DIY Innovation And Liquid Infrastructure: Accenture Lays Out The Trends For 2021

As the COVID-19 crisis redefines how economies and society as a whole function, human ingenuity has sparked a wave of innovation set to be the blueprint for the decades to come, according to a new report from Accenture.
“Fjord Trends 2021” — the fourteenth in a series of annual reports from Accenture Interactive’s global network of designers and creatives — found that organisations will have the opportunity to map out new territory as they embrace new strategies, services and experiences to meet evolving human needs.
“2020 has seen an acceleration of many trends we’ve spoken about previously.” said Bronwyn van der Merwe [feature image], Accenture’s Fjord Business lead. “It’s also thrown a light on our society’s systems, many of which revealed themselves to be broken, and encouraged us to experiment. We’ve universally cast a critical eye across entrenched ways of doing things and in many cases, found improvements that will reshape processes we’ve long taken for granted.”
The annual report found that the pandemic has brought clarity and surprises alongside its chaos and tragedies. It has highlighted what is important to people and inspired community spirit and at-home innovators. As a result, a brand new set of challenges has emerged for businesses: how to respond from operational as well as communication perspectives; how to meet consumers’ constantly changing expectations; and how to stretch their empathy — all while fighting for survival in a precarious economy.
“Throughout history, after a global crisis, a new era of thinking begins,” said Mark Curtis, head of innovation and thought leadership for Accenture Interactive. “As we look to the future, a wealth of potential worlds opens up in front of us. Some are scary, some are exciting, and all of them are largely unexplored. What we do now will define the rest of the century. Businesses have the ultimate permission and space to think and do differently.”
Providing practical advice on how organisations can help shape the 21st century renaissance, Fjord Trends 2021 examines seven emerging trends expected to shape business, consumer behavior and society:
- Collective displacement: How and where people experience things changed in 2020, leaving them with a shared sense of displacement as we collectively seek new ways and places to do the things we need and love to do. How we work, shop, learn, socialise, parent and take care of our health has changed for many of us, and brands need to seek new ways and offer new experiences to interact with people.
- Do-it-yourself innovation: Innovation is increasingly being driven by people’s talent for coming up with new ways, or “hacks,” to deal with their challenges, from the home worker using their ironing board as a standing desk to the parent-turned-teacher. Technology plays a new role — as facilitator for people’s ingenuity and as a result, people’s creativity is shining through. With individuals from politicians to personal trainers repurposing platforms like TikTok and video games to stage concerts and get important messages out. Everyone wants better solutions, but the era in which a brand was expected to create a finished solution is transitioning to one where brands are creating the conditions for personal innovation.
- Sweet teams are made of this: Those who work remotely now live at the office, which is having a huge effect on the reciprocal agreement between employer and employee and the many assumptions around it — such as who has final say over what people wear for a work-related video call in their own homes or whose responsibility it is to preserve home-workers’ right to privacy. Even with the promise of widespread vaccination on the horizon, a permanent shift has taken place in the relationship between people and their work and between employers and their teams. The future won’t be one-size-fits-all — a lot of prototyping in the world of work can be expected for some time to come.
- Liquid infrastructure: Because the way people acquire products and engage with services has been displaced, organisations have had to rethink the supply chain and the use of all their physical assets and focus on points of delight — such as the immediate gratification many took for granted in store — in the last few feet before purchase. This requires that companies build agility and resilience across their organisation so they can adapt quickly to change. Expect more change to come, often driven by sustainability.
- Interaction wanderlust: People are spending much more time interacting with the world via screens and, as a result, have noticed a certain ‘sameness’ caused by templated design in digital experiences. Organisations must reconsider design, content, audience and the interaction between them to inject greater excitement, joy and serendipity into screen experiences.
- Empathy challenge: People care deeply about what brands stand for and how they express their values. The pandemic has shone a light on many broken and unequal systems across the world – from access to healthcare to equality. As a result, companies must work hard to manage the narratives that shape their brands, prioritising the subjects that matter most to them and building their behaviors around those subjects.
- Rituals lost and found: The cancelation and disruption of rituals — from celebrating birth to bidding farewell in death and everything in between — have had a significant impact on the greater collective’s well-being. This trend points to the prime opportunity companies have to help people in their search for meaning through new rituals that bring joy and comfort. It starts with understanding the blank space left by a lost ritual and designing the right thing to take its place.
“Innovation doesn’t start with technology, but as we’ve seen over the past year, it can be a powerful tool to augment human ingenuity — even out of chaos,” said Brian Whipple, group chief executive of Accenture Interactive. “The next year should be one defined by hope. We’ve witnessed – and been part of – great changes in our society. These trends are a blueprint for how we think and what we do next — what we take with us and what we leave behind. We can do better and people deserve better.”
Each year, Accenture Interactive crowdsources trends in business, technology and design for the coming year from its global design network of 2,000+ creatives in more than 40 locations. Fjord Trends 2021 focuses on how people, organisations and brands are meeting human needs.
Latest News

Google Has “No Real Choice” But To Disable Search In Australia If Media Code Legislation Is Passed
If Google turns off search in Australia, B&T can no longer guarantee outright plagiarism of other media sites.

Cannes Lions Jury Has Highest Representation Of Women In Festival’s History
In arguably bad news for ladder, chainsaw and ute ads, Cannes now boasts it's biggest number of female judges.

Bush Heritage Honours Heroes Of Bush Conservation In Latest Campaign
Here's one of those nice stories B&T likes to run. Makes a refreshing change from our usual evil & gutter journalism.

Australian Open Controversy No Cause For Concern For Sponsors
Could Nick finally do the nation proud at this year's Oz Open? Or will he bow out early in a huffy tantrum as usual?

Get On The Beers: BrewDog To Gift Brewery To Mashd N Kutcher If They Chart In Triple J’s Hottest 100
As a warning, if you're unaware of the Mashd N Kutcher song then this story will make little to no sense.

TV Host Jimmy Kimmel Farewells Trump With Glorious Spoof Send-Off Video
Admit it, much like the Sizzler restaurant chain, Gangnam Style & chlamydia you're going to miss the Donald, aren't you?

Can’t Cook Pasta Al Dente? Barilla Now Has Spotify Playlists That’ll Help
With all due respect, surely the perfect tune to cook pasta al dente would have to be Joe Dolce's 'Shaddap Your Face'.

Outdoor Industry Launches First $3M Pro Bono Health Campaign For Department Of Health
B&T's always happy to report on the industry doing good. Except if it requires a financial donation on our part.

Facebook Launches Mardi Gras Parade Viewing Events Grants Program
It's mid-January & that means two things: abandoning all New Year resolutions & the start of Mardi Gras stories on B&T.

Zenith Appointed To SBS’ Performance Media Account
Surely this SBS news would be more appropriate in Flemish or Hungarian, yet, sadly, it's all in English, we're afraid.

IMG Wins Asian Television Award For NBL20 Grand Final Series
Admittedly, we're not huge basketball fans here at B&T. Although we always enjoyed OJ Simpson's movies.

Wunderman Thompson Launches Annual Future 100 Report
New report says immunity wellness, cloud gaming & micropreneurs are in & storming the Capital dressed as a viking's out.

Google Agrees To Pay For News Content In France
Google has agreed to pay for news content in France. Says snail recipes & hatred of the English will remain free.

Enigma Snares CHEP’s Emma Ashworth For Group Account Director Role
Sure, CHEP may be churning them out but everyone else in the industry is reeling them in. As you'll read here.

What It Takes To Help Build Brand Trust Online In 2021
Is online brand trust on your 2021 "must do" list? Move it above "office fridge clean out" with these expert tips.

Mumpower Launches Inaugural ‘Vote On Purpose’ Australian Business Awards
To celebrate brands going “above and beyond to act with purpose”, Mumpower has announced its first-ever consumer choice awards. The ‘Vote on Purpose’ Australian Business Award 2021 aims to crown Australia’s favourite purpose-driven company, with Mumpower now calling on both corporations and Mum shoppers to nominate a value-led company or a specific brand campaign that […]

BREAKING: Justin Drape Departs The Monkeys
B&T delivers a breaking news industry scoop. And, trust us, this time we're 79.98% certain it's even correct.

Outbrain Signs Three-Year Deal With Australian Community Media
Outbrain signs deal with Australian Community Media. Discover the brains behind the deal in this insightful synopsis.

Stan Sport Subscription Price Revealed
Sports fans will have to pay $10 a month to sign up for Stan Sport when it launches later this year, according to reports. The Nine-owned Sydney Morning Herald, is today reporting that Stan (also owned by Nine) will offer Stan Sport as a supplementary service, meaning fans must also have a subscription to Stan’s […]

Guardian UK Honours Kamala Harris Inauguration With Full-Page Ad, Via Uncommon
Once again the power of print is on show here. It's also on show for those who enjoy craft using papier-mâché.

Sitecore Secures US$1.2B In Funding
Sitecore has secured $US1.2 billion in funding. Said to be prioritising internal chocolate river and flying elevator.

Mintel Announces Global Consumer Trends For 2021
It's the latest global consumer trends report that, as you'd expect, continues to be bad news for airport duty frees.

2021 Data Predictions: What To Expect In The Year Ahead
Once again, data set to join omnichannel and full-service as the advertising industry's most ubiquitous words.

Sarah Wilson Launches New PodcastOne Australia Series
You have to hand it to Sarah Wilson, doesn't eat sugar AND has so far refrained from murdering anyone.

David Beckham Leads Star-Studded Adidas Football Promo, Using WhatsApp
David Beckham - women want him, men want to be him. Despite his wife constantly taking all the wardrobe space.

Morse Micro Appoints Milk & Honey PR To Enhance Brand Identity
Have absolutely no idea what Morse Micro even do? Discover the power of PR by reading this submitted press release.

Metro Commercial Radio Ad Revenues Down 10.4% In December Quarter
Kyle forced to eat beans from a tin in fingerless mittens as the great plague continues to savage ad revenues.

Endemol Shine Announces Leadership Shakeup
Endemol Shine announces management shakeup. Still no news on the enduring appeal of the actual edamame, however.

Stan Inks Exclusive Content Deal With Walter Presents
Stan inks latest content deal that unfortunately doesn't include Best Of Red Faces or Ask The Leyland Brothers.

Bohemia Appoints Chloe Schneider As Head Of Content
Chloe Schneider joins the Bohemia team and provides DIY press pic thanks to local passport photo booth.