Not/stalgia, a happy, smiley trip down ecstasy lane – or is it?

LS:N Global Trend Briefing :  Wednesday 14 March 2012

 Morning session: 9:00am–1:00pm

Afternoon session: 2:00pm–6:00pm

Tickets: £500 excluding vat (£450 if booked before 14 February)

Stagflation, Arab spring, Euro autumn, Nu-austerity winter. And, predictably, for 2012 more of the same. Well, not quite.

As our spring/summer 2012 LS:N Global Trend Briefing suggests, while all things retro, Revivalist and recessionary are still in the air, we are looking at a nostalgia of a different sort – or, as we’ve dubbed it, Not/stalgia. A cultural, social and consumer rebooting of all things 90s (it had to happen), analogue and spaced out – but with a Turbulent Teens twist.

Trends, in other words, designed to reassure, reassess and remind us of things that settle the senses, lull the emotions and refresh the spirits.

Think digital detoxing, wifi cold spots, DINCs (double income, no cars), 8-bit music and analogue marketing and you begin to get a sense of where these shifts are taking us.

Morning session

: 9:00am–9:30am – Registration

Tea, coffee, cake and a catch-up with The Future Laboratory team, including editors from LS:N Global and Future Poll.

: 9:30am–9:45am

Not/stalgia – consumers, comfort and the language of lost roots –The Future Laboratory’s Martin Raymond, Chris Sanderson, Tom Savigar and James Wallman unpack the key themes of the day. 

: 9:45 am–10:20am

Consumer Attitudes Audit – our biannual look at what is new and next and driving consumer thinking from the Future Poll team

: 10:20am–11:00am

Netstalgia – a trend, theme and mood that builds on Revivalism, DIY and a generational hankering for ideas, images, graphics and digital moments that remind us of the early days of the internet.

From giff art and bitmap colours to analogue advertising, 8-bit music and ‘game boy’ graphics, we present case studies of a new generation of brands, marketing and selling websites that are embracing a 2D, ‘look mum, no frills’ aesthetic.

So, if you want to look a giff horse in the mouth, or are keen to find out more about the brands, retailers, designers or agencies already profiting from this trend – here is the section to pay attention to.

: 11:00am–11:30am

More tea, more coffee, more chat and a chance to assess the themes so far with the analysts who worked on them.

: 11:30am–12:10pm

The New Sublimity – as our Generation Jonesers blur the line between business and leisure, those in their teens or early 20s are keen once more to separate the two. Hence, the rise of hoboism, digital switch-off and secular spiritualism as consumers take to the land, sea, beaches and mountain tops in search of meaning, mindfulness and an emotional reboot.

‘This is a linchpin trend – one of those shifts that defines a change in social and leisure behaviour for a whole generation,’ says The Future Laboratory co-founder Martin Raymond. ‘We saw it in the 90s with rave and in the 00s with emo.

‘Now, on the back of Revivalism, Rurbanisation and a push towards a more convivial and live experience on the one hand, and the need to recharge our emotional batteries on the other, we are in the midst of a recreational revolution that will see the so-on generation switching off in their droves.’

: 12:10pm–12:50pm

Future Family – as the impact of the Just Nots gathers momentum, we look at how British and EU homes are changing in the wake of a housing, income, environmental and generational time bomb that is reconfiguring everything from the shape of our homes to the make-up of our families.

We profile the habitats and home tribes driving tomorrow’s brand, culture and commercial needs. From multi-Gen housing and LOLs (lone-occupant living) to the rise of neighbourhood networks, worksteads rather than homesteads, multi-functional as well as multi-generational households – or should that be hometels? This is where we unveil the blueprint of tomorrow’s target homes.

‘The recession, shifting generational attitudes, new technologies, smaller living spaces and lower wages are just a few of the drivers that are radically rewriting the shape of the family as we know it across Europe,’ says Chris Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory and presenter of Channel 4’s forthcoming series The Future Family. ‘Good or bad, these changes will require a whole new way of thinking when it comes to speaking to a new group of radicalised CHOs (chief household officers). And many brands are just not getting it.’ Here we show you how.

12:50pm–1:00pm

Brand toolkits – a short, sharp summary of how the trends and themes covered are set to affect consumer thinking, and their brand, retail and service needs for 2013.

Afternoon session

: 2:00pm–2:30pm – Registration

Tea, coffee, cake and a catch-up with The Future Laboratory team, including editors from LS:N Global and Future Poll.

: 2:30pm–2:45pm

Not/stalgia – consumers, comfort and the language of lost roots – The Future Laboratory’s Martin Raymond, Chris Sanderson, Tom Savigar and James Wallman unpack the key themes of the day.

: 2:45pm–3:20pm

Consumer Attitudes Audit – our biannual look at what is new and next and driving consumer thinking from the Future Poll team.

: 3:20pm–4:00pm

Netstalgia – a trend, theme and mood that builds on Revivalism, DIY and a generational hankering for ideas, images, graphics and digital moments that remind us of the early days of the internet.

From giff art and bitmap colours to analogue advertising, 8-bit music and ‘game boy’ graphics, we present case studies of a new generation of brands, marketing and selling websites that are embracing a 2D, ‘look mum, no frills’ aesthetic.

So, if you want to look a giff horse in the mouth, or are keen to find out more about the brands, retailers, designers or agencies already profiting from this trend, this is the section to pay attention to.

: 4:00pm–4:30pm

More tea, more coffee, more chat and a chance to assess the themes so far with the analysts who worked on them.

: 4:30pm–5:10pm

The New Sublimity – as Generation Jonesers blur the line between business and leisure, those in their teens or early 20s are keen once more to separate the two. Hence, the rise of hoboism, digital switch-off and secular spiritualism as consumers take to the land, sea, beaches and mountain tops in search of meaning, mindfulness and an emotional reboot.

‘This is a linchpin trend – one of those shifts that defines a change in social and leisure behaviour for a whole generation,’ says The Future Laboratory co-founder Martin Raymond. ‘We saw it in the 90s with rave and in the 00s with emo.’

‘Now, on the back of Revivalism, Rurbanisation and a push towards a more convivial and live experience on the one hand, and the need to recharge our emotional batteries on the other, we are in the midst of a recreational revolution that will see the so-on generation, switching off in their droves.’

: 5:10pm–5:50pm

Future Family – as the impact of the Just Nots gathers momentum, we look at how British and EU homes are changing in the wake of a housing, income, environmental and generational time bomb that is reconfiguring everything from the shape of our homes to the make-up of our families.

Here we profile the habitats and home tribes driving tomorrow’s brand, culture and commercial needs. From multi-Gen housing and LOLs (lone-occupant living) to the rise of neighbourhood networks, worksteads rather than homesteads, multi-functional as well as multi-generational households – or should that be hometels? This is where we unveil the blueprint of tomorrow’s target homes.

‘The recession, shifting generational attitudes, new technologies, smaller living spaces and lower wages are just a few of the drivers that are radically rewriting the shape of the family as we know it across Europe. Good or bad, these changes will require a whole new way of thinking when it comes to speaking to a new group of radicalised CHOs (chief household officers). And many brands are just not getting it.’ Here we show you how.

5:50pm–6:00pm

Brand toolkits – a short, sharp summary of how the trends and themes covered are set to affect consumer thinking, and their brand, retail and service needs for 2013.

For more information email alena@thefuturelaboratory.com 

Take a look here to see a short film by LS:N Global, presented at October's Autumn/Winter Trend Briefing to mark the 10th anniversary of parent company The Future Laboratory.