As this extraordinary year draws to a close, we at Cassandra have spent some time thinking about what lies ahead, ruminating on questions like: How is society going to take the incredibly disruptive events of 2020, process them, and integrate the learnings moving forward? Which of the amplified or accelerated trends we’ve seen this year will continue? Where might we see further disruption? And what will that look like? But most importantly, what will all this mean for your business and brand?
During the course of such exploration, we identified five key trends that we believe will be shaping the behaviors, attitudes, and outlook of Gen Z and Millennials—as well as our broader culture—in 2021 and beyond.
We called out the possibility that, in 2021, Cancel Culture Is Cancelled, and noted how modern young people are giving rise to Intentional Living as a new manifestation of next-level self-care. We also explored how Gen Zs are increasingly engaging in Inconsequential Play to score moments of levity against the backdrop of a highly-turbulent time, as well as harnessing Extreme Analog formats to forge greater connections amid a digital-first era. And finally, we looked at how Millennials and the oldest subset of Gen Zs find themselves Navigating The New-borhood in light of a widespread shift to working and thinking in a more localized way than perhaps they ever have.
Welcome to Cassandra's 2021 Outlook: The Top Trends Defining Youth Culture, which explores these five key trends to ultimately offer brand-right directives based on each, crafted so clients can implement this knowledge into their upcoming 2021 strategies and stay, as always, ahead of the movements that shape youth culture today.
We’re also pleased to present ‘Cassandra’s 2020 Glossary’, which you can find below: