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20 products, people, and brands that captured the zeitgeist – and how they did it

With so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of endless shifts in relevance and  to make sense of whether something truly is era-defining. Our Best of Insights awards recognises 20 products, people and campaigns that broke through and mattered – and analyses how they did it. 

Who captured the zeitgeist in 2024? 

With so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of endless shifts in relevance, to get hold of the meaning of a viral moment or to make sense of whether something truly is era-defining. So consider this your festive treat from us: The Canvas8 team distilled a year’s worth of culture into 20 winners, analysing 365 days of insights from our platform to map out how and why these zeitgeist makers broke through (algorithm) bubbles, borders, and budgets to become our stars of the year.

Best of Insights 2024

Canvas8's Best of Insights Awards 2024

She's got 10 million Tiktok followers and averages 12 million views per video. She didn't just do it from scratch.

The sub-genre single-handedly saving the publishing industry

Here's a clue: what's oversized, carries a liquid and can survive a car fire?

Who will win

deep dive

In the Understanding Allyship Deep Dive, we explore how brands reacted to the BLM protests in 2020, unpicking how people want them to show support and the consequences of offering only surface-level action. What role should individuals and businesses play in tackling social issues?

Deep Dive: Understanding Allyship

As the world confronts hard truths around systemic racism and demands rise for immediate and lasting action, how can brands authentically show their commitment to the cause? Associate Director of Cultural Intelligence Alex Quicho presents case studies to learn from and the Applying Allyship checklist.

Understanding Allyship

Understanding Allyship Expert Webinar

In the New American Dream Deep Dive, we explore how aspirations in the US are evolving and how citizens are redefining success as the country’s place on the world stage is challenged. How can brands strike the right tone when looking to reach the modern American consumer?

Deep Dive: The New American Dream

The American Dream has taught the world that working hard will bring success, but social mobility ideals are clashing with modern reality, and America’s position on the world stage is contested. Join Associate Insight Director Rachel Ousley as she demonstrates what new ideas will shape tomorrow’s definitions of progress, ambition, and aspiration.

New American Dream 

New American Dream expert webinar

In the Luxury Refresh Deep Dive, we explore how high-end consumption is changing as a result of COVID-19 and consider the impact of personal values on HNWIs’ spending habits in the near future. How can brands deliver the opulence they seek while being conscious of the pandemic context?

Deep Dive: Luxury Refresh

With lockdown measures shaking up spending priorities, a recession in full swing, and social calendars on hold, can the luxury sector survive this period of global upheaval? Senior Analyst Polina Norina breaks down how the pandemic has impacted HNWIs.

Luxury Refresh

Luxury Refresh Deep Dive

Expert Outlook 2021

In 2021, people will be ditching established norms and rebuilding the world to define their new realities. Get a front-row seat with our Editorial Director, Kara Melchers, as she wraps up 50 expert interviews and highlights 62 new behaviours that will define 2021.

2021 Expert Outlook: Make Believe

Expert Outlook 2021 Live Stream

spotlight

In 2021, there’s a growing appetite for open dialogue around controversial topics instead of conflict. Evolving from a point of dispute to an invitation for discussion and education, being called out gives brands an opportunity for improvement instead of contention. Join Senior Behavioural Analyst Katy Young as she uncovers the three need-to-knows on call-out culture.

Call-out Culture

Call-out Culture Spotlight

A Spotlight On

2020 rewrote the rules on what it means to be a fan as many of the IRL focal points of shared passions – such as live events – were put on an indefinite hiatus. In this Spotlight on Fandom, we explore what it means to be a fan in 2021 and how brands can connect fans to the things they love.

Spotlight on: Fandom

2020 rewrote the rules on what it means to be a fan as many of the IRL focal points of shared passions – such as live events – were put on an indefinite hiatus. In this Spotlight on Fandom, senior analyst Becca explores what it means to be a fan in 2021 and how brands can connect fans to the things they love.

Fandom

Canvas8's Spotlight on Fandom

Vaccine nationalism. Netflix's dissolved boundaries. TikTok's Yi Jian Mei super-hit. What's driving consumption across borders? As COVID-19's long tail shakes up global culture, how can multinationals come out on top?

Deep Dive: Border Reorder 

In today’s hyper-connected globe, people’s understanding of their place in the world is shifting. The meaning of national identity is no longer rigid, and we’re seeing a dissolution of cultural borders as we travel through our devices.

The increased receptiveness towards closed captions, the rise of AI-aided translation technology, and the continued growth of international streaming platforms have ushered in a new era of cross-cultural entertainment. The West’s hegemony on pop culture is well behind us as the Korean Wave rises high and Afrobeats tops the global charts. The geography of cultural production is also expanding, with anime produced in the US for American fans and regional sports finding global audiences – redefining relevance and authenticity for the worldwide consumer.

This shift in mentality is happening against a turbulent geopolitical backdrop. The ‘new normal’ following the COVID-19 pandemic was quickly disrupted by the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the ensuing recession, and further questioning of economic globalisation. Several countries are now facing off over trade and cultural influence, tightening borders, and doubling down on nationalist rhetoric. As competing geopolitical blocs emerge, countries are increasingly turning to regional allies for trade, financial security, and cultural exports.

Previously prevalent elements of generic global culture are giving way to more nuanced and diverse narratives. We've seen headliners at Coachella sing in non-English languages, regional music from Mexico topping the US charts, and Everything Everywhere All At Once spotlighting the diasporic experience (winning seven Oscars in the process). The international explosion of the digital-first creator economy is decentring cultural production. Meanwhile, decolonised tourism and activism are improving cultural literacy, raising expectations for product provenance that, in turn, rely on strong local identities. As the globally curious seek out hyper-localised offerings, globalism and localism now exist in a tense, uneasy harmony.

Border Reorder

The pandemic may have destabilized nations, but it has also accelerated digitization. Despite being stuck inside for the past year, people have been globetrotting through their devices – internationalizing their tastes in search of hyper-local offerings and home-grown brands.

A Spotlight on

Having navigated through a pandemic, what do parents need now? In this Spotlight on Parenting, we explore what mothers and fathers are prioritising as they try to carve out a ‘new normal’ and consider how brands can make sure they are helping and not adding to the pressure.

Spotlight on: Parenting

Parenting has always been an almost impossible balancing act and the pandemic has only made things worse. Join our analysts as they answer the question 'how can brands finally ‘get real’ about parenting?'

Post Pandemic Parenting

Spotlight on Parenting

From a possible baby boom to the changing roles that moms and dads
have had to play, parents are one group to have felt the impact of the pandemic the most. Join our analysts to identify what parents need now, after an impossible year. 

Spotlight: Getting real about parenting

POST-PANDEMIC PARENTING

A Spotlight on:

How are expectations for super-convenient shopping and delivery clashing with worries about the gig economy? Why do Gen Zers want immersive shopping experiences? What has the pandemic meant for self-gifting? And how do people expect brands to give back to local communities?

Shopping Sector Snapshot: June 2021

Christmas in June? We'll show you what to expect from shoppers this December as we plot out how people want to shop, what sorts of gifts they're looking to purchase, and how to account for the inevitable uncertainties that COVID-19 presents. Join our leading industry experts and analysts as they ask: has shopping lost its spark?

Perspectives on Christmas '21

Spotlight: Expert perspectives on Christmas '21

Melissa Gonzalez is the CEO of the Lion’esque Group, a firm of experiential retail strategists. She is also the author of The Pop Up Paradigm, which discusses the relationship between brands and consumers in a digital world.

CEO of The Lion’esque Group

The pandemic has accelerated major shifts in shopping. With expectations increasing across all aspects of the retail experience, learn from our analysts how you can stay ahead.

Shopping

Spotlight On Shopping

Andrea Graham Richeson is a New York-based writer, consultant and consumer anthropologist studying why people love what they love. She specialises in youth culture, gaming, fandoms, social media, and new media. She is the founder of the youth culture consultancy Youth Tribes.

Dr. Christos Makridis is passionate about the ways in which technology shapes the ways we work and live and how to promote human flourishing. He serves as a research affiliate and professor at Stanford University, Columbia Business School, Arizona State University, and Baylor University, as well as a senior advisor on the National AI Institute at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has also written for 

has a Web3 start-up focused on the arts and multimedia production, and holds dual doctorates and master's degrees in economics and management science and engineering from Stanford University.

Cyber-security

Artificial intelligence

Human resources

Web3

Blockchain

Professor, entrepreneur, advisor

Research on the effects of remote work on employee engagement and turnover

Rethink how to represent people’s ambitions

Identify creative routes forward through the recovery phase of the pandemic that inspire action 

Define your post-pandemic audience segmentation, particularly around shifting consumption habits (i.e. frugal vs revenge spenders)

Why Join?

Is the ‘dream job’ is dead? Will ‘hustle culture’ lose out to revenge spending? And will we see a split between work and self?

https://cdn.sanity.io/files/1mk9ifx4/production/2092af6a8f405f434c4989be923b7583a84323ef.pdf

The Restore Sessions: Ep.1 Recessioncore

Restore Sessions | Ep.1 Recessioncore

Dr. Will Siu completed medical and graduate school at UCLA and the University of Oxford, respectively, before training as a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School. He remained on the faculty at Harvard for two years before leaving to pursue his interests in psychedelic medicine as a practitioner, researcher, speaker, and educator. He is a co-principal investigator on a pilot research study for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for fibromyalgia. Dr. Siu is trained to provide MDMA-assisted therapy and maintains a private practice in Los Angeles. He has been featured in a variety of news and media, including 

Psychedelics

Psychiatry

Spirituality

Transformation

Healing

Physician, researcher, speaker, educator

Podcast with Goop

Dr. Susan Matt is a history professor at Weber State University. She researches US social and cultural history, and the history of emotions. Dr. Fernandez and Dr. Matt co-wrote the book Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings About Technology, From The Telegraph To Twitter, about emotional fulfillment in the digital age.

Dimitrios is a sociologist investigating human enhancement and substance use. His current research fellowship funded by the Wellcome Trust looks at microdosing psychedelics as a new form of human enhancement (Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University).

From the ‘shroom boom’ to the ket clinic – will ‘new wellness’ fuse alt faith with hard science?

https://cdn.sanity.io/files/1mk9ifx4/production/620f7fecd8a69508d723e6efde54655921bdea41.pdf

The Restore Sessions: Ep.2 Enlightenment Now

Restore Sessions | Ep. 2 Enlightenment Now

Tim is an author and journalist using both fiction and non-fiction to explore issues around cities, class, culture, technology, and the future. His work regularly appears on the BBC, New Scientist, and Vice/Motherboard. His debut novel INFINITE DETAIL was published by FSG in 2019

Maksym Rokmaniko is a designer and researcher working at the cutting edge of design and architecture, exploring new forms of urban living and emerging technologies. He’s the founder of Center for Spatial Technologies, a design studio whose work is pushing the boundaries of housing and urban design, and also the project lead of DOMA – a cooperative, shared-ownership housing platform for equitable housing.

3d modelling

Visualisation

Design

Architecture

Metaverse

Director

Centre for Spatial Technologies web portal

Identify creative routes forward through the recovery phase of the pandemic that inspire action 


Why Join? 

Blended homes, deserted districts, and dark retail – will urban living mutate beyond recognition?

https://cdn.sanity.io/files/1mk9ifx4/production/45a5f58626f753baf7203ec6131aa6d544b65c29.pdf

The Restore Sessions: Ep.3 Extreme City

Restore Sessions | Ep.3 Extreme City

Series Finale

Inder has worked across music, entertainment, and partnerships for the past 10 years, starting his first agency when he was 21 years old, and has gone on to work with some of the biggest global brands. He is the founder and CEO of Pixelynx, a gaming venture that has been co-founded by iconic musicians (deadmau5 & Richie Hawtin). Their mission is to create a portal into the metaverse by helping the entertainment industry launch virtual worlds and digital collectibles.

Gaming

Music

Partnerships

Olivia Yallop is a brand strategist and trend analyst specialising in social media, youth culture, and the creator economy. She builds next-gen identities and marketing experiences for clients across the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries including Nike, Adidas, Depop, Disney, and Converse. Olivia also lectures at LCF and contributes to research and media covering the social/digital space, including as a regular talking head explaining internet trends on Times Radio. Her first book, 

Youth culture

Creator economy

Digital culture

Social media

Online communities

Brand strategist and trend analyst

Canvas8's The Restore Sessions

From popstars in the ‘metaverse’ to Tiktok’s false authenticity – has mass digitisation altered our identities?

https://cdn.sanity.io/files/1mk9ifx4/production/2bd286b177653416341c40ccfe50ba0715704056.pdf

The Restore Sessions: Ep.4 Identity Games

Restore Session: Identity Games

Sneakerheads are seeking fashion tips on Discord. Unemployed individuals are turning to Reddit for support. Boomers are being radicalised by algorithms. Understanding who people listen to and the platforms they prefer underpins the work we’ve done in our Spotlight on Influence and Icons.

Spotlight on: Influence and Icons

From the fall of the celebrity to the rise of people with purpose, what do the new cultural icons of today tell us about people's changing behaviors, buying decisions and values?

Icons and influence

Spotlight: Icons & Influence

pexels-ron-lach-8287062.mp4

Alex Quicho is the head of cultural intelligence at Canvas8

 Her research into identity, ethics, and technology has been published widely, including in 

, and a recent monograph for Zero Books. She is an associate lecturer in speculative futures at Central Saint Martins and holds a master’s degree in cultural criticism from the Royal College of Art. At Canvas8, she designs innovative methodologies and develops cultural understanding for clients including Google and Nike.

Head of cultural intelligence

Tom Novak is a senior behavioral analyst at Canvas8. After completing his second master's degree in cultural sociology at LSE, he was drawn to cultural insight. Tom has conducted qualitative and ethnographic research from the plazas of Santiago to Coventry's suburbs. In his spare time, he can be seen rowing down the Thames or world-building around feminist science fiction.


Senior behavioral analyst

Conversations about sustainability are no longer enough. As it becomes all but certain that global heating will increase beyond the 1.5°C of the Paris Agreement, the effects of climate change are already a reality for many communities worldwide. People are not only sensing the urgency of the matter but are realising that existing strategies – on a personal and collective level – are not sufficient.

While companies and businesses were quick to make environmental pledges and commitments, demonstrated by the rising ESG movement in recent years, the momentum has slowed or reversed in the face of economic downturn and potential culture war boycotts. Both people and companies are increasingly confused about the language of sustainability, and vague and misleading vocabulary has led to cases of greenwashing. While climate change is acknowledged as a pressing matter, people no longer understand how they can make a difference – feeling mistrust, scepticism, and fatigue from the oversaturation of messaging from big companies. At the same time, others are angry at the lack of progress, taking more drastic measures to spur governments, businesses, and billionaires into taking action and accountability for their disproportionate environmental impact.

Facing polycrisis in a world that's more interconnected and globalised than ever, people recognise the need for new leaders and ways to mobilise. They're calling for more intersectional approaches to sustainability, looking at long-term social, environmental, economic, and ethical impacts across the supply chain.

At the same time, the cost of living crisis is having a significant impact on people's sustainable behaviours. People often prioritise price over ethics (even if the growth of the eco-luxury sector shows no signs of stopping) but are also increasingly adopting circularity to save on costs – buying more secondhand, seeking out durability, repairing more, and sharing more.

Sustainable Solutions

Although sustainability issues are now mainstream, many are confused and scared by eco buzzwords, ‘code red’ reports, and entrenched climate justice issues.

Get to terms with Eco language

People are moving beyond purely individualistic frameworks as they demand collective action and responsibility from brands and governments.

Be a part of something bigger 

Rather than a constant choice and response to be made, consumers are seeking sustainable solutions that are integrated into everyday life.

Frictionless responsibility

Need to Know

With green-washing and empty promises rife, how do brands gain the right to play in the sustainability space? In our latest Deep Dive, we tap into a new Macro Behaviour.

Eco Behaviours

Deep Dive Eco Behaviors

Deep Dive Eco Behaviours

Expert Outlook 2022: Opt in / Opt out

Content Strategy Director, Canvas8

Kara Melchers is the content strategy director at Canvas8. She first joined the company as part of the cultural intelligence team and, following a year as interim editorial director, she now leads public-facing thought leadership projects. A specialist in disruptive storytelling, she works with some of Canvas8’s biggest clients to help them demonstrate authority, leadership, and expertise. Outside of Canvas8, she can be found in a welding mask making furniture and sculptures from metal.

Content Strategy Director

Journalist and author of the book Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World, Snigdha Poonam has a keen insight into how socio-economic issues are shaping the younger generations in India, and how shifts in technology are enabling them to engage with different attitudes and brands.

Tech and society

Identity formation

Independent journalist and author 

Article

A commentary-based content creator with an audience of over 220,000 on TikTok, Jules Terpak's platform is aimed at uplifting discussions about the future of media, tech, education, and work culture. She has worked with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies to help position their digital strategies and better understand the future of social media. She is a Commence 2030 Fellow's Choice Honoree for Civics Unplugged, a nonpartisan social enterprise that empowers Gen Z leaders to build a better future for humanity.

Culture

Digital strategy

The future

TikTok Creator, Google Z Council Advisor, Marketer

TikTok post on the four-day work week

Jenk Oz is a 17-year-old social entrepreneur, public speaker, activist, consultant, and presenter. He's also the founder and CEO of Thred Media, a social enterprise focused on publishing, media, consulting, and production aimed at Gen Zers. He has been featured in over 300 press articles and has received more than 30 awards, including the Digiday Publisher Award, Anthem Award, The Diana Award, British Citizen Youth Award, Top 100 Digital Leaders, Great British Young Entrepreneur, and Progress 1000: Most Influential Person.


Social change

Young entrepreneurship

Activism

Youth employment

Founder and CEO

TEDx Talk: Can a like change the world?

Expert Outlook 2022

Opt-in and meet the mindsets from our Expert Outlook 2022 research – the product of 68 expert interviews and over 150 hours of analysis.

2022 Expert Outlook: Opt In / Opt Out

Expert Outlook 2022 Launch: Meet the mindsets

Site video: Culture Stewards

Expert Outlook: S1 E1

Kadian Pow is a queer, Black femme who has lived in three different countries. She is currently a lecturer at Birmingham City University, where she teaches courses in sociology and Black studies. She hails from Kingston, Jamaica but spent the majority of her life in Washington DC. Prior to moving to the UK and earning her PhD, Kadian focused on informal education and inclusion at such institutions as the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Smithsonian, the Barber Institute, and the University of Birmingham. She is also the founder and managing director of her own beauty brand, Bourn Beautiful Naturals.

Black feminism

Beauty culture

Fan culture

Queerness

TV analysis

Black hair politics

Sociology and Black studies lecturer

Article on the Sex and the City sequel

Cora Harrington is an intimate apparel expert and author. She is the founder of The Lingerie Addict, the world's leading consumer-focused lingerie publication, and the author of In Intimate Detail: How to Choose, Wear, and Love Lingerie. She has been interviewed for her expertise by several media outlets, including WWD, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Vogue, Fashionista, and others.