NEW DELHI: mcgarrybowen India, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has launched its latest report, ‘The New Darwinism’. The report uses creativity to paint a world of the future and attempts to predict how human beings will behave once the lockdown is rolled back. 

‘The New Darwinism’ is one of its kind understanding of the future through the lens of the present. It enables brands to be prepared for the new behavioural forces of the world, making them easily accepted by their consumers. The report builds on the idea of post-Covid2019 transformations, changing lifestyles, new work culture, and brand revolutions.

Some of the key behavioural trends highlighted in the report are:

    Travel will focus on unwinding and chilling. It will not focus on exploration and discovery of the unknown as people will look towards the comfort of the known. The choice of destination will not be governed by just the quest for the unseen but will be guided by cities/places that have good support infrastructure and bigger hotel chains, which can guarantee safety. Experimenting with local, authentic cuisine in a restaurant at a remote part of town will change to trying out food at safety-certified big restaurants. Since people will be wary of traveling, staycations will rule over vacations.

    Comfort will seep into the realm of Fashion and Beauty industry as consumers will be less guided by external validation and focus more on what they really like. Party wear will get replaced by more comfortable house party ranges. Fashion may see a rise of the new work from home wear, clothes that are multi-functional, activewear and people might focus on affordability. There will be a resurgence of themes like national pride and sustainability because the pandemic has led to a collective realisation of working in harmony with each other and our surroundings. DIY (Do it yourself) beauty products will see more adoption as will ‘do-good’ products rather than ‘look-good’ products.

    For malls and cinemas, restrictions will be the new freedom that people will seek. Restricted seating, restricted tickets/passes and focus on more pre-packaged food at theatres will be asked for. The movie-going occasions will be creatively created as most of the movie releases have been delayed or pushed to next year. Japanese, Korean and International film festivals will be driving the theatre queues as will the replaying of marquee 3D and IMAX based films to bring back the lure of the theatres.

    The need for entertainment is going to redefine the home space. The interest in Smart TVs, Firestick, Chromecast, Xbox and Bluetooth speaker is going to intensify.  When it comes to the durable category, kitchen appliances will get a facelift with consumers spending more time in the kitchen and experimenting with food. Hence, oven, microwave and water purifier might get traction, as will durable categories that drive convenience like vacuum cleaners and dish washers.

mcgarrybowen president Nishi Kant said, “We are living in interesting times. The future of Indian businesses is going to be defined and shaped by what we are going through. So, we thought instead of discovering it when it happens, why don’t we start imagining how it will look like. We wanted to create a playbook that brands across different categories can use.”

mcarrybowen India general manager Pragati Rana added, “We had a lot of fun while coming up with this report. Not only did we consider the present, we wanted to emphasise on the future and create something that brands, and businesses could put to use.”