Dentsu has launched Consumer Vision report, Mothers of Reinvention, a global thought leadership study exploring the shifts set to reshape technology, culture, consumers and brands over the next five to ten years.
Dentsu analyzed data from a survey of 30,000 consumers in 25 countries to understand expected shifts in consumer attitudes, values, and behaviors. In addition, dentsu’s research team spoke with 20 experts and futurists in the fields of cultural sociology, AI law, and consumer psychology to understand what they see as the most likely disruptions and innovations in their fields.
Designed as a strategic compass for marketers, Mothers of Reinvention examines how people’s growing exposure to AI, changing expectations around originality and trust, and evolving ideas of progress and identity are beginning to redefine what consumers want from brands, identifying four major forces that brands need to prepare for now:
FORCE 01: THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY: SYMBIOTIC SYSTEMS
AI is moving from tool to partner, with consumers increasingly relying on agents that act on their behalf. This creates a new dynamic where brands must engage not only with people, but with the agents that represent them across media spaces.
FORCE 02: THE FUTURE OF CULTURE: INGENUITY AWAKENED
As AI accelerates content creation, originality becomes more valuable. Consumers are placing greater importance on human creativity and expect brands to actively support and reward it.
FORCE 03: THE FUTURE OF CONSUMERS: INFINITE REINVENTION
Consumers are shifting from need-based purchasing to purchasing based on who they want to become. Enabled by AI and new tools, they are constantly testing new identities, behaviors and lifestyles, while also seeking human connection through entertainment and big cultural moments.
FORCE 04: THE FUTURE OF BRANDS: WAYFINDER BRANDS
In this context, the role of brands is evolving. The most effective brands will not simply respond to demand, but will act as guides, helping consumers navigate change and unlock new possibilities.
Taken together, the findings point to a more demanding landscape for brands. As functional interactions become increasingly automated, distinctiveness will be driven less by convenience and more by meaning, with 78% of consumers already showing lower tolerance for generic messaging.
To remain relevant, brands will need to design experiences that inspiring and emotionally resonant, reflecting the expectations of 81% of consumers who want their purchases to not simply represent the means to an end, but a step change that helps them unlock their potential. At the same time, growth will depend on balancing scale and personalization with trust and integrity, particularly as 9 in 10 consumers saying that, as algorithms become more individualized, it will be more important for brands to be consistent with their values and actions.
Consumer expectations are evolving quickly, as they experience the future being shaped by AI in real time. They want AI to be a partner that multiplies their ability to learn new skills, reinvent themselves, and helps them co-create unique outputs that reflect their individual personality, rather than something they fully delegate to and ends up taking over.
Understanding what’s around the corner is no longer a nice-to-have for brands; it’s an imperative. In another dentsu study published earlier this year, the CMO Navigator – Media Editon: Rethinking Marketing in the Age of AI, 56% of global Chief Marketing Officers said that 5 years from now most of their companies’ revenues will come from products, services, and businesses that don’t yet exist. In this context, future-facing studies like Consumer Vision are critical as they trace the new paradigm for brand excellence businesses need to start building for as of now.
Beth Ann Kaminkow, Chief Executive Officer, Americas & Chief Global Client Officer, dentsu said: “What stands out in this year’s findings is that consumers are not only expecting brands to become smarter and faster, they are looking for brands that can help them personally progress and pursue their ambitions. There is a growing desire to reinvent themselves, with brands providing inspiration and guidance along this journey. That has implications not just for media and creativity, but for product design, customer experience and the role brands play in peoples’ lives.”
As AI development compresses the time it takes for us to learn new skills, advancements in healthcare continue to extend the lifespan of human beings, and the premium placed by culture on human ingenuity grows taller, consumers will be driven by the desire to constantly reinvent themselves, and will actually have the tools to pursue this aspiration to an extent they never did before – the study finds.
“The notion of AI acting as a force multiplier that does not replace human creativity, but rather unlocks its full potential is really powerful”, Kaminkow continues. “Consumers are embracing this role of AI augmenting the human. This reflects the way we are evolving at dentsu: human contextual understanding, vision, creativity, intuition and judgement, multiplied by AI’s unprecedented speed and scale in information processing, and pattern recognition. This is the next frontier that will enable us to truly be a ‘Super Human Agency’ and unlock growth for clients by providing scale and depth without sacrificing either.”
This latest edition of Consumer Vision builds on dentsu’s ongoing focus on understanding consumer behavior and long-term brand growth, including initiatives such as The Brand Reset study, developed in partnership with Lumen Research and Kantar. One of the industry’s largest studies into video attention and effectiveness, The Brand Reset spans tens of thousands of data points across multiple platforms and markets, linking attention to long-term brand outcomes. Together, these programs reflect dentsu’s continued investment in helping clients navigate shifts in attention, behavior and effectiveness, and translate emerging signals into practical strategies for growth.
Dentsu is a partner for integrated growth and transformation for the world’s leading companies. Founded in 1901 in Japan, dentsu is now present in more than 145 markets. By combining the talents of its agencies to develop integrated solutions for clients, dentsu delivers end-to-end experiences by integrating its Media, CXM and Creative services, while transforming businesses and pushing the boundaries of sustainable growth for brands, people and society. The dentsu network includes the media strategy, planning and buying agencies Carat, iProspect and dentsu X, the creative agency Dentsu Creative, as well as the business transformation and customer experience agency Merkle.
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