Trends Identified

System approaches
The complexities of today’s problems require systemic change rather than simple, incremental responses. Technology, environmental challenges and citizens’ dissatisfaction with “business as usual” are all putting pressure on governments to change their working methods and reach beyond simple solutions and linear equations of cause and effect. This marks an innovative paradigm shift in governance. Rather than layering interventions on top of one another, the public sector should repack policies in ways that allow them to get to the real purpose of change and deliver value to citizens. Human wants, needs and desires are complex, and the systems created to satisfy them are even more so. If simple models are used to analyse them, they will produce simple answers. As human lives and the problems that affect them are intertwined, innovative working methods are needed that take this complexity into account and provide solutions that actually work. One way to address these challenges is to apply a more systemic approach to innovation.
2018
Embracing Innovation in Government: Global Trends 2018
OECD
Inclusiveness and vulnerable populations
In the face of migration and ageing populations, uncertainties about the future of work and job automation, and continued gender and economic inequalities despite decades of attempted reforms, world governments are turning to innovation to help create more inclusive societies where no one is left behind – especially those who are most vulnerable. Many countries have rallied behind global initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while some have acted on their own initiative when confronted with unexpected threats to the well-being of their people. The last few years have seen record levels of people displaced from their homes due to violence and conflict and environmental factors such as climate change, as well as global waves of nationalism that limit the ability of these migrants to integrate well into their new communities. The same period has witnessed targeted gender-inclusion initiatives and a reckoning for gender-based mistreatment, as well as continued disparities in pay and political inclusion. Other major issues are visible on the horizon, such as ageing populations and the displacement of jobs through automation. The world is at a crossroads with governments challenged to acknowledge new realities and create new solutions through innovation.
2018
Embracing Innovation in Government: Global Trends 2018
OECD
Invisible to visible
Standard practices can render the insights, perspectives, and opinions of individual citizens and residents invisible to those in government who are responsible for making decisions that affect them. Likewise, governments can face challenges in perceiving different scenarios and envisioning the various paths to positive future outcomes. Only once visible can these insights, perspectives and opinions become tangible and meaningfully engaged with. Governments are now taking innovative steps to make these invisible factors visible. By leveraging these newly visible elements, they are better equipped to make better decisions that affect their people, and to nudge citizens and residents to make better decisions as well.
2019
EMBRACING INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT-Global Trends 2019
OECD
Opening doors
Traditionally, the complexity and opaqueness of government has served to limit participation and minimise public value for underserved and at-risk populations. Only those with the means or knowledge to navigate this environment have been able to maximise the value of government. However, new technologies, open data and the emergence of new business models in the private sector are creating space for government to explore a range of possibilities. Such mission-oriented and adaptive innovations seek to explore ways to open doors for everyone to access the public value of government, while also embracing the major shifts occurring in people’s everyday lives.
2019
EMBRACING INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT-Global Trends 2019
OECD
Machine-readable world
In recent years, governments have started to discover the power of machine readability, with energy devoted to building open government data programmes that help to fuel innovations both within government and in the broader economy. They are now setting their aims even higher by developing innovative new projects that have the potential to completely reconceive one of the most foundational roles of government – creating laws and other rules that impact the daily lives of citizens and businesses. Governments are also seeking to digitise human characteristics, senses and surroundings to deliver innovative services and interventions. This growing wealth of machine-readable content serves as fuel for a new generation of innovations that use emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. While these advances show tremendous potential, they can also pose major risks and raise significant ethical questions. Governments should seek to understand and experiment with these technologies, but should do so in an informed and ethical way.
2019
EMBRACING INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT-Global Trends 2019
OECD
Augmented Reality Gets Real
Let’s get one thing clear: Augmented Reality is not a new thing. It has been a very, very slow burn. From BlippAR- integrated magazines to interactive head-tracking promotions for movies, creative technologists, brands with more money than sense, and agency innovation leads – you know the kinds of people we’re talking about – have been trying to make AR happen FOR YEARS. And let’s be honest: it hasn’t. But things are changing...
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The End of Typing
ComScore says that 50% of searches will be done by voice by 2020. Gartner believes that by 2020, 30% of searches won’t involve a screen at all. At present, Google says that 20% of searches in the U.S. on Android devices are done by voice. In the UK, Deloitte found that 36% of smartphone owners are aware of voice search and 11% use it regularly. 60% of people using voice have started in the last year, according to Mindmeld. Voice searches are three times more likely to focus on a local topic than a text search. And people are shifting to voice for the obvious reason: It’s easier and more efficient than typing.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The Tragedy of the Commons in Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing only works when the communications are authentic – from the perspective of the audience. When influencers are offered a load of cash to pimp the latest product or service, the audience is usually tolerant for a while. But when an influencer veers towards shill too often, credibility loss and audience erosion are sure to follow. We know this because we’ve seen it before – with celebrities. Will.i.am isn’t a particularly valuable partner for brands these days (in our opinion), because everyone knows he’s for sale. And yet, some agencies and lots of brands are happy to stump up to established and emerging digital influencers and expect that the influencer will become a spokesperson for the brand. Over time, this threatens to disrupt the opportunity for everyone as audiences question the credibility not just of individual influencers, but of the whole medium.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The Amazon Awakening
Amazon will be the most important emerging platform for digital advertising in 2018. This is not about product pages. It’s about thinking of Amazon as a useful platform for advertising in every part of the sales funnel. And they’ve got the product suite to match.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
Seriously Serious
Digital marketing has grown up. So has the Web as a whole. Both the grown up practice and the grown up medium are facing serious challenges which will and must be addressed in 2018. GDPR represents a positive step. There is also an array of initiatives to address problems with fraud in digital display and confront client concerns about programmatic buying. Platforms are working to make measurement more transparent and deliver a clearer link between marketing activity and business outcomes. A lot of progress will be made in 2018, but not enough. Governments will have to make progress on state-sponsored hacking. The security industry will have to make big progress to protect us from the ever-increasing volume of madness. These are needs well beyond the purview of marketers and probably unrealistic for much progress in 2018.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy