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The New Age of Aquarius

Writer's picture: UK CreativeUK Creative

Lucy Hart, Executive Strategy Director, The Romans.

Tuesday 28th January 2025


 

Trigger warning. If you are an astrological naysayer I fear you may find what is to come in this article…a challenge.


(Very Capricorn of you btw).


I am fascinated by community.


I’m extremely interested in how and why we gather and, how belonging - or isolation - makes us feel and behave and how brands can create and work with communities to grow their role in their lives.


So you can imagine my delight when Pluto entered Aquarius in the dying embers of 2024.


No? You mean you can’t see how a planet orbiting the sun and a Mystic Meg star sign might impact your 2025 marcoms approach?


Oh, dear cosmic traveller! Let me help you see why this is the only thing you need to know this year.



Let me take you back, way back, into the outer planets of the solar system.


Pluto, the planet that astrologers believe governs transformation and power, rotated into the astrological sign of Aquarius - associated with among other things, you guessed it, community - in November 2024.


Pluto takes decades to move between signs. It first stationed into Capricorn in 2008. This date may ring a few alarm bells.


Capricorn is the sign most closely associated with finance, capitalism, big business, patriarchy. It’s the sign of the strong-man, tradition, authority and the establishment. Importantly, within the theme of community, it is about bettering one’s self, not nurturing the whole group. Undoubtedly, these areas have thrived over the last twenty years.


Astrologers are predicting - and here I fully embrace a little Rasputin energy if it brings a whisper of hopefulness to dark times - that the next 20 years of Pluto in Aquarius will completely change our society around the constructs and principles Aquarius is most at home in:  innovation, revolution, community and the collective good.


So let’s imagine a new Age of Aquarius and use the DNA strands of the sign to imagine the role of community in society - and for our brands - in 2025...



Aquarius puts its arms around the collective

Individualism has prevailed for decades. Teenagers retreating to online spaces, the rise of the manosphere, and people feeling adrift from society are damaging our social structures and eroding mental health. Communities are starting to gather to take action. More enterprises and initiatives will launch to connect people and create belonging. People will more easily find digital and real-world third spaces to connect.


What it means for brands - We will identify far more with the company we keep, than the brands we wear on our t-shirts, meaning value is found in what a brand does to bring its audience together, rather than solely the products it produces.


Aquarius believes in humanitarianism

The greater good and a social conscience are hallmarks of this sign and an energy much needed in such challenging global times. People will seek out individual enterprises that allow them to contribute.


What it means for brands - People will seek more opportunities to volunteer and find a new sense of community and togetherness via contributing to a better world. This will be the new run club/ dating…take note singles!


Aquarius breaks conventions

Aquarius is anti-establishment, so these are fun and radical times for creativity. It’ll be out with the stale, the tried & tested. The more genre-busting, dystopian, off-kilter and inventive a brand or an idea is, the more people will love it.


What it means for brands - The stagnant constructs and old ways of reaching people are over. We embrace experimentation, trial, rethinking. Imaginations unlocked. Post the weird video!


Aquarius loves revolution 

Recent years have seen uprisings against the establishment from groups on both sides of the political firing line (think Jan 6th and BLM). We can expect fractional communities to gain a far bigger voice - though what side of politics they come from is unknown. Justice, fairness and freedom to be heard will be the hot topic - but who decides who’s voice is the ‘right one’ and can we live the answer being, ‘everyone’s’ will be the conversation of the decade.


What it means for brands - Deregulation in social spaces will continue, and it will be harder to find single spaces to find a community and grow a brand. Brands will move into entirely new platforms as they seek to keep up with their audiences, we can see this starting right now with BlueSky and RedNote welcoming an influx of new users. What and where next?


Aquarius is bottom-up, not top-down

Capricorn governs a world ruled by hierarchy. Aquarius is the opposite. It is egalitarian and obsessed with freedom.


What it means for brands - Expect a far greater onus on grassroots, committed followings and hyper-niche creators with passionate advocates. This is the era of building ‘Social Trust’ as a key part of any comms framework.


Aquarius embraces innovation & technology

We sit on the teetering brink of full-scale AI revolution and the ushering in of a new industrial age of change. The UK Government has kicked off 2025 with a commitment to supercharge the country’s AI landscape from infrastructure projects to creative output. This will create hives of exciting and energetic new communities of tech craftspeople and form new-era industrial communities. It will help equalise access to income and enfranchise a new generation.


What it means for brands - Bringing people together to innovate IRL will be demanded. Brands that help their audience accelerate in the digital economy will thrive.


Previous times Aquarius sat in Pluto the world experienced the Age of Revolution - including some seismic tumblings of the status quo including the American and French Revolutions -  and the Protestant Reformation.


A new Age of Aquarius calls for us all to think more about how we come together, than how we stand apart.


If you missed the brilliant ‘ How Community will reshape the marketing landscape’ discussion at the UK Creative Festival check it out here now.


 

UK Creative Festival

Tuesday 28th January 2025


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