2018 Global Edges Map

1
 Autonomous
Alt-Currency
Life

Immersive Hyperperson- Media Invisible

Mood Geisting DIY EDU Fan-Tasy No Words
Entertainment alization Anarchism Citizens

Doom Augmented 
 New 
 Mystery

Wacko World Fempowerment Nearvana Super Seniors
Generation Self Masculinity Branding

Now Rise of the Cult of

ModernFamily Lifestyle Get Mild Wellness Nowstalgia Life Subscribed Pop Lux
Generation Machines Food

Media &
 Fashion Health

Authenticity Kid Power Die-versification Tech Geo-tailored Social Celebrity Maximalism
Entertainment & Retail & Beauty

Finance & Food Travel & Sharing Shameless

Denihilism People gENDer Slow Life
Business & Drink Transport Economy Transparency

Activist Stealth 
 Conversational 21st-Century Convenience Marketing & On-Demand

Sport Mental Frontiers
Entertainment Mode Commerce Sex Economy Advertising Health

Branded Micro- High-End Collage

ParaNormal Flash Finance Radical Reuse Soloism Post-Taste
Government generation Homeless Spirituality

High-Touch Empathy
Survivalism Pluralism Queer Power Polarization
Retail Age
Edges by Category
FR Fashion & Retail FB Finance & Business FD Food & Drink HB Health & Beauty Li Lifestyle
Conversational Commerce Alt-Currency Authenticity Augmented Self Activist Entertainment Nearvana
Flash Finance Branded Government Collage Spirituality Cult of Food Alt-Currency No Words
gENDer Convenience Economy Convenience Economy Fempowerment Autonomous Life Now Generation
Kid Power Fempowerment Cult of Food gENDer Conversational Commerce Pluralism
Life Subscribed Flash Finance Get Mild Hyperpersonalization Cult of Food Polarization
Maximalism Geo-tailored Hyperpersonalization Maximalism Denihilism Post-Taste
Micro-generation High-Touch Retail Immersive Entertainment Mental Frontiers DIY EDU Queer Power
Modern Family On-Demand Health Life Subscribed Mystery Branding Doom Generation Slow Life
Mystery Branding Rise of the Machines Mood Geisting Nearvana Empathy Age Super Seniors
New Masculinity Sharing Economy Nearvana New Masculinity Fan-tasy Wacko World
Nowstalgia Shameless Transparency Pop Lux On-Demand Health Fempowerment Wellness
Pluralism Stealth Mode Radical Reuse Super Seniors Get Mild 21st-Century Sex
Pop Lux Slow Life Wellness High-End Homeless
Post-Taste Survivalism 21st-Century Sex Invisible Citizens
Queer Power Wellness Life Subscribed
Radical Reuse Maximalism
Shameless Transparency Media Anarchism
Soloism Modern Family
Wacko World
Edges by Category
MA Marketing & ME Media & Pe People Sp Sport Te Tech TT Travel &
Advertising Entertainment Activist Entertainment Augmented Self Alt-Currency Transport
Authenticity Activist Entertainment Denihilism ParaNormal Augmented Self Autonomous Life
Branded Government Authenticity Doom Generation Wellness Autonomous Life Geo-tailored
Collage Spirituality Denihilism Empathy Age Branded Government High-End Homeless
Fan-tasy DIY EDU gENDer Collage Spirituality High-Touch Retail
Mood Geisting Doom Generation High-End Homeless Convenience Economy Modern Family
Mystery Branding Empathy Age Invisible Citizens Conversational Commerce Rise of the Machines
No Words Fan-tasy Kid Power DIY EDU Sharing Economy
Pop Lux Get Mild Micro-generation Flash Finance Soloism
Shameless Transparency Immersive Entertainment Mental Frontiers Geo-tailored Survivalism
Social Celebrity Invisible Citizens New Masculinity High-Touch Retail
Micro-generation Now Generation Hyperpersonalization
Media Anarchism Nowstalgia Immersive Entertainment
No Words ParaNormal Kid Power
Now Generation Pluralism Media Anarchism
Nowstalgia Polarization Mental Frontiers
Polarization Queer Power Mood Geisting
Post-Taste Social Celebrity On-Demand Health
Social Celebrity Super Seniors ParaNormal
Wacko World Radical Reuse
Rise of the Machines
Sharing Economy
Slow Life
Soloism
Stealth Mode
Survivalism
21st-Century Sex
Global Glossary of Edges
A C
Activist Entertainment Authenticity Collage Spirituality
We are living in an age of protest where politics In a world dominated by global scale and profit People are less religious but spirituality is on the
and pop culture go hand in hand, revolutions are motive, down-to-earth passion production stands rise. This new spirituality borrows from varied belief
tweeted, and activists are changing the world. out. Consumers are on the lookout for brands, systems, but also reimagines traditional forms of
content, and personalities that keep it real. prayer, worship, faith, and community—adapting
Li ME Pe
them to the digital age.
FD MA ME
Li Pe Te
Alt-Currency
The “full faith and credit of the Nation” isn’t what it Autonomous Life
used to be. Cryptocurrencies, time banks, and regional Convenience Economy
Welcome to a world of intuition, where what we gain
barter systems are proving that trust—not central Whether you need a car, a crate, or a cat groomer,
in convenience and personalization, we lose in privacy
banking—is the real bedrock of the economy. we expect services to be delivered up along the
and the human touch. AI has become more than the
tiny voice in your computer, it’s the ambient circulatory asymptote of instant. It's chic to be a shut-in when
FB Li Te
system for people, products, and information. everything you need is delivered to your door.

Li Te TT FB FD Te
Augmented Self
More-than-Me. Better-than-Well. Our new goal
isn't simply to be our best selves—it's to use all Conversational Commerce
available technology, healthcare, fitness, and
nutrition to get as close to superhuman as possible.
B Ask Jeeves was a promise on which Alexa
delivered. Backed by algorithmic intuition, 

Branded Government AI home assistants are giving consumers
HB Pe Te With trust in institutions at record lows, brands are convenience, savings, and most importantly—
stepping in to provide citizens with services, personalized service. Voice is the next frontier 

infrastructure and utilities. Terms of service are the in the tech world that will allow humans and 

new social compact. AI to coexist successfully.
FB MA Te FR Li Te

FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport
Global Glossary of Edges
F
Cult of Food DIY EDU Fan-tasy
Food is the new cult worship. Food has taken Who needs Harvard when you have an Internet Audiences refuse to passively consume media when
on a quasi-religious character as it connection? Traditional ideas of knowledge and we live in an age of engagement. Write fanfic about
increasingly becomes a source of doctrine, elitist education systems are being challenged as your favorite supporting character, create a social
belonging and personal growth. people seek to empower themselves with the media campaign to raise them from the dead. The
skills of tomorrow. only rule is The End is not The End.
FD HB Li
Li ME Pe ME MA Li

D Doom Generation Fempowerment

Denihilism “All my friends are dead,” a 2017 youth anthem sums It's taken four waves of feminism, but the world is
up our growing sense of impending doom. Political, finally ready to deliver on gender equality. And, if
Conspiracy theories have gone mainstream.
economic, and environmental instability have it's not—women aren't willing to wait.
Experts, facts and critical evaluation are fast
sparked a new form of nihilism that has reared its
becoming artifacts from a pre-Trump era. The FB HB Li
head in the entertainment and tech industries.
battle is on between subjectivity and truth.
Li ME Pe
Li ME Pe Flash Finance
From the cutting edge to the mundane: finance
Die-versification
'Pivot or die' is less of a strategy and more of
E has gone technological. Every bank is expected 

to have a mobile banking app at minimum,
Empathy Age though an easy consumer interface for your
an ultimatum. Brands are eking out a new cryptocurrency would be helpful, too.
lease on life by diversifying their offerings Welcome to the Interpersonal Economy. In a
into entirely new industry sectors. We coin it more interconnected world where one country’s FR FB Te
‘Commercial Darwinism.’ crisis impacts us all, and where many human skills
can be automated, empathy is the new currency.
FR FB Te
Li ME Pe

FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport
Global Glossary of Edges
G H I
gENDer High-End Homeless Immersive Entertainment
Transgender rights have revolutionized our Frequent-flyer miles, subscription apartments, and From the mainstreaming of VR to ASMR
understanding of gender and introduced the dual citizenship are the hallmarks of the High-End advertising, new forms of entertainment are
concept of gender fluidity. When the shackles Homeless. This new aspirational class sees emerging in the experience economy. People 

of gender come off, what else is possible? citizenship as a form of consumerism, and having want to feel new things and experience the
a homebase as purely optional. familiar in a more visceral way.
FR HB Pe
Li Pe TT FD ME Te

Geo-tailored
We’re shifting from an era of globalization to an
era of localization. The same digital tools that
allowed products and services to scale
worldwide are now enabling those same brands
to tailor their output to local preferences. Mass
nuance is the new homogeneity.
FB Te TT
High-Touch Retail Invisible Citizens
The boutique strikes back! E-commerce sites may Previously ignored groups are coming out of the shadows
offer convenience and savings, but nothing can and emerging as stakeholders in the New Establishment.
truly replace the tactile experience of shopping. Minorities, ex-cons and the plus-size are growing
Concierge services, membership communities, and populations who are driving new values and business
hyperpersonalized consumer experiences prove opportunities to accommodate them.
the continued relevance of brick-and-mortar stores.

Li ME Pe
FR FB ME

Get Mild
GenZ and Millennials are denying the
Hyperpersonalization K
stereotypes of wild youthful transgressions.
Branding for an audience of one. Advances in Kid Power
technology and biological data are allowing us to
Rates of drug use, drinking and teen pregnancy An eight-year-old entrepreneur might be your next
pair products to our precise preferences, behaviors
have all fallen off a cliff as the wellness cultural boss. From child YouTube stars to business school
even genomes. The personal is the commercial.
turn impacts teen behavior. kindergartens, precociousness is being taken to a
FD HB Te whole new level by today’s empowered, upskilled kids.
Li FD ME
ME Pe Te

FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport
Global Glossary of Edges
L
Life Subscribed Mental Frontiers Mood Geisting
Subscription models are freeing businesses from First mental health went mainstream, then 
 Brand don’t kill my vibe. Increasingly, marketing is
brick-and-mortar models and giving consumers a it went rogue. As mental health concerns selling more than performance stats and brand
well-needed break from decision fatigue. are increasingly destigmatized, consumers positioning: it’s being thought of as an ambient
Providing convenience and discovery is how are experimenting with nontraditional consumer experience. Food, health, and beauty
brands are creating loyalty in a disloyal era. methods to improve focus, fight products increasingly respond to and modulate
depression, and expand consciousness. our moods.
FR FD Li
HB Pe Te FD MA Te

M Micro-generation Mystery Branding

Maximalism Traditional segmentation is defunct. Magic is moving into the mainstream. Consumers
More is more. Fed up with the tyranny of People are constructing their own fluid, are moving away from products rooted in science
minimalism, consumers and tastemakers have unique identities. Brands must keep 
 and statistics and toward brands and subcultures
decided that loud colors, bold design features, up with consumers and subcultures 
 that sell themselves on magic and mystery.
and expressive logos are chic again. which defy definition.
FR HB MA
Pe FR MA
FR HB Li

Media Anarchism Modern Family N

Mainstream media has become an epithet and
conspiracy theorists have increased clout. The
Internet clearly democratized journalism, but the
unintended consequence has been that trolls,
psy-ops, and radicals dominate a significant
portion of our media consumption.
Li ME Te
The nuclear family is so 20th century. The Nearvana
modern family is post-geographic, diverse,
Bliss within reach: consumer products and
communal, and most of all—adapted to
experiences promise transcendental value. New
the needs of 21st century life.
Age spirituality has been productized in tandem
FR Li TT with the wellness movement.
Li FD HB

FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport
Global Glossary of Edges
P
New Masculinity Nowstalgia ParaNormal
Beer, bros, and ballers are old masculine tropes. Past has become Present. Ever more What was once considered a life-hindering
New Masculinity expands the sphere of male consumers are seeking inspiration and comfort disability is being completely redefined thanks 

archetypes to previously taboo topics and raises from the past. The old has become new for the to both changes in how “normalcy” is seen and
the cultural question of what it means to be 
 next generation and promises the world wasn't advances in medicine and tech. Now being
a man today. always this crazy. differently abled means having a unique skill 

or mindset and is increasingly embraced.
FR HB Pe Pe FR ME
Pe Sp Te

No Words
We live in the Instagram Age where images are
universal currency and emojis are a global
language. If your product can’t be consumed
visually, it can’t be consumed.
Li MA ME
Now Generation
If your product isn't addictive—you're doing it
wrong. As competition in the attention economy
becomes ever more cutthroat, content
producers are optimizing their output to 

be as habit-forming as possible.
O Pluralism
On-Demand Health Diversity has exploded. Coalitions of the previously
excluded are fighting against discrimination and
Push for Prescriptions. With concierge service
changing the norms—be it ableism, racism, sexism,
for the rich and app-enhanced delivery for
ageism, transphobia, Islamophobia, anti-
everybody else, healthcare is breaking out 

neurodiversity or any other not listed here. We're
of the white cube and meeting consumers
not papering over differences anymore, we're
where they need it most: their sick beds.
celebrating them.
FB HB Te
FR Li Pe

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FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport
Global Glossary of Edges
Pop Lux
The snobbish segregation of mass and luxury
brands is finally breaking down. DHL has shown
up on a Paris runway and Cheetos opened a
museum. Balancing high and low has become the
creative tension point for products at all price levels.
FR FD MA
Q S
Queer Power Shameless Transparency
LGBTQIAA+. If it feels like the acronym grew since The first-person Internet has gone
the last time you saw it, you're not wrong. That's institutional. Ethical practices aren’t a
because Queer Power is a fundamentally pluralist discreet hygiene factor, they’re the first foot
movement that welcomes everyone rethinking forward in a marketing campaign. Consumers
gender, sexuality, and romance. not only expect brands to be transparent
about their problems—they also expect them
FR Li Pe
to be transparent about their solutions.

FR FB MA

Polarization R Sharing Economy

We're living in a world of extremes. With the rise Radical Reuse
The Sharing Economy aka collaborative
of polarized camps, the middle ground has Sustainability is the new profit center for brands.
consumption, highlights the preference for
eroded. It’s Good vs. Evil out there. Think smaller, Entrepreneurs and forward-thinking businesses
individuals to rent goods rather than own
more tribal, more radical. Or break the filter are applying innovation to ethics, and creating
them, and privileges access and variety 

bubble, embrace your critics, and champion 
 new business models out of waste. Doing good
over static ownership.
the grey area. pays back and trash becomes luxe.
FB Te TT
Li ME Pe FR FD Te

Rise of the Machines Slow Life

Post-Taste
Waiting is the new instant gratification. The
Just as Instagram made good taste go viral, The rise of robotics and technology will touch
antidote to the speed and disposability of
trendsetters in fashion, art, and media have every aspect of human life: from how wars are
modern life is a mindfulness movement
decided the ugly, the adversarial, and the 
 won to how lawns are mowed. Humanity is being
toward slowing down and stripping back 

ironic are the new benchmarks for cool. 
 forced to expand its intellectual and emotional
our lives to regain value and control.
The DIY sensibility of memes is creating 
 vocabulary to bridge the Uncanny Valley.
a new aesthetic paradigm. FD Li Te
FB Te TT
FR Li ME

FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport
Global Glossary of Edges

Social Celebrity Super Seniors Wellness

Andy Warhol called it. We’re living in the
future where everyone has their fifteen minutes
of fame. The rub is that for some people that
fifteen minutes is the bedrock of an empire.
For others, micro-fame is a flash in the pan.
MA ME Pe
Brands ignore the over-50s at their peril. The wellness movement is supplanting the
Longevity is being rapidly redefined by Boomer scientific and white coat authority of the
cash and attitude and advances in wellness and healthcare industry. Consumers are looking
technology. Death is no longer inevitable. for a holistic, user-led approach that
addresses both body and mind, and goes
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beyond problem-solution to optimization.
FD HB Sp

Survivalism
Soloism
Singletons are the fastest-growing households
Sustainable living has taken on a new urgency.
Anxiety about climate change, terrorism, and
#
globally. Big box quantities are out, branding political instability is driving consumers to hope 21st-Century Sex
for an audience of one is in. Social attitudes to for the best, but prepare for the worst. Nontraditional sex has come out of the
single life are changing in response, smug shadows in our experimental times, from
FD Te TT
marrieds beware. nudist restaurants, pop polygamy, to
teledildonics. We’re inventing new expressions
FR Li TT
and new norms to satisfy our desires, and

Stealth Mode
W sexual pleasure is not the only agenda.

Wacko World HB Li Te
Connectivity may be the status quo, but that
We’re all weird now. The absurd, inexplicable and
doesn’t mean we have to accept it. Burnt out
plain silly have become common vocabulary in
by information overload—increasing numbers
memes, fashion and marketing. This is a reaction
of us are retreating into digital detox, online
to over-consumption and logic and signals a
anonymity, and antisocial media.
desire for the unique and irrational.
FB Li Te
FR Li ME

FR FB FD HB Li MA ME
Media &
Pe Sp Te TT
Fashion & 
 Finance & 
 Food &
 Health & 
 Marketing & Travel & 

Lifestyle Entertainment People Sport Tech
Retail Business Drink Beauty Advertising Transport