We’ve had several great interns join us this year. We offer six month internships, paying the London living wage, and with all the other great stuff we think this makes us a very different, and better, place to work. The ‘issues’ around ‘millennials’ (awful term) and the workplace are repeated ad nauseam. We don’t see those issues. Perhaps that’s because we’re relatively young collectively, or because we work very differently, or maybe because that’s all a media invention… So, in practice, what can we advise people looking for social media internships with us, or indeed anyone else in this space? Well, first, some numbers: our most recent internship we opened on LinkedIn. We had 617 applications. Of those, we offered initial interviews to 12. Big difference, right? Realistically, half those applicants weren’t remotely suitable, whether through lack of right to work in the UK, or other disqualifying criteria. So, 1 in 25 of theoretically possible candidates got interviewed. What are the lessons from their experience of applying for social media internships? Top tips for interns trying to get jobs in social media: Sell why you’re right for the job, not what the job is going to do for you Explain yourself – beyond certain factual details on a CV: we need to understand you. The seemingly same school, university and extracurricular ‘achievements’ are very different, in practice, from one person to the next Explain your personal story and give examples of your past work, whether that be academic or otherwise. Nothing is irrelevant Have some examples of brands from personal experience and/or social creators who you admire and/or think should do better Have read some of our stuff! Want it – really want it. This matters a lot Be proactive: you’ll be amazed at how much you stand out if you do even small things… What we look for: Evidence of commitment: either academic or practical. We want to know you know how to try at something Excellence at something. It doesn’t matter what, but you’ve pursued excellence Passion for the internet – you can’t fake it, we can’t teach it. It’s at the heart of the job Humility and confidence – a difficult balance. You’re not amazing. You might be in future, and we want you to believe you might be. But to know that you’re not yet We’ve also noticed that, when it comes to weaknesses, “I’m a perfectionist” seems to have been knocked off the top spot for “doing everything myself and not asking for help’. This question is more about seeing how self-analytical you are so have a bit more of a think if you’re tempted to go for either…. #CV #internship #interns #socialmedia #digitalmarketing

Benefits offered to employees are an often painful topic. They invariably seem to fall into two camps: Things which make a good ‘headline’ Things which are pretty universal within that industry, and consequently not actually appreciated by recipients Some of this tension lies with our innate lack of good decision making, as humans. What’s rationally good for us is (disappointingly for economists) often less significant than what we’re moved by emotionally. Bouncy castles and poles to slide between floors capture your imagination more than an extra % on pension contributions, for example, but we all know which makes better sense. We’d put some benefits in place when we first began OneFifty, a little over a year ago. They were always intended as starting points, and after a year, with a team edging toward double digit numbers, it made sense to review and refresh them. True to our approach to business as a whole, we had two guiding principles: What does the data tell us? What behaviours are we trying to influence? We’re also very specific about the business outcomes we’re looking to drive with benefits: Improve our team’s wellbeing, individually and collectively. Ensure we’re competitive for the scarce talent who can deliver the consultancy we need and provide Demonstrate in human terms what we do as a business – to ‘be’ OneFifty in all aspects of our operations: different, smart, effective What we’re not trying to do is match what others, who we might be in the candidate market with, do nor to offer lots of flashy ‘stuff’ rather than reward people meaningfully. We’re not interested in what others do, unless we can see evidence it works. So, what did we introduce? Unlimited avocado. We’re not kidding. We have all the avocados the team can eat. Why? It’s a key cultural item for the demographic we have, and seek to further attract. Functionally, they’re very difficult to bring to an office, and equally, they’re difficult as an individual to manage the ripeness of. In short, they have functional economies of scale. A free bike. Again, we’re not kidding. We’ll buy any of the team a bike, costing up to £300. If they want to spend more, we offer ride to work scheme. Why? We believe urban cycling is the solution to many issues, but for individuals it saves time and improves health (mental and physical). Anything we can do to get people to cycle benefits their individual, and our collective wellbeing. Spotify premium. Why? Music helps people live better in multiple ways. We also have music on constantly in the office, and levelling the playing field of access to playing it also avoids the tyranny of control – we’ve all been there – the person with the biggest collection in the office controls it. Not for us. Musical egalitarianism, for better and worse. Love to study – any learning opportunity which benefits a team member’s performance in their role will be considered for us to support (whether in time or financial terms). This sits alongside original benefits which we’ve reconfirmed the relevance of: Open beer fridge. Help yourself, whenever. Make your own decisions tech policy, laptop, phones etc. You self-support, but you get the gear you perform best with ‘Fit in’ time – allocated time in the week to exercise Pension conributions Lots of branded company gear Free fruit Toast, cereal, snacks etc Showers, bike storage etc Days off for moving house One thing you’ll note we don’t include as a benefit is ‘flexible working’. That’s because this isn’t a benefit – it’s simply a way of working. When businesses label it as a benefit, they essentially say that working non-traditional patterns is something to be indulged, not something to be actively driven for. We don’t believe fixed 9-5s are any more relevant to the way we work than typewriters. In practice, however, we encourage the team to make their own decisions, with just a few core hours in the middle of the day, as fixed times for everyone to be available. We’re confident we can identify what works, but humble enough to know we haven’t worked out 100% of what that is yet. If this sounds like somewhere you’d like to spend your time, as an Architect of Next (as we call the team) or as a partner (client, supplier or just interested party), drop us a line. We’re all about working with people to create what comes next. #avocadoes #benefits

Understanding behaviours can be based on theoretical models, or based on data. In the best cases, data validates a model. We believe this is key to delivering the promise of an era of mass consumer empowerment in which the cost (wifi and mobile plans), technology (phones) and platforms (social and web) gives all of us the potential to be heard, seen and influence our societies. Understanding those behaviours is how we help brands, content creators and people close the gaps between them, to all derive more value out of a unique period in human history. What do we (as OneFifty) need to be able to identify these models and put them into practice? Solid academic insight (often from across fields as diverse as psychology, economics, history, and natural science). Industry-leading experience – from creating some of the best-known social media functions in major businesses, to being awarded social creators, to elite sports performance. We bring together experience of what drives the social ecosystem from a surprising range of perspectives. Utilising large-scale data from digital and social platforms to analyse, predict and validate behaviours It’s the final aspect I’m keen to address in this post. It is integral to the improvement of how the ecosystem works to have real data to show actual behaviours. It is this which moves us on from a world in which an unrepresentative group of generally well-meaning individuals in a select few enclaves of London, New York and LA stick their finger in the air and confidently assert ‘what people want’ (I love Mad Men as much as anyone, for the record). It does a disservice to the opportunity presented by the social ecosystem, and it’s bad for businesses, creators and consumers. This post outlines in the first few paragraphs how Google has restricted, consistently and over an extended period, the volume of data available for analysts to use (the rest of the post is about SEO, so don’t read further down it if you’re not interested in that world). Google aren’t alone in that. Most platforms offer an API (basically an automated way to interact at scale with a social network, for those with a less technical mindset), which allows one to extract information. Twitter’s is arguably the most comprehensive for these purposes. Facebook have a phenomenal one, but limit certain dimensions you’d love to use. Instagram has a pretty limited one for this purpose, whilst Snapchat essentially has nothing. LinkedIn literally doesn’t. (Note APIs have other purposes, and I’m rating them on a top line level, and for social data analysis purposes only). Why does this matter? It creates gaps in our potential understanding. Not insurmountable ones, but ones which increase the amount we infer or correlate, which decreases certainty. For some groups who heavily use certain platforms it may even create blind spots. Some of the reasons are understandable – this sort of system costs money to build, and the benefits are external. But as with lighthouses, a classic case of positive externalities in economic theory, the benefits are enjoyed by third parties. However, the availability of this data has systemic benefits which, I’d argue, ultimately rebound to the benefit of the social platforms, increasing understanding, adoption and commercial use. What am I arguing for? In essence, it’s a consistent and public call to arms from those who use this data, to assert its value, and encourage social platforms and digital ecosystem partners (like Google) to make more data available and more openly. There are issues incumbent on the community of users to self-police, to prevent abuse (there’s a very good reason Google have cracked down on SEO, for example, which has long been plagued by a section of its denizens using underhand tactics), but it remains the right thing to do, just as the open source movement has benefitted all those across the computer science and technology world. If we don’t have as much social data as possible, as freely available as possible, we risk missing out on huge benefits for business, social creators and everyday people. It’d be like restricting ink supply to the flourishing printers world of early modern Europe: regressive and ultimately counter-productive. #data #Socialdata #behaviours #API

Cam is a fast-growing British vlogger and cyclist. As part of our month examining the growth of cycling and social trends around it, we’re chatting to some of our favourite cycling content creators. Here’s our past one from Andreas, and now onto Cam… What motivated you to start vlogging? For me, I always loved making videos. I remember I got a GoPro when I was about 13, it was the original GoPro hero, and I just enjoyed making videos with my friends. The vast majority were awful edits of us doing dirt jumps on our bikes! Then during high school/sixth form I stopped making videos until a few months ago, that love was sparked once again, and now we have YouTube which is such a great platform to share content on. How did you build the community? Consistency and confidence. I get asked all the time ‘how do you gain subscribers and grow your channel’ and my response is simple: consistency and confidence, even if you’re not confident, fake it. Eventually you will become confident. I am not at all a confident person in real life, but I have found my outlet, my way to express myself in vlogging and creating videos. There’s nothing worse than watching a video where someone is talking really quietly and looking shy. People want to watch someone who will entertain them! What’s your objective now you have an established online community? I’m still very new to this whole online world, I was never a social media guy in the past, (my Facebook had been deactivated for the past 3 years!) until I started YouTube, and I feel it has opened up a whole new world. So yeah, continue learning, continue growing and generally improving my content. What’s your biggest frustration? Meeting the pressures and demands of YouTube’s cut-throat algorithm. If you’re not uploading regularly, your growth rate significantly slows. I still haven’t figured out why! But combine that with balancing a part time job, cycling training and a girlfriend. Sometimes it can get a little bit hectic! What’s been your most fulfilling moment? For me, it was hitting 100 subscribers. I’m not driven by views or my subscriber count but I think I had uploaded 50 videos by the time I’d reached that point. Some people are able to achieve that after their first upload, but for me it wasn’t so easy, so it was a proud moment. The first 100 is always the hardest. Where do you hope to see it go in 2017 and beyond? In 2017, again I hope to continue my growth. I also would love to start working with some brands, brands I believe in and can really buy into, and showcase them in a creative way on my vlog. Social media is so prominent. So many big brands are moving their advertising to social media and away from other mediums such as TV. I hope to be a part of that transition. You have a very distinctive visual style: what are your vlog reference points / inspirations? One thing I have learnt about YouTube is, being unique wins every time. If you’re unique, you will grow. People like to watch new things, simple. But my inspirations are; Jon Olsson, Julien Solomita, Cycling Maven, and of course no YouTuber in 2017 can’t not be inspired by the great Casey Neistat. Finally, Shonduras. I love how he is able to work with brands but still make content people enjoy watching. He is really able to portray a brand’s message in a fun and creative way. How long do you spend shooting/editing each day? Shooting a ‘daily vlog’ really is what it say’s on the tin! I shoot throughout my whole day. Typically I will record around one hour of footage that will be edited and condensed into a 7-10 minute vlog. The editing process normally takes between three and four hours. What’s the pressure of daily vlogging like? This is still something I am learning to balance! Particularly the stresses of training to compete at a national level. Sometimes this often involves late nights shooting/editing. But I am very lucky I have found a platform where I can combine two things I love, cycling and film. Organisation is a key element to dealing with the pressure too. How do you see the state of cycling in Britain right now? Since the success of Cycling at the London 2012 Olympics, the growth of cycling has been phenomenal! Never have I seen so many people out on their bike on a Sunday morning! I think growth has started to slow down in the last year or two but overall, in my opinion, cycling is in a really healthy position. I hope that one day, through the successes of my vlog, I’m able to help promote the sport, and do so in a fun, positive light. You’ve done quite a bit around Zwift. Do you see online cycling communities as something which can expand the sport’s appeal? I love Zwift. I am not paid by nor have I ever been paid by Zwift but it really has revolutionised indoor training. Zwift allows me to ride along side my uncle who lives in Northern Ireland whilst I’m in my house. That concept is incredible – mind-blowing. I’ve also hosted YouTube group rides on the software, and it’s really cool being able to ride alongside my viewers, some of whom are from the other side of the world. I think much of the concern at the moment in the UK, with cycling, is the safety. Zwift totally eliminates that. You’re in the comfort of your own home; no traffic to contend with. Also people’s lives are becoming busier and busier so not everyone is able to get out for three or four rides a week. They may be restricted to a Sunday morning for example. Zwift makes cycling so much more accessible so more people. It doesn’t matter if it’s dark and raining outside, it’s always sunny in Watopia (it’s also probably a few degrees warmer)! What’s your advice to keen cyclists considering taking the step into competition? Just do it. Don’t expect too much. Just focus on having fun, in time, the results will come. I got into racing by doing closed circuit criteriums. These crit circuits are all over the U.K, so you’re probably not too far from one. They’re really safe – many of the dangerous elements of an open road race are removed, such as the traffic, and junctions. How much do you love Strava?! (have a read of this post from Nathaniel  – he’s really, really loving it…) When I started cycling, I loved Strava! I also loved chasing KOM’s and moving up the leaderboard on my favourite segment as fitness improved. However, I feel like Strava is at a bit of a stagnation. Many of the leaderboards are littered with ‘fake’ times, whether they drafted a vehicle or recorded a segment whilst in their car. One local climb near me, the KOM averaged 60mph! Strava did try to combat this by adding a yearly KOM, but it didn’t prove successful. It will be interesting to see how they expand in the future. Currently there isn’t any real competition. But maybe that’s exactly what Strava needs. But aside from the negatives, I love sharing my training with my viewers on there. They enjoy interrogating my stats from ride to ride! #cyclingcam #socialtrends #cycling #strava #trends

Veganism is the fastest growing lifestyle trend, with over 360% growth over the past decade. I (Olivia) have decided to try Veganuary and experience this growing trend. You can read more about how we identified the trend, and our personal challenge here. Being part of a social media consultancy I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to document my vegan living online and try to earn myself a few extra followers… In fact the main predictor in someone continuing to be vegan is the maintenance of a strong social network.  In line with this I’ve been looking into the most successful vegan content, as a key factor in this social network, and therefore in the success of vegans, new and old alike. Rule number one, although obvious, #vegan always goes down well. Always. There is a whopping 35.5 million uses of this hashtag on Instagram alone. Other popular vegan hashtags include 'plantbased' (7 million), and 'veganfood' (4.5 million).  Vegan posting does revolve heavily around food – and it’s not just vegetables. Vegan food posting seems to be in line with other popular food trends. The vegan content is filled with avocado galore – even spreading to a very popular vegan avocado cake icing. Other trends include the heavily documented brunch and of course matcha – an instagram favorite.  The top vegan accounts are laden with vegan surprises such as pancakes, desserts and even pizza. Typically the best performing posts focus on vegan ‘food porn’ rather than advertising healthy aspects of being vegan. One notable difference between vegan and non-vegan accounts is the use of restaurants. Top performing vegan posts generally include home made meals with recipes attached, whereas other top instagrammers often include hipster food restaurants. Vegan instagram accounts, although in-line with popular food trends (such as brunch), don’t follow the rise in fitness related posting or indeed travel, which are found on non vegan accounts. I managed to locate only one account that focused on veganism and included significant travel content. Vegan Youtube channels seem to behave slightly differently to Instagram. Vegan Youtubers often focus on the benefits: healthy lifestyle and reduction in animal cruelty. This is in-line with research that suggests the main predictor for starting a vegan diet are these factors. Although the Youtube vegan channels still show a considerable amount of food content, they do also include areas such as fitness and travel which are rarely seen on vegan instagram accounts. There are two broad categories for why people become Vegan. The first is due to the health benefits. This generally produces logical reasoning and arguments to why veganism is a good lifestyle decision. The second is animal cruelty. This produces emotive arguments for the benefits of a vegan life.  These two broad viewpoints and the style of argument associated with them, reflects the type of youtube content produced by creators. Veganism has boomed in the last year and that is, of course, reflected in social media posting. Other influencers have also jumped on this bandwagon with the introduction of the flexitarian. These part time vegans or veggies have great success and throw the occasional vegan recipe into the mix. To become instafamous veganism seems to be a good stance to have. But just remember it’s a hard life being vegan – all those avocados won’t eat themselves! #trend #vegantrend #foodtrends #vegetarian #socialmedia #vegan #content #veganism #veganuary #vegetarianism

Whatever way you look at it, gin is on the rise. Not just in bars or supermarkets, but also online. Continuing our trend identification series,  we looked at the social data and picked out gin for deeper research in March. We’ve looked at the data and spoken to industry insiders, 'ginnaisance' is in full flow and the taps aren’t being turned off any time soon. Last Thursday we met Hannah Lanfear, cocktail expert and brand ambassador at Jensen’s gin. I’d call myself an experienced – rather than knowledgeable –  gin drinker. Before I came down to Jensen’s distillery, I realised my experienced was based on taste and not the history of the drink. What does 200 year old gin have to tell us? What does a “vintage gin” really tastes like? How does that play into relevancy in the market today? Calm, assured and naturally inquisitive; Hannah had all the answers we needed. A former bartender at Milk & Honey and now brand ambassador at Jensen’s, she was just the right person to speak to when looking to find out more about the historical and practical uses of gin. We met at Jensen’s Distillery, located in a trendy London railway arch in Bermondsey. [Tip – Visit on a Saturday when the Maltby Street Market is in full swing]. Here’s what she had to share: Tell us a little about how you made the transition from hospitality to join Jensen’s? While working at Milk & Honey, I studied all the base spirits – the building blocks of cocktails. I soon became fascinated by the flavour palette and history around the origins of drinks. However after 10 years, it was time to start something new – I thought maybe a bar with a jukebox in the corner. When exploring how and where I might start this bar I was approached by a friend, Danish-born Christian Jensen. He was looking for core members to join his new distillery team. What convinced you to join Jensen’s? Christian was driven to start Jensen’s on his discovery that gin used to taste better. Great tasting gins had been lost over time. At first he made small batches, carrying his own bottle to events and parties and he soon realised there was broader interest. It all started in a small Tokyo bar, where Christian tried a gin Martini made of some rare London vintage gin. He was captivated by its smooth, rooty taste and artisanal quality. It was the start of what is now an impressive vintage gin collection. Unable to find anything similar back in London, he developed a recipe with James Maxwell (formerly of the Thames Distillery) to re-created a “lost and forgotten” gin taste. Soon the first 1,000 bottles of Jensen’s gin were distilled – “Bermondsey London Dry”, manufactured and based on authenticity. Today, Christian’s second iteration, Old Tom, is Jensen’s best-selling gin. The original recipe tracks back to 1840 and it’s big, rich flavour comes entirely from the massive botanical recipe. So, what do people ask you when they order their G&T on Saturdays? Most people don’t know much about the 20th century history gin has, but they are fascinated by the flavours and botanicals we use. Those who come to me and say “I don’t really like gin” often haven’t found a gin that’s right for them yet. I like seeing people try a gin and tonic that stops them in their tracks. Gin has plentiful aromatic flavours, but equally important is the mixer. We’re converting people every day. For instance, if you normally don’t like tonic you could drink it with a rhubarb mixer. Whisky has a history and fan base that helps it earn a special spot in the drinks cabinet, do you think gin will ever become bigger than whisky? It is a very different product. Whisky is an aged product, the method of making is slower and the lifestyle it sells commands a higher price point. Whereas gin is easier to make and therefore also more affordable. That’s the reason why you won’t find expensive whiskies in cocktails and G&Ts should come at an affordable price. I believe that gin consumers are becoming better educated in the differences of flavour and history of the spirit. It’s a competitive market and just making a fancy bottle isn’t going to sell – it’s like ‘the emperor’s new clothes’. Artisanal quality and attention to detail is a must. The gin trend hasn’t reached its peak yet and I expect a lot more vodka drinkers converting. The big question for me is how to appeal to newer generations. Where are you seeing growth internationally? There has been a big boom in Spain. In Spain gin is served in a large bowl topped wine glass. It almost has a feature of theatre about it and a lot of attention is placed on garnishes. I think gin is on a rise in many places, Australia for example. It hasn’t quite reached America yet. We’re even seeing a change in France, that was more unexpected. Now, lastly Hannah you are the cocktail expert here. What’s your favourite gin-based cocktail? I’m all excited about 20th century cocktails, Aviation or The Last Word for example. The latter was originally refined at the Detroit Athletic Club’s bar in the early 1920s. I’d recommend trying it at the London’s Café Royal – they’ve been there for decades and rediscovering their roots, it’s cool to see. Keen to try a vintage gin yourself? Jensen’s distillery and bar is open for tours or a sit down on weekends. #interview #2017trends #consumertrends #socialtrends #gin

Ahead of today’s Cancer Research Boat Races, we’ve got a whistle-stop tour of how the race, reactions and chatter panned out on social media last year. Put your belt on, this is just a quick one. While those who posted about The Boat Race last year were slightly more likely to be male (60.7% vs 39.3%) the online conversation about the women’s race was 14% larger than the men’s. Drama, in the form of a sinking Cambridge women’s crew, was a driving component to some of this. A cursory hat tip to the betting public; conversation around putting on bets also featured in the mix. The Boat Race is a global event, only 28.5% of those chatting about the event on Twitter were from the UK. In terms of volume, the US was the second biggest audience but interestingly the Dutch were the most likely to over index for interest. Top performing content fell into three categories; jokes, result announcements, and high reach individuals talking about watching the event just ahead of the races starting. The bulk of the conversation is driven by mass market interest – it is NOT a rowing geek fest. The interest is centred tightly to the times of the race and is geared around the experience of either watching or being there in person. Cambridge ‘won’ the race for most mentions, albeit on-water honours were split evenly between Cambridge (men) and Oxford (women). So don’t use social buzz to place your bet on the 2017 race… Want to know more about OneFifty and how our data-led behavioural insights can help guide your digital media strategy? Drop us an email, let’s grab a coffee. #rowing

In our last blog post we learned about ingredients that are driving the health reset conversation. We also learned that there is a fundamental shift in attitudes towards healthy living and eating, which is why we picked the ‘health reset’ as our monthly living social trend . What we haven’t answered (so far!) is who the audience is and what drives their behaviour… With 16m mentions worldwide, 'healthyeating' is huge on Instagram. A similar set of keywords (“healthy eating recipes”, “eating healthy”, “vegan nutrition” or “gluten-free diet”) on Facebook shows 4-4.5m monthly active users in the UK. You already might have some obvious assumptions around who could make up this conversation: probably some foodies who love avocados and definitely younger women who care about a particular appearance. But would you have thought that January 2017 marked the first time that “healthy family meals” was as popular as “avocado on toast”? The gap between search volumes for “brunch places London” and “healthy family meals” decreased by x3 compared to 3 years ago. This is surprising, so we asked ourselves more questions around the audience and their behaviour to explain this… Broadly speaking we identified four behavioural triggers within the health reset conversation: “I want to be healthy, but I don’t know how” “I want a healthy diet for my kids” “I need to get (back) in shape” “I am quite health conscious, but sometimes it’s cheat day” If you haven’t read the previous blog post on food items , Turmeric is a good example. You might have heard about it, but aren’t really sure what it is and what it’s good for – and you decide to Google it. That’s the typical behaviour we see across the board – there’s an audience who is interested, but not really knowledgeable. When people search for healthy eating or detox juices, they also look for clarification and inspiration (“facts on”, “info about”, “best juice” or “lunch ideas”). Clearly, there’s an opportunity for brands to educate their market. Here are a few examples in action: Sweetpea Pantry , TG Fitness or Tesco . That behaviour doesn’t translate to social discussion that strongly, however. Not to stereotype, but – as you might have guessed from the absence of “I am looking for a high-protein diet to build muscles” above – the health reset is indeed a heavily female skewed discussion, (75% female, to be specific). There is a considerably smaller male audience (500k monthly active users on Facebook) between 25-44, who are highly interested in supplements and bodybuilding gains, like Conor McGregor . Now, we can probably all agree that a balanced diet is good for us, especially for our kids. According to Facebook audience insights, parents make up a whopping 50% of people interested in the “health reset”. Although we see both parents being equally interested in “healthy eating”, mums are discussing it more on social (looking at the bios within the Twitter conversation, 4 times more people say that they are a mum than a dad). “Healthy recipes and eating” highly correlate with “school holidays, key stage 1, for children”. Four out of the top ten books related to “healthy eating”, which are coming soon, are about raising a healthy, happy eater/ baby-led feeding. There are two types of mums here: to-be-mum/ baby mum and kids in primary school (5-7 years old). However from looking at a random sample of tweets, there isn’t an identifiable difference in the way they talk about the health reset. Mums are responsible for coming up, planning and sharing healthy meal ideas and recipes. Dads on the other hand are much more likely to look at a nutritional or fitness aspect. This doesn’t mean that mums don’t care about the “weight-loss” or fitness aspect, they just have different logistical roles in mind. Parents are a tightly knit and fairly large group by volume, but there is another group (overlaying mums) bound by interest – “getting back in shape”. There is a strong search correlation between “healthy recipes” and “low calories” or “fitness classes”. From experience working with fitness brands, we know that these are not self-directed fitness enthusiasts. Looking at the twitter conversation, this group is a regular, but not hardcore gym goer, who share content about a healthy living lifestyle more generally – the gym AND healthy eating goes hand in hand for instance. They like to be celebrated for the effort and enjoy the positive feeling of making the effort – it forms part of their identity. Looking at search trends and correlated search terms for “healthy recipes or meals” and “recipe or meal” reveals another interesting audience group. Whereas the singular terms bring up mainly food related terms, like chicken, fish etc, suggesting a more instant cooking need, the plural forms show a mix between exercise and food related search terms – indicating a planning purpose. Looking at 2016’s volumes the later seem to be more relevant for social. There is an audience, which reflects this behaviour – generally health conscious, but also quite happy for a cheat day (“Forever hungry when eating healthy😩😩😩”). To sum up this audience and behaviour blog post, I’d like you to remember that audiences within your conversation are built around different triggers. Take parents as example here. Mum’s are easily put into a big ‘mummy target’ bucket, but it is easy to oversee that looking after their kids and family is only one function – finding time and motivation to look after your inner balance is another. There are different behavioural triggers for different things – a “well done you found time for some exercise, don’t worry, we have the perfect quick healthy meal to cook your family tonight” might resonate more than a simple “here are the top 10 healthy meals your kids will enjoy”. #Easter #healthy #detox #fitness #socialtrends #April #trends

As part of our year living social trends, this month we are living the health rese t. Food is the key element of this April/Easter, so we’ve dived into which foods the nation will be turning to once the Easter indulgence is done, and why they’re gaining in popularity. Social is all about users projecting the best version of themselves, and while we all love to publish at the start of the year how our new diet or exercise routine is going, by March, just like our motivation, the volume declines. For instance, people posting about the gym have dropped by a quarter from the January average in March, and this decline is mirrored in search volumes on Google. However all is not lost, Easter sees a marked increase in search volumes and social media posts about health resets and diet changes. Ingredients driving the conversation. This year we have identified the healthy ingredients growing in discussion. These are Turmeric, Matcha and Cauliflower, (thankfully these are not all served together – that would be disgusting). Whilst the big health trend that has kept surging and shows no signs of slowing in 2017 is Veganism . Turmeric: is so far this year’s hottest ingredient. Mentions of this Southeast Asian plant have nearly doubled from the same period last year on Twitter. Although not the largest conversation, the spike in search terms and increase in people talking about it means that this is an ingredient to watch in 2017. There was a huge spike in Google search terms in January that have dropped off slightly over the past two months – however searches for turmeric recipes have doubled since January, as well as searches for turmeric latte’s, demonstrating functional understanding is migrating to usage. Using Google correlate the top three most correlate searches are “what are the benefits?”, how much?” and “what is?” All of these highlight that for most people this is a relatively unknown ingredient that they are learning about. Its distant cousin ginger has been rising over the past few years, but, we do not see a significant seasonal spike in Easter (its usual spike is around the Xmas period instead). Apple cider vinegar: one to watch, it has tripled in search volumes since January, however the size of the conversation is still very small on social, with only 600 tweets about the ingredient in the past 30 days. Sweet potato: 2016 saw peak in posts about sweet potatoes, which we are yet to see matched in 2017 with mentions on twitter in decline. The volume of tweets last month was down 25% on 2016 levels. In the previous year, sweet potato also had 100% more searches compared to cauliflower, whereas this year it only had 25% more. So, whilst not growing it remains a significant health reset food for 2017. Cauliflower: has seen somewhat of a renaissance in 2017. Although this trend started in 2016 it continues to accelerate and over January searches for this vegetable doubled, showing that old favourites do come back into fashion (I’m still waiting for mushy peas!) Matcha: has seen its popularity rise markedly in 2016 and it continues to do so in 2017. The conversation about Matcha on Twitter has grown by 37% since last year and its searches for this ingredient are currently 40% higher than last year’s average. What won’t we be eating this year? The health food trends that have lost steam are drinks-based: Coconut water: 2016 was the peak year, and heavily spring/summer-orientated historically. Currently volumes are only 40% of their 2016 levels Green juices: has historically (and still does) seen a significant April/Easter surge, but 2015 was the high water mark. Which diets are seeing surges? Gluten-free continues to be an important part of heath conversation landscape, however it’s growth has definitely slowed. The volume of conversation has grown 5% from last year and search terms around gluten-free food has also slowed in 2017. Interestingly the gluten-free conversation peaks before Xmas. This is (probably) down to people searching for gluten-free recipes for gluten-free guests they may be hosting. Veganism continues to grow through 2017 – we explored this in more detail in January . Most healthy food trends peak in this month as it’s when we all make our New Year’s resolution to be healthier. Veganism has already outperformed its January surge, in terms of search volumes and social postings about it are only slightly below this. The average number of tweets about veganism was 315 per day last year. In March this was up to 356 per day and people who were interested in vegan content grew to 3 million on Facebook this month. Expect to see Veganism to continue to rise throughout 2017. Why does this matter? We believe that by looking at how and why certain products generate traction on social media can offer valuable lessons for companies looking to generate a buzz around their product. The rise of Matcha as a health trend offers a real life example of this and provides companies with an example of how a relatively obscure ingredient can become a major health trend. This ingredient was covered by a Channel 4 documentary last year and subsequently saw its popularity explode. Search volumes increased by 4 times for the next week whilst post volumes about Matcha have increased by 33% from  2961 mentions on twitter to 3878. By adopting some of the strategies that worked well for matcha we believe any business can generate a buzz around their products. #healthreset #Easter #healthy #food #socialtrends

This month the social trend we’re living is health reset . Food is a key element to the Easter period and that post-chocolate indulgence sees a considerable increase in search volumes and social posts about health resets and diet change. Our research identified the foods that are driving the current social conversation, so to really live it it’s only right to tuck in… This is how I found it. Cauliflower Something I buy fairly regularly but not every week. I normally eat it steamed or the classic, avec cheese. In the name of trying something new, I mixed it up and tried cauliflower rice and a stir fry (of sorts). “Cauliflower rice” is actually pretty good – and a useful carb substitute. Just blend it into small pieces and roast it. Add a touch of olive oil and the tiniest addition of pepper and cumin (didn’t want to blow my head off – I’m a sensitive chap). I then branched out and tried chopped cauliflower, lightly fried in coconut oil and mixed with other veg (onion, carrot, broccoli, courgette) with egg fried rice. Not a bad effort, left me feeling quite full. Matcha This was the one I thought I was probably least likely to adopt. I’m not a tea drinker (you add it to a hot drink) but gave it a go. I drafted in some help from some more experienced Matcha consumers, Olivia and Natalie, who did a great job of creating a matcha latte with almond milk. It smelt like a liquified digestive biscuit and just tasted a bit earthy. I’m not really sure if it was the almond milk or the matcha I didn’t really like but it was definitely something. I didn’t finish, not really for me, not convinced I’m missing out too much. Turmeric My aversion to spice made me slightly nervous that this would be another to “try but shelve”. It turns out it’s not a spice and actually not too bad. I sprinkled it on various foods and it tasted fine. The photo below shows it on an egg I topped my ‘egg fried cauliflower’ with. I believe in science and there is yet to be any proof that turmeric has any anti-inflammatory benefit. Fake news, don’t believe it but that wouldn’t stop me sprinkling it on stuff to add some colour and flavour. And you never know, maybe it does do something… Overall verdict – what I’m going back to Cauliflower: definitely because it’s a viable lower calorie carb and a good addition to my diet when doing a health reset. I’ll be buying more. Matcha: this one isn’t making it into my cupboard, I’m sure others will say differently but I don’t think I’m missing much. Turmeric: yes, but not as part of a health reset (because I don’t believe it has any extraordinary properties). Main bonus here – guests to my flat think I’ve gone all exotic. #health #food #socialtrends #April #trends

We believe in the power of social data to reveal people’s  behaviours, and well, in our own research. So, we’re putting our money where our mouth is, and living the trends we identify, for a whole year. Thus far that’s been veganism, cycling and gin. Turns out April sees a major, largely unrealised trend: health reset. So, we’ll be doing the same ourselves. What is the health reset? Every year, Easter & April see people reset their health. Not quite as much as January, but significantly, nonetheless. It takes a number of forms, and has a number of reasons, which we’ll explore over the coming month, in detail. What does it involve? There is a marked uptick (around a third) in searches and discussion of health-focussed food searches, and more modest upticks in exercise-based digital activity. We see foods like avocados and green vegetables of all types surge in April. Avocados are up 3.5 times 2012 levels, demonstrating the longer-term growth. Kale has grown x4.5, and matcha x5. Whilst foods see the marked discussion, they correlate (statistically and strategically) with exercise trends. When does it happen? Easter is one trigger, April is the other. In some years, such as this, the two combine. Easter acts a lifestyle trigger, whilst April acts as a calendar-based one – the time of year, not the time with friends and family. What’s interesting? If you’re looking for the breakout health reset food of 2017 – turmeric is your substance of choice (anti-inflammatory benefits). Meanwhile coconut water is in marked decline – 2016’s health trend has seen its best days. Equally interesting is that traditional dieting (calorie-counting and quick fixes) doesn’t appear. People are looking for better options on their diet, based on whole foods and ingredients. There has been a significant generational shift in attitudes to resetting one’s health. How will we live the trend? We’ll be personally practicing the food and exercise resets we identify, following the Easter blowout. We’ll share more detailed versions – and how you can get involved, over coming weeks. #health #diet #Easter #detox #Socialdata #consumertrends #socialtrends #April #trends

When Alex and Katie offered the OneFifty team the opportunity to “live the trend”, by going to an outdoor cinema this month, we were all very excited. However, this excitement quickly changed to animosity once the topic of which film to actually see was raised. With so many options in London, the office soon came to an impasse on what to watch, with no side wanting to budge. Naturally we settled it the way we do everything – with data. We would use the ultimate democratic tool (social media) to decide: whichever film had the highest mentions online, we’d go to. I started looking at the demographic breakdown to give me some clues as to which film might come out on top. Straight away it was easy to see who the dominant audience was. On Facebook 350,000 people were interested in pages related to outdoor cinemas. Of these 280,000 were women, and of those 150,000 were under 34. With this information La La Land become the clear favourite. Surely this demographic would talk more about this year’s Oscar winning romantic comedy, rather than classics like Ghostbusters and Top Gun? The favourite shifted though, once we analysed social mentions online within the outdoor cinema category. The gender balance was restored when looking at mentions in the last 3 months. Maybe my favourite (Ghostbusters) stood a chance? We downloaded these mentions and looked at what films people had been talking about. Any retweet competitions were instantly disqualified – ‘Finding Dory’ was out of the picture. Tragedy struck early on when cult classic (and my personal choice) Ghostbusters got only 15 mentions out of our sample of 2,200. Internet, I’m not mad, just disappointed. Back to the Future and Top Gun were the next to fall with 64 and 70 mentions respectively. It became clear to everyone that we were going to be watching some sort of romantic comedy. It was between Grease, La la Land and Dirty Dancing. Whatever happened, Natalie was happy. With 180 mentions, nearly 8% of our sample, La La Land was the clear winner; with Dirty Dancing and Grease both having 5.5%. Interestingly, more males were talking about La la Land than females in our sample. Most though, like @Bradpreston, just wanted to show off how “lucky” his tinder date was rather than talking about the actual film. So it looks like we are off see La La Land. We’ll keep you updated on how it goes. #cinema #Insights #film