From feta pasta to Y2K. From "fake freckles" to "buccal fat removal".
The list of contemporary phenomena that have been dubbed "trends" is endless.
But do we really listen to what a pasta dish or a plastic surgery trend tells us about the movements and tensions in our society? Do we even distinguish between a short-term buzz and an indicator of a larger shift?
Not enough, thinks thjnk - and that's why they've created a brand that rethinks not just advertising, but brand positioning:
thjnk Zeitgeist.
The thjnk Zeitgeist team, led by Head of Innovation & DEI Isabelle Rogat, helps brands find - and consolidate - their unique role in the zeitgeist.
The DNA of the in-house hub is not to look at trends superficially, but to understand them as harbingers of larger social movements. And to make brands not just relevant today, but ready for tomorrow.
The portfolio includes real-time support with daily brand messaging as well as long-term brand rejuvenation and transformation consultancy. But there is also a deliberate focus on individual, customisable solutions for all businesses - from start-ups to traditional corporations. For Gen Z - but not only.
Armin Jochum, co-founder, CEO & CCO of thjnk: "We started thjnk precisely for that reason, to break new ground. A lot has happened since then - at thjnk, in the industry, in the world. Our credo has always been 'We believe in the one idea that has the power to change everything'. I had that with thjnk Zeitgeist - and we are incredibly excited to be doing things differently again, 11 years after our founding".
Isabelle Rogat: "Trends - and even trend audiences like Gen Z - are so much more than a quick headline or a homogeneous mass. Trends are paradoxes, they are symptoms, they are the potential to reinvent yourself as a brand - or the risk of missing it. If you want to be part of the zeitgeist of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, you have to ask yourself the right questions today: Which trend will I be active in? Which one am I not? And above all: why?"
In the future, Rogat and her team will be answering questions like these together with their clients.
At thjnk Zeitgeist, not only the "WHAT" but also the "HOW" is rethought: the team can be reached via WhatsApp (at 040 41 34 99 34), their workshops are immersive, and their collaboration models go beyond the classic agency model.
It is therefore fitting that the team photos were not taken in a traditional photo studio, but at "kkokki loves vegan", one of the trendiest restaurants in Hamburg's Schanze district.
Rogat: "Our world works differently than it did 10 years ago, and in two years' time it will work very differently than it does today - not to transfer this movement to our way of working would be downright fatal".
About Isabelle Rogat:
In her dual role at thjnk, the 25-year-old Zeitgeist CEO is also a diversity officer, GWA Youngboard member, podcast host, columnist and keynote speaker.