TREND DRIVERS: NEW WORLD ORDER

Society no longer lives in a world of isolation. The internet has changed what community, connection and influence means to many in the world. This driver means that consumers are used to seeing all walks of life on their screens and will eventually lead to one global culture (Walker, Buchanan, Stott, 2015).

“This idea of a truly globalised culture – one in which content can be distributed as easily as it can be received – has the potential to be realised through the internet. While some political and social barriers will remain, from a technological standpoint there is nothing to stop the two-way flow of information and culture across the globe.”

– Dr Jack Lule, Director of Global Studies and the Globalisation and Social

Therefore, society is no longer able to make presumptions about people based on where they are from as where there is internet access people are potentially consuming the same media on a global scale and as a consequence, finding their voices on social media (Walker, Buchanan, Stott, 2015).

Thus, a clear divide is present within society when it comes to Diversity and Inclusivity, where consumers who are less represented feel there is a more urgent need for Diversity and Inclusivity than those who are currently being represented. Therefore, there is pressure on brands to deal with this issue. For example, a report by Mintel found that 29% of women think that brands that stereotype genders should be boycotted and 45% of women think diversity in advertising does not feel sincere (Mintel, 2019).