Accenture
Client
Strategic Design, Trend Research
Services
2023
To shape its long-term strategy, the client needed to understand how banking could evolve beyond core financial services. However, the team lacked actionable foresight tied to user needs, and early-stage initiatives were often disconnected from shifting behaviors and trends — leading to low traction in new product experiments. OUTCOME Through the definition of eight life-centric opportunity arenas and 27 behavioral trends, we provided a structured lens for innovation across finance, education, health, and well-being. The insights created a shared narrative for cross-functional teams, aligning exploration efforts and informing pipeline prioritization across the organization.
My Role As the Project Leader, I've designed the full research and synthesis process, creating from scratch a trend signal database to gather, classify, and evaluate emerging behaviors. Led the framing logic behind each opportunity arena and guided the creation of a strategic foresight narrative that aligned long-term innovation themes with product exploration. Credits Alexandre Paranaguá (Project Leader) Lucas Abreu (Researcher) Waghner Dieguez (Researcher) João Pedro Pimentel (Researcher) Alyne Limeira (Visual Designer)
THE CHALLENGE This strategic research aimed to explore new paths for growth through the life-centric behaviors of the next generation of consumers. Our objective: identify emerging growth arenas that reflect unmet needs, shifting values, and future expectations — to help banks reposition and innovate beyond finance. OUR RESEARCH APPROACH We structured the study into 4 strategic phases: 1. Framing the Exploration We identified 8 Growth Arenas tied to long-term shifts in how people live, work, and dream: Housing, Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Wellness, Entertainment & Gaming, Health, Education, and Environment. These arenas were selected for their cultural relevance, market disruption potential, and alignment with Gen Z & Millennial behaviors. 2. Desk Research & Signal Gathering We conducted deep desk research, trend scanning, and qualitative interviews with emerging consumers. Over 300+ market signals were collected, tagged by relevance, industry, and impact — forming the foundation for identifying 27 macro-trends across the 8 arenas. 3.Trend Synthesis Workshops In cross-disciplinary workshops, we synthesized these signals into actionable trend narratives, surfacing real tensions, unmet needs, and emotional drivers that define the consumer of the future. 4.Trend Deep-Dives & Opportunity Framing Each trend was unpacked with: • Description & relevance • Consumer expectations & pain points • Long-term cultural, economic & tech impact • Business & design opportunity areas Key Strategic Outputs • 8 Opportunity Arenas (life-centric, high-relevance) • 27 Actionable Trends aligned with consumer behaviors • 1,700+ mapped needs & insights from next-gen consumers • Emerging shifts in purpose, identity, value, and digital behavior Impact & Strategic Value • Helped position financial institutions to enter new growth categories beyond banking • Empowered cross-functional innovation teams with validated signals + trend maps • Inspired a portfolio of experiments across lifestyle-based product innovation, ESG services, and embedded well-being platforms
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