How Alpha-Gen Z interplay is shaping culture Thought Leadership 9 May 2024 A new wave of youth has been creating its own version of social, in the form Gen Alpha. But louder even than Alpha’s presence itself is the response from other generations. In this piece, Mira Kopolovic, Global Head of Cultural Insights at We Are Social, examines how Gen Alpha’s new codes of youth culture are having a ripple effect on Gen Z’s values. In the 1940s, the advertising industry invented ‘teenagers’. Since then, our understanding of youth as a separate, inscrutable space has only been amplified – it’s why ..read more

We Are Social’s Tuesday Tuneup #672 Mashup 7 May 2024 Instagram update will show more content from smaller creators  Historically, creators on Instagram with large followings have benefited from the most reach on the platform, but it’s now changing its ranking systems so that smaller, original creators have a chance of gaining attention. The new approach will see Instagram recommending content from smaller creators to a select pool of audiences. As people begin to engage with the content, the top-performing content will be shown to a slightly wider audience, which will then be shared w ..read more

The Feed: Microfeminism, vigilante creators and #ShikShakShok The Feed 3 May 2024 The Feed (@thefeed.global) is powered by We Are Social’s Cultural Insights team. We’re diving into the top three posts from the year so far – trends include TikTokers taking feminism into their own hands, and creators giving us the long-story short. Read on to find out what they all mean, and why they’ve been taking over our social feeds. ‘Microfeminism’ is challenging the ideology gap between the genders Putting the male CEO into CC, assuming your doctor will be a woman, refusing to move on the sidewalk for a ..read more

Looking back on our Digital & Social summit Events 26 Apr 2024 Last week we hosted our first ever Digital & Social Summit, where we shared strategies to help brands stand out on social. Hosted by our teams in the UK, Europe, Asia and North America, along with expert guest speakers, we covered areas from gaming to effectiveness, creativity to technology. Check out the talks below, and catch up now.  AS TECHNOLOGY GETS MORE INTUITIVE, CONSUMERS ARE CRAVING REAL We often talk about putting “people before platforms” when creating content for social. Right now ..read more

Digital 2024 April Global Statshot Report Reports 24 Apr 2024 More than two in three people on Earth are now online. Here, Kepios founder Simon Kemp takes us through the updates in our latest Digital 2024 report. It’s only been a few weeks since we published our flagship Digital 2024 Global Overview Report, but even in that short space of time, the world’s digital behaviours have continued to evolve. The first three months of 2024 have seen a number of big digital milestones, and our huge new Digital 2024 April Global Statshot Report – published in partnership between We Are ..read more

How we created and evolved our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Charter for Change People & Culture 18 Apr 2024 In this blog, Lucy Doubleday, Managing Partner and Kate Corrie, Head of People and Culture share how they have evolved our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Charter for Change. We all know that advertising has a problem with diversity. When it comes to representation, the industry as a whole has repeatedly shown to be in a state of inequality. In 2018, while we recognised the importance and benefits of having a diverse team, we didn’t always have a consistent approach to achi ..read more

We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #669 Mashup 15 Apr 2024 TikTok reportedly launching new photo app to rival Instagram TikTok is reportedly taking on Instagram with a new photo app soon to launch called TikTok Notes. The company said it is working on a dedicated space for images and text content. Some users have received notifications stating that their photo posts will be shared to the new app unless they opt out. Meta trials AI chatbot across WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger Meta has begun trials across WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger in India and parts of Africa with its AI chatbot, Meta ..read more

Go Big and Go Indie: The Untapped Potential of Indie Games Collaborations in Marketing Thought Leadership 9 Apr 2024 Global Head of Gaming, Rachel Rakowski says that exploring partnerships with indie game developers can open brands up to huge untapped creative potential. In this piece she looks at the opportunities that indie studios offer in terms of creative opportunities for brands, and how they should go about forming a successful, collaborative relationship.   Over the course of my career as a marketer, I’ve heard brands say the same line over and over again; “we’re the bigg ..read more

We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #668 Mashup 8 Apr 2024 Facebook is introducing a full-screen video player Facebook is launching a new full-screen video player in the style of popular formats such as Reels and Stories on Instagram, as well as content on TikTok and Shorts on YouTube. The player, launching first in the U.S. and Canada, will automatically show videos in vertical mode and will recommend relevant videos to watch next. These recommendations will also appear on the Facebook Feed and Video tab. Image credit: Meta It will also offer new controls such as a full-screen mode for horizonta ..read more

Fandom and Genre Reclamation: Beyoncé Takes on Country Music Thought Leadership 3 Apr 2024 In this blog, Vanessa Tafi (Senior R&I Analyst) and Shannon Stocker (Senior Cultural Analyst) delve into how Beyoncé’s latest album release is igniting much-needed changes within Country music. Last month, Beyoncé broke new ground by becoming the first Black woman to top the Country charts. Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages signalled her first return to country music since 2016 single Daddy Lessons. Their release generated over 144K mentions. On 29th March, Beyoncé released her album in full – act ..read more