In honor of the fifth anniversary in Russia, the international branding agency Landor presented its forecast of global changes in the world and business for the next five years and told how the upcoming changes will affect the development of brands in various industries.

"In the next 5 years, brands will undergo more changes than in the previous 15 years."

Emma Beckman, head of Landor's Moscow office

The rapid development of technology has an impact on all spheres of life - the way people think and interact with each other is changing, new algorithms for solving everyday tasks are replacing old habits. Changes in consumer behavior require brands to be flexible. Landor has identified the most important factors that will change the branding market in the next 5 years.

1. Digital consumption will enter a new era. More companies will appear on the market integrating technologies into their business model in order to be more accessible and transparent to customers and offer products in the place and at the moment when they are needed by the buyer. The consumer will give preference to those brands that make his life easier, choosing them based on the opinions and recommendations of other people. This trend will give an impetus to social commerce, and will also lead to the transformation of traditional retail, which will look for ways to preserve its audience. Already today, young Russian brands are promoting their products and services through Instagram. This trend has not gone unnoticed by the social network – last year Instagram introduced a feature that allows you to buy goods directly through the app, and soon this feature will be available in Russia.

2. Brand communications will take on new forms. Technologies will allow brands to "talk" with each of their customers separately and only about what they are interested in. Advertising appeals will become more personalized, and brands will become closer, including through communication with customers through messengers. Bots and machine learning technologies will help brands move from monologue to dialogue, and virtual reality technologies will emotionally engage the audience.

3. The new mobility will change the usual approach to travel. People will choose new modes of transport and ways of moving. With the development of technology, owning your own car will become less and less profitable. The development of self-driving cars and alternative fuels will open up opportunities for completely new products, services and consumption formats. Already today, the popularity of urban carsharing in Moscow has grown 5.5 times compared to last year, the largest Internet company in Russia has launched its Yandex service.Carsharing is for finding free cars for rent, and Tesla plans to open a representative office in Russia in the near future.

4. New production technologies and materials will revolutionize the design of products and packaging. The possibilities of 3D printing and further automation of production will make the personalization of goods available: the consumer will be able to make changes to the design of the product himself and choose a unique set of options. "Smart" packaging will monitor the freshness of products and will allow you to order a new portion of the product in one click. Innovative materials will eventually replace glass and plastic, and brands will look for effective ways of recycling and move towards greater environmental friendliness. Already today, in the Nike online store in the Nike iD section, you can create your own sneaker design by choosing various color options.

5. Blockchain technologies will create a unique platform for interaction between brands and consumers. With blockchain, brand promises will be easy to track and verify. The technology will also make authentication simple and accessible to everyone, which will allow manufacturers to increase confidence in their products.

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