Abhishek Hariharan, Associate Vice President and Head of Strategic Planning, MullenLowe Sri Lanka 

Leading integrated communications agency MullenLowe Sri Lanka and premier consumer behaviour specialists company Quantum Consumer Services are set to present a list of key consumer trends that marketers should look out for in 2018 at the CIM “Talking Point” forum to be held on the 29th of January at the Hilton Colombo Residences (JAIC Hilton).

Abhishek Hariharan, Associate Vice President and Head of Strategic Planning, MullenLowe Sri Lanka and Chitrangani Herat Gunaratne, Senior Consultant,Quantum Consumer Services  will be elaborating on these trends which highlight some expected shifts in consumer behaviour that are set to have an impact on how brands interact with their consumers in the year ahead.

The research was born from MullenLowe Sri Lanka’s acute understanding of market and consumer trends and Quantum’s extensive experience in researching human behaviour. MullenLowe works across multiple categories giving them the width and knowledge they need to plot trends and converting them into communications that engage consumers in a unique and exciting way. Quantum has extensive experience in the identification of deep human truths and its translation into brand strategy. The collective expertise and the collaborative nature of these two organizations have made this release possible which can immensely help brands and organizations in 2018.

These trends are the result of hours of work by the two organizations analysing data and arriving at predictive summaries. The continued rise of technology, a changing consumer culture and priorities that occurred through 2017 will influence the way consumers make choices this year and these trends reflect those possible changes.  

Chitrangani Herat Gunaratne, Senior Consultant,Quantum Consumer Services  
 
Commenting on the release of the 10 trends for 2018,Thayalan Bartlett, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MullenLowe Sri Lanka, said, “The process of intrinsic understanding of people's behaviours, their values, including the way they think and eventually act in engaging with products and services is an integral part of our communication process. The subtlest of shifts could impact brands, positively and negatively by the millions in a very short time. We are pleased to be working with Quantum on these predictive trends for 2018 which will benefit brands through this year.”

Roshani Fernando, Partner, Quantum Consumer Solutions said, “All trends have two sides to it, we see its manifestation in terms of particular behaviours. It is important to realise that these behaviours are rooted in deeper anxieties, where the behaviour is a coping mechanism or is a means of realizing an aspiration. We at Quantum are committed to enabling brands build genuine empathy triggers.”

CIM is the world's largest professional body for marketing and CIM Sri Lanka is the first international branch of CIM comprising the largest number of members and students outside of the U.K. CIM Sri Lanka’s signature Talking Point series of programmes brings together corporate leaders, professionals and marketers to present and discuss topical and relevant subjects of interest to all. 

Quantum has over 25 years of experience in delivering deep, rich and clear insights to their clients. Utilizing cross functional teams made up of creatives, story crafters, designers, cultural experts and human insights specialists the company has been able to address challenging and complex questions to help their clients understand the human experience.

MullenLowe Sri Lanka is the local office of the MullenLowe Group, a member of the US$7.6 billion Interpublic Group (IPG) - one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies headquartered in New York. Seeing potential in post war Sri Lanka, IPG further strengthened its commitment by acquiring a 100% stake in the agency that started its operations in the country as LDB Lintas in 1993 and was subsequently known as Lowe LDB, an agency with a vibrant creative legacy. A majority of MullenLowe’s business comes from global FMCG giant Unilever. In addition, it works with some of the country’s leading brands in carbonated soft drinks, banking and finance, insurance, biscuits, milk foods, sanitary napkins, lubricants, foods, FinTech, personal care and beauty products, mobile communications, data, consumer electronics and paints to name a few.