SS+K Culture Monitor Zine #1

This zine is born from SS+K’s Social Forces cultural monitor and our work to identify and understand changing patterns in human (yes, consumer) behavior.

Humans are always seeking connection and meaning. After years defined by Covid, the trends and insights that follow demonstrate the lengths we are willing to endeavor in search of a true “new normal.”

The pandemic, however, disturbed how we think about normalcy. There is no longer a mainstream; change is accelerated and everything is niche-ified.

“Out” of the pandemic but less sure than ever of how to move forward, this era in culture is defined by a growing chasm between the shiny future made possible by technology and our uncertain present marked by the reality of social, political, economic, and climate crises all around us.

Our roots in political strategy tell us to “paint the dream for people, then show them a credible pathway to achieve it.” Amid our fluctuating definition of normalcy not only is the path undefined, but it feels like there is no consensus of what the dream even is. Instead, people see a kaleidoscope of potential paths diverging in all directions.

It is with that lens that we explore 4 foundational insights shaping culture now and in the foreseeable future. We invite you to consider them, and share your thoughts.

As AI gets SMARTER, we get WEIRDER and more HUMAN.

Artificial intelligence is starting to look less, well, artificial, forcing humans to reckon with our own identity.

ChatGPTwritten newsletter what does it mean to be human?

In the same timespan that artificial intelligence wrote a whole business proposal in 30 minutes, replaced emotionally unavailable boyfriends, and beat tennis pros at their own game, us humans launched a new ranch dressing ice cream, deemed ‘designer ice’ the height of luxury, and relaxed amongst the fragrant glow of a viral ‘pasta water’ scented candle.

As we question what it means to be human, it seems that we’re leaning into our knack for absurdity. After all, only the worst trained AI could imagine a world as bizarre as the ones humans create.

Brands are playing with AI like a new toy, often forgetting that they are in service to real humans. And what those humans really want is more humanity in a world of artificial progress.

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TAKEAWAY.PNG

02 Turns out IRL is the BEST PLACE for user-generated CONNECTIONS

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This year we saw the downfall of Twitter, teenagers made bank through TikTok’s Shop feature, LinkedIn corporate essay poetry was aptly named ‘Bro-etry,’ and people revolted against the rapid and vapid trend cycle that deemed quiet luxury and ballet flats the nexus of fashion.

The internet went corporate and people are fleeing to the IRL world—equipped with internet brain—to find connections and communities once found online. Niche meet-ups like a “Ryan Meet up” brought people together (no Bryan’s allowed), dumb phones (aka flip phones, aka not smart phones) saw a resurgence amongst young people looking to disconnect, and pickleball just refused to quit.

Let’s hunt together!

TAKEAWAY:

If people are desperately trying to escape the stifling corporateness of today’s internet, what would it look like for a brand to facilitate that? Brands often strive to provide intimate connection, but more realistically brands can be vehicles for community.

The internet is where I find my peeps Maybe we should go bowling...

03 We’re nostalgic about OUR FUTURE.

TikTok’s AI aged filter took the internet by storm, provoking shock and horror as well as unexpected tenderness. Moved by the elderly versions of themselves, people made up stories about their future selves: “I think I like her, she looks like she’s going to tell you dirty jokes and let you sneak an extra cookie while your mom isn’t looking.”

Nostalgia and sentimentalism are nothing new, but usually rise to the surface when we look to the past. Confronted with acute climate doom as we faced flooding, air quality alerts, and more during the hottest summer on record, we fear we have no future. But maybe longing for a viable future is enough to help us create one.

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TAKEAWAY:

As people reckon with the very real and worrying vision of our climate future, brands can start to shape, define, and take action to build a future with meaning.

04 It’s the era of THE GIRL.

We are in a girl economy. Terms like ‘girl dinner’ and ‘girl math’ took over, The Renaissance and Eras Tour revived economies across the world, Barbie blew up the box office, Tube Girl inspired others to confidently take up space on the subway, and Kansas City “tight end” Travis Kelce got his first lick of fame when he became known as Taylor Swift’s new boyfriend. In a really novel and full-force way, refreshing expressions and inclusive representations of girlhood and womanhood became mainstream as culture was defined by how women live and experience the world.

The virality of the Summer of Girl exemplifies how women are allowed to continually invent themselves and invent ways of talking about themselves that then get absorbed into culture, and importantly are allowed to then die when they no longer

TAKEAWAY:

Audiences aren’t static, nor do they want to be. Only with commitment to an ongoing understanding of why and how audiences are seeking to reinvent themselves, are brands able to offer meaningful ways to encourage and usher in new and evolving cultural identities.

The past is prologue, playbook no longer

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CULTURE MONITOR

Zine produced by SS+K M&C Saatchi