The turn of the year is a great time to review creative influences and emerging technologies and ensure that the team’s ideas are current, fresh and inspired.

The Getty Images Visual Trend report is a source of inspiration and one I look forward to every year.  Based on data analysed from millions of downloads, the report predicts the visual trends Getty expect to develop as the year unfolds, and it always makes interesting reading.  A starting point to get the creative juices flowing.

Themes such as ‘Extended Human’ and ‘Messthetics’ very much resonated with the team last year, we explored 360° filming and more of our creative content sought to bring alive the raw, sweaty, teeth gritting reality of sport, which audiences identify with more easily than glossy ads.

This year’s key trends continue to explore how the lines between man and machine are blurring, with consumers very much in control of their own brand experiences and how authentic, less ‘aspirational’ content is key to gaining audiences’ trust.

Some of our favourites trends from the Getty report include ‘Virtuality’, ‘Unfiltered’ and ‘Gritty Woman’.

‘Virtuality’ is born out of immersive social media with the audience ‘being’ the image rather than just seeing.  We expect to see sport embrace this trend wholeheartedly in 2017.  360° filming will continue to excite audiences and ‘consumerised’ virtual reality will be one of the many ways that sports brands will seek to extend the user experience beyond pitch, track or stadia.  Technology will continue to give power and trust back to audiences in the form of experiences that they control.

The ‘Unfiltered’ trend prediction concentrates on the authentic and emphasises the importance of trust. Audiences no longer trust perfect, glossy ad images.  Sport is the perfect subject matter to bring alive authentic human emotion and endeavour in a way in which consumers can relate to.  In 2017 there will be far less airbrushing of images and storyboarding of content, and more of documentary-like approach to storytelling.

‘Gritty Woman’ is a personal favourite of mine, ‘she is a feminist, a fighter and a phenomenon’, not concerned with how she should look.  Sport is full of trailblazing women and there’s no better time to see them in 2017.  This summer will see the world’s biggest sporting event of the year in London as the World ParaAthletics Championships and IAAF World Championships come back to the London Stadium.  It will be the biggest event since the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the stage is set for the next generation of female heroes to take centre stage.  Bring on the ‘Gritty Woman’, a hero we can trust and aspire to.

We are feeling inspired in 2017 and that’s critical.  The digital, media and marketing landscape is more dynamic than ever, and only great ideas and great stories will do.