What Digital Audiences Want in 2024 (Updated) 🔮

A mid-year check-in on the trends we’re following this year. What came true, what’s changing and what might happen next.

Hey Scanners!

Can you believe it’s already been 6 months since we launched our 2024 Digital Trend Report? Thank you for reading, engaging and sharing our first report! As we dive into the latter half of 2024, these trends are still here to supercharge your campaigns and projects. 

Picture this: a campaign for your brand inspired by “less stress, more rest” (Trend 02), or using the 5 trends as a creative compass to ensure your ideas hit the mark (or which ideas you won’t touch this year). You've got endless ways to explore and leverage this report, and the fact that it’s (already) Q3 doesn’t mean you’re too late.

At this halfway point, we are jumping back in and reviewing what we launched in January. Asking ourselves, what movement is happening? Are the signals growing, slowing down or dying?

We love to see that the trends we curated are still relevant and resonating. We aren’t too surprised—our practice of scanning is all about discovering, cataloging and synthesizing signals which is no quick sprint—these trends are here for the long haul, deeply rooted in enduring digital behaviors.

We hope you’ll make the most of these new insights and create some magic in the months to come! Be sure to hit subscribe if you haven’t yet to keep receiving SCAN 👀 CLUB!

– Alyssa Yuhas, Futurist, Creative Director at Arcade / LinkedIn

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👀 TREND 01

They (still) want a whole new world

Calendars full of events. AI everywhere. Who could have seen that coming? 😉

What’s changing?

When we last talked about world-building, we emphasized that the brands getting it right are creating immersive experiences that play off the 5 senses. These experiences are both digital and, increasingly, IRL (in real life). Customization has hit a new level, advertisers are going hyper-local with their campaigns, brands are experimenting with sound to improve the taste of their food, Canadian Apple fans are celebrating the Apple Vision Pro release… Everywhere you look brands are engaging their audiences in new and surprising ways.  

There are ample opportunities to get involved in this trend and build new worlds for your digital audience. But be careful what you test. Not every brand is a good fit for AI right now (even if it’s trendy), and not every digital audience wants to go to an in-person activation. How can you engage in world-building in a way that’s authentic to you and your communities?

Need some inspiration? Check out what these brands are doing 👇

What we’ve observed

📅 CURRENT / Tombras Used Google’s Gemini AI to Create Hyper-Local Ads

😲 SURPRISING / Showrunners Are Being Encouraged to Consider the Second Screen

🎯 SPECIFIC / La Poste Launches Scratch and Sniff Baguette Stamps

The Big Question:

☑️ Which of the 5 senses is your brand engaging with?

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👀 TREND 02

They (really need) less stress, more rest

Better an anxious generation than a boring one?

What’s changing?

Signs of digital fatigue are continuing to rise. Artists are flocking to platforms like Cara that offer a firm "no AI" stance. Jonathan Haidt declared Gen Z "the anxious generation" due to phone-based childhoods. Recently, the U.S. Surgeon General has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms (like what we see on cigarettes). 

We are seeing digital audiences engage with wellness products like luxury showerheads and supplements, but it may not be from a healthy place; "Hypochondria has been around for centuries – but the growth of the wellness industry may be making us worried sick." Simply wanting to "feel well" is the number one global driver consumers state when seeking a healthier lifestyle. Feeling well, it seems, is not the default for many. 

Things will only get more intense online as the U.S. election ramps up. This could mean digital chaos, fatigue, and anxiety will continue and even be amplified in the coming months. Could your brand create a moment of calm, quiet refuge online? Or could you give them what they want without trying to hook them on their devices further?

What we’ve observed

📅 CURRENT / Consumers Care About Personal Emotional Value Over Societal Emotional Value

😲 SURPRISING / Snapchat Wants to Be Seen As the Antidote to Social Media

🎯 SPECIFIC / Gen Z is Making Their Own Myspace

The Big Question:

☑️ How are you creating a calmer experience for your digital audience?

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👀 TREND 03

They are driving trends with close friends only

Add us to your group chat?

What’s changing?

Of all the trends we cover in this report, we had the most challenging finding new signals to support “close friends only,” but it’s not because the trend has died down. People are in these communities now; they’re in run clubs, connecting offline or in private spaces, and communicating with closed, niche communities. They’re using these clubs to feel something, connect and gain value. Close friends and private messaging are so important that major brands like Instagram have changed their key metric to “shares per reach” over public likes.

Other industries have caught on as well. For musicians, their fans expect a parasocial relationship (if you haven’t watched the Please, Please, Please music video, it’s a prime example). YouTubers are shifting from public platforms to closed ones, such as Patreon. Celebs are using Close Friends to promote their projects in new ways. Fans want to connect with their favorite creators, but they also want to connect with fellow fans of their favorite creators.

How can your brand continue to reach audiences in this closed, niche digital world?

What we’ve observed

📅 CURRENT / Gen Z Is Transforming the Dinner Party

😲 SURPRISING / This Report Found No Correlation Between Social Media Engagement and Content Readership

🎯 SPECIFIC / Internet Princess, Rayne Fisher-Quann, Had a Live Event for Her Paid Substack Subscribers

The Big Question:

☑️ Where else could you connect with your digital audience?

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👀 TREND 04

They are finding ways to feel something

Are you even living if you aren’t playing pickleball?

What’s changing?

It seems like everyone is on a sports kick right now. We’re moving away from sports viewership and into participation. The share of Gen Z adults who routinely engage with major sports leagues and media properties has been growing, with almost 50% interacting with the NFL and NBA. The share of U.S. adults who say they’ve participated in sports at least once per week is on the rise across all genders and generations, up 15%. 

Why? Taylor Swift dating Travis Kelce, the rising popularity of the WNBA, WAG influencer content and the Challengers movie (we stan Zendaya) certainly all played a role. Of course, 2023 was largely considered the “return to normal” year where connection took over with a desperate need. Adding more flexible work schedules has given people more opportunities to try out sports. Sports also provide a connection source for those looking to meet people outside of dating apps. They have also become a source of intergenerational community. 

It’s a stark change from the bed-rotting times of the fall and winter. Looking for an opportunity to jump in? Watch how storytelling takes you for a ride during the Olympics.

What we’ve observed

📅 CURRENT / Travis Barker Launched a Run Club

😲 SURPRISING / Netflix Announces “Emily In Paris” Video Game

🎯 SPECIFIC / Glossier’s Olympic Collabs Are Rolling Out

The Big Question:

☑️ What are you helping your digital audience feel?

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👀 TREND 05

They are losing trust in brands without (guaranteed) value

Still waiting for our Eras Tour invite.

What’s changing?

Arena tours are underselling, but festivals and conferences continue pulling crowds. Some employees are “quiet vacationing” instead of taking unpaid days off (whatever that means, HR seems to be into the term). People are selling off once-viral products and posting “deinfluencing” videos. We see a continued narrowing of what millennials and Gen Z see as valuable to spend on. In a recent Amex Trendx survey, 81% of millennial and Gen Z respondents have travel plans for summer 2024. 51% of millennial and Gen Z women plan to attend music festivals and concerts this summer (*cough* Eras tour *cough*). 66% of millennial and Gen Z respondents claim they spend at least $40 weekly on take-out. According to some, “young people are going to have a fun summer, no matter the cost.”

There’s certainly a tie to “less stress, more rest,” with us all needing an escape from the heaviness of life. But people aren’t choosing to spend on just anything. They are opting for experiences that add value to their lives and show their values, experiences that help them cross off their bucket lists, purchase from brands they align with, and, of course, thrifting. 

What values are you asking your digital audiences to align with?

What we’ve observed

📅 CURRENT / People Are Upset at Baggu for Using AI

😲 SURPRISING / People Miss DVD Extras

🎯 SPECIFIC / No Spend Challenges Are Taking Over TikTok

The Big Question:

☑️ What values are you presenting as a brand and does your audience believe you?

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READY TO PUT THESE TRENDS INTO ACTION?

We’ve made a simple Trend Planner Worksheet that helps you do exactly that.

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Before you go!