How Businesses Can Make the World a Better Place

Conscious BrandsSpring 2013

8 Exponential Trends That Will Shape Humanity

6 of 8

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"Companies can't hide anymore”

- Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's

We live in a time of great abundance and unparalleled possibilities fueled by

exponential growth from the impact of technology. Our job at sparks & honey is to

understand the accelerators, balancers and patterns that are driving exponential cultural

change in the near term and foreseeable future.  Our team of cultural strategists and

curators works with leading brands and thought leaders to apply these trends and use them

as a catalyst for disruptive innovation.

We eat culture for breakfast in order to understand the value of emerging fringe signals,

cultural shifts and explosive doubling patterns. While monitoring thousands of inputs

and mapping and scoring them, we have identified 8 rapidly accelerating trends that will

shape institutions, governments, businesses and everyday consumers.

We have consolidated these trends into short vignettes in order to share a curated snapshot

of what will either create great opportunities or unexpected challenges. This report

covers Conscious Brands. We hope you engage us in the debate and exploration of how

these exponential trends will shape your business and the world. 

Please enjoy and share this fifth of eight free reports. The discussion will also continue in our

core social channels - @sparksandhoney, www.bigthink/blogs/amped and

www.facebook.com/sparksandhoney.

info@sparksandhoney.com

Our blind spot comes from the fact that we have lived in a linear world.

But today’s changes are exponential.

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Exponential

Linear

1. Century of City States

2. Future of Education 4. 3D Printing3. Citizen Doctor

7. Ancient Wisdom 8. Cyborg Marketing6. Conscious Brands

Conscious BrandsPart 6 in the Series: 8 Exponential Trends That Will Shape Humanity

5. Quantified Everywhere

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1. Conscious Brands

In a world where everyone knows everything, there is no room for secrets. As social media and a hyper-connected populace demand accountability from the brands they support, companies need to have a higher purpose above profits.

With the understanding that everything is connected, conscious consumers and businesses are making sure that every stakeholder is treated fairly; a shift is underway from “me” to “we”.

Conscious Brands

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72% of consumers would recommend a brand that adheres to a higher purpose beyond just profit.

- goodpurpose 2012 report

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Business as if People Mattered: Increasingly, consumers care about where their goods come from, how workers are treated, and if the products they buy are sustainable. Brands have taken this to heart, embracing some version of Whole Food’s CEO John Mackay’s principles of “Conscious Capitalism.” Other businesses, such as Sweetgreen and GoBank.com, have adopted a “pay what you wish” transaction model that museums have relied on for years.

conscious brands

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Not Every Decision is an Economic Decision: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has attracted notice from the blogosphere following a shareholder meeting recently during which he inadvertently waded into political waters by rebuking an opponent of same sex marriage. Google also garnered positive sentiment and buzz from slipping a gay right’s message into the video embedded into its Mother’s Day homepage picture.

conscious brands

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Reduce. Repair. Reuse. Recycle: Patagonia’s Common Threads initiative encourages consumers to buy less and recycle more, while simultaneously boosting the longevity (and shareability) of their products.

conscious brands

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142 Years of Social Entrepreneurship: The Indian multinational conglomerate TATA is a pioneer when it comes to stakeholder welfare. The company culture promotes social good and employee welfare, going so far as to give hundreds of millions of dollars in support to the families of victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

conscious brands

Give Back to the Community: Some brands foster one-for-me-one-for-you consumption. For example, Naked Juice donates 1 pound of fresh produce to an underserved community for every $1 off coupon downloaded. The Millennial generation is especially drawn to brands which demonstrate social accountability. image source

conscious brands

25%of Americans are consumers of goods and services focused on healthy, the environment, social justice, personal development

and sustainable living.source: LOHAS Journal

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Decisions Based On Love, Not Fear: Kip Tindell’s philosophy of business is very straightforward: treat people well, and the rest takes care of itself. For The Container Store, putting people first begins with employees. “One of our Foundation Principles is 1 great person = 3 good people.”

conscious brands

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Companies that Practice "Conscious Capitalism" Perform 10x Better-

Tony Schwartz

700%

600%

500%

400%

300%

200%

100%

0%

-100%3 yrs 5 yrs 10 yrs

Investment Performance of Stakeholder-Centered Companies

S-C firms

S&P 500

conscious brands implications Communicate the “Why” Not the “What”: Conscious marketing begins with a business moving from a sole focus on corporate profits to a belief that an organization can achieve something larger than making money. In the past, brand communications focused on “what the product is,” but this is shifting. Consumers are seeking a higher brand purpose beyond “reasons to believe,” forcing brands to articulate “why” they exist. Marketers are challenged with defining why that company exists and how it makes a positive difference in the world.

Embrace Oneness With A Whole Ecosystem Approach: Conscious Consumers recognize that all things are connected: they think of life as layers of “ecosystems.” Consequently, a marketer’s job is becoming more complex, managing dynamic “brand ecosystems,” as well as the brand’s impact on suppliers, stakeholders, employees, customers, community and the world at large. Additionally, anticipate that brand “touch-points” (one-way) are replaced by brand “engagement points” (two-way and interactive), bringing brands closer to consumers.

Be More Than Relevant, Be Present: Brands need to evolve or they will die. This requires companies to constantly reflect and assess where they are. In order for brands to keep up with changing consumer demands, they need to stay in tune with the day-to-day conversations of customers and other stakeholders. In addition, brand managers increasingly need to be fluent in culture and trends in order to have the contextual intelligence to navigate a brand.

OUTsumers Demand Transparency: In an on-demand HiDef world filled with always-on information channels, privacy commands a premium. Americans who share too much (we’re a “TMI nation”) are like “open APIs” are evolving from CONsumers to live-out-loud “OUTsumers.” The ante has been upped and manufacturing and distribution transparency are now table stakes. Brands will increasingly open up about their practices as they learn that the truth always find its way out.

Implications

Job of the Future?Conscious Leaders Holding MBCs, Not MBAsA degree of the future, the “Masters of Business and Consciousness” (MBC), offers would-be executives a more holistic, well-rounded worldview than an MBA. Students who seek a MBC degree will learn to consider “oneness” (how our world is completely interconnected) along with business, empathy, and conscious capitalism principles to create winning strategies for all stakeholders.

p.

Conscious Brands Topic Clusters Content

NetworkTopic

Cluster Manifestation

Millennials Spur Capitalism With a

Conscience

EKOCYCLE

Stocksy, A Co-op That Puts Artists (And Quality) Before Profits

How to Change the Fashion Industry? Ditch the 'One for

One' Model

Social Entrepreneurship With Grandma

Companies that Practice "Conscious Capitalism" Perform 10x Better

H&M Launches New Conscious Partywear

Collection

Starbucks CEO Tells Shareholders To Invest Elsewhere If They Don't Like Company's Stance on Gays

Net Zero Energy Retail Store by Walgreens.

Naked Juice Coupons Give Back 1lb of Produce to People in Need

Walmart's Next Big Move

Google Unveils Plans For New Campus Complex

Mindfulness Making its Way Into the Mainstream

SPE Certified

This Super Local Brooklyn Whole Foods Will Have A 20,000-Square-Foot Rooftop Greenhouse

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Local Sourcing

StakeholderFocusedBusinessLocal

Sourcing

Mind-Body Balance

ValuesBeyond Profit

Brand Permaculture

CONSCIOUS BRANDS

LIFE LOGIC

ONENESS

MORAL IMPERATIVE

ECO-BOOSTERING

LOCAL PATRIOT

NEW COMMERCIAL

MODELS

At sparks & honey we track and analyze thousands of cultural data sources in real time, incorporating live data feeds from numerous APIs as well as hundreds of offline sources. Using a proprietary Culture Mapping Platform, we monitor cultural bursts, identify clusters of activity and trends, score their energy levels, project their lifespans and analyze their cultural resonance. This intelligence helps brands understand and connect with popular culture in order to make more strategically informed business decisions.

Our platform incorporates three different frameworks to structure and contextualize raw data:

CONTENT NETWORKS

ENERGY SCORE&

PREDICTION SCORE

DNA

A mapping system used to model dynamic, interconnected webs of cultural activity.

The Energy Score is rated on a scale of 1-5. It reflects the speed of reach and volume of buzz, and incorporates a ranking of influencer activity that includes reach, resonance and relevance.

A unique set of attributes that describes the core concepts of each trend.

same-sex marriageequalitycorporate supportloveacceptance

ENERGY PREDICTION

The Prediction Score is rated on a scale of 1-40. It reflects anticipated duration of a trend.

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Methodology

1. Century of City States

2. Future of Education 4. 3D Printing3. Citizen Doctor

7. Ancient Wisdom 6. Conscious Brands

5. Quantified Everywhere

Stay tuned for “Cyborg Marketing” the last installment in our “8 Exponential Trends That Will Shape Humanity” series.

Follow us @sparksandhoney to keep up to date with our latest free reports.

8. Cyborg Marketing

Some of the other trends that we are tracking:

Digital DetoxIncognitoLife Logic

New New HollywoodNanotechnology

SnackMediaNew Wave of Big Data

“This Omnicom-backed "newsroom"-oriented agency starts each morning with a cultural briefing for clients such as Hyatt, Jarden and Life is Good, for whom it developed six "culture-to-commerce" T-shirts. In 2013 it grew from two to 17 clients and quadrupled its staff to 20.”

SPARKS & HONEY NAMED AS 1 OF 10 TOP AGENCIES TO WATCH IN 2014 BY ADAGE

1 Sa

Space in the Air

2 St

Shock & Transgress

3 Pl

Play

4 Mm

Memory Management

5 Ab

Absurdism

6 En

Enchanted

7 Rc

Refreshed Classics

8 Cx

Codex

9 Sm

Snack Media

10 Ax

Armchair Explorer

11 Nh

New New Hollywood

12 Bi

Binge

13 Rt

Radical Transparency

14 Ob

Open Brand

15 Pr

Premiumization

16 Le

Life as Entertainment

7 Cc

Convergence Culture

1 Uf

Unfat Generation

2 Nm

New Masculinity

3 Pw

Power Woman

4 Tg

Third Genger

5 Rr

Redefined Retirement

6 Hy

Hyper Culture

8 Ss

Second Skin

9 Si

Singletons

10 Mf

Modern Family

11 Sq

Squealing

12 Ex

Exponentials

13 Ft

Flattening

1 Rt

Real Thing

1 Dd

Data Divinity

2 Sc

Screen Culture

2 H

Hack Design

3 Gc

Geek Chic

4 Te

Ephemeral

5 Ki

Kidult

6 Sm

Small-scaling

Sm 7 Sp

Slow Perception

8 Ti

Tangible Intangible

15 Dc

Decay

9 De

De/re-materialization

D 10 Fh

First Hand Look

11 Ra

Raw

12 Lm

Living Matter

13 Wt

Warm Technology

14 Gl

Glitch

22 72

1972

16 Ne

Neo-psychedelic

17 Na

Nano World

18 Ma

Mashup

19 Hd

Hand Drawn

20 Ie

Immersive 360°

21 Fl

Flat Design

1 Ic

Icognito

2 In

Inwards

3 Ru

Rurban

3 Ru 4 Us

Made in the USA

5 Ec

Ecoboostering

6 On

Oneness

7 Lw

Living Without

Rs

Restoration

8 9 Ss

Startup Society

10 Mi

Moral Imperative

11 Rb

Rise of the Believer

R 12 Ll

Life Logic

13 Cq

Crowd IQ

14

Provenance

15 Se

Sharing Economy

16 St

Strangify

17 Io

Insumer/Outsumer

13 Mg

Mood Geisting

14 Fq

Focus Quotient

3 Sh

Super Human

4 Qs

Quantified Self

5 Sn

Sensor Network

6 Qe

Quantified Everywhere

7 Fl

Frictionless Life

8 Mg

Mind Gaming

9 Sf

Social Flares

10 We

Wearables

11 Mi

Micro Manufacturing

12 Cs

Cyborg Singularity

S&H CORE OFFERINGS

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INNOVATIONCULTURAL INTELLIGENCE CONTENT & AMPLIFICATION

• Macro Trend Identification & Quantification

• Projecting Segments into the Future (Consumers of the Future)

• Product, Service & Packaging Development

• Business Model Design & Reimagination

• Business Context Analysis

• Futurism

• Whitespace Identification

• Brand/Partner & Acquisition Recommendations

• Social & Cultural Listening

• Competitive Intelligence & War Gaming

• Segment Analysis & Tracking

• Topic Deep Dives

• Event Tracking

• Issue Monitoring

• Real-time Burst identification

• Channel Analysis

• Content & Influencer Strategy

• Editorial & Cultural Calendars

• Pre-Planned (70/30) Content Production - Online and Off Line

• Real-time Content Production

• Real-Time Commerce

• Social Media Content (short and long form) - posts, tweets, vines, videos, blog, etc.

• Community Management

• Influencer Outreach

• Channel Optimization & Fan Base Development

• Analytics & Measurement

• Real-Time Media Amplification

CULTURAL STRATEGY

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SYNCING BRANDS WITH CULTURE