterdam
The headlines tell us about how Covid-19 has impacted businesses and the boardroom...but what about the bedroom? What's the number one biggest sexual behavior change expected post-COVID? Our quantitative exploration (inclusive of a proprietary survey) has illuminated an eye-opening new reality that is equal parts startling and hopeful. Enjoy our exploratory film and article here: https://www.thesoundhq.com/sex-in-the-time-of-covid-19/
How many Jobs-To-Be-Done exist when it comes to beauty and grooming? Turns out all those showers, shaves and new hairstyles really add up! Find out how The Sound can help simplify it all for you and your brand, using the Jobs to be Done method.
We know creative development research can sometimes feel like a way to kill great ideas. And we think that sucks. We’re here to make sure that doesn’t ever happen to you (again). Read on to learn how!
Human beings went from never sleeping in the same place twice to having home become the center of our lives.
Throughout this journey, home has steadily evolved – from a threadbare shelter to a high-rise penthouse, with each new cultural and technological development changing the meaning of what home is.
Now, home is changing again.
In the 20th century, the home became modern and took on quasi-utopian qualities. It moved from a structure built to ensure the survival of the family unit into a private oasis that separates what is yours from the world. A place where we can be our true selves and have some measure of control over our surroundings.
It is a place of rest and a respite from chaos. It is secure, private and above all else – dependable.
But over the last decade, the modern home has become destabilized, elusive, evasive, more constricted, less secure and broken.
At The Sound, we place individual experience at the heart of our work and expand outwards. So we put our feet on the ground on four continents, immersed ourselves in a wildly diverse range of households, explored the minutiae of home life and bore witness to inspiring stories of struggle, success and adaptation.
We’ve put our learnings into a lovely 50-page report for your reading pleasure.
Every generation has a shared set of experiences, values, and cultural flash points that come together to form distinct expressions of identity. To brush up on your generational differences, check out our latest guide.
Right now, Gen-Xers are doing something utterly revolutionary that is going unnoticed: They aren’t getting “old” and they’ve flipped the entire aging paradigm on its head.
It’s not good enough to simply understand the nature of disunity or recognize the value of empathy. We need to put our ideals and insights into practical action.
Generational cohorts in India are never homogenous. In such a complex and diverse country, there are clear distinctions in the context and attitudes of urban, “small-town” and rural groups, even from the same generation, and understanding that is a story unto itself. However, understanding the attitudes and aspirations of the urban young is a great starting point, as these eventually find reflection in the larger groups throughout the rest of India.
India’s urban young aren’t the same as their western counterparts. Yes, living in an increasingly globalised world engages them in similar debates about geopolitics, draws them towards the same content and even leads them towards the same social and environmental causes. But that’s only scratching the surface.
To truly understand this generation, we must understand the context they come from….
In FringesStream: Food India, we understand the latest movements impacting eating habits, ingredients and food occasions. Check this piece out to find out how India is exploring regional cuisine, reviving a more spiritual outlook towards food consumption and much more.
Tired of hearing "Millennials have been decoded, debunked, everything you need to hear" then "everything you've heard is wrong"... This isn't that at all. See why we think this generation deserves more than a few statistics and bold claims to tell their story. There’s a lot contradictory info on this generation, but that’s because they’re full of contradictions themselves.
The Sound explores the perceived fringes of culture to illuminate how emerging ways of being are shaping mass culture and changing the human condition.
FRINGESTREAM is a new way of thinking about mass behaviours and values.
FRINGESTREAM is when fragmentation becomes the new normal.
Mainstream culture used to represent the majority story..
In the pre-digital and pre- globalized world, mass culture dominated with fringe cultures existing only on the, er, fringes...often in direct opposition to mainstream values and behaviors.
Now things have changed. Living in a globalized and digital age, mass culture is now heavily inflluenced and shaped by fringe behaviors and ways of being.
FringeStream is the new Mainstream

In 2014, we asked 60 young people around the world to show and tell us about their generation. We set them the challenge of photographing their lives and describing why the images are important to them and illuminating to us.
The photographs and stories they produced are beautiful, inspiring, and informative – just like the best research should be.
The Generation Edge photography project reinforces The Sound’s belief that Insight is Art.
Inspired by an excerpt of Amy Poehler's book, "Yes, Please", about "women-on-women crime" and driven by out insatiable curiosity to study human behavior, we've decided to dig into the subject of modern-day parenthood.
A little over a year ago we introduced the world to Generation Edge, the generation after Millennials and one we feel is unlike any other...
...this generation are resilient, self-starting reformers. They’ve got a view of the way they want the world to be and understand that they are going to have to be the ones to change it!
We like to think of 2014 as the year of Edge and the talented, tenacious, tech-empowered guys and girls you’ll see over the next 20 pages exemplify what Edge is all about, they are....quite literally, changing the world as we know it!
Welcome back to The Generation Edge series, our monthly magazine exploring the identity, values, and lifestyle of the post millennial generation. People born after about 1995, the eldest of which are 19 now. We call them Generation Edge.
In this edition we explore how Gen X parents are shaping this new generation. Because, like it or not, our parents exert tremendous influence on the people we become...
Welcome back to The Generation Edge series, our monthly magazine exploring the identity, values, and lifestyle of the post millennial generation. People born after about 1995, the eldest of which are 19 now. We call them Generation Edge.
In this edition we explore Gen Edge's rebellious attitude. This is a generation that fully intends to speak out and shake things up. But it's not rebellion as we know it - Gen Edge has redefined it...
More from The Sound: Exploration Strategy Innovation (20)
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.\
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
How to Use AI to Write a High-Quality Article that Ranksminatamang0021
In the world of content creation, many AI bloggers have drifted away from their original vision, resulting in low-quality articles that search engines overlook. Don't let that happen to you! Join us to discover how to leverage AI tools effectively to craft high-quality content that not only captures your audience's attention but also ranks well on search engines.
Disclaimer: Some of the prompts mentioned here are the examples of Matt Diggity. Please use it as reference and make your own custom prompts.
It's another new era of digital and marketers are faced with making big bets on their digital strategy. If you are looking at modernizing your tech stack to support your digital evolution, there are a few can't miss (often overlooked) areas that should be part of every conversation. We'll cover setting your vision, avoiding siloes, adding a democratized approach to data strategy, localization, creating critical governance requirements and more. Attendees will walk away with actions they can take into initiatives they are running today and consider for the future.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
Top 3 Ways to Align Sales and Marketing Teams for Rapid GrowthDemandbase
In this session, Demandbase’s Stephanie Quinn, Sr. Director of Integrated and Digital Marketing, Devin Rosenberg, Director of Sales, and Kevin Rooney, Senior Director of Sales Development will share how sales and marketing shapes their day-to-day and what key areas are needed for true alignment.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
The Secret to Engaging Modern Consumers: Journey Mapping and Personalization
In today's digital landscape, understanding the customer's journey and delivering personalized experiences are paramount. This masterclass delves into the art of consumer journey mapping, a powerful technique that visualizes the entire customer experience across touchpoints. Attendees will learn how to create detailed journey maps, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities for optimization. The presentation also explores personalization strategies that leverage data and technology to tailor content, products, and experiences to individual customers. From real-time personalization to predictive analytics, attendees will gain insights into cutting-edge approaches that drive engagement and loyalty.
Key Takeaways:
Current consumer landscape; Steps to mapping an effective consumer journey; Understanding the value of personalization; Integrating mapping and personalization for success; Brands that are getting It right!; Best Practices; Future Trends
AI-Powered Personalization: Principles, Use Cases, and Its Impact on CROVWO
In today’s era of AI, personalization is more than just a trend—it’s a fundamental strategy that unlocks numerous opportunities.
When done effectively, personalization builds trust, loyalty, and satisfaction among your users—key factors for business success. However, relying solely on AI capabilities isn’t enough. You need to anchor your approach in solid principles, understand your users’ context, and master the art of persuasion.
Join us as Sarjak Patel and Naitry Saggu from 3rd Eye Consulting unveil a transformative framework. This approach seamlessly integrates your unique context, consumer insights, and conversion goals, paving the way for unparalleled success in personalization.
10 Video Ideas Any Business Can Make RIGHT NOW!
You'll never draw a blank again on what kind of video to make for your business. Go beyond the basic categories and truly reimagine a brand new advanced way to brainstorm video content creation. During this masterclass you'll be challenged to think creatively and outside of the box and view your videos through lenses you may have never thought of previously. It's guaranteed that you'll leave with more than 10 video ideas, but I like to under-promise and over-deliver. Don't miss this session.
Key Takeaways:
How to use the Video Matrix
How to use additional "Lenses"
Where to source original video ideas
Short video marketing has sweeped the nation and is the fastest way to build an online brand on social media in 2024. In this session you will learn:- What is short video marketing- Which platforms work best for your business- Content strategies that are on brand for your business- How to sell organically without paying for ads.
SMM Cheap - No. 1 SMM panel in the worldsmmpanel567
Boost your social media marketing with our SMM Panel services offering SMM Cheap services! Get cost-effective services for your business and increase followers, likes, and engagement across all social media platforms. Get affordable services perfect for businesses and influencers looking to increase their social proof. See how cheap SMM strategies can help improve your social media presence and be a pro at the social media game.
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
The Forgotten Secret Weapon of Digital Marketing: Email
Digital marketing is a rapidly changing, ever evolving industry--Influencers, Threads, X, AI, etc. But one of the most effective digital marketing tools is also one of the oldest: Email. Find out from two Houston-based digital experts how to maximize your results from email.
Key Takeaways:
Email has the best ROI of any digital tactic
It can be used at any stage of the customer journey
It is increasingly important as the cookie-less future gets closer and closer
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Everyone knows the power of stories, but when asked to come up with them, we struggle. Either we second guess ourselves as to the story's relevance, or we just come up blank and can't think of any. Unlocking Everyday Narratives: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing will teach you how to recognize stories in the moment and to recall forgotten moments that your audience needs to hear.
Key Takeaways:
Understand Why Personal Stories Connect Better
How To Remember Forgotten Stories
How To Use Customer Experiences As Stories For Your Brand
2. FRINGESTREAM…
In the pre-digital and pre-globalized world,
mass culture dominated and fringe culture was
limited to whatever was in direct opposition to
mainstream values and behaviors.
The boundaries between fringe and mass were
strictly defined and the mainstream was a
homogenous collective, largely controlled by
established institutions.
…my how things have changed.
2
THESOUND
3. ..IS THE NEW MAINSTREAM
Now, the poles have reversed and mass culture
is shaped by fringe behaviors and alternative
ways of being.
At The Sound, we call this Fringestream.
It describes how fragmentation becomes the
new normal, and it has emerged as a result of
people having both the means and the
motivation to live differently.
Over the past year we’ve been taking notes on
some fringe trends that have recently emerged
or resurfaced. They relate to everything we do:
what we eat, how we live, the technology we
use and the culture we embrace.
Some have huge implications. Others are just
incredibly weird. But all have some potential to
disrupt the brandscape and make an impact on
our lives.
3
THESOUND
4. FOOD & DRINK
The year of the unicorn frappucino gave us
a curious mix of absurdity and innovation
when it comes to things we eat and drink.
While instagramming your lunch has long
been deemed passé, the increasingly visual
nature of food has turned the once despised
trend into marketing magic.
What is food, really? Is it just an extension
of our social avatar? Or will some coming
backlash drive us towards a renewed
nutritional purity? Will lab-to-table prove
to be more sustainable and aspirational
than organic and fair trade? Or is an insect-
based diet inevitable?
This year proved that the very meaning of
food itself is still completely up for grabs.
THESOUND
5. Gone are the days when you had to bake
your own hash brownies just to get double-
baked. CBD and THC-infused recipes are
being elevated to the status of haute cuisine
and nowhere is this more prevalent than
California, home of the cinnamon-basil keef
tart.
Carefully crafted and curated, these meals
are delicious and have been perfectly dosed
so that those subtle hints of cannabis don’t
knock you off your feet too quickly.
CANNACUISINE
Get the munchies from your munchies
5
THESOUND
6. City Social, a Michelin-starred restaurant in
London, has recently started serving
cocktails with an augmented reality garnish.
Simply download the restaurant’s app, scan
the glow in the dark coaster and voila –
suddenly you’re sipping your Moscow Mule
alongside Marilyn Monroe or getting tipsy
topside inside van Gogh’s Starry Night.
It’s all the hallucinatory fun of absinthe
without the two-day hangover.
AUGMENTED COCKTAILS
Pokemon a go-go
6
THESOUND
7. Drinking levels in the UK have fallen to their
lowest in decades – particularly among
young people.
New alcohol-free or low alcohol alternatives
are popping up across the country to fill the
vacuum and are no longer limited to watery
near beer. You can now imbibe on elaborate
virgin cocktails, 0.5% rosé and there’s even
an elderflower-based gin substitute for those
looking for something stiffer.
It’s been dubbed the “most exciting new
drinks category” by teetotallers everywhere.
NEAR SPIRITS
Guilt (and headache) free indulgence
7
THESOUND
8. Entire communities have sprung up
dedicated to the buying and selling of sweet,
fatty and nutritious human breast milk. Go
ahead and google Only the Breast or
Breastfeeding Moms Unite – and soak it up
for yourself.
While non-profit milk banks exist to help
feed infants in need, the milk can cost up to
$5 US per ounce, versus $1-2 on these
community sites – and it’s not just babies
who need milk. Recently, body builders have
gotten on the milk train to help bulk up. But
buyer beware; given the lack of government
regulations, quality may vary.
BLACK MARKET BREAST MILK
Why buy the cow when you can shop online?
8
THESOUND
9. A new trend in South Korea has sprung up
on afreecaTV, a popular peer-to-peer online
video network.
It’s called Mukbang and it involves a person
eating in front of a live Internet audience for
hours at a time. Similar to cam girl platforms,
live-streamers of the genre can receive a
virtual currency called Star Balloons from
their appreciative fans.
Why Koreans have started to make small-
time celebrities out of these streamers is
anyone’s guess, but it gives new meaning to
the term binge watching.
FOOD PORN
No sex…just lots and lots and lots of food
9
THESOUND
10. Charcoal has traditionally been used for
medicine, beauty, and barbecuing. Now it’s
gaining ground as a detox ingredient and
has taken the world of performative dieting
by storm.
Used in freak shakes, ice-cream cones,
cheeseburgers, pizza … basically anything
that’s fun to eat, activated charcoal is being
marketed as a digestive cure-all.
While the health benefits are debatable, the
vantablack shade it adds to dishes and
drinks makes people curious to try them and
helps generate those coveted social media
kudos.
GOING GOTH
Black is the new black
10
THESOUND
11. Entomophagy – the eating of insects – isn’t
new when you take a global perspective;
billions of people in Africa, Southeast Asia,
and South America have been eating bugs
for centuries.
Now the West is starting to catch up:
Cricket flour is being mixed into more
products – from actual bug bread to energy
bars – and restaurants are pushing the
envelope with grasshopper tacos and
silkworm soup.
ENTOMOPHAGY
Grub is taking on a whole new meaning
11
THESOUND
12. CULTURE
Fringe cultures (and brands) used to be
niche because of limited awareness. If
more people knew about them, they’d be
considerably more popular. (Obviously.)
But people had a hard time discovering
things that weren’t obvious. They had to
dig for the new, the novel, the amazing.
With the ubiquity of social connection and
mobility, fringe trends can now reach and
influence mass audiences almost instantly.
But what happens when the cultural arms
race gets too exhausting?
Beyond the din of conflict that dominated
so much of 2017, there were more than a
few subtle shifts towards kindness,
slowness and wellness.
THESOUND
13. As we become equally obsessed with both
wellness and all things Scandinavian, it’s
only natural that the world would begin to
embrace the protracted phenomenon of
Slow TV.
A mainstay of Norwegian television for
decades, Slow TV is beginning to attract
global audiences. Think: a live broadcast of
a 134-hour ferry ride. Or 168 hours of
uninterrupted reindeer migration. Or a real-
time knitting marathon.
What better antidote to the tyranny of the 24
hour news cycle than an entire day spent
watching absolutely nothing happen?
SLOW TELEVISION
Netfjords & chill
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14. Following a year of political upheaval and
tragedy, marked by Brexit, the Grenfell fire
and terrorism, a new literary trend is on the
rise in Britain.
‘Up Lit’, or uplifting literature, focuses on
stories that are optimistic and empathetic –
stories of everyday heroism, human
connection and love. A stark departure from
the dystopian turn that has gripped so much
of literature over the last decade, much of
Up Lit is aimed at showing and inspiring the
best in humanity.
UP LIT
A beam of light in dark times
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15. A Chinese invention, the facekini got its
name because it is literally a bikini for your
face.
This peculiar swimwear accessory offers
extreme protection from UV rays and even
jellyfish stings.
While seemingly absurd, yet strangely
alluring, there’s a deeper social reason for
the facekini’s existence: across East Asia, a
pale complexion is a beauty ideal and for the
Chinese in particular it can be associated
with higher social class.
FACEKINI
Because why not
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16. People are placing rocks painted with
inspirational quotes, sayings or drawings in
beaches, forests and other random locations
across the world.
Rock painting is not only meant to be an
exercise in creativity, it’s also an attempt to
brighten up a lucky passer-by’s day.
There’s only one rule: once the rock is
found, the lucky stranger must place it
somewhere else to be found by the next
person.
KINDNESS ROCKS
Making the world happier one rock at a time
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17. The Netherlands is home to the seemingly
painful new trend of cosmetic eye implants.
You can now get an procedure involving a
tiny piece of decorative jewelry, which is
implanted within the superficial
interpalpebral conjunctiva of the eyeball.
The process is completely legit as long as it
is carried out under specified conditions by a
licensed ophthalmologist. So now you know
where you should be heading to get that
hypnotizing eye glitter!
DISCO EYES
Glam up with extra-ocular implants
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18. Male makeup is no longer the taboo it once
was, and is set to be a defining cosmetic
trend of 2018.
This year, L’Oreal used a male model for the
first time in their ads, and reality TV stars
such as the cast of Geordie Shore have
started endorsing makeup brands.
More importantly, men everywhere are
grabbing their brushes and discovering the
wonders of mascara.
MALE MAKEUP
Breaking down cosmetic taboos
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19. Barbers in India and Pakistan are known for
using innovative techniques to cut people’s
hair, but who would expect that using a
literal blowtorch would ever be on trend.
The barber begins by pouring a flammable
powder and liquid on the customer’s head
before setting it on fire.Then he swiftly does
a little tango with his combs to set and style
the hair while it is still ablaze.
Amazingly, no one has been hurt so far.
That we know of.
HOT CUTS
Set your hair on fire … literally
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20. TECHNOLOGY
Tech brands were on the defensive all year
due to the myriad ways in which
technology and social media have been
associated with negative trends like a rise
in hate groups, privacy issues, net
neutrality, the suppression of free speech
and the general hacky-ness of the last few
years.
While this failed to make a real dent in
how people perceive most tech brands,
there is an undeniable groundswell of
emotion related to a desire for technology
to serve a more positive social role in our
lives.
THESOUND
21. Nonny Du la Pena, CEO of Emblematic
Group, is the pioneer of a new type of
journalism – one that uses virtual reality to
immerse the viewer in the story, rather than
limit them to the role of third party spectator.
A former correspondent for Newsweek and
the New York Times, Du La Pena believes
that the future of news will be found in
experiencing stories with your entire body,
and not just your mind.
VR JOURNALISM
All the news that’s fit to squint
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22. Fighting isolation with headsets
Social isolation in old age is a reality for
many people around the world. New
startups are aiming to approach this
challenge by harnessing the power of VR to
enable the elderly to live a more fulfilling and
engaged life.
Being able to attend family events or travel
to new places will not only help older people
take their minds off of the stresses of daily
life and feel less lonely, but it’s also been
shown to stimulate the brain and reactivate
some neuropathways.
VIRTUAL ELDERLY
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23. Cryptokitties are virtual pets you can buy,
care for and breed on the Ethereum
blockchain.
If you do not understand that sentence, it’s
ok! These things are currently selling for
upwards of 100K US, so you probably won’t
be willing to shell out for one anyways.
Dubbed Ethereum’s first killer dapp
(decentralized application) Cryptokitties
became so popular that it was blamed for
slowing down and potentially endangering
the entire Ethereum network, which is
rapidly approaching a billion dollar valuation.
CRYPTOKITTIES
The future is meow
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24. Every year, cities across the world become a
little bit ‘smarter’.
Soon to be fully completed is the smartest of
all: Songdo, South Korea. A smart city built
from scratch, every inch of Songdo has
been painstakingly designed and purpose
built, right down to the sensor-laden
pneumatic waste disposal system.
Supremely sustainable and hyper-futuristic,
Songdo has gone from marshland to
skyscrapers in just over a decade, but it’s
also been called a “ghetto for the affluent’,
raising questions of how ‘smart’ can clash
with liveability.
SMART CITIES
Navigating the digital grid
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25. The obscenely wealthy and militantly
NIMBYist are looking to the sea as the next
frontier.
A pilot project in French Polynesia funded
my The Seasteading Institute dreams of
becoming the first “floating community” for
300 residents by 2020.
Using the benefits of a “special economic
seazone,” the seavangelists are taking
advantage of a deal with the South Pacific
territory to create a government from the
ground-up.
SEASTEADING
A libertarian fantasy edges towards reality
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26. Originally reserved for the super wealthy or
terminally bizarre, cryonics is beginning to
make its way into the mainstream.
Several companies in the US offer cryonics
services at a relatively affordable price (the
cost of monthly payments to a life insurance
policy). And support groups have popped up
all over North America to educate the public
about cryonics and provide support
services.
Cryonics appeals to people who want to
experience the distant future and provides
palliative comfort to those who fear death.
CRYONICS
Not just for Walt Disney anymore
26
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27. LIFE
What used to be niche is now normal, and
tipping points are reached ever more
quickly.
Everyone can browse fringe behaviors and
cultures online from a distance without
leaving the sofa – which has led to plenty
of hamfisted appropriation as well as an
explosion in genuine polycultural
collaboration.
People are seeking more community, more
time with people they love, and greater and
more profound connections.
THESOUND
28. New and innovative homesharing schemes
are popping up across Europe which offer
cheap accommodation in care homes to
young people in exchange for a few hours of
their week spent socializing with their elder
neighbours.
The schemes are a response to both the
pricing out of younger people from cities and
the increasing social isolation experienced
by their elders. Councils hope that these
initiatives also help bridge the widening gap
between generations.
HOMESHARING
Bridging the gap between young and old
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29. Pop culture icons like Darth Vader and
She-Ra are increasingly a fixture at funerals
across the UK.
This unusual trend is the result of a
changing view on the role of funerals from
solemn occasions for mourning to
celebrations of the deceased’s life - their
triumphs, passions, and relationships, as
well as the culture that they loved and
surrounded themselves with.
COSPLAY FUNERALS
A celebration of awesomeness
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30. Entrepreneurs Awakening is a professional
retreat program that takes you through a
month of pre and post ayahuasca excursion
coaching to prepare you for a week-long
psychedelic trip to Peru. All for the
reasonable cost of $11,000 US.
Designed to “help innovators,” the program
seeks to translate the cosmically profound
insights gained from tripping on ayahuasca
and apply them to individual problems faced
by startup founders.
AYAHUASCA
…the latest thing to be ruined by techbros
30
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31. Universal Basic Income is a form of social
security in which all citizens receive a
regular check from the government - not to
just scratch by in lieu of unemployment, but
to live off completely.
Pilot programs currently being run in
Oakland, California and Ontario, Canada
seek to understand the longitudinal effects of
such systems, often proposed as a solution
to the increased elimination of jobs by
technological development.
UNIVERSAL INCOME
At least it’s an ethos
31
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32. Transracial individuals’ racial identity differs
from that of their birth race. Finding
analogues in transgenderism, transracialism
represents a new era in modern identity
construction and performance, exploring
what leaps we are allowing ourselves to take
in defining who we are.
However, strong opposition to the legitimacy
of transracialism has been dominating the
conversation so far, with critics pointing to
the negative effects of cultural appropriation,
and how it veers into the territory of racial
fraud.
TRANSRACIALISM
Identity formation in the modern age
32
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33. After the immense popularity of mindfulness,
a new self-development practice and
philosophy is on the rise: Sophrology.
A blend of Eastern meditation and Western
relaxation techniques designed to help
achieve harmony between the mind and
body, the practice has been popular in
France and Switzerland for decades, but is
only now reaching the rest of Europe.
SOPHROLOGY
Re-learning how to live
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34. V A N C O U V E R | N E W Y O R K | L O N D O N | T O R O N T O | C H I C A G O |
M U M B A I W W W . T H E S O U N D H Q . C O M
V A N C O U V E R | N E W Y O R K | L O N D O N | T O R O N T O | C H I C A G O | M U M B A I
W W W . T H E S O U N D H Q . C O M