When it comes to future-proofing, organizations often struggle with the ability to imagine, feel, and touch the future. This leads to a lack of organizational strategy and actionable plans that limits brands to remain relevant and shape what’s to come.
To address this, we use the metaphor of a museum—a place where our clients can step out of their comfort zones and visualize the future. In the Museum of the Future, we present familiar objects from today that are at risk of becoming arcane, obsolete, or mere antique curiosities.
Bringing the Future to Life
By using the idea of the Museum of The Future, we present possible future scenarios, highlighting both risks and opportunities for our clients' categories. We delve into what these scenarios might mean for their consumers, brands, and products.
Identifying Disruptions
Our approach begins with a focus on disruptions, cultural shifts, category change, behavioral movements, and technological advancements shaping the landscape for our clients’ brands. We examine these forces to identify tensions, explore potential risks, and uncover opportunities.
Imagining Obsolescence
To spark deeper understanding, we imagine which objects might one day become relics of the past. Consider, for example, items like the floppy disk, landline phone, or Walkman. These were once essential but are now largely irrelevant or viewed with nostalgia.
Placing objects relevant now but at risk of becoming obsolete, mere curiosities due to disruptions in the Museum of the Future allows us to envision a world where they are either entirely forgotten or, perhaps, reimagined.
The Emotional and Cultural Impact of Objects
The exercise isn’t just about the functional aspects of these objects. By spotlighting them, we explore their emotional and cultural significance. Most importantly, we consider the human needs they fulfil. If these objects become obsolete, what will fulfil those needs in the future? And how can our client avoid threats and equally seize the opportunity as a result of change?
The Head, Hand, and Heart Model
To guide this exploration, we use the Head, Hand, and Heart model:
Head: Rational and strategic positioning.
Heart: Emotional connection.
Hands: Practical delivery and customer experience.
This model allows us to examine what could be lost and gained in future scenarios, helping our clients build strategies that balance logic, emotion, and practicality as they plan for the future.
A Cultural Ethno-Biography
The Museum of the Future serves as a cultural ethno-biography, providing a vivid and meaningful way to connect with the future. It enables us to imagine what lies ahead and take actionable steps to shape that future today.
Acting on the Future Now
By helping our clients see, feel, and act on these possibilities, we empower them to innovate to remain relevant in years to come before its too late.
To find out more about Truth Futures and the ways we help future proof brands get in touch hello@truth.ms
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