Understanding trends and culture is essential for developing brand strategies that truly resonate now and in the future.
To help branders, marketers, and anyone interested in this field, we’ve prepared a list of 65+ free resources for research and forecasting.
It is a curated list of authoritative or simply very helpful online platforms that we hope will help you in your projects.
Note: During our research, we discovered a very insightful article by Joel Stein that highlighted some valuable free resources for understanding culture. We’d like to acknowledge and credit Joel Stein’s work, which inspired part of our list. Building on his selection, we’ve expanded the number of resources with additions from our own experience and research.
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Table of Contents
Global Trends & Emerging Topics
— Exploding Topics
Exploding Topics (a tool that belongs to Semrush) identifies emerging trends by analyzing millions of online searches, conversations, and mentions, highlighting industries, products, and categories before they take off. You can explore emerging topics by category for free, but additional filters are available for paid subscribers only.
— Google Trends
Google Trends is the perfect free tool for discovering what people are searching for on Google globally. The tool allows you to gain insights in different ways. For example, you can see which searches are trending now and filter the results by country, search volume, timeframe, and more. The explore section lets you view the search evolution over time for a particular topic (such as branding) and compare it to another topic (for example, branding vs. marketing). This very nice way to visualize trends of a theme over time!
— Think With Google
Think With Google shares insights and data on consumer behavior research and digital trends, helping users make more informed marketing decisions.
— Trend Hunter
Trend Hunter is a platform that offers free yearly trend reports and a series of paid and free resources for spotting trends, consumer insights, and business ideas. We recommend checking their free yearly report (often featured on their homepage), free innovation webinars, and consumer insights by industry.
— TrendWatching
While TrendWatching offers various paid services, the platform also publishes Free Trend Reports and Briefings such as their yearly trend reports and analysis of particular trends.
Global & Industry News
— Google News
Use Google News to find the top stories globally or in your country. The tool allows you to search for topics, locations and sources – perfect for societal news, or industry news.
— Google Alerts
Google Alerts is an email notification service that keeps users informed about specific topics or keywords. It sends emails when there’s news related to those topics, including web pages, articles, blogs, and scientific research. It can be used to track the brand’s mentions too.
— Feedly
Feedly is an RSS news aggregator that lets you follow articles from your favorite sources, keeping you updated on important topics. The platform is clean and modern, with a free version available (which is perfectly enough to start!). Premium plans offer optional features like more categories and specific RSS feeds.
— Flipboard
Flipboard is a free news aggregator that collects content from social media, blogs, newspapers, and magazines. Launched in July 2010, the content is displayed in a magazine-style format, allowing users to “flip” through articles, images, and videos. A useful tool to gather all the topics you’re tracking in one place.
Global Economy & Business Insights
— World Bank Open Data
This page provides an overview of the World Bank’s open data resources, including datasets, tools, and recent insights on global development topics. You can filter by country and by theme, a gold mine to better understand specific cultures and industries.
— World Economic Forum (Strategic Intelligence)
The World Economic Forum has a fascinating and engaging Strategic Intelligence section. The page allows you to browse and monitor the main topics and forces transforming our economic, industrial, and global landscape. You can explore all the categories, including countries and regions, industries, nature and climate, science and technology, governance and security, social and economic development, sustainable development goals, and the top emerging technologies per year. Additionally, you can find all their public reports in the Publications section. Lastly, the Videos section portrays similar information but in video formats only. It’s the perfect way to explore these topics in an engaging way!
Research and Insights by The Big Four Accounting & Advisory Firms
— Deloitte Insights
The company publishes regularly industry insights on their Business insights, analysis, and perspectives page. In addition, the Global Economic Outlook is updated weekly and offers a good summary of what’s happening in the economic world.
— Ernest & Young (EY)
EY regularly shares their latest findings and analysis on their Insights page. Browse by trending topic or industry.
— KPMG Insights
KPMG regularly publishes insights on business topics and trends on their Insights & Resources page. Check the trending section and filter by topic.
— PriceWaterHouse Insights (PwC)
The company’s main insights are compiled in their Research & Insights section. The page Strategy& is part of the PwC network and compiles reports and insights about major economic topics worldwide. You can filter by industry and by region.
Cross-Cultural Understanding
Values & Beliefs
Global
— World Values Survey (WVS)
The WVS is a global research project that explores people’s values and beliefs, how they change over time, and their social and political impact. It’s one of the largest cross-national surveys, offering data from a wide range of countries.
— Global Barometer Surveys (GBM)
The Global Barometer Survey (GBS) is a joint research initiative of five regional barometers, listed below. It represents the first extensive attempt to assess the global social, political, and economic environment on a large scale. The project offers an impartial, non-partisan, scientific, and multidisciplinary perspective on public opinion across various policy-related topics. Presently, the GBS network encompasses 70% of the global population and continues to grow.
— Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan organization that informs the public through data-driven research on topics such as politics, media, technology, religion, race, international affairs, and immigration. The Center also performs opinion polling and demographic studies without taking policy positions. Their Publications page is incredibly extensive. You can filter the results by region and countries, report type, and topics.
Per region
— Afro Barometer
Afrobarometer is a non-profit company and a pan-African survey research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, the economy, and society across Africa. Check their data by country page, a visual way to find specific country information quickly.
— Arab Barometer
Arab Barometer conducts nonpartisan public opinion surveys in at least 16 MENA countries, providing insights into social, political, and economic attitudes. Make sure to check their online analysis tool.
— Asian Barometer
The Asian Barometer Survey is a cross-national project that succeeded through collaboration among thirteen country/territory teams and funding from various sources. Its merged dataset and core questionnaire variables are freely accessible to scholars and experts worldwide upon application.
— Euro Barometer
Eurobarometer serves as the survey tool utilized by the European Commission, the European Parliament, and various EU bodies to consistently assess public sentiment across Europe concerning EU-related matters and perspectives on political or social topics. It offers high-quality, pertinent information for public opinion specialists, academics, journalists, and the general public. We like the Surveys by theme section, which is easy to use and allows you to quickly assess industry-related information.
— European Social Survey
The European Social Survey (ESS) is an academic cross-national survey that has been carried out across Europe since it was founded in 2001. It assesses the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior patterns of various populations in over thirty countries. Access the ESS Data Portal here.
— Latin Barómetro
This annual public opinion survey is conducted in Latin American countries, providing insights into public attitudes on democracy, economy, and society. The data is available in Spanish and in English. Check out their online analysis section, a great tool to quickly find the information you’re looking for.
Country-specific
— General Social Survey (US)
Since 1972, the General Social Survey (GSS) has been tracking changes in society and examining the increasing intricacy of American life. We recommend checking their Key Trends section.
— British Social Attitudes Survey (UK)
The British Social Attitudes Survey is an annual survey that monitors and interprets British public attitudes towards social, political, and moral issues. It is conducted by The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), a registered charity, stands as the UK’s largest independent, non-profit organization dedicated to social research.
— YouGov (UK)
YouGov is a very visual tool that shows the results of regular polls and surveys on public opinion in the UK, covering a wide range of topics.
— Social Research Centre – Life in Australia Panel (Australia)
The Social Research Center is a longitudinal study providing insights into Australians’ changing attitudes and values. We recommend checking the Trends + Insights section.
Languages
— Ethnologue
Ethnologue is a website that provides detailed information about the world’s languages. It includes data on the number of speakers, geographic distribution, language family, and status of each language. It helps researchers, linguists, and anyone interested in understanding more about languages and how they are spoken around the globe.
Local Customs, Traditions, and Country Information
— CIA World Factbook
The CIA World Factbook is published by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States and provides detailed information about the countries of the world, including geography, demographics, government, economy, and cultural aspects.
— Cultural Atlas
Cultural Atlas is an initiative by SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) in Australia. It provides detailed cultural profiles of countries to promote cross-cultural understanding.
Entertainment
Audiovisual
— Box Office Mojo
For a worldwide view of the box office revenue for cinema releases by year, you can try Box Office Mojo, which is based on IMDb Pro data.
— IMDb Charts
This section of the well-known ranking website lets you see which movies and TV shows are currently performing the best, based on ratings by regular IMDb voters. The main charts include Most Popular TV Shows, Top 250 Movies, and Top Box Office (US). You can filter the lists by genre, ranking, or release date.
— Netflix
The popular streaming platform releases a Top 10 Shows and a Top 10 Movies list. The results can be filtered by country and English vs. non-English.
— Nielson (US Media Audience Measurement)
Nielsen is a worldwide leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics. The company website features what Americans are watching and playing, via streaming platforms and traditional TV. The website also publishes the companies spending the most on advertising each month and the video games Americans want to buy next.
Books
— Amazon Best Sellers
Amazon.com features a Best Sellers section that is regularly updated with the most popular books based on sales. What’s interesting is to browse through the different book categories, which can give insights into particular industries or interests. The list differs for each Amazon subdomain, such as Amazon UK Best Sellers, Amazon Canada Best Sellers, Amazon Australia Best Sellers, etc.
— Goodreads
While not country-specific, Goodreads (the social media app for book lovers) features a Trending Books list based on popular books among readers from different regions worldwide.
— The New York Times Best Sellers (US)
The New York Times defines its Best Sellers Rankings as “authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the United States, sorted by format and genre.” According to The New York Times, the lists are created by compiling and verifying weekly sales data from a wide range of vendors, including physical and online stores, to reflect an estimation of the most popular books across various formats and categories.
Music
— Apple Music
Apple Music publishes Top 100: Global (the most played songs around the world, updated every day), but also country-specific lists, such as Top 100: USA, Top 100: UK, Top 100: India, Top 100: Chile, and so on.
— MusicMap
This fun interactive map shows the interconnection between all popular music genres, bringing together a wealth of information about music genres and their history into a single dynamic map.
— Spotify
Spotify features a Global Top 50 (daily update of the most played tracks right now and globally). Like Apple Music, Spotify has a top 50 list for each country, such as Top 50 – USA, Top 50 China, or Top 50 New Zealand.
Newsletters
— Substack
The online platform for newsletters has recently launched a new feature that allows people to discover the trending publications per industry/category. On Substack’s website, each category features a Leaderboard, which are the top publications within the category. In the app, Leaderboards can be accessed via category tabs or a publisher’s profile, offering two views: Rising, showcasing fast-growing publications by subscription growth, and Top Bestseller, highlighting highest-earning publications by annual recurring revenue. A gold mine to explore what people like most within this specific online community of independent writers and publications!
Podcasts
— Apple Podcasts’ Top Charts
Apple Podcast has a Top Charts section where you can browse the most popular shows on the platform, as well as the most popular episodes and top subscriber shows.
— Podtrac
Podtrac publishes a monthly ranking of the top 100 podcasts in each of 30 countries. By clicking on each country, you can view the most successful podcast shows and their categories. This resource is a goldmine for exploring which societal topics resonate most with each population at the moment and understanding the cultural interests and discussions that are trending in different regions.
— Podstatus
Podstatus consolidates podcast rankings from both Apple and Spotify for each country onto a single page, making it easier to track performance and trends across different regions. The rankings are refreshed either hourly or daily.
— Spotify’s Podcast Charts
The Podcast Charts enables users to explore the current top podcast shows and episodes by country on Spotify. The lists are updated daily.
Social Media & Online Communities
— Instagram
Instagram publishes a yearly Instagram Trend Talk report on the company’s blog with interesting insights about trends that will drive global culture in the year ahead.
— Pinterest
With 482 million users planning their futures on Pinterest, the platform offers insights into upcoming trends, showcased in the Pinterest Predicts report, which reveals what will soon capture consumer interest. You can either browse trends on their interactive website (and filter the results by audience or categories) of choose to download the report for the year.
— Quora
The questions and answers community platform can help you explore what people are asking in specific niches or topics. The site also features a Trending section that highlights new trends.
— LinkedIn
The Social Network publishes an annual Global Talent Trends report with insights into the changing world of work, and focuses on the labor market, hiring, career development, skills, and internal mobility.
— Reddit
To find trending topics on Reddit, you can browse subreddit communities focused on a particular topic (example r/branding) and filter the results sort the resuls per popularity (hot/new/top/rising). You can also explore the Top feed for the most upvoted content of the moment. If you’re curious about discussions on a specific topic, you can also type it in the Search Reddit bar on the homepage, and check the most popular or recent posts.
— TikTok
Every year, TikTok releases a What’s Next Trend Report. It is clearly targeted at brands and marketers and offers plenty of tips, stats, and findings for better connecting with your audience. TikTok’s most popular videos can also be found in the dedicated Explore section.
— X
X (previously known as Twitter) has a website section for businesses, which includes a Trends & Insights section. You can also explore the most popular tweets of the moment on the Trending section of the platform and filter the results by country and region in the settings.
— YouTube
YouTube is a great resource for understanding culture. The company releases an annual report called the Culture & Trends Report, which reflects on the major shifts in behavior over the past year and provides actionable tips for brands and creators. You can also explore the YouTube Trending section with the most popular videos in your region.
Graphic Design
— Adobe
Adobe publishes a yearly design trends forecast. Here are the graphic design trends for 2025. Make sure to check their blog for future reports.
— Bēhance
The creative networking site has a great Galleries section where you can browse the best projects on Bēhance, by category, such as graphic design, illustration, photoshop, motion, product design, and so on. You will also find a category called Best of Bēhance, which are the projects featured by the platform’s curators. These tools can be useful in spotting patterns and trends within specific creative fields.
— Canva
The online graphic design platform features a Design Trends section summarizing the megatrends they identified for graphic design.
If you’re looking for design inspiration (and not just trends), check out our Branding Resources page, specifically the ‘Creative Inspiration’ section! It’s packed with great sites!
Business Sustainability
— Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is the leading organization focused on accelerating the transition to a circular economy. The website is a treasure trove of insights and resources to help brands and organizations become more circular. The Case Studies section is quite popular and helpful for its wide variety of practical examples.
— Project Regeneration
Project Regeneration is a living repository of concrete solutions to the Earth’s greatest challenges, designed to strengthen the agency of people everywhere, from individuals to companies and governments. The site is a great collection of resources, insights, and ideas for regenerative solutions worldwide. Explore the topic collection and check the action ideas for companies.
— UN’s Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
The UN’s Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform is a space for insights and knowledge related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Check the SDGs Topics section, where you can browse publications, documents, and news for each goal and geographical area. This gives a nice overview of what’s happening in the sustainability agenda.
— The World Resources Institute (WRI)
The World Resources Institute publishes research and data on sustainability topics such as climate, energy, food, forests, and water. Their site features a free data section and an insights section.
Subcultures
General
— Vice
Vice Magazine is known for capturing the people at the heart of stories and focusing on the ideas, issues, and context that other outlets miss. It has a subculture section with many articles on specific subcultural moments.
— Wikipedia’s list of subcultures
A list of the most popular subcultures and their corresponding page on Wikipedia. Perfect for better understanding some specific groups.
Other curiosities
— Know Your Meme
This is a database of internet memes and viral phenomena, many of which are tied to specific subcultures. The site explains where they came from and how they spread across the internet.
— Fandom
Fandom is the world’s largest fan wiki platform. It offers detailed information about various subcultures in entertainment.
— Fashion History Timeline
The timeline provides insights into the evolution of fashion, fashion subcultures, and their historical contexts. The site is hosted by the Fashion Institute of Technology (State University of New York).
Final words
Understanding trends and culture is an always-on work, that requires constant curiosity around the world that surrounds it.
These free resources are just a starting point that you can use to explore specific topics or for industry research.
For in-depth market research for brand strategies, we recommend completing these resources with other formats, including academic research, paid industry reports, and stakeholder interviews.
To nurture your understanding of culture and try to forecast the future, have fun exploring the particularities of humans across different groups and parts of the world. You can, for example, listen to in-depth podcast episodes about industry topics, subscribe to independent newsletters and print magazines that offer diverse viewpoints, engage with local communities, travel to experience new cultures, and participate in online forums or webinars to connect with thought leaders globally.
We hope you enjoyed this list, and if you know of any other resources that should be included, please let us know in the comments. We’ll gladly update it with your suggestions!
