THE FUTURE OF SELF THE OBSESSION WITH THE FILTERED SELF – The ‘filter’ trend took hold back in 2011 – and still has us firmly in its grip, with TikTok’s hyper-realistic Bold Glamour Social media VR avatars: they all challenge filter recently coming under , , fire for creating feelings of inadequacy among users. our notion of what it is to be human. Are we at – Dove put its stake firmly inthe sand with its ‘Real Beauty’ campaign; a recent iteration risk of becoming ‘algorithmised’? What does (#TurnYourBack) encourages users to take a stand against the unrealistic beauty new technology mean for our sense of self ? standards being promoted by channels like TikTok. – Aerie’s ‘AerieReal’ campaign And what are the risks and opportunities features unretouched photosof models of all shapes, sizes and skin tones, promoting for brands ? authenticity and self-acceptance. The year is 2040. The sky is a peculiar shade of ultraviolet. And the and it’s essential to recognise that authentic engagement is the key streets are eerily quiet. Why? Because we’re all inside – plugged to building long-lasting relationships with your audience.” into ourdevices, staring at screens, living our best lives in the digital cosmos. The potential splintering of online identities also raises questions about targeting. On the one hand, brands have more opportunities to It’s not beyond the realms of (virtual) reality. And would come as no target customers based on their specific interests and preferences. surprise to Mark Zuckerberg, who once said that the future would “B ut on the other, it can be difficult to track and manage, making it involve spending more time in the Metaverse than in the real world. harder for brands to gather accurate data about their customers,” Metaverse-aside, predictions that the digital universe will be as says Beata Magdziarz, Chief Digital Officer, Havas Media Group important as the so-called ‘real world’ don’t feel like much of a stretch.Poland. “Data analytics tools are crucial for gaining deeper insights into customer behaviour across different online identities.” But how will our exploration of virtual playgrounds impact our sense of self? How limiting –or otherwise – is a seemingly infinite online You’ve then got the challenge of data quality, and to what extent world? And what does it all mean for brands? it’s relied upon for insight. “If you see people as data,” says Tracy, “you miss the ‘why’. And without the why – The evolution of the digital self If we think of thewithout understanding the intention behind For Tracy Lui, Strategy Director, Havas Media, a particular online action – you’ll never really Hong Kong, the digital world has a fundamental metaverse as a know how consumers feel about a brand, impact on how we see ourselves, representing large interoperableproduct or service.” as it does a new frontier of exploration. “Online, we can discover any topic, debate with anyone, video game insteadBeata agrees that the best kind of brand share ideas,” she says. “But this opens up two of ‘the future of communications find a balance between opposing possibilities: we can become more data-driven insight and human-centred worldly or, conversely, more closed off.” our species’, it design. “Prioritising empathy, creativity and a might lead to moredeep understanding of customer needs and This world of conflations and contradictions desires, brands can build more meaningful becomesmore nuanced when you consider germane brand and authentic relationships with their the fact that digital platforms provide us with experiences customers, and differentiate themselves in the a sense of pseudo-anonymity; this is a world marketplace,” she says. where we can, to all intents and purposes, become anyone. “Online identities give people the flexibility to In fact, the focus should be less about collection data – more about share different versions of themselves – and for many marginalised recognising the people behind the data. “Spotify are the masters of populations, this can be freeing,” says James Huerta, Executive this,” says Alfie. “Their business isbuilt on collecting user data, but Director of CX, Havas CX. “But it raises questions about how users they serve it back to users in a way that adds real value to their lives.” are allowed to present themselves online, and what cultural or physical characteristics are okay to adapt within avatars and other And what about the much-talked about Metaverse? While it hasn’t visual representations of people.” taken off in the way Zuckerberg predicted, it remains a new territory for brands to explore. “It’s a fairly safe place to try new ideas,” says The challenge and opportunities for brands James. “But at the same time, there are very few people across many There’s no doubt that as digital becomes a bigger part of the human of these platforms. While gaming is clearly a mainstream interest, experience, it’ll provide new means of self-expression – which there isn’t great evidence that our entire lives will actually take place brings with it its own fresh challenges. “For brands, understanding in a virtual recreation of 3D space. If we all think of the metaverse as a and catering to these diverse identities becomes increasingly large interoperable video game instead of ‘the future of our species’, complex,” says Alfie Boyle, Senior Strategist, Conran Design Group. it might temper everyone’s expectations and lead to higher quality “S triking a balance between personalisation and privacy is crucial, and more germane brand experiences.” THE IDENTITY ISSUE 29