Forecast (Trends & Patterns)
Forecast helps you stay ahead of the market by identifying emerging creative trends before they saturate. See what’s rising, what’s declining, and what patterns are likely to gain traction next.Creative Directors and Performance Marketers use Forecast for quarterly planning, innovation sprints, and staying ahead of competitors.
Why it matters
Forecast gives you a competitive edge: ✅ Early trend visibility — Spot emerging patterns before competitors✅ Reduced creative risk — Test ideas with early validation signals
✅ Strategic planning — Ground quarterly plans in forward-looking data
✅ Innovation confidence — Know what’s safe to test vs what’s risky
Teams that use Forecast regularly are 2-3 quarters ahead of teams that only react to current performance.
How to use Forecast
1
Choose your entry point
You have two options:Use a Forecast Chip (Recommended)
- Browse the Chip Library and select a Forecast Chip
- Options: Trend Spotter, What’s Next
- Chips provide structured trend analysis with velocity metrics
- Ask a question like: “What themes are rising in fantasy RPG ads?”
- Great for flexible exploration
Trend Spotter is perfect for quarterly reviews. What’s Next helps with forward-looking strategy.
2
Provide your context
Forecast works best with longer time windows (90+ days) to identify meaningful trends:
- Genre or category — e.g., “fantasy RPG,” “cozy puzzle”
- Time window — Recommend 90-180 days for trend visibility
- Theme focus (optional) — e.g., “character-driven narratives,” “social gameplay”
- Competitors (optional) — Track specific players
- Chip: Trend Spotter
- Genre: Fantasy RPG
- Time: Last 120 days
- Focus: Narrative themes and tone shifts
3
Review rising vs declining trends
Boa will show you:
Look for:
- Rising trends — Themes, tones, and patterns gaining traction
- Declining trends — What’s saturating or losing effectiveness
- Velocity metrics — How fast trends are moving
- Early-stage examples — Creatives representing emerging patterns
Forecast results showing trend velocity
- Trends with high velocity (rapid adoption)
- Trends in early stages (low saturation, high potential)
- Patterns that align with your brand or product
You’ve identified emerging trends before they hit mainstream adoption.
4
Decide what to test
Based on trend signals:High confidence (test now):
- Rising trends with strong early performance
- Patterns aligned with your brand
- Low saturation, high velocity
- Rising trends with moderate performance
- Patterns adjacent to your core
- Medium saturation, moderate velocity
- Declining trends
- Patterns misaligned with your brand
- High saturation, low velocity
What to look for
When reviewing Forecast results, focus on these signals:Trend velocity
- How fast is the trend rising? (rapid = high urgency, slow = time to prepare)
- Is adoption accelerating or plateauing? (acceleration = early stage, plateau = saturation incoming)
Saturation level
- How many creatives already use this pattern? (low saturation = opportunity, high saturation = risky)
- Are competitors already testing this? (early mover advantage vs proven validation)
Performance signals
- How are early adopters performing? (strong = confident test, weak = risky bet)
- Is performance improving or declining over time? (improving = momentum, declining = fading)
Brand alignment
- Does this trend fit your brand positioning? (natural fit = test, forced fit = skip)
- Can you execute this trend authentically? (yes = opportunity, no = risky)
The best trends to test are rising fast, low saturation, strong early performance, and aligned with your brand.
Save or share
Once you’ve identified trends worth testing: Save as a Report:- Click Save → Report
- Choose a template (e.g., “Quarterly Trend Report”)
- Add recommendations and test priorities
- Create a Creative Brief incorporating emerging trends
- Include early-stage examples as references
- Test the trend before it saturates
- Align on which trends to test first
- Assign test owners and timelines
- Set success metrics
Create Trend Reports
Turn forecast insights into strategic reports
Common use cases
Quarterly trend review
Quarterly trend review
Goal: Identify emerging patterns for the next quarter’s creative strategy.Workflow:
- Run Trend Spotter Chip over last 90-120 days
- Identify 3-5 rising trends with high velocity
- Create strategy report with test recommendations
- Align with leadership on priorities
Innovation sprint planning
Innovation sprint planning
Goal: Find validated-but-not-saturated patterns to test.Workflow:
- Run What’s Next Chip
- Filter for trends in early stages
- Create creative briefs for top 3 trends
- Run small tests to validate
Competitive early warning
Competitive early warning
Goal: Know when competitors are testing new patterns.Workflow:
- Run Trend Spotter Chip with competitor focus
- Monitor velocity changes week-over-week
- Alert team when competitors adopt rising trends
- Decide whether to follow or differentiate
Risk assessment
Risk assessment
Goal: Understand which trends are too saturated to pursue.Workflow:
- Run Trend Spotter Chip
- Review declining and high-saturation trends
- Avoid these patterns in upcoming work
- Share “what to avoid” list with creative team
Best practices
Do:
✅ Use longer time windows (90+ days) for meaningful trends✅ Track trends over time (run Forecast regularly)
✅ Test early-stage trends before saturation
✅ Consider brand alignment, not just performance
✅ Share findings with product and creative teams
Don’t:
❌ Chase every rising trend — prioritize brand fit❌ Test saturated patterns — they rarely pay off
❌ Ignore declining trends your team is using
❌ Run Forecast in isolation — pair with Discover for validation
Early signals are not guarantees. Always test emerging trends in small batches before making big creative bets.