William Higham

Behavioural futurist William Higham is a trends and consumer expert, and the founder and CEO of consultancy Next Big Thing. Using a tried-and-tested methodology, Higham monitors how events trigger attitude changes, which in turn lead to behavioural change, and thereby predicts the trends, expectations and behaviours that consumers are likely to exhibit in the future.

Higham’s career began in the music industry, working for Sony, Virgin and Universal, and managing press and marketing strategies for the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Cure and Alice Cooper. This led him into market research, where he discovered his interest in and aptitude for trend forecasting. Then in 2002, Higham founded the consumer trends consultancy Next Big Thing. Here, he conducts future-facing research, and advises companies on new consumer markets and future behaviours to drive growth. Next Big Thing’s impressive list of clients includes the likes of Amazon, HSBC, Budweiser, Universal and the BBC.
Higham writes regular columns for Director and the Huffington Post, and he has been featured in The Times, The Daily Mail, The Financial Times, Fast Company and City AM. His guide to trend forecasting, The Next Big Thing: Spotting and Forecasting Consumer Trends for Profit, has been translated into four languages. He is a sought-after speaker and seminar leader, has spoken for Cambridge University’s Open Innovation Network, and was on the judging panel for WARC’s Innovation Award in 2017.