Recommendation _ Lee Yong-woo (CEO of Innocean)
Prologue _ Kim Na-yeon (Head of Innocean Insight Strategy Division)

Part 1 Play

Chapter 1 My AI Soulmate: Between Love and Friendship
Attachment AI Expands into Every Domain of Life / Sensitized AI Strengthens Emotional Interaction / Background and Future Prospects of Human-AI Attachment Relationships
Chapter 2: Ouncheon: Check Your Fortune Today
The Popularization of Fortune-telling Content / Why Is Generation Z So Enthusiastic About Fortune-telling?
Chapter 3 Random Fandom: People These Days Who Are Passionate About Chance
The Evolution of Random Trends / Special Stories Created by Coincidence in Everyday Life / New Experiences Created by Random
Chapter 4 Morning Rave: Our Mornings Are Hipper Than Your Nights
A New Grammar of Play Culture / Why Generation Z Dances From the Morning / Brand Case Studies Meet Morning Raves

Part 2 Daily Life

CChapter 1: The #1 Way to Escape Aging: Healthcare for Generation Z
Young people are obsessed with health / 20-somethings are managing aging / Generation Z is managing with data
Chapter 2: Small Consumption: Consumption cannot be stopped unless absolutely necessary.
Consumer sentiment is starting to bud again / Consumer trends are gaining more attention during the recession / Opportunities and implications brought about by changing consumption patterns
Chapter 3 4989 RE:conomy: Rediscovering the Secondhand
Recommerce Market Growth / Current Status / Future Outlook
Chapter 4 Home-Based YouTuber: I Can Do It Alone
YouTube: A Battleground for Giants / The Heroes of a New Success Story / Why We're Drawn to Their Stories / A New Coexistence Between Brands and Creators / Pioneers of a New Era: Their Meaning and Future

Part 3 The World

Chapter 1: Taste Curation: Content Omakase
The Evolution of Curation / Various Implementations of Curated Experiences / Curated Experiences in the AI ​​Era / Challenges and Opportunities for Future Curation
Chapter 2: The Birth of Digital Side Hustles: Small Channels Are Hot
The New Landscape of Social Media Feeds / The Rise of Small Creators / Growth Drivers of the Small Creator Market / Changes and Prospects for the Small Creator Ecosystem
Chapter 3: Attack on Nerds: A Subculture Becoming Mainstream
The Background of the Popularization of Domestic Subculture / The Popularization of Anime / Subculture Games and Blue Archive
Chapter 4 Long Time Yes See: Long Time Yes See
Long-Form Content Revisited / Why We Consume Long-Form Content / Marketing Implications of Long-Form Content

Part 4 Marketing

Chapter 1 Brand New Art: When Brands Become Art
The Expansion of Brand Marketing / Why Brands Are Turning to Art / The Future of Art Marketing
Chapter 2 Marketing Arena: Sports as a New Stage for Brands
The popularity of domestic professional sports / The growing popularity of fanatic sports / Why you should pay attention to brands and sports
Chapter 3: P(B+B) Landship: Strategic Teamplay
The Limits of Collaboration and the Rise of Partnerships / Case Studies of Diverse Brand Partnerships / The Future of Brand Partnerships
Chapter 4: Search Revolution: Brand Exposure Strategies in the AI ​​Era
The Coming "Zero-Click" Era / Why AEO and GEO Strategies Are Necessary / What Brands Need to Consider in the AI ​​Era

Special Report
So Far So Cool 2026: On Coolness
What does it mean to be 'cool'? | What makes a cool brand, and what are its characteristics?

〔supplement〕
SPACE TREND: The Future of Spatial Experiences
Chapter 1: Location: Will Seongsu Be a Hot Place in the Future?
Chapter 2: Form: What Form Will Pop-Up Spaces Evolve into?
Chapter 3 Meaning: What do visitors want to see in a space?
Chapter 4: Environment: How Will Spatial Marketing Change in the Future?

Data-driven lifestyle forecasts

"Friendly Trend Gossip 2026" is a unique and engaging report that focuses on the causes of trend changes and the implications and utility of those changes for marketing communications.
Through 16 keywords in 4 themes: Play/Daily Life/World/Marketing, it provides insights that can be applied to the marketing environment by reading the rapidly changing trends of the world.
The special report is a compilation of a survey on people's perceptions of 'cool' conducted for the sixth year this year.
"Cool" is an important criterion for understanding trends. By examining the meaning of coolness and the changing perception of cool celebrities and brands, we can more specifically identify trends related to consumers and brands.
In the appendix, "SPACE TREND: The Future of Spatial Experience," spatial trends are analyzed from the perspectives of place, form, meaning, and environment based on 1,309 spatial marketing cases.

It is the era of AI,
In a world overflowing with information and stimulation, only brands that offer high-density experiences will survive.

Looking at the 2026 trend keywords selected by Innocean, there are several notable characteristics.
'AI', 'experience-oriented tendency', and 'fatigue due to excess'.
“According to the concept of ‘paradox of choice’ proposed by American psychologist Barry Schwartz, the more choices consumers have, the more stressed they become and the less satisfied they become with their choices.” (p. 169) For people these days who live with countless choices, choices often lead to fatigue.
Because of this, the number of people who enjoy random choices within a certain range but without responsibility has increased, and marketing that reflects the needs of consumers who crave curated experiences is also attracting attention.
In the YouTube market, where large capital has entered, there is a noticeable phenomenon in which people who are tired of set formats such as TV programs are instead looking for content from individual YouTubers, and people who are tired of overly stimulating and fragmented short-form content are starting to look at long-form content again.
Morning raves, reflecting the younger generation's preference for unique experiences, are actively being held around the world, and pop-up stores are still very popular with people seeking unique brand spaces, but consumers who want even more novel spaces have emerged.

Part 1, 'Play', introduces 'My AI Soulmate', which highlights the new ways in which AI has been deeply infiltrated into our daily lives and the phenomenon of AI attachment; 'Ouncheon', which covers the play culture of Generation Z who are enjoying fortune telling in a new way different from the older generation; 'Random Fandom', which shows the popularity of randomness that provides tension and a sense of liberation from chance instead of the pressure to make the best decision; and 'Morning Rave', a new club culture that reflects the tastes of Generation Z who crave fresh experiences.

Part 2, 'Daily Life', covers 'Aging Escape Number One', which deals with the self-medication craze of Generation Z who are as serious about health management as the older generation; 'Soso Consumption', a reasonable consumption method in the era of high prices such as Dupe, small group gatherings, and single-serving menus; '4989 RE:conomy', which shows various success stories in the growing re-commerce market; and 'Home Sharing YouTubers' who are loved by subscribers by satisfying micro-tastes with their own unique interests despite the entry of large capital into YouTube.

Part 3, 'The World', introduces the diversified 'taste curation' services that consumers crave for curated experiences, 'The Birth of Digital Side Jobs' that covers the growth of small creators who appear with the items and information I need through algorithms, 'Attack on Titan' that shows the popularization of subcultures such as Japanese animation and online games, and 'Long Time Yes See' that covers the changes in the content market that has begun to look for natural long-form and even deep-form rather than stimulating short-form.

Part 4, 'Marketing', introduces 'Brand New Art', which tells the story of brands that go beyond simple product sales and focus on collaboration with the art field; 'Marketing Arena', which is about the professional sports industry that is building a fandom culture that is no less than that of idols and brands that are using this as a new marketing point; 'Pp(B+B) Landship', which has now gone a step beyond collaboration to brand partnership; and 'Search Revolution', the latest search trend that utilizes AI, which allows you to input sentences instead of keywords and receive the desired answer before clicking.

In the special report, 'So Far So Cool 2026,' we examine the changing perception of 'coolness' through the meaning of 'cool,' 'cool' celebrities, and 'cool' brands, based on data accumulated over six years.
These days, people think of cool as “an attitude that honestly and confidently expresses a fresh sensibility and free individuality based on sincerity,” and the number one cool celebrity is Lee Hyo-ri, and a cool brand seems to be “a brand that attracts the attention of many people, builds trust, and ultimately leads to purchases.”

The appendix, "SPACE TREND: The Future of Spatial Experience," written by the writing team after visiting over 600 pop-up stores, analyzes brand spaces in terms of place, form, meaning, and environment, and provides insights into spatial marketing.
In recent years, pop-up stores have become an essential space marketing method for brands.
It is said that the number of pop-up stores opened in Korea each year exceeds 1,300.
As brand spaces proliferate and the importance of offline spaces grows day by day, brands are diversifying their marketing spaces to attract consumers, attract them, and build relationships with them.
"SPACE TREND" will be an interesting report for marketers seeking to promote their brand's identity and for consumers visiting numerous spaces.