New Research: February Trend Hunter Report Explores the Popularity of Instagram

February 22, 2019 | TrendHunter.com’s latest free monthly report for Toy Association members, titled “Instagrammable,” explores the influencer-led, youth-focused "Instagram aesthetic," and what that means for media, marketing, products, and consumer experiences.

“Instagram is a highly effective way for companies to gain brand and product exposure through consumers’ own shared posts,” said Anne McConnell, senior director of market research & data strategy at The Toy Association. “This report is chock full of interesting and unique ways that toy companies – and toy retailers – can appeal to kids and parents today with curated experiences that are social-media friendly.”

The report features the following topics, among others:

• Aesthetic Exhibition – Museums and galleries are collaborating with artists to hold exhibits that speak more to bold, share-worthy designs and aesthetics, as opposed to simply cultural or historic significance, changing the way art, culture, and educational activities are perceived and experienced. The Color Factory in New York City is a museum devoted to giving its visitors the most social media-friendly pictures possible, encouraging Instagram photos and Snapchats at every turn. As its name indicates, The Color Factory is devoted to chromatics – the museum's 17 different experiences are all inspired by a hue, such as a yellow ball pit filled with 207,000 balls, a green room where visitors are encouraged to scribble on the walls, and a blue space that's packed full of blown up balloons.
• Aesthetic Eating – Restaurants are producing brightly colored, aesthetically pleasing dishes that lend themselves to image-based social sharing. The Rebel Donut Bar's distinct miniature donuts, inspired by breweries, cater to the increasing consumer focus on artisanal food products. The Minneapolis-based donut shop’s miniature donuts allow visitors to sample an array of flavors. The concept is similar to that offered in breweries, where they offer small flights of beer so that visitors are able to try several flavors.
• Share-Worthy Wellness – The health and wellness category is undergoing a rapid transformation, much of which is related to the way products and services in the space are branded and marketed. Feeding into this shift are meticulously-designed wellness products intended to be shared via social media. For example, in the same way that consumers are relying on athleisure garments to carry them from the gym to the office to the bar, a new wave of athleisure-inspired skincare products, such as Yuni Beauty's “Sweat, Refresh, Go” kit, are emerging to provide on-demand care, refreshment, and rejuvenation.
• Insta-Tourism – Consumers looking to travel are turning to Instagram and other image-focused app services in order to find inspiration for planning their trips. Boutique hotels have always been popular, but a re-imagined vacation space from HotelTonight is offering travelers the chance to sleep in an interior that looks more like an abstract painting than a hotel room, fueling the “Instagram-worthy” aspect of the room.
• Social Inspiration – Consumer brands are increasingly observing consumer habits and preferences to see where they could fit into their lifestyles, rather than trying to form or shape those habits and preferences, as was once so popular in marketing. The “Instance” fragrance concept creates highly customized scents based on one's Instagram feed by using data about one's experiences, travels, favorite colors, and style to develop a unique scent based off of what's been shared to a digital feed.

This report is the latest in a series from Trend Hunter offering in-depth perspectives and trends in various areas related to the toy industry and beyond youth markets to help spark unique ideas. For additional relevant trends, toy companies may click on the report’s consumer insights examples, scroll down, and click the images for further information. 

Members are encouraged to send topic suggestions for future trend reports to The Toy Association’s Anne McConnell.

TrendHunter.com has accumulated nearly 3 billion views from more than 100 million visitors. The data research company helps clients “Dive Deeper,” “Work Smarter,” and “Save Effort” in order to increase the overall success of their companies and brands.