Foresight & Innovation

Trends are only useful if you know what to do with them.

The Foresight & Innovation team connects the dots between consumer behavior, media shifts, and your brand's next move. The result: clarity on what to act on, what to watch, and what to skip.

Talk to the Innovation Team

How we work

Asking “What’s Next?” is step one. Making it useful is the rest. Here’s how we do that.

Trend Scouting & Foresight

We collect, condense, and evaluate developments across media, marketing, technology, culture, and consumer behavior. Across global markets, continuously. We stay current through presence at major conferences and industry events, and through close relationships with the most important platforms, publishers, and players in the industry. Consumer behavior is our anchor point: understanding how people use media, discover brands, form communities, and make decisions is what gives every other signal its meaning. The output feeds everything we do, from strategic consulting to client-facing formats to the projects we build on top of them.

Strategic Evaluation & Roadmapping

We filter what we find by relevance to your business. Which developments actually affect your category, your audiences, your media mix? We assess opportunities by impact, feasibility, brand fit, and timing. We use scenario planning to map different paths and help you decide what to act on, what to watch, and what to skip. The result is a clear roadmap with realistic timelines and honest assessments of what needs further validation.

Projects & Creative Media

When an insight points to a real opportunity, we bring it to market. We collaborate closely with media strategy, creative media, account teams, and other agencies and specialists within the House of Communication. Our foresight combined with the creativity of the creative collective leads to first-mover campaigns that help brands stand out in a landscape where sameness is the biggest risk. We work as part of the team, from concept to execution.

Knowledge Transfer & Workshops

Innovation Days, workshops, inspiration sessions. Two-hour introductions or full-day deep dives, with or without platform partners and external speakers. We cover the full range: from consumer behavior and cultural shifts to media technology and platform strategy. Your team leaves the room with a shared picture, updated assumptions, and a clear sense of what to do next.

Thought Leadership & Speaking

We share what we learn. Through blog articles, industry press, conference keynotes, LinkedIn, and the Mediaplus owned channels. Our team is available for keynotes, panels, moderated discussions, and interactive impulse formats at industry conferences, client events, and internal offsites. For clients, this is also a way to bring external perspective and industry context directly into your organization.

Our Focus Areas

Community Marketing

Audiences are moving from algorithmic feeds to intentional communities. 82% of content discovery now happens through shared interests rather than personalized algorithms. Brands that participate in communities earn trust. Brands that interrupt them lose it.

Learn more

Gen Alpha

Born from 2010 onwards, already steering spending decisions and redefining what engagement looks like. By age 13, they own as many devices as adults. The brands they grow up with will be the brands they stay with.

Learn more

Gen-Z

Half of this generation is in their mid-to-late 20s. They’re employed, making financial decisions, building households. Treating them as a trend piece rather than a serious consumer group is a strategic blind spot.

Learn more

Gaming

With $197 billion in annual revenue and 3.6 billion players worldwide, gaming has become one of the defining cultural forces of our time. Mediaplus House of Gaming makes gaming audiences visible and actionable in your media plan.

Learn more

Cultural Moments

AI is changing both sides of the equation. How media is planned, optimized, and measured. And how people search, discover brands, and make purchase decisions. We track both: the operational transformation through AI-powered tools, and the cultural shift when algorithms and AI agents sit between brands and consumers.

Learn more

Creative Media

Where cultural insights become campaign architecture. Creative media takes the strategic ramps our innovation work produces and turns them into format innovations, attention-earning executions, and media-first creative ideas.

Learn more

Community Marketing
Gen Alpha
Gen-Z
Gaming
Cultural Moments
Creative Media

Cases

Where innovation meets market.

Discover Love Sucks

ZDF reaches Gen Z with context-sensitive targeting across Tinder, memes, and Halloween.

Mediaplus staged two emotional experience worlds in Gen Z's everyday media moments, from Tinder profiles to memes to a national Halloween roadblock, guiding romance and mystery fans to the ZDF streaming portal.

Bakugan key visual from the Spin Master campaign by Mediaplus - toy heroes from the content hub on toggo.de

Dive into the Bakuverse

Spin Master captivates Gen Alpha with an online-first involvement strategy, no TV series needed.

Mediaplus built a dedicated Bakugan content hub on toggo.de and activated young audiences with mini games, captivating videos, and a cross-media 360-degree campaign around the Bakuverse.

Blurred street scene from the Apollo awareness campaign by Mediaplus - blur effect from the Twitch gaming activation

Explore the case

Apollo reaches the gaming community with an interactive blur effect in racing streams on Twitch.

Mediaplus brought a custom blur effect into popular racing streams on Twitch: streamers and viewers triggered the blurred view themselves and experienced undetected vision problems right in the gameplay.

Frau und Mann halten Schilder – Keyvisual der Siemens-Reddit-Kampagne von Mediaplus für authentisches Employer Branding

Explore the Reddit case

Siemens wins the trust of tech talent through authentic community marketing on Reddit.

Mediaplus positioned Siemens with transparent AMA sessions and targeted paid activation in relevant tech subreddits: real dialogue instead of polished employer branding built trust within the community.

ill Kaulitz in the Rainbow Wool key visual - community campaign by Serviceplan and Mediaplus for queer rights

Discover Rainbow Wool

Rainbow Wool turns rescued wool into a global movement for queer rights through community building.

Serviceplan and Mediaplus activated the queer community through social media, fashion magazines, and activations with Bill Kaulitz; all proceeds support LGBTQIA+ projects of LSVD+ worldwide.

The Team

Director Innovation, Mediaplus Group

Alex Turtschan

Since 2009, Alex has been shaping the intersection of consumer behavior, cultural change, and media strategy at Mediaplus. He built the Foresight Team from scratch and established standards in gaming, generational strategy, futures research, and creative media conception. He writes about digital culture, new audiences, and the future of media in leading industry publications such as Horizont, W&V, and The Drum. In addition, he is a regular speaker at DLD, OMR, the Forward Festival, and other industry events across Europe. He brings the strategic framework, pattern recognition, and deep conviction that innovation is worthless unless it tangibly improves the work.

Learn more about Alex

Group Head Innovation, Mediaplus Group

Simone Jocham

Simone combines solid experience in digital media strategy, influencer marketing, and platform culture with a deep understanding of the communities and creator ecosystems that shape brand engagement among younger audiences. At Mediaplus since 2017, she leads Innovation Days and ideation workshops for clients, designs gaming and community strategies for European markets, and writes for international industry publications on generational shifts and cultural dynamics. She brings exactly the combination of cultural flexibility and strategic precision that working with fast-changing audiences requires.

Learn more about Simone

Foresight Manager, Mediaplus Group 

Sonja Kurowska

Sonja’s background in the cultural sector trained her eye for how communities form, what earns trust inside them, and how subcultures become mainstream. An anime and fandom expert, she is deeply embedded in the digital ecosystems where gaming, creator culture, and subcultural identity overlap. Her hands-on experience in media strategy and creator marketing makes her particularly effective at decoding the spaces where the next audience behaviors take shape.

“The media landscape never stands still, and that’s the exciting part. Asking ‘What’s Next?’ is what gets this team out of bed. Finding answers, sharing them, and building on that knowledge to create something new for clients that actually moves the needle. That’s the job. It never gets old.”

Alex Turtschan

Global Futures Director
Mediaplus Group

What's next for you brand? Let's find out together

The first step is a conversation. We’ll find the right format for your team, your industry, and your challenge.

Get in touch

Frequently Asked Questions about Foresight & Inovation (FAQs)

All of them. Our foresight and strategy work applies across categories because the underlying shifts in consumer behavior, platform dynamics, and media formats affect everyone. We’ve worked with clients in FMCG, retail, automotive, finance, entertainment, and technology. The specific application changes, the methodology stays the same.

Yes, and we regularly do. The innovation team is designed to add a layer of foresight and strategic input that complements what’s already in place. We collaborate with internal teams, other agencies in the House of Communication, and external partners. The format adapts to your setup.

A full-day format, tailored to your team and industry. It typically combines trend presentations, interactive working sessions, and strategic breakout groups. We bring the foresight, the cultural context, and the frameworks. Your team brings the brand knowledge and business objectives. The day ends with shared priorities and concrete next steps. We can also bring platform partners (TikTok, Twitch, publishers) or integrate external speakers depending on the topic. Format, length, and depth are fully customizable.

Yes. Alex Turtschan and Simone Jocham are available for keynotes, panel discussions, moderated conversations, and interactive impulse formats. Topics cover the full range of our innovation practice: consumer behavior, generational shifts, gaming culture, platform dynamics, AI in marketing, and creative media innovation. We speak at both industry conferences and client-hosted events. Reach out directly to discuss availability, topic, and format.

This might also interest you:

Person standing in a modern office building, wearing a light shirt, green blazer, and dark trousers, with geometric ceiling lights in the background.

The Next AI Divide: Why Enterprise Orchestration beats Individual Adoption

The next AI divide will emerge between organizations that know how to orchestrate AI and those that simply accumulate AI capabilities.

Speed Got Cheap

AI promises efficiency, yet the 2026 Cannes Lions highlight a contradiction. In the age of AI, differentiation becomes a decisive factor in brand creation.

A man wearing a striped short-sleeved shirt, dark shorts, and a cap stands beside a white railing outdoors. Palm trees, flowering plants, and a marina are visible in the background on a sunny day.

Cannes Lions 2026: A Week Full of Questions

Cannes Lions 2026: Why AI is redefining discovery, media planning, and brand communication and why real-world brand experiences are becoming more important.

Next Gen Signals: Five trends reshaping how Gen Z and Gen Alpha connect with brands in 2026

Gen Z & Gen Alpha 2026: 5 Trends Redefining How Young Audiences Experience Brands

Street scene in front of the Paramount Theatre in a downtown area with tall buildings. Banners referencing SXSW and “Good Vibes Only” hang on the facade while people walk along the sidewalk.

Connection in the Age of Emotional Outsourcing

SXSW 2026 shows how AI reshapes emotions, culture, and consumer behavior, pushing brands to rethink how they connect with consumers in an age of emotional outsourcing.

Sunny city street with parked cars, trees, and modern buildings. A banner for the SXSW festival hangs from a lamppost.

When Everyone Plays It Safe, Nobody Gets Found

A key theme at this year's SXSW conference is what AI is doing to the humans on the other end.

An ice hockey player (Alex Turtschan) in a red jersey with the name “Hollanov” and number 19 stands in the foreground on the ice. He wears a helmet and holds a hockey stick. In the background, two other players in blue and black jerseys with the names “Hollander” and “Rozanov” are visible. The stadium is filled with spectators.

Heated Rivalry: How Fandoms Create New Brand Spaces

What brands can learn from “Heated Rivalry”: How series create community and become a stage for relevance, attitude, and genuine brand connection.

SXSW 2024: Addressing the Consumers of Tomorrow

SXSW demonstrates how marketing, technology and culture are interconnected. One highlight: NASA with female astronauts live from the ISS – inspiring!

A silver robotic hand and a human hand touch the transparent, rainbow-colored letters “AI” (Artificial Intelligence) against a blue background featuring a circuit board pattern.

Ménage à Trois: Brands, Consumers & AI's Messy Complicationship

Consumers use ChatGPT daily, then revolt against AI-generated ads. Brands need AI to survive, but audiences flee toward anything "human-made."

The Secret Sauce | Innovation Day Recap | Mediaplus

Real impact happens when innovation, creative media and creator marketing converge—culture, reach and credibility reinforce one another and drive momentum.

A crowd of people celebrating in front of a brightly lit concert stage. Many hands are raised in the air as warm stage lights and haze bathe the scene in golden-orange tones.

Why Brands Should Rethink the Showgirl Era

Barbie Pink ruled 2023, Brat Green 2024 – now it’s Showgirl Orange, led by Taylor Swift. But this trend hits different – and not in a good way.

A red neon sign with the word “Cosy” glows against a black background. The stylized font is eye-catching and decorative. The contrast between the red neon lettering and the dark background ensures good legibility. The scene conveys a warm, inviting atmosphere, ideal for branding in the lifestyle or interior design sector.

The Cosy Counterculture

Consumers seek comfort, not just attention. Why brands must rethink media to reach audiences in low-stakes, high-impact cosy spaces.

A young woman with blue hair, futuristic facial tattoos and a black leather outfit stands in a neon-lit city at night, holding a knife in her hand and wearing headphones.

How Gen Z is hacking social architecture

There have been many preconceptions about Gen Z: screen-raised, addicted to social media, soft, unmotivated, lost in personas. But what if we see it differently?

The image shows a tree-lined street in Austin during the SXSW 2025 festival, with a Rivian banner, the São Paulo House, and numerous people attending the event.

SXSW 2025: The End of the Information Age – The Beginning of the Intelligence Age

By day five of SXSW it’s clear: The age of intelligence needs new ways to master AI, customer loyalty and digital success.

A man stands on a stage at the SXSW event, presenting in front of a large screen with colorful graphics and sponsor logos, while the audience listens to him and some people take photos or videos with their smartphones.

SXSW 2025: Why social health is becoming the new currency for brands

Alex Turtschan (Mediaplus) reports from SXSW 2025 – Part 1: why “Social Health” is becoming a must for every company.

Back to Mediaplus

Let's get in touch with us!

Sabine Rössing

Mediaplus

New Business & Marketing

Let's get in touch with us!

First Name*

Last name*

E-Mail* Bitte geben Sie eine gültige E-Mail-Adresse ein

Company*

Phone*

Your message*

Consent to the use of personal data

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The true competitive advantage comes from data analysis

How China Is Rethinking the Entire Customer Journey

International

Rügenwalder & Serviceplan Give Pop Fans €100K Media Space

Serviceplan Group named Independent Network & Agency 2025

Foresight & Innovation