The purpose was a big word this year too. In 2020 we can expect purpose itself to be managed and guided more carefully perhaps. Emotional data could bring us completely new insights; new desires and aspirations could arise from micro-niches, aspirations which are maybe more palpable than the previous ones like care for the environment and gender or racial equality which were present in a broad sense. These aspirations could be steered towards concrete, applicable solutions; something that the average Joe could do, not only heroes like Grete Thunberg.
Imagine an agricultural farmer in Kikinda, using the PR channels available to him (his Facebook profile, a conversation in the local store or supermarket, etc.) to advocate and demonstrate the correct use of pesticides to successfully protect crops from insects without killing the bees. These things are already happening, but brands still aren’t using this approach.
This brings us to trust. According to Edelman’s 2019 investigation into the trust in brands, a whole 53% of people surveyed said that they recognize when a brand or company isn’t honest – and this, in turn, affects their decisions about using or buying from said brand. In 2020 we can expect to see brands and companies to try and prove that they can be trusted. Perhaps this won’t only lead to a more open and honest communication strategy, but may also lead to a different kind of creation concerning products or services.