10 Marketing trends from 2019 pinpointed by InCapsule by Ifop

 

July 2019 is the ideal time to recap the key new trends of the year should you have missed out on any of them. No announcements that cause a real upheaval but various marketing trends are confirming themselves and accelerating. We have selected the ten latest 2019 marketing trends which you may have spotted during this first semester on our Instagram account @incapsulebyifop.

 

We hope that this article, which provides thorough revision notes for the holidays, will be useful to you (both at work and on the beach, or elsewhere…)

 

  1. 27/02/19: DROP

 

drop

 

Launched by luxury brands in 2017, “drop” is a trend that is far from being ephemeral. Drop is a sales strategy whereby a limited series is rendered available without any prior announcement in a limited number of points of sale: physical, online or social networks. By fostering a feeling of emergency, social network operations announcing that stocks are running low within hours of the drop prove highly effective among Gen Y and Gen Z.

 

Burberry for example conducted such an operation in 2018 and revealed a limited “B-Series” on the 17th of each month exclusively on its Instagram and WeChat accounts for a 24-hour period.

 

  1. 29/03/19: INFLUENCER GAMING

 

 

Influencers are flourishing on all markets, including e-sport. The dazzling success of the game Fortnite turned a young American, aka Ninja, into a superstar. With 13 million followers on the Twitch platform (belonging to Amazon) and over 21 million on YouTube, he has become a celebrity among 10-25-year-old video game fans to the extent that Red Bull chose to become his sponsor!

 

  1. 15/05/19: ZEROWASTE

 

 

 

“Zero waste” is the attitude to adopt to protect biodiversity, according to a striking report published by IPBES. The Loop service officially launched this revolution on May 15th in Paris concerning the purchase of products by brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Carrefour, Procter & Gamble… in reusable packaging! Tom Szaky, the person behind this initiative defines Loop as being a “milkman reimagined – honoring our past from a modern perspective.”

 

  1. 22/05/19: LUXURY TRACEABILITY

 

 

As seen at Vivatech, connected Bvlgari bags enable to gain access to exclusive content simply by placing one’s Smartphone near the buckle… this innovation is an effective way of combating counterfeits and theft… but also makes our imagination run wild with regard to the multiple services rendered possible via this IOT: personalized recommendations, after-sales-service, upgradable offer… and also enhanced consumer knowledge!

 

  1. 05/06/19: LIP SYNC

 

 

Might Lip Sync be an important code for generations Z and Alpha? Lip Sync stands for the range of techniques that seem to synchronize lips and lyrics. Gen Z and Alpha have embraced this new trend which appear to be developing at the speed of light.

 

On Snapchat, these young generations have fun imitating their favorite singers with their friends via a simple filter. More recently, the Tik Tok app, which reached 150 million daily users in June 2018, and 500 million monthly users, has made this their unique concept. On this application, it is possible to see dozens of visuals of adolescents “singing” with suggestive hip movements…

 

Another such case is the RuPaul’s Drag Race series, broadcast since 2009, which has witnessed an astonishing growth in the number of viewers, in particular thanks to Gen Z. Each episode ends with a lip sync that determines which Drag Queen will stay on.

 

  1. 20/06/19: DIGITAL NATION

 

 

At LabPostal2019, Ott Vater, Managing Director of E-residency in Estonia presented this program as a solution for nations of the future. All citizens with a digital identity which grants access to all the services of the country may become e-citizens. Obtaining a medical prescription, paying taxes, voting, communicating with schoolteachers, creating a company… all this can be done online thanks to X-Road, a centralized, proprietary and secure system resembling the blockchain model. Foreigners (freelance, digital nomads, creators…) are thus invited to integrate this system so as to open businesses in Estonia (EU members). Thus 22,000 people (Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel, Guy Kawasaki…) from 138 countries have obtained e-citizenship since 2015. Talented individuals pay heed!

 

  1. 26/06/19: WITCH

 

 

In the XVI and XVII century, numerous women fell victim to witch hunts. Independent, single and widowed women were frequently targeted. In this post #Metoo world, these women who were once despised are gradually becoming heroines. These independent and active women are now considered #GirlBoss.

 

The online streaming platform netflixfr, which is recognized for being visionary, renders the witch “sexy” in numerous firms and series such as Sabrina, Suspiria or American Horror Story.

 

Brands which have understood this trend have turned witches into a marketing object in its own right. Indeed, the return of naturalness in wellbeing and beauty means the witch is making an astonishing return. The brand Pinrosescents announced the launch of a witch kit in October 2018 at Sephora. However, the presentation of fragrance together with sage leaves, quartz and tarot cards unfortunately failed to win over consumers who thought this was too shallow and simplistic…

 

This trend has considerable potential, but care must be taken to avoid the pitfalls of caricature… This is a code to be wielded wisely in order to catch the attention of Gen Alpha.

 

 03/07/19: DECONSUMPTION

 

 

Whether for financial, environmental or social reasons, the deconsumption trend is increasingly gaining ground. The objective of this movement is for each and every one of us to do our utmost to ascertain a better life for all of us today, and for the future generations. This entails taking significant decisions: consuming less to consume better. Such is the motto of those who advocate deconsumption.

 

  1. 10/07/19: ADAPT AND LOCALIZE

 

 

“Adapt and localize”: this is the credo for western luxury brands setting up in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our IfopTrends findings “Africa Luxury & Retail” were mentioned in the article “En Afrique, l’avenir du luxe passe par les femmes” published in l’Express l’Expansion. Want to read it? Do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

 

  1. 30/04/19: HOSPITALITY

 

 

Hospitality is the ability that a brand has to offer multiple experiences to its customers to enable us all to access physical or digital points of sale depending on the needs of the moment. Hence points of sale have become living areas which mirror the needs of the individual wishing to relax, work, connect, meet others, or eat, as well as actually purchase.

 

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The Beauty sector’s attitude to going local

Consuming locally mainly springs to mind with regard to what ends up in our plate. Nevertheless, the desire for proximity has sowed its seeds in the world of beauty. The concept of going local when it comes to beauty is much less closely correlated to environmental concerns than it is with food. The communication strategies of beauty brands revolve more around their local values, by working with the name, the formula and culture. The expression of this singularity is now on the rise throughout the world.

 

Hence cracks are appearing in the international beauty landscape and these culturally inspired beauty routines are ever more numerous, but why? What sets them apart?

 

“Less is more” in Australia

 

We shall first turn our attention to the Australian take on beauty. Identified as the “the next big thing”, A-beauty is exporting itself and taking up residence outside the island, as illustrated by the fact that Séphora.fr has dedicated an entire section to it. True to the spirit of wild Australia, A-Beauty is effortless, refined, natural and sunny (but with a good SPF!). The routine is rendered simple thanks to multi-functional products that rely on efficacious ingredients. It has hedged its bets on a direct and transparent rapport with consumers: “Australian brands say what they do and do what they say”, Kate Morris, founder of Adore Beauty, beauty product retail website.

 

Ingredients made in Australia: Kakadu plum, Vitamin C, pink clay, Mangosteen

 

Who: Aésop, Jurlique, Aussie, Lano, Frank Body, Sand & Sky, Nude by Nature

 

 

Blend of tradition and modernity in Japan

 

Further north, J-Beauty reflects beauty which is both ancestral and modern, combining botany and technology, quality and sensoriality: simply on a quest for perfection. We have indeed landed in Japan. Beauty here is impregnated with innovation in keeping with its traditions. In more practical terms, make-up is discreet, moisturizing is a key step and product experience is of the utmost importance. Fragrance, texture and feeling on the body are an integral part of the beauty ritual.

 

Ingredients made in Japan: Yuzu, rice, green tea, matcha, konjac, miso, ginger, silk cotton, kombu

 

Who: Shiseido, Shiro, Three Cosmetics, Sekkisei

 

 

“Made in” China

 

Land of opportunity for beauty from western countries as well as its Asian neighbors (Japan, South Korea), China is gradually turning its attention to its own potential with C-Beauty. Rather than folding back on itself, “Created in China” has become an argument, a positioning and translates China’s burgeoning pride for its own culture. Being on a quest for individuality, (young) Chinese people no longer wish to be tied to the yoke imposed from within or elsewhere.

 

Buoyed by Gen Z, its playground is the digital world, both when it comes to communication via social networks or influencers (“Wanghong”) as well as retail channels (e-commerce, m-commerce, s-commerce). Western brands establish their territories via storytelling. Chinese brands draw on their heritage, inspired in some cases by Chinese traditional medicine, as well as more pragmatic differentiation: results at a lower price. This is beauty which does not merely address the elite. From a geographical standpoint, going local guarantees better accessibility, in particular in Tier 2 cities and below, which represent a real challenge for foreign brands.

 

Who: Herborist, Pechoin, Chando, Hedone, Front Cover, Amour, Sevenfriend

 

 

Playful and pop culture in Korea playful beauty coree

 

Certainly the best known on the horizon, K-beauty is abundant, maximalist, accumulative with extremely fast temporality. This is collective beauty represented by an ideal that is almost artificial: a young, clear, almost transparent skin, and the v-shape. To achieve this, one needs to keep up with a sophisticated 10-step routine. Korean brands are constantly innovating in terms of product offers, packaging, and sizes ,as well as inventing new routines, one such example being the cloth mask. Hence price remains affordable to make accumulation possible. K-beauty is highly playful: colorful and fun packaging, pop culture codes such as K-pop music, with the Kawaii universe to embrace a cute yet sexy touch.

 

Who: Sulwhasoo, Erborian, Innisfree, Dr. Jart+, Recipe, Missha

 

 

Clean beauty in Germany and Northern European countries

 

clean beauty

Back to Europe with G-beauty. In Germany, skincare is the source of inspiration for local brands. Much in the same way as the century-old Nivea cream, there is nothing superfluous or really new here, but it is what the skin really needs. This approach is based on the science behind the product with an astute blend of natural ingredients. Brands are associated with a name, a physician who acts as a guarantor of product safety and quality. This is beauty that verges on the medical world, the final touch being the “Deutsche Qualität” stamp!

 

Who: Weleda, Dr. Hauschka, Augustinus Bader, Susanne Kaufmann, Dr. Barbara Sturm

 

Northern European countries also have their word to say in the beauty sector. The Scandi-beauty mantra “lagom”, i.e. living in a balanced manner neither too much nor too little, is highly relevant here as beauty from the North is holistic. When it comes to being beautiful, everything counts, from physical exercise to diet and skincare. Hence probiotics which take effect within the body are used to reveal one’s beauty. Minimalistic, from the pack to the formula itself, the “no-nasties” or no superfluous ingredients claim is fiercely upheld.

 

Ingredients made in Scandinavia: spring water, cranberry, birch sap

 

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