Brands are organic things, they change with the times. The best way to keep your brand fresh—and more important, relevant—is to keep abreast of the cultural trends that affect our world.

For the past six years, the marketing company JWTIntelligence has put together a list of the top trends for 2011. Check out the list and ask yourself if you could incorporate some of them into your marketing plans in 2011.

Trend 1

1) Sense of play: brands will add gaming mechanics such as “points” and “power-ups” to loyal customers

Trend 2

2) Time sensitive deals: brands will prompt customers to “act now”

Trend 3

3) Temporary use: more people will be renting, not buying

Trend 4

4) Technology becomes vital: Technology and the skills to use it will become as vital and integral as food and shelter in 2011

Trend 5

5) De-teching: because of the above trend, people will “de-tech” to relax, making an effort to get off the grid temporarily

Trend 6

6) Retail as the 3rd space: Retail stores will do more than just sell stuff, trendy retail spaces are places that make people want to just hang out

Trend 7

7) Urban renewal: Brands will sponsor events and elements that make urban spaces nicer: help plant trees, sponsor an event

Trend 8

8 Digital connection to our devices: we’ll be communicating with our fridges and garage doors

Trend 9

9) Hyper personalization: technology allows consumers to personalize branded items… pick fabrics for a handbag, combine different products in a single package

Trend 10

Outsource self-control: people will rely on technology and brands themselves to cut them off when they’ve had too much

Now go ahead and think about your brand and your offerings. Which of the above trends would work for you? What changes could you make in your business plan, your offerings, your messages that could tap into these trends? Sure, a lot of these trends require a technology investment. But can you afford not to get involved in where our culture is going?

Watch the video below to hear the trend list in the words of the folks from JWTIntelligence themselves:

According to JWTIntelligence’s web site, the organization calls itself “a center for provocative thinking that is a part of JWT, the world’s best-known marketing communications brand. We make sense of the chaos in a world of hyper-abundant information and constant innovation—finding quality amid the quantity. We focus on identifying changes in the global zeitgeist so as to convert shifts into compelling opportunities for brands. We have done this on behalf of multinational clients across several categories including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and home and personal care.”