45 percent of brands are experimenting with Chatbots; 36 percent with live-streaming and 34 percent with social and conversational commerce.

LIONS STATE OF CREATIVITY SURVEY, 2021

What are the tech and platforms you need to care about in 2021 and will you be an early adopter? Social media platforms thrived in 2020...well that’s no surprise. But what is surprising is the sheer extent to which they (and other tech like AR/VR) grew - and the massive creative possibilities for brands. 2021 is likely to see an ongoing surge of brands competing to captivate the more captive consumer. “The State of Creativity” respondents are generally excited and energised by the predicted post-COVID technology / social media boom and its implications for our industry. It can lend itself to a new creative renaissance, enhanced and augmented by data and technology. From AI to Voice, eSports to IOT, 5G to mixed reality, we’ll separate the fads from the formats with long-term potential. Not only is the line between the physical and virtual space now forever blurred, but so is the stigma attached to activities and interactions in the virtual world. In the “new normal”, competing in eSports tournaments, online dating, online friendships and tutorials are now a normal part of everyday life for many. So what does this mean for the future and how can you find a balance between concerns over privacy and consumer confidence? LIONS will showcase work that has brought together new communities in virtual worlds through game-changing tech-enabled creativity. We’ll see global work that’s excelled in the blurred realms and hear from pioneers in this extraordinary space. It will change the way you think about creativity forever.