The Future Laboratory

We were lucky enough to be visited by Laura from the Future Laboratory this afternoon. Appropriately enough for the first Fig Lunch talk of the year, the Future Lab try and tease out the trends which are going to important in the coming months and years.

From Netstalgia (the nostalgia for early digital culture) to Bleisure (the blurring of business and leisure time) the lab try to identify the socio-economic drivers behind these trends and their future implications.

But it’s not just fancy portmanteaus. The Lab root their work in the consumer through particular ‘tribes’. These groups are the early adopters and cultural innovators who exemplify and push forward a particular trend. For example, Laura highlighted the Turtleneck Club: men who enjoy fine spirits, high necklines and Monocle magazine. The similarities to certain Figs raised a few smiles.

Of course, questions around whether or not it’s possible to really identify ‘tribes’ or even trends abound. But the examples and interviews which the Future Lab collect are great and definitely worth a look.

Although a lot of their work is only available to subscribers, their early observations of interesting products, services and marketing - known as Seed - are available for anyone to access online. If you’re in the UK, you can also watch a program they have recently created about the Future Family on Channel 4.

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www.thefuturelaboratory.com