Over the past months, we have grown a little allergy with the word ‘disruption’. It started as a little irritation, but now the word is like a rude rash on the skin of commerce.

Experts, journalists, consultants and opinion leaders seem to use the word with abandon and now it seems the true significance of this particular word is resting in the same muddy pool of other overused terms like ‘luxury, love, design-thinking, premium, strategy, innovation, wellness’ and so on. Everything seems to disrupting at the moment. From governance to media, politics to policies, tools and technology, culture and society, transportation and mobility, products to places – and everyone seems to have their own personal interpretation of disruption.

We believe the words we use have a significant impact on shaping strategy and culture and we would like to encourage everyone to consider new words to shape fresh perspectives. To that effect, ‘disaggregation’ is one of them.

The gravitational forces between consumers and brands, talent and corporations, authority and opinions are weakening rapidly and this warrants a recalibration of strategy to cross the growing chasms between culture, consumption, corporations and commerce. What’s considered disruptive might be disaggregation at play, so here are some thoughts towards igniting fresh conversations;

Data Disaggregation

Data capture and analysis strategies are evolving rapidly, fueled by machine learning, artificial intelligence and other breakthrough technological advantages, allowing companies to harness knowledge in a meaningful manner. But companies need to rise above traditional aggregated data-sets and define new segments, psychographic and consumer behaviour patterns relevant to their businesses. Simply put, the markers for relevance and value are infinitely more personal, intuitive and fragmented, so unleashing value will require new parameters in data mining and a more dynamic management approach of these insights and trends.

Identity Disaggregation

Where you are from or whom you identify with is facing unprecedented debate as governments politicize national identity and the topic of self-identity is causing rifts in some of the world’s most mature capitalist markets. Similarly, the world of marketing is prone to clever categorization of consumers based on genders, nationalities, age, culture, interests, behaviour and so forth, but we need to be mindful of the multi-dimensionality of personalities, behaviour and desires that shape the way people identify themselves in the context of consumption. We believe greater granularity about how people build their social tribes and identify with others is essential, and this cocktail of nebulous shared values will change and evolve as consumers identify with themselves and the choices they make.

Cultural Disaggregation

The rising distrust in traditional institutions will lead consumers to connect with alternate ideologies powered by brands taking on the role of pseudo-religions. Legacy brands will need to become more agile as new entrants will tear up the rule book and come up with new and engaging dimensions to their purpose, promise and proposition. This means spaces, places and experiences will connect with people in a whole new way and you will need to think about cultural disaggregation at a conceptual stage as opposed to reacting to make tactical gains. A certain informality envelopes modern culture and how people interact immaterial of their gender, age or ethnicity and progressive brands will need to weave authentic value, purpose and conviviality into aspirational experiences.

Corporate Disaggregation

The role of the corporation is under threat as labour organizes itself and individuals manage to create value for their personal economies without being shackled to full-time jobs. The gig economy and ‘uberisation’ effect will challenge traditional business models and we will witness the rise of a new breed of companies that are more purpose-led and become platforms of value creation. This means people will need to find new ways of creating value and income for themselves and companies in the future will bridge demand and supply by evolving their operating models to become more collaborative in nature.

Media Disaggregation

The dilution of authority, proliferation of opinions and media sensationalism are some of the key factors driving distrust in the marketing of messages. Fake news and propaganda targeting affinity based data bubbles (where people only see what algorithms believe need to be shared) are playing havoc in how people consume news and advertising so it’s becoming even more important to understand how to navigate these layers of complexity and protect the integrity of your brand and its narrative. We believe social media influencers and click-bait media strategies will all face head winds as people will simply stop believing what’s being sold to them and new channels will evolve where authority and truth play a critical role in building credibility.

These are just some of the topics we need to address as we step into a new decade of innovation, progress and change in the business world.