Scouting Tips

Scouting is an iterative process!

In this 3-step guide, we show you how to successfully scout trends and signals with AnyIdea.

1. Discover key macro trends

What drives the world? At the beginning, get an impression of currently valid Macro Trends. These come from the renowned trend institute TrendOne and give you a broad and well-founded overview of the major global developments.

Search for topics of interest, like ”Construction” or ”Food” and browse through the relevant macro trends. Relevant trends can be directly saved into Collections or evaluated in a Trendradar.

Find relevant signals in trends

Each trend is described in detail and contains a variety of signals: Micro-trends, startups and companies, scientific papers, news, research projects and patents. These signals from various data categories show you concrete developments and possible characteristics of a trend.‍

Example:
In the macro trend “Smart buildings” you can specifically search relevant signals with the word “Materials” — this will give you the signals related to materials in the context of smart buildings.

An additional date filter gives you the possibility to see the latest developments and fresh insights on the respective trend.

2. See what drives industries

What drives your own industry or that of your customers? The Industry Agent in AnyIdea provides data-based insights on the most important drivers, trends, and signals in an industry. This allows you to identify relevant developments and opportunities at an early stage. Select 140+ different industries and see what is currently driving these industries.

💡 Analyze your customers' industries

Take a look at the trends and signals from your customers' industry and find developments that are directly related to your company.

Example:
You are working in the packaging industry and want to understand the importance of sustainable solutions in retail today and in the future.
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Choose the industry agent ”Supermarket” and search signals for ”Packaging.” You will get relevant developments on packaging — viewed from your customers' perspective.

As a next step, choose related industries and see what is currently occupying and driving them forward.

3. Identify trends in a targeted way

Are you looking for trends and signals on strategic topics, search fields, or specific technologies? Do you want to know specific trends and what they could mean for your company? Then our Trend Agents (formerly AI Scouts) are exactly what you need.
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You can ask both wide and broad questions as well as more specific ones. While open-ended questions provide comprehensive understanding and open up new perspectives, more specific questions aim to find possible solutions and practical answers.

Open questions

These questions are open in scope and aimed to gain a broader understanding. They are often exploratory and aim to discover trends and new opportunities.

Examples:

• What could packaging solutions of the future look like?
• What are the latest developments in LiDAR technologies related to autonomous driving?
• How will education develop in the coming years?
• How will AI change agriculture and how can the technology be used in a best way?

These questions are ideal for identifying broad and innovative areas for the future.

Specific questions

Specific questions are targeted, seek concrete answers or solutions, are usually problem-oriented, technically specific, and aim to find new ideas.

Examples:

• We need new packaging solutions in logistics to minimize environmental impact.
• What new technologies and methods could change the way employees are trained in the future?

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💡 Related industries
Developments and existing solutions from other areas or industries can provide valuable insights into the development of your own industry.
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Macro trend + own topic = Scouting question for Trend Agent

Examples:
You want to combine a Macro-Trend like ”Functional Food“ with your topic of interest like ”Packaging”? This leads to a potential question for a Trend Agent:
‍“What packaging trends and solutions are emerging in relation to functional food?”

💡 Scouting from the customer's perspective

If, for example, you are a construction company looking for new materials, technologies, or concepts, it helps to include your customers' perspective.
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This way, you not only identify technological potential but also derive concrete market needs.

Examples:
‍“What building materials and construction solutions do real estate developers need in the future in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? ”

Divide broad topics into several sub-topics

Topics or strategic search fields are often very broad, e.g. “Recycling”, “Digitalization” or “Power-to-X.”

To achieve the best results, we recommend breaking them down into subtopics and -questions, and starting a separate Trend Agent for each topic.

‍Examples:

Green Building

• Which innovative building materials, such as carbon concrete and wood hybrids, will prevail?
• How will new energy and building technologies change construction concepts in the future?
• How can circular economy concepts, such as deconstruction and recycling, be optimally integrated into construction projects?

Recycle and Reuse

• What progress has been made in mechanical, chemical, and enzymatic recycling processes for plastics?
• What processes are changing the recycling and reuse of plastics?
• What new business models are emerging from the combination of recycling, track & trace, and supply chain transparency?

Generative UI

• What developments and trends are there in the area of generative UI?
  
• How can autonomous vehicles provide a personalized and immersive driving experience in the future?
  
• How can adaptive interfaces help relieve drivers while meeting safety standards?
  

💡 Refine scouting questions

You can easily adapt questions and topics that interest you and optimize them in a targeted manner. This allows you to tailor the results to your individual interests and goals.

1. Add topics you want to emphasize.
2. Exclude topics that are less relevant.

Refining questions:

• What are the latest findings and breakthroughs in LiDAR technologies?
  Add results about autonomous driving.
• How will artificial intelligence change agriculture?
  ‍Add results to Precision Agriculture
• How will healthcare systems develop in the future?
  Exclude findings on telehealth and wearable technologies.
• How will shopping experiences change in the future?
  Exclude logistics and supply chain results.

💡 Tip: Scout iteratively

Make your scouting process iterative. Do not start too narrowly, and take a broad approach in the first step. Review the results, discover new topics, and let yourself be inspired.

You can then further specify your trend agents step by step and dive deeper into specific topics.‍

‍Further information:

• Create Trend Agent (AI Scout)
• Scouting & Research
• Scouting results
• Foresight: Getting Started