What’s Next?
In an uncertain world, there’s comfort in looking ahead to try and determine what’s to come. While we’re not brand clairvoyant, we do keep our eyes and ears on the pulse of this small but wide world of copywriting. We asked our friends at Reed Words to look back at the trends of 2023 with us and help us decipher what might be next – a reading of the brand tea leaves, if you will. Some predictions piggy back on what’s already been brewing, while others cast a new net stemmed by emerging consumer habits, a tiring of trends, or looming political events (speaking of predictions: I predict a deep dive on political campaign messaging in our future).
So let’s dig in and see what’s just around the bend for a year that’s destined to be a doozy.
#1 Why So Serious?
A 2022 report showed 91% of people globally want brands to be funny and 72% would choose a brand that makes them laugh over their competition. Late last year, Cannes Lions announced a Comedy category, noting — rather drearily — that “work entered into this category should use wit and satire to provide amusement and create memorable, laughter-inducing connections with audiences” in brand communications. And then we have the double whammy of UK and US elections later this year, plus the world generally being in perma-crisis, which will no doubt bring a lot more negativity, doom-scrolling, and despair. Which leads us to believe that 2024 is going to be the year of humor. A lighter touch to brighten our moods. Jokes galore. Maybe even reams of wordplay that copywriters can celebrate. Bring it on.
#2 The Year of Z
Gen Z consumers are the talk of the marketing town. Their dollars are coveted and their approval is everything. But the young folk have made it very clear they're over our bullshit. From try-hard messaging that panders to their attitude to brands poorly employing their vernacular, they’ve proven time and again they have a keen bullshit meter and are not afraid to call out cringey brands. We suspect brands will try a different approach when it comes to this market segment by doing what they should have done in the first place – go straight to the source. From user-generated content to community building, we wouldn’t be surprised if brands are literally or metaphorically passing the mic to the people they are desperately trying to reach.
#3 Proving We’re People
AI will raise the floor of brand writing so even the worst offenders feel passably clear, and maybe even show a bit of voice. But as “AI beige” becomes the de facto brand voice and companies turn out reams of SEO-boosting blogs, it’ll all quickly become noise. Customers will increasingly crave authentically human content, making it more important — and more difficult — for brands to stand out.
Voice and copy will get weirder, wilder, more creative, and more unpredictable to show that there’s a real person behind the pen. Expect to see more wordplay, frank language, and experimental writing — content you can’t get from a basic prompt — as brands use language to signal that they’re real people, not robots.
#4 Agents of Chaos
We’ve seen an uptick in a style of writing that runs the spectrum from mildly unhinged to full-blown word salad. It’s purposely verbose, offbeat, and undeniably lovable when done right. Take Oatly spewing all kinds of delightful randomness on everything from their packaging to billboards. Or LePuzz for turning all the knobs to 10 for an overstimulating mix of color, story and graphics. While it looks like a nonsensical hodgepodge, it’s smartly crafted and wonderfully considered. Delusional (or #delulu) is trending and we predict people will continue to “commit to the bit” because it’s light, silly and captivating. Of course, we can’t talk about chaotic copy without tipping our hat to the OG delulu, Dr. Bronner.
#5 Crisis Talks
Child. Serious injury. Death. Not words you want associated with your treadmill. In 2023, Peloton fell foul of poor crisis planning when it wasn’t quick enough to apologize and recall faulty Tread machines that had been linked to fatalities in the home. How should brands prepare for worst-case-scenarios in 2024? With a solid tone of voice that demonstrates how to communicate bad news. One that takes into account that people don’t want to hear an essay of extenuating circumstances — they want a straight apology and a clear outline of what you’re doing to help.
#6 Retro Revisit
Ever since Vacation stormed the scene with 80s nostalgia and kitsch, numerous brands have followed suit. From Future Kombucha to the fabulously fake Rochambeau Club, we’ve seen a visual and verbal bend toward a bygone era. Outside of branding, nostalgia reigned supreme at the box office – from Barbie to Hunger Games to Scream 6 – as people swarmed to get their hit of the past. While predicting nostalgia is a bit of a “no, duh” especially in film and fashion, we see writers continuing to pull inspiration from the past. So what’s the next decade du jour? We predict the classic jingle popularized in the 50s will make a resurgence.
#7 Go Long
For a while, it seemed like print was all but dead. But hefty catalogs, book popularity (hello #booktok) and zines are alive and well. Seavees, a growing cult shoe brand, created newsprint out of the tissue paper most commonly used to stuff shoes, delivering an ownable moment so often overlooked. The very online retailer, Goop, got into the catalog business and into people’s homes. Zara made a travel destination coffee table book. And we predict 2024 will bring more of this long-form love and physical print. Who knows, maybe bookstores will be the new hot spot for marketing activations? Maybe homepages will read like the first chapter of a thrilling book? Either way, we can’t wait to read it all.
#8 Bold Choice Branding
Liquid Death broke the mold a few years back and everyone lost their minds. With so much fanfare and clout given to the LD brand, especially in 2023, where they not only doubled down on their parody-laden stunts and death metal persona but financially proved their market success, we’re likely to see more emerging brands follow suit. Instead of hiring expert namers or copywriters to craft a brand name, we predict brands will take a page out of the LD play book and employ comedians and script writers to lead creative efforts. Think brands acting (and sounding) more like a character in your favorite comedy and less like the corporate uncle that won’t stop giving you life advice.
#9 Un-Virtue Signaling
People are tired of brands telling us how virtuous they are, and more cynical than ever about corporate attempts to claim allyship. We’re over the greenwashing, backstepping, and substance-free virtue-signaling — and besides, how much of a positive global impact can a new D2C t-shirt company really make? This growing skepticism coincides with social media trends that celebrate guilt-free hedonism, and brands taking note of efforts that backfired spectacularly (hi, Budweiser). Expect to see brands quietly dial down the savior complex and get blunter, more indulgent, more honest, and more function-forward.
#10 Politically Polarized Branding
Every American (and Brit) feels it: the gathering cloud of dread that means one thing — it’s an election year. How will brands respond to the radically polarized political climate? With democracy at stake, it might feel increasingly impossible to avoid taking a side. We’ve already seen brands like Disney dragged into political discourse. And we’ve seen the emergence of explicitly politicized brands, especially on the right.
More consumers will demand proof of loyalty to their side, and more brands will oblige them. Get ready for Democrat soap and Republican toothbrushes. Meanwhile, bigger brands will find themselves in a lose / lose situation, nearly guaranteed to alienate a portion of their audience. Expect to see more than a few about-face from professed progressive values when the heat turns up.
Get the latest from Reed Words in Fresh Words, a monthly roundup of all the things words can do. Sign up here.
What’s Next?
In an uncertain world, there’s comfort in looking ahead to try and determine what’s to come. While we’re not brand clairvoyant, we do keep our eyes and ears on the pulse of this small but wide world of copywriting. We asked our friends at Reed Words to look back at the trends of 2023 with us and help us decipher what might be next – a reading of the brand tea leaves, if you will. Some predictions piggy back on what’s already been brewing, while others cast a new net stemmed by emerging consumer habits, a tiring of trends, or looming political events (speaking of predictions: I predict a deep dive on political campaign messaging in our future).
So let’s dig in and see what’s just around the bend for a year that’s destined to be a doozy.
#1 Why So Serious?
A 2022 report showed 91% of people globally want brands to be funny and 72% would choose a brand that makes them laugh over their competition. Late last year, Cannes Lions announced a Comedy category, noting — rather drearily — that “work entered into this category should use wit and satire to provide amusement and create memorable, laughter-inducing connections with audiences” in brand communications. And then we have the double whammy of UK and US elections later this year, plus the world generally being in perma-crisis, which will no doubt bring a lot more negativity, doom-scrolling, and despair. Which leads us to believe that 2024 is going to be the year of humor. A lighter touch to brighten our moods. Jokes galore. Maybe even reams of wordplay that copywriters can celebrate. Bring it on.
#2 The Year of Z
Gen Z consumers are the talk of the marketing town. Their dollars are coveted and their approval is everything. But the young folk have made it very clear they're over our bullshit. From try-hard messaging that panders to their attitude to brands poorly employing their vernacular, they’ve proven time and again they have a keen bullshit meter and are not afraid to call out cringey brands. We suspect brands will try a different approach when it comes to this market segment by doing what they should have done in the first place – go straight to the source. From user-generated content to community building, we wouldn’t be surprised if brands are literally or metaphorically passing the mic to the people they are desperately trying to reach.
#3 Proving We’re People
AI will raise the floor of brand writing so even the worst offenders feel passably clear, and maybe even show a bit of voice. But as “AI beige” becomes the de facto brand voice and companies turn out reams of SEO-boosting blogs, it’ll all quickly become noise. Customers will increasingly crave authentically human content, making it more important — and more difficult — for brands to stand out.
Voice and copy will get weirder, wilder, more creative, and more unpredictable to show that there’s a real person behind the pen. Expect to see more wordplay, frank language, and experimental writing — content you can’t get from a basic prompt — as brands use language to signal that they’re real people, not robots.
#4 Agents of Chaos
We’ve seen an uptick in a style of writing that runs the spectrum from mildly unhinged to full-blown word salad. It’s purposely verbose, offbeat, and undeniably lovable when done right. Take Oatly spewing all kinds of delightful randomness on everything from their packaging to billboards. Or LePuzz for turning all the knobs to 10 for an overstimulating mix of color, story and graphics. While it looks like a nonsensical hodgepodge, it’s smartly crafted and wonderfully considered. Delusional (or #delulu) is trending and we predict people will continue to “commit to the bit” because it’s light, silly and captivating. Of course, we can’t talk about chaotic copy without tipping our hat to the OG delulu, Dr. Bronner.
#5 Crisis Talks
Child. Serious injury. Death. Not words you want associated with your treadmill. In 2023, Peloton fell foul of poor crisis planning when it wasn’t quick enough to apologize and recall faulty Tread machines that had been linked to fatalities in the home. How should brands prepare for worst-case-scenarios in 2024? With a solid tone of voice that demonstrates how to communicate bad news. One that takes into account that people don’t want to hear an essay of extenuating circumstances — they want a straight apology and a clear outline of what you’re doing to help.
#6 Retro Revisit
Ever since Vacation stormed the scene with 80s nostalgia and kitsch, numerous brands have followed suit. From Future Kombucha to the fabulously fake Rochambeau Club, we’ve seen a visual and verbal bend toward a bygone era. Outside of branding, nostalgia reigned supreme at the box office – from Barbie to Hunger Games to Scream 6 – as people swarmed to get their hit of the past. While predicting nostalgia is a bit of a “no, duh” especially in film and fashion, we see writers continuing to pull inspiration from the past. So what’s the next decade du jour? We predict the classic jingle popularized in the 50s will make a resurgence.
#7 Go Long
For a while, it seemed like print was all but dead. But hefty catalogs, book popularity (hello #booktok) and zines are alive and well. Seavees, a growing cult shoe brand, created newsprint out of the tissue paper most commonly used to stuff shoes, delivering an ownable moment so often overlooked. The very online retailer, Goop, got into the catalog business and into people’s homes. Zara made a travel destination coffee table book. And we predict 2024 will bring more of this long-form love and physical print. Who knows, maybe bookstores will be the new hot spot for marketing activations? Maybe homepages will read like the first chapter of a thrilling book? Either way, we can’t wait to read it all.
#8 Bold Choice Branding
Liquid Death broke the mold a few years back and everyone lost their minds. With so much fanfare and clout given to the LD brand, especially in 2023, where they not only doubled down on their parody-laden stunts and death metal persona but financially proved their market success, we’re likely to see more emerging brands follow suit. Instead of hiring expert namers or copywriters to craft a brand name, we predict brands will take a page out of the LD play book and employ comedians and script writers to lead creative efforts. Think brands acting (and sounding) more like a character in your favorite comedy and less like the corporate uncle that won’t stop giving you life advice.
#9 Un-Virtue Signaling
People are tired of brands telling us how virtuous they are, and more cynical than ever about corporate attempts to claim allyship. We’re over the greenwashing, backstepping, and substance-free virtue-signaling — and besides, how much of a positive global impact can a new D2C t-shirt company really make? This growing skepticism coincides with social media trends that celebrate guilt-free hedonism, and brands taking note of efforts that backfired spectacularly (hi, Budweiser). Expect to see brands quietly dial down the savior complex and get blunter, more indulgent, more honest, and more function-forward.
#10 Politically Polarized Branding
Every American (and Brit) feels it: the gathering cloud of dread that means one thing — it’s an election year. How will brands respond to the radically polarized political climate? With democracy at stake, it might feel increasingly impossible to avoid taking a side. We’ve already seen brands like Disney dragged into political discourse. And we’ve seen the emergence of explicitly politicized brands, especially on the right.
More consumers will demand proof of loyalty to their side, and more brands will oblige them. Get ready for Democrat soap and Republican toothbrushes. Meanwhile, bigger brands will find themselves in a lose / lose situation, nearly guaranteed to alienate a portion of their audience. Expect to see more than a few about-face from professed progressive values when the heat turns up.
Get the latest from Reed Words in Fresh Words, a monthly roundup of all the things words can do. Sign up here.