2026 is the New 2016: Why Implementing Cultural Trends Matters

Written by Emily Sawyer

2016: A time that pre-dated internet chaos, where the latest trends were which Kylie

Jenner Lip Kit looked best or making sure “Millenial pink” was filtered somewhere on your

instagram feed. Social media presences were not expected to be as perfect and polished as

they are today, and people cared less about their branding and online personality. Tumblr-era fashion and vine humor persevered, and overall everything was just described as “simpler.”

Within the last couple of months, a great nostalgia-wave has taken over the internet,

pegging 2026 to be the new 2016. It reflects a broader cultural craving for comfort, familiarity, and emotional-security, and smart, successful brands have taken this “meme” and turned it into a strategic PR tool.

This trend is important for PR students to take note of because it teaches us how to

recognize current trends and apply them to whatever project is being worked on in a timely

manner. Non-negotiable skills in today’s PR world are short-form video strategy, trend

monitoring, community engagement, and cultural fluency, and this trend is taking advantage of all of these things for its continuing success.

3 Important Things the Trend Teaches are:

1) Cultural Timing

PR today requires monitoring TikTok trends and meme cycles. Learning about trends

early on and being able to craft strategies that take the trend and connect it back to your

company is advantageous to company success. Stores like Hollister, for example,

quickly jumped on this trend, releasing new lines of nostalgic-clothes like low-rise jeans

and varying styles of Henly tops. Revamping the brand and recycling old trends has

created a lot of positive murmur about the company. Awareness is key to brand success,

and figuring out how to successfully implement cultural cycles into branding is a sure-fire

way to maintain it.

2) Emotional Strategy

Emotions are the key to any strong, memorable advertisement. People associate

positive feelings with 2016, and brands that successfully jump on the trend properly, gain

positive awareness and associations. McDonald’s brought back the SnackWraps and

Monopoly promotion that turns meal purchases into a chance to win prizes. The brand

tapped into old memories of “simpler” times that revived a feeling of warmth and hope

within customers, driving sales and recognition.

3) Audience Psychology

What matters more than just acknowledging a trend, however, is knowing why it's

trending, and what the psychological implications behind the trend are. In this case, our

generation craves authenticity and simplicity over shock marketing any day. We can see through a lot of the sponsored ads and manipulative strategies, and value truth and self-expression instead. Adidas' increase in their sales of retro sneakers, like their Sambas in fun and unique colors, have happened because of the nostalgia and minimalism associated with them. The brand successfully understood what it was people were looking for, and revitalized them. Taking “Remember this” and “I miss it” moments, and making them into reality once more within your company, is exciting and important to consumers.

Seeing this social nostalgia wave trending now can point to where the future of PR is

going: simplicity. Moments matter more than messaging, and successful pros will understand that cultural timing will create and shape these moments for their audience!