Technology, demographic shifts, naturalism and a sea change in branding will shape marketing over the next 25 years.

Futurist Andrew Zolli outlined four “forces” influencing U.S. culture and marketing at the IEG Sponsorship Conference in Chicago yesterday.

“These are bigger than trends,” said Zolli, founder of Z+ Partners, New York City.

Ambient technology, especially RFID tags, “will reshape branding as much as TV or the Internet has” when all products carry chips that let marketers track product movement and cue consumers about how and when to use the products.

“If every single product can talk to you, listen to you and work with you, how will that change the way consumers engage with brands?” Zolli posited.

“Open source brands” will be the next stage as brands evolve from commodities (think coffee beans) to products, services, then experiences (think Starbucks). Brands will become more transparent as consumers can learn more, faster via Internet searches on brand names, and as consumers take more brand ownership. That will spur brand advocacy: “The organizations that win are those that understand and foster [grassroots advocacy] among their constituents,” Rolli told the crowd of 1,200.

Third, demographic shifts as Baby Boomers age will change the notion of retirement (many won’t be able to afford it), create a shortage of younger workers, and could pit parents and kids to compete for the same jobs. Families may resume inter-generational households common in the early- to mid-1900s, and immigration laws will relax as the U.S. competes with other countries to court elite immigrants to build the working-age population.

Lastly, a “new naturalism” will take green marketing mainstream as companies adopt simpler products that need less processing in order to trim costs. Aging consumers prompt demand for healthier items, and “biotechnology will be to the next 50 years what information technology has been to the last 50 years,” Zolli concluded.

Technology, demographic shifts, naturalism and a sea change in branding will shape marketing over the next 25 years.

Futurist Andrew Zolli outlined four “forces” influencing U.S. culture and marketing at the IEG Sponsorship Conference in Chicago yesterday.

“These are bigger than trends,” said Zolli, founder of Z+ Partners, New York City.

Ambient technology, especially RFID tags, “will reshape branding as much as TV or the Internet has” when all products carry chips that let marketers track product movement and cue consumers about how and when to use the products.

“If every single product can talk to you, listen to you and work with you, how will that change the way consumers engage with brands?” Zolli posited.

“Open source brands” will be the next stage as brands evolve from commodities (think coffee beans) to products, services, then experiences (think Starbucks). Brands will become more transparent as consumers can learn more, faster via Internet searches on brand names, and as consumers take more brand ownership. That will spur brand advocacy: “The organizations that win are those that understand and foster [grassroots advocacy] among their constituents,” Rolli told the crowd of 1,200.

Third, demographic shifts as Baby Boomers age will change the notion of retirement (many won’t be able to afford it), create a shortage of younger workers, and could pit parents and kids to compete for the same jobs. Families may resume inter-generational households common in the early- to mid-1900s, and immigration laws will relax as the U.S. competes with other countries to court elite immigrants to build the working-age population.

Lastly, a “new naturalism” will take green marketing mainstream as companies adopt simpler products that need less processing in order to trim costs. Aging consumers prompt demand for healthier items, and “biotechnology will be to the next 50 years what information technology has been to the last 50 years,” Zolli concluded.