Branding trends to create meaningful experiences in 2024

While many brands have been prioritising global issues, there has also been a huge influx of shamelessly high-output brands like Shein and Temu flogging low-cost, low-quality items that will end up in landfills. Although the rise of these brands has likely been fuelled in part by the global economic situation, there are still many consumers who still value real values.

Gen-Z and millennials in particular are passionate about brand authenticity. As such a large part of the global buying market, it’s important to factor this into your branding strategy. Saying the right things isn’t enough; modern brands need to follow through with claims of quality, integrity and sustainability.

While baby boomers aren’t keen to pay more for products and services that are environmentally friendly or support a living wage, Gen-Z are. This is particularly interesting, as baby boomers are the UK’s wealthiest demographic, holding more than 50% of the nation’s wealth, leaving millennials with just 2%. And yet it’s these younger, less-well-off generations that are embracing authenticity, even with limited means.

By investing in greener and more socially responsible practices throughout your business practices, you can expect to sell more items while also creating deep and meaningful brand loyalty that could sustain your business for decades.

Although the internet brings us all together on a scale that transcends both distance and time, the trivial interactions of the modern world can somehow feel quite lonely. The constant inundation of ads makes consumerism feel like a one-way relationship, which isn’t particularly satisfying for customers.

Customers are crying out for meaningful interactions, and brands that can provide them can pick up on easy wins that quickly translate into brand loyalty. From engaging with your audience on social media to developing large-scale interactive experiences through augmented reality, your branding efforts for 2024 need to focus on emotional connections and acknowledging mutual value.

Personalised branding allows brands to make deeper connections with their customers by delivering a service tailored to their needs and preferences. Consider brands like Netflix and Spotify, which use complex algorithms to learn more about what their users want, and to deliver more of it. These same processes can be expanded into a variety of different business models, including everything from online retail to live events. Instead of simply trying to sell something to someone, this approach favours quality over quantity. It shows that you’re thinking about the customer as an actual human person, and makes it easier to turn one-off transactions into lifelong brand loyalty.