Some certainty in the uncertainty

his week I had the pleasure of talking with Mike Dickson from AXR, who is wonderfully in touch with many companies across consumer goods. We were comparing notes on what we're both hearing from the market, and the same refrain kept coming up: companies are worried about uncertainty. What's Trump going to do next? The wars, the cost of living squeeze, unaffordable housing, new taxes and more. Mike said a lot of companies are taking a more cautious, conservative approach because they don't know what's coming next.

I get it. I really do. But here's what's nagging at me.

I actually think we've got a potentially good handle on what's coming next. Not perfect, but good enough. And the companies that see this can move now, perhaps more than they have been in years.

Nothing is certain in life, sure. But I don't see the news cycle suddenly turning around. Which means the trends are reasonably clear. Consumers are going to keep worrying about safety and security. They're going to keep worrying about affordability and whether they're getting ripped off. They're worried about political gamesmanship, which drives a need for authenticity. They're worried about microplastics and what we're doing to the environment. They're worried about AI taking their jobs, or at minimum radically changing them. Technology stocks are superheating, creating a likely bubble or FOMO.

What we're not hearing a lot about? Carefree days. Optimism. Harmony. Inspirational, maybe, but probably not the values to hang your innovation pipeline on for the next couple of years. My personal view is the next few years are going to be quite muted.

The Insight: A way to increase the traction of your innovation pipeline right now is to align your brand's deliverables and core values with the realities of what people are actually thinking about. Not what we wish they were thinking about. What they're actually worried about today.

If this sounds familiar and you'd like to talk through what you're seeing, reach out.