Trends are an undeniable part of consumer culture so, if they’re so important for people, they should equally be on every brand’s agenda. It’s more important than ever for brands to stand out among competitors, and longer-standing brands face the challenge of remaining fresh and relevant to audiences. So, when done correctly, utilising emerging trends offers an opportunity to insert brands into the cultural landscape.
Ultimately, any brand’s goal is to keep its audience engaged, so it is vital to stay on top of emerging trends to remain relevant and resonate with audiences – leading to more interest and demand. This is particularly relevant for the homeware sector, as consumers are more regularly refreshing their living spaces to reflect the ever-changing world around them. With an increase in home-focused social media content, as many have documented their home renovation and decoration journeys, consumers have been shown how easy it is to switch up their home décor. As such, one in four in the UK say they re-decorate regularly to keep up with current trends, while almost 20% for their own enjoyment (Furniture123).
Take the #SlowLiving trend, which has racked up more than 500 million views on TikTok. Initially created as a lifestyle trend, to encourage consumers to improve their wellbeing by engaging in a better work/life balance and spending more time on relaxation and reflection, homeware brands have quickly piggybacked on the apparent opportunity for the interiors sector. Now, searches for #SlowLiving on social media showcase image and video content of aspirational home environments and products, while brands have created dedicated ‘Slow Living’ collections – helping to appear in digital searches.
And it isn’t just products themselves that brands are promoting by leveraging trends. Using the notion of ‘content first, brand second’, brands are tactically creating creative content built around trends – such as lifestyle videos and advice pieces – which consumers are more likely to buy in to.
There are a number of tactics consumer and lifestyle PR teams can implement to prepare for and react to emerging trends, including:
Plan ahead
Trends move quickly and there is no guarantee how long they’ll last, so it’s important to be an early adopter in order to ride the wave of success.
As well as reacting to trends once they develop, emerging trends can be identified by regularly monitoring and conducting industry & audience research – using a range of tools and sources like Google Trends to identify trending keywords, content analysis through SEMrush, and customer feedback through surveys – to gather vital data to stay ahead of the curve.
Align strategies
Trends typically originate from social media, and a third of TikTok users now say they use the platform to stay up to date with trends while nearly half use it to discover new products (source), so it’s normal to think ‘social first’ when creative reacting content. However, consumer and lifestyle PR and digital strategies should also align, and similar content should be utilised across all platforms.
Incorporate similar keywords, titles, and headlines, that attract your audience’s attention across all media materials – utilising a combined approach of press office, social media, and influencer marketing to promote your content and reach your audience.
Play into the news agenda
As well as looking at emerging trends, it’s important for brands to read the room before communicating with audiences. In fact, sometimes taking a stance and going against a trend can in fact lead to greater success, as shown by Dove, which rapidly responded to the trending ‘Bold Glamour’ TikTok filter, using it to support its existing narrative around unrealistic beauty standards.
Likewise, at a time where cost of living and housing crisis’ dominate the news agenda, homeware brands need to recognise not all consumers will be in a position to buy or decorate homes. Instead, brands such as IKEA have adapted messaging to resonate with audiences – creating content such as ‘rental-friendly decoration ideas’.
Finally, while leveraging trends can help drive greater awareness, that isn’t to say that brands should jump on each one. Instead, choose only those most relevant to your brand and messaging, that align with your values and resonate with your customer demographic, in order to remain authentic.
If you’re a homeware brand looking to capitalise on 2024 trends, contact our team of Consumer and lifestyle PR experts today.