Are You Paying Attention to the Trends Reshaping Marketing Right Now?

Stuart Butler and Adam Stoker step outside destination marketing to spot the trends reshaping consumer attention right now - and don't even agree on which ones matter most.

Adam opens with Reddit, still one of the most under-used channels in marketing. He breaks down how a fitness app built a 16,000-person community by posting like a real Redditor instead of an advertiser, plus stats on how much Reddit shapes purchase decisions and LLM search results.

Stuart argues the value equation has flipped: consumers aren't chasing low price, they want affordable indulgence. He points to Taco Bell's "Luxe" value menu and Walmart's new premium-positioned budget line as proof that framing now beats price.

Adam makes the case for nostalgia and genealogical travel, especially for millennials starting to feel old and craving connection to their past.

Stuart pushes DMOs to ditch age-based targeting for psychographics and life stage, using the non-alcoholic beer brand Athletic as an example of ignoring demographics entirely.

Adam explains why low-production, authentic content is outperforming polished hero videos on social - and why budgets need to flip.

Stuart closes with the biggest shift: marketers no longer control product perception, audience, or distribution. The move now is collaboration over promotion, not ownership of every channel.

Bottom Line: The destinations that win next aren't the ones with the biggest budget or sharpest demographic targeting - they're the ones willing to show up authentically in conversations they don't control.