What’s next for 2022?

A new year has arrived, and if 2021 is any indication, the months ahead will be transformative for all of us and brands. Below are some key questions and answers on themes Vivaldi Partner Anne Olderog is watching in 2022.

To start, looking back what would you say defined 2021?

• We learned that we are more resilient and self-sufficient that we ever thought.
• We learned that the Internet is not the be all and end all – the Metaverse is coming.
• We learned that a mini-world can be recreated in our homes, sending consumers into a frenzy of  consuming home goods, from kitchen to office to fitness – transforming homes from “sleeping” places into true “living spaces”.
• We learned that surviving this isolation is only possible when we have access to ecosystems and communities – opening the door to more platforms and interaction field models.

Is this the year when artificial intelligence becomes natural?

AI will stop being scary and more common place –  rather than being the stuff of science fiction?  It will become embedded in so many underlying platforms and technologies that it will be increasingly seen as a requirement –  and not appear as a far-out dream. So many platforms, from mobility apps to adaptive educational platforms are using AI already – and more is on the way.

Can supply chains still supply?

Supply chains will continue being tense as consumers have a voracious appetite to consume everything from sports goods to experiences and travel – and even consumer goods. HomeGoods, gifts and sporting goods will continue to be on top of the chain as consumers rediscover the ability to re-create their own world on their terms in their houses.  The boom of nature and adventure will continue as consumers are able to push out the boundaries of the world they define as theirs and increasingly look to use the gear they’ve acquired during the pandemic. This is unlikely to be the great boom of 2020 (these brands are suffering the backlash already) but these long-term trends cannot be reversed.

Will 2022 become the year when small finally becomes big?

Will the world become increasingly fragmented or more centralized? Just as geopolitically, power becomes much more distributed and less centered around traditional super-powers – economically power becomes more distributed in 2022 as platforms and interaction fields bringing a myriad of small players together, increasingly take over industry after industry.

2022 will become the year when education becomes personalized?

The pandemic might have finally put the final straw in the idea of the cookie cutter, one size fits all education. Just as every district redefines what standards mean – and even if they’re needed, in Higher Ed, adaptive platforms are gaining ground, professors and institutions are looking to an individualized approach to a generation of learners that is more demanding than ever.

Is 2022 the year when the future of education becomes its present?

As learners come back to campus and schools increasingly challenge what has or has not been working, institutions and educators are on the lookout for new models.  Will it be virtual or hybrid? Immersive or traditional? Emporium classroom  or TED -talk style lectures administered by the best?  The jury is out, exploration is on, and what used to seem like futuristic models only used on the fringes, is increasingly making it to the mass market and taken on board by many.