trends

Do you subscribe to the subscription trend?

January 23, 2019

You can subscribe to just about anything today. I can remember, as a kid, that one of our neighbors got a fruit of the month shipment. We were fascinated by what kind of fruit he might get the next month and when the box arrived – we were all there for a peek and a taste. It wasn’t just that we didn’t see a lot of papaya in Minnesota, but it was the novelty of the monthly shipments.

Fast forward to 2019 and you can subscribe to pretty much anything from razors to dog toys to clothes, cosmetics, ingredients for a complete dinner or fine wines from a specific region of the world. On the B-to-B side, there’s Leadership in a Box, MentorBox and many more. In case you think it’s all consumable products, Porsche even has its own subscription offering.

There are quite a few websites dedicated to telling buyers about their subscription options. Those websites had over 37 million visitors in 2017 and the numbers are rapidly climbing. It’s a fascinating cultural shift and it’s worth thinking more about, in terms of how we go to market with our products and services.

Like most trends, this one snuck up on us a little. Technology made companies like Netflix and Spotify seem natural. Why wouldn’t we want hundreds of thousands of movies and other videos at our fingertips for a small monthly fee? Why buy CDs when you can mix and match your music on a whim for a few dollars a month?

The subscription market has grown by more than 100 percent a year over the past five years, according to McKinsey and many of the big brands like P&G, Under Armour and others are now jumping in. 46 percent of consumers subscribe to some sort of streaming media service and if we have one, we’re likely to have more. The McKinsey study found that the “median number of subscriptions an active subscriber holds is two, but nearly 35 percent have three or more.”

What are the elements that make a subscription model work?

Personalization is key: In many cases, it’s the ability to cherry pick the items or types of items that are appealing to the subscriber. The personalization might also be in frequency of delivery or the number of items in the shipment.

A specific why: Some subscription services like Dollar Shave Club are all about having a steady supply of the items. The fashion boxes are all about having someone else recommend the right look for you and then do all the work of putting together just the right pieces. Some are a blend of the two. The meal subscriptions are about having someone else figure out what’s best for you and serving it up right when you need it. The B-to-B boxes like MentorBox are about access to information and insights.

Creating a connection: All subscribers drift off eventually. The key is to maintain the subscription for as long as you can. The longer they subscribe, the more profitable it is for you. The tone of your communication, the access you offer to your CEO or leadership team and the secrets you let your subscribers in on can all deepen the relationship and extend the subscription.

Build a community: There’s incredible power in word of mouth, referrals, and reviews for subscription services. Find ways to connect your subscribers, whether it’s a Facebook group, a car window decal or exclusive events where they can meet in person.

What do you think? Could your business jump on the subscription bandwagon? Before you dismiss it out of hand, do a little legwork. I think you’ll be surprised about who is active in the space.

 

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Are you in good voice?

January 16, 2019

When I think about the trends that are facing marketers and business owners in 2019, the one that I believe is going to be most significant is the influence of voice on search and content. Not only do I think it’s critical, but I think it is growing faster and stronger than anyone could have imagined.

Let’s define the term, so we’re all on the same wavelength. When we talk about voice what we mean is all voice-activated or operated devices, apps, and the Internet of Things accessories that you may have in your home, vehicle or office. What’s so fascinating about this trend is that even though it’s just beginning to truly emerge, it’s already so woven into our daily habits that we’re taking it for granted.

Think about how often you give voice commands. While you’re making breakfast are you asking Alexa to play your favorite podcast? Are you telling Nest to lower the temperature in the basement or asking Siri to give you an update on how the Cubs did last night? These devices aren’t just in our homes. How often do you talk to your car, asking it to call someone or give you a traffic update?

According to comScore.com, the number of U.S. households with smart speakers grew by 49 percent from June to November 2017. Today, smart speakers are predominately the Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod, and a few other emerging brands. Because they were the first to launch, Amazon Echo dominated and had 88% of the market share in 2016, but Google Home is gaining ground quickly since its introduction in October of 2017. It’s already trimmed Amazon’s control of the market to 52%.

Controlling our home, car or office is interesting but how does all of this technology intersect with marketing? The most obvious place is search. According to Branded3 and data collected from IBM, 25 percent of searches on Windows 10 taskbar are by voice. A report from Search Engine People cited that 20 percent of mobile searches on Google are made via voice command now. 55 percent of teens and 41 percent of adults already execute voice searches multiple times per day, and the forecast is that by 2020, 50 percent of all searches will be via voice.

This is where Google can quickly become the defacto market leader. When you ask Alexa to search for something online, she is only able to search the topic using Wikipedia, which is not as comprehensive as using Google, which comes native as part of Google Home.

This provides Google with a huge advantage to penetrate more and more areas of our home. A recent Google survey estimated that 72 percent of people who own a voice-activated speaker say that their devices are often used as part of their daily routine. And it’s just an emerging trend.

So from a practical point of view, what does this mean for us as marketers? Let me answer that by leaving you with this question.

Today we fight for a page one ranking in Google because we know the user will review a few of the listings before they click on one. But with voice, you ask a question, and the device serves up a single answer. How might that change our strategies around PPC, search and organic SEO? How do you become the one answer?

And that new wrinkle is just the tip of the iceberg. As this technology weaves itself into our culture, it’s going to have lasting impact on how we go through our daily lives and how, as marketers, we intersect with people in new ways.

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The implications are not tiny

January 31, 2018

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past couple years, you are aware of the tiny house movement that is taking the country by craze.

In case you’re one of the folks who is not familiar with this concept, tiny houses are exactly what they sound like: super small houses, usually under 300 square feet, that are designed in such a way to maximize space, while using virtually no space at all. They can be stationary on the ground but in many cases, they’re built on a trailer so they’re mobile.

The movement began way back at the beginning of the century but lately, it has exploded thanks to this new generation of consumers and the media. There are all kinds of TV shows focusing on tiny homes like Tiny House Hunters on HGTV. If you Google tiny house you’ll find a very vibrant community where owners exchange information and offer advice on living in small space.

Here’s a look at the typical tiny housebuyer:

• They have an average income of $42,038 ($478 higher than the average American)
• 89% of tiny house owners have less credit card debt than the average American
• 65% of tiny house owners have no credit card debt
• 55% of tiny house owners have more savings than the average American
• 68% of tiny house owners have no mortgage (compared to 29.3% of all US homeowners)
• 2 out of 5 tiny house owners are over 50 years of age

While all of this is fascinating just on the surface, when we dig deeper – I think this movement is a huge wake-up call to marketers. There are some pretty significant clues in this phenomenon as to where consumers are heading and that’s going to impact us all.

Here are some of the trends I see buried in the tiny house movement:

Independence as a core theme: Imagine all the levels of freedom you’d have if your house could be moved anywhere you wanted it to be, you didn’t have a mortgage and your housing costs were power, water, Internet, and insurance.

A return to a simpler life: Tiny home buyers want to owe less, so they have more choices in terms of spending time with their family, work less and have a lot less to maintain. By default – if you live in 350 square feet, you can’t have a lot of stuff. Simpler by default.

A different definition of success: For these consumers, success isn’t a big house with a big screen TV and a beautifully manicured lawn. It’s no debt and no strings. This frees the homeowners up to spend more time traveling and being out and about.

Mobility: By default, if your house is on wheels – you don’t plan on setting down permanent roots. Even if you stay in the same community, you’re not tied down.

Eco-friendly: These homes are very eco-friendly with composting toilets, very little energy usage, solar panels and multi-use furniture. The footprint created by one of these homes is minuscule compared to a traditional home.

A new relationship with money: These consumers are not willing to owe anyone anything. They want the economic freedom to do what they want when they want. But that doesn’t mean they don’t like nice things. Many tiny homes have very high-end appliances and finishes like cherry-wood floors and stained glass windows. When you’ve got less than 500 square feet, those kinds of upgrades are very affordable.

This consumer group is growing at an amazing rate. Even if someone doesn’t opt for a tiny home, it’s safe to assume these consumer attitudes are emerging among the more traditional homeowner as well.

These attitudes and buying patterns are going to trickle into every category. I think it’s important that you begin to think about how this is going to translate to your business. Because if it hasn’t already – it’s coming.

 

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Feminism as a Marketing Trend

January 4, 2017

This time of year is ripe for trend reports and because it’s important to our work with clients, I’ve been digging through many of them to identify recurring themes. There’s one theme that has really caught my eye and seems to be something that should be on every businessperson’s radar screen. I believe we’re at the beginning of a groundswell (perhaps because of the recent election) that is going to only get louder and more powerful. The trend I’m referring to, believe it or not, is feminism.

I imagine you just glanced at the paper to see if you’d suddenly been transformed back to 1840. Perhaps I should call this a re-trend but that doesn’t negate its importance. In the 1840s it was about the right to vote and in the 1960s it was largely about the right to have more options professionally because at that time only 38% of American women worked outside the home and they had very limited choices in terms of careers.

But today’s feminism seems to have a very different slant. First, it’s global, rather than just US based. Second, it appears to be much broader in scope and influence. There’s not as much focus on one specific problem but instead, it’s about the whole of a person and the core concept of equality. Third, women and men are not combatants in this go around. In fact, men are increasingly being invited to the party, as true members of the cause. Emma Watson’s speech at the U.N. (Google it and watch it – she’s brilliant) put the international spotlight on the solidarity movement for gender equality. It’s worth noting that the program Watson introduced in 2015, HeForShe, is being sponsored by JP Morgan Chase.

The fight feels less antagonistic and more about the simple logic that equality makes sense and seems reasonable to expect in this day and age. Obviously, I’m simplifying the issues greatly and I know that women across the globe still face some horrific situations, but overall, the spirit of the fight feels more collaborative and open to all supporters.

Whether you are aligned with this new edition of feminism or not, it’s quickly weaving itself into our world in some interesting ways that as marketers, we need to watch.

Empowerment: I think empowerment is a word that is overused and probably often misused. But in this case, it’s about celebrating and selling the idea that women can do and be anything they choose. Toy manufacturers like GoldieBox are championing girl engineers and coders with their STEM-based toys and movies like Disney’s Frozen celebrate women helping each other, rather than being rescued by a prince. Both examples were out of the box megahits – meaning that their themes resonated with consumers in a significant way.

Gender neutral: We’re moving into an era where we consciously stop defining something as being made for a boy or a girl. President Obama created quite a discussion in December 2014 when he went out of his way to put toys that would have traditionally been earmarked for boys into the girls’ toy pile during a Toys for Tots appearance. Clothing manufacturers, especially those aiming at young adult consumers, have been purposefully developing clothing styles without defining who should or should not wear them.

Why should this be on your radar screen? I believe every marketer should be checking their own gender bias as they roll out new marketing initiatives. Our audiences, both men and women, will have far less tolerance for stereotypes that minimize either gender. Not only that, but I suspect consumers will reward those companies who go out of their way to recognize and celebrate equality in all it’s shapes and forms to a growing degree.

Marketer beware – the landscape is changing and you don’t want to be out of touch.

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JWt’s trend report for 2015

January 10, 2015

This is always my favorite (and I believe most insightful) trend report that comes out around this time every year.

In JWT’s ninth annual forecast of trends for the near future, they explore how consumers are both welcoming and resisting technology’s growing omnipresence in our lives. For many, technology serves as a gateway to opportunity and an enabler of hyper-efficient lifestyles, but those who are most immersed are starting to question its effect on their lives and their privacy. One result is that more people are trying to find a balance and lead more mindful, in-the-moment lives.

Here’s their 2 minute snapshot of the findings.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEzeSym8v3c’]

 

If we want to drill down a little deeper — According to the JWT site, the 10 trends they identify and explore are:

1. IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES: Entertainment, narratives and brand experiences will become more immersive and altogether more enveloping in a bid to capture consumers’ imagination and attention.

2. DO YOU SPEAK VISUAL?: We’re shifting to a visual vocabulary that relies on photos, emojis, video snippets and other imagery, largely supplanting the need for text. “Visual” is a new lingo that needs to be mastered.

3. THE AGE OF IMPATIENCE: With the mainstreaming of the on-demand economy and our always-on culture, consumer expectations for speed and ease are rising exponentially. As businesses respond in kind, making the availability of their products and services more instant, impatience and impulsiveness will only continue to increase.

4. MOBILE AS A GATEWAY TO OPPORTUNITY: In emerging markets, the mobile device is coming to represent a gateway to opportunity—helping people change their lives by giving them access to financial systems, new business tools, better health care, education and more.

5. TELEPATHIC TECHNOLOGY: Thanks to the rise of brain-computer interfaces and emotion recognition technology, brands are getting more adept at understanding consumers’ minds and moods, and reacting accordingly in a very personalized way.

6. THE END OF ANONYMITY: Thanks to an array of new technologies and a growing drive to collect personal data, it’s becoming nearly impossible to remain unobserved and untracked by corporations and governments. As anonymity becomes more elusive, expect pushback from consumers and a growing paranoia around technologies and services that affect privacy.

7. RAGING AGAINST THE MACHINE: As we move further into the digital age, we’re starting to both fear and resent technology, fretting about what’s been lost in our embrace of unprecedented change. We’ll put a higher value on all things that feel essentially human and seriously question (while not entirely resisting) technology’s siren call.

8. REMIXING TRADITION: With social norms quickly changing and a new anything-goes attitude, people are mashing up cherished traditions with decidedly new ideas, creating their own recipes for what feels right.

9. PROUDLY IMPERFECT: Imperfection and even outright ugliness—the quirky, the messy and the clearly flawed—are taking on new appeal in a world that’s become all too polished or mass-produced. The imperfect is coming to feel more authentic, and also more comforting and meaningful.

10. MINDFUL LIVING: Consumers are developing a quasi-Zen desire to experience everything in a more present, conscious way. Once the domain of the spiritual set, mindful living is filtering into the mainstream, with more people drawn to the idea of shutting out distractions and focusing on the moment. 

The report is over 100 pages of examples, marketing insights and suggestions on how we will see these trends come to life over the next year.  Whether you’re in marketing or just love to study cultures and people — you’ll find it a fascinating read.

This report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year. The report includes input from nearly 70 JWT planners and researchers across more than two dozen markets, and interviews with experts and influencers across sectors including technology, health and wellness, media and academia.

You can purchase the report here.

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Are you feeling a little stressed?

November 19, 2014

Feeling a little stressed? As we head into Thanksgiving week, for many of us it signals the beginning of the last frenzied six weeks of the year.

Stress is a natural part of life — but as a culture, we’ve upped the ante and are entering an era of super stress. The consequences of that super stress are showing up in every aspect of daily life and come with incredible costs as we wrestle with the consequences.

Here’s the reality — it’s not going to be getting better any time soon. The causes of this heightened level of stress are here to stay and believe it or not, in some cases — it’s just going to get worse. The country’s economy, a tough job market, and the rising cost of living are the top three stressors cited in a recent survey.

These challenges are not going to be resolved in the foreseeable future, which means their influence will continue.

Another reason we’re a little stressed is because we choose constant connectivity. Our always-on world just keeps getting faster. We’ve explored how the workday is no longer 9-5 but really it’s become 24/7. And it’s not just work.

Our constant hunger for being in the know means there’s always one more video to watch, one more post to read, one more Facebook update to post and one more news story to pass on. We never unplug which also means we have no down time to unwind.

Even the things we love — like having lots of choices, living in urbanized areas, and our Western lifestyle all contribute to why we feel stressed out all the time.

The marketing insight that comes from all of that is — if we are feeling the stress, so do our customers. What should we do with that?

Point out the stress-reducing aspects: If what you sell can make life easier for your customers, be sure they see that attribute. Help them see how your product or service helps them unplug, unwind or unload some of that stress.

Make working with you easier/less stressful: This goes way beyond just having convenient hours or an easy return policy. This is about really walking through your buying process and eliminating as many of the challenges and difficulties as you can. Be sure you let your prospects know that you have made it simple to do business with you.

Simplify the choices: All too often, marketers believe they should offer as many choices as possible. The reality – too many choices equates to stress. Maybe it’s time to look at your offerings. Do you have too many choices? Are the distinctions between the choices clear? Is there something you could do to reduce the number of choices without compromising your prospect’s ability to choose?

Mix in some fun and surprises: People need to find ways to have some fun in this stressful world. But everyone has less leisure time (remember – 24/7 connectivity), which means the fun needs to come to them, right in the middle of the stress. What could you do that would be completely unexpected and add an element of joy or delight to your prospect’s or customer’s day?

The benefits of helping your customers’ de-stress goes far beyond their mental health. It will make interacting with them easier – which your employees will love and if you truly can reduce stress levels – the loyalty that will breed will drop right to your company’s bottom line.

And there’s no better stress reducer than that!

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Trends we can’t ignore

January 31, 2014

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEzeSym8v3c’]

 

In marketing, we’re always being asked to look into the future and foresee what’s coming down the road. We get plenty of help as the New Year rolls in, as the predictions freely flow.

One of the most comprehensive looks at the coming year is JWT’s Trend Report. Their report is the culmination quantitative, qualitative and desk research throughout the year. They identify the top ten trends that they believe will significantly impact the coming year and explore how these trends will show up and impact our day to day lives. It won’t surprise you that technology finds itself in the center of most of the trends – interestingly, in some cases as we embrace it and in others, as we try to escape it.

Let’s take a look at the ten trends and how we’re already seeing signs of them in our world.

Immersive Experiences: This trend has significant marketing impact. It’s all about how consumers don’t want to passively watch – they want to actually be immersed in their entertainment, narratives and brand experiences.

Early signs: In 2013, visitors to the Museum of Modern Art could control the rain in a special exhibit and Nike launched their “The Art of Science of Feeling” in New York City, using sensory technology to simulate barefoot running on various surfaces to promote the Nike Free Hyperfeel shoe.

Do You Speak Visual: We’re shifting to a visual vocabulary that relies on photos, video snippets and other imagery, chipping away at the need for text. Apps like Snapchat and Pinterest are making photos the medium of choice.

Early signs: Taco Bell has been sending disappearing, 10-second coupons and new product teasers to consumers using Snapchat and Sony created a program called “Pin it To Give It” that donated a dollar to the Michael Phelps Foundation every time a Pinterest user re-pinned from the board.

Proudly Imperfect: Imperfection in its messy, ugly and flawed glory—is taking center stage in a world that’s become neatly polished and curated. Imperfections provide an unfiltered, very human version of reality that reflects all the diversity that’s seen in everyday life.

Early signs: For a while, everyone was focused on putting their best photo shopped foot forward in their profile photos and status updates. Recently ugly selfies have become a counter to the glamorous self-portraits that proliferate on social media. Trending today are selfies that get tagged with #badhairmondays or #nomakeup moments.

The End of Anonymity: Thanks to the barrage of new technologies and ever increasing efforts to collect personal data, it’s practically impossible to remain unobserved and untracked. As anonymity becomes more elusive, consumers will pushback and there may be a growing paranoia around technologies and services that affect privacy.

Early signs: NEC IT solutions developed a facial recognition system and are selling it to retailers to help salespeople recognize VIP customers and on the flip side, counter-surveillance fashion and accessories are on the upswing for those who don’t want their data collected; OFF Pocket designed by technologist Adam Harvey blocks GPS, wi-fi or cellular signals from reaching a mobile phone.

Raging Against the Machine: As we move further into the digital age, we’re starting to both fear and resent technology, worrying about what we’ve lost as we chase this unprecedented speed of change. 65% of American adults believe that technology is taking over our lives.

Early signs: In Amsterdam, Kit Kat launched wi-fi free zones for people to “have a break.” Simple “analog” toys like wooden puzzles, simple costumes and blocks are flying off the shelf as adults hunger to give their kids a taste of a non-tablet, non-tech life.

Remixing Tradition: No one can say that the world isn’t changing. Our social norms have been dramatically altered and it’s not about to stop now. With this shift comes a new blending of cherished traditions with some very interesting twists that reflect this new world.

Early signs: Pope Francis, who is proving to be far more progressive than his predecessors is shaking up some Catholic traditions and is the first Pope to embrace Twitter. Another sacred icon, funerals, is now being live-streamed so that those far away can join in the event.

Mobile Opens Doors: Especially in emerging markets and poverty stricken areas, mobile devices are becoming a gateway to new business tools, education, and new markets.

Early signs: iCow is a mobile application that helps cattle farmers in Kenya optimize milk production and provides tips to keep the animals healthy. The app also keeps track of milk production, breeding and gestation.

Telepathic Technology: As brain-computer interfaces become more sophisticated and accurate, we are getting closer and closer to actually being able to read someone’s mind and mood. This technology can then instantly create custom responses, based on the data input.

Early signs: In Australia, as part of an effort to raise awareness about driving a car was designed that uses neuron-technology to make it go when drivers are paying attention and slow when they’re not. In a joint project, the Japanese and US Armies are attempting to develop a helmet that would read brainwaves and eventually could allow soldiers to transmit code words to each other just through the power of their minds.

Mindful Living: It should come as no surprise to us that the bombardment of technology upon our daily lives is causing both a huge surge in usage and an almost counter culture shunning of it. People are hungry to live in a more conscious way, shutting out distractions and focusing on the moment.

Early signs: Google holds bimonthly silent “mindful lunches” that allow their employees to commune with themselves and just be. Along the same lines, there’s a big backlash against the FOMO (fear of missing out) movement, which drives people to multitask and feel stressed because they can never keep up. The JOMO (joy of missing out) crowd encourages people to be grateful that they can and do shut down their technology and the noise that comes with it.

The Age of Impatience: Ironically, the last of the ten trends is all about how the constant on-demand economy and information flow has accelerated consumers’ expectation for speed and ever-availability. This combination of impatience and impulsiveness just keeps intensifying.

Early signs: This is one of the more mature trends, so it feels pretty mainstream. Services like Netflix have turned us into binge watchers – often consuming an entire season’s worth of shows in a single weekend. In the same vein, Amazon’s same or next day delivery has made the more typical 3-5 days delivery seem out of touch and unrealistic.

These are trends we can’t ignore.  They’re already influencing our world and it’s just begun.

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JWT Intelligence — Trends for 2013

December 21, 2012

The end of the year = predictions for the upcoming year.  All of them are interesting but the one I really put stock in is JWT‘s annual trends report.  They invest a huge amount of time and money to explore and investigate our culture and I’m always impressed by the line-up of experts they reach out to, before they release their report.

Check out their trends for 2013 in this 2 minute video and then you can read a little from JWT’s Director of Trendspotting, Ann Mack as she answers a few of my questions about the trends and how they impact you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCDs7zQELpM[/youtube]
The ten trends for 2013 are: (buy the complete 177 page report here)

1. Play As a Competitive Advantage
2. The Super Stress Era
3. Intelligent Objects
4. Predictive Personalization
5. The Mobile Fingerprint
6. Sensory Explosion
7. Everything Is Retail
8. Peer Power
9. Going Private in Public
10. Health & Happiness: Hand in Hand

I had a chance to ask Ann Mack (JWT’s Director of Trendspotting) a few questions.  Here’s what she had to say:

What trend surprises you the most?

It’s hard to pick, as I’m so close to these trends and find all of them interesting and significant in their own ways. However …

One trend I find really interesting is what we call Going Private in Public. In an era when living publicly is becoming the default, people are coming up with creative ways to carve out private spaces in their lives. Rather than rejecting today’s ubiquitous social media and sharing tools outright, we’re reaping all the benefits of maintaining a vibrant digital identity while gradually defining and managing a new notion of privacy for the 21st century.

Consumers are quickly coming to realize that ultimate control of their online privacy is out of their hands—even for those who diligently tweak the privacy settings on their profiles. With a few lines of code, Web titans can destroy carefully walled gardens, turning the task of maintaining the desired degree of privacy into an onerous chore. While Facebook users have periodically taken to posting privacy or copyright notices under the mistaken impression that these declarations will protect them, users remain subject to the social network’s terms of service.

It’s not just the Web powers-that-be that can toy with a person’s public persona, however—it’s also tag-happy, share-happy friends who don’t realize that just because something is public information or done in public doesn’t mean people want it publicized.
So the social-media savvy are finding ways to put some privacy back into their public lives, pruning friends lists, hosting photo-free “dark rooms” at parties to deter social media–sharing and creating Facebook pseudonyms to avoid the prying eyes of employers and others.

This is a compelling opportunity for brands, as they can amplify these existing behaviors. Argentina’s Norte Beer, for instance, found a clever way to ensure that “What happens in the club stays in the club” with an amusing innovation: a beer cooler that keeps drinkers safe from paparazzi-in-training. Distributed to various bars around Argentina, the Photoblocker emits a bright light when it detects the flash from a photo, making any images unusable. Nearby drinkers can safely party without fear of wide exposure.

If you were advising a business owner — which trend would you call to their attention first?

One trend we look at for 2013 which is important for business owners to consider is the rise of Peer Power. As the peer-to-peer marketplace expands in size and scope—moving beyond goods to a wide range of services—it will increasingly upend major industries, from hospitality and education to tourism and transportation. This is a culmination of a number of developments we’ve spotlighted in our Things to Watch over the years—from Couchsurfing in 2008 to Crowdfunding in 2009 to Micro businesses like Airbnb in 2011 to Crowdsourced Learning and P2P Experiences in 2012.

As P2P companies begin to disrupt major industries, many established players will turn to existing laws and regulations to limit their growth. But there are alternative (or parallel) paths that big brands can take that are less knee-jerk and more forward-thinking. For one, they can use the emergence of this new competitive set as an opportunity to rethink how they operate or position their B2C businesses in this growing P2P economy. And they can examine what kinds of new behaviors and expectations the P2P model is creating among consumers and start delivering against those.

Rather than fear or fight the encroachment of this new competition, established brands can embrace this development through a variety of means. Perhaps the easiest is to partner with peer-powered businesses in the same or related categories. BMW, for instance, took a minority stake in ParkatmyHouse through its i Ventures venture capital arm, which aims to extend the company’s range of products and services over the long term by investing in innovative mobile service providers.

Taking it one step further, brands can add a P2P element to their business or launch a business line that addresses a newly created demand or challenge to their industry. For instance, high-profile universities including Stanford and Princeton are participating in MOOCS (massive open online courses), via new ventures like Coursera, rather than fight the tide of free or low-cost online courses, many taught by amateurs.

In partnering with these upstarts or launching their own version of a P2P service, established brands can infuse freshness or modernity into their persona, broaden their appeal and/or get an existing consumer segment to look at them in an interesting new light. Initiatives such as this also provide the opportunity to learn more about the audience, inner workings, and strengths and weaknesses of P2P enterprises.

Looking at the trend list as a whole — what do you think it says about the last few years?

New technology continues to take center stage, as we see major shifts tied to warp-speed developments in mobile, social and data technologies.Many of our trends reflect how businesses are driving, leveraging or counteracting technology’s omnipresence in our lives, and how consumers are responding to its pull.


Looking back, which of the 2012 trends do you think fell flat or didn’t really come to fruition the way you expected a year ago?

Any trends with real significance can’t be assigned to just one calendar year. The trends we explore on an annual basis have significant weight and momentum, and indicate shifts that are likely to be with us for a while. That is why we track our trends from past forecasts on an ongoing basis. As for our 2012 trends, we continue to see them play out in new and numerous ways.

“Celebrating Aging” is one of those trends. Last year, we observed: “Popular perceptions of aging are changing, with people of all ages taking a more positive view of growing older. As demographic and cultural changes, along with medical advances, help to shift attitudes, we’ll redefine when ‘old age’ occurs and what the term means.”

This year we saw that development reflected in product development, marketing and entertainment. Earlier this year, for instance, MAC cosmetics launched a collaboration with 91-year-old style standout Iris Apfel. The collection is inspired by colors favored by Apfel, a longtime interior and textile designer who’s come into the spotlight in her twilight years. We also saw the critically acclaimed movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel—described by Time as “a charming celebration of aging”—become a surprise box-office hit. The film by director John Madden follows a group of British retirees moving to India to live in an old hotel and features acting heavyweights Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, both of whom turn 78 this year.

Another trend from our 2012 forecast, “Objectifying Objects,” continues to gain momentum. As objects get replaced by digital/virtual counterparts, we’re seeing more people fetishize the physical and tactile. This is giving rise to “motivational objects,” or items that accompany digital property to increase perceived value, and digital tools that enable creation of physical things.

This past year, for instance, we noted an increase in a range of new services that allow people to get to grips—literally—with their social media output, turning it into real-world items. MOO Inc. offers business cards created from Facebook users’ Timeline images and data, using the same fonts and layout; it includes the person’s Facebook URL. The Twitter Poster re-creates the customer’s profile picture using his or her tweets. And Stitchtagram is a service that crafts handmade pillows using fabric printed with the customer’s Instagram shots.

 

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2012 Trends Worth Watching

December 15, 2011

For the past couple years, I’ve shared the results of the JWT annual year-end forecast of trends for the upcoming year.  In the past, we’ve seen predictions for the massive adoption of location based services (2010) and the coming of the Non Commitment Culture (2011) — both of which have come to be.

So I was looking forward to their 2012 report and it did not disappoint.  I had a chance to ask Ann Mack, JWT’s Director of Trendspotting a few questions.  But before we get to her answers — check out their executive summary. (email subscribers, click here)

Q. Which trend strikes you as the most surprising?  That was my first question for Ann Mack as well.  Here’s what she had to say:

The trend that surprised me the most was Generation Go. The Millennial Generation has been cast by many in the media as the “Lost Generation,” but this trend turns that notion on its head.

Consider this: In the U.S., 52% of Millennials said they would start their own business if they lose or have trouble finding a job, according to a survey JWT conducted in November, up from 25% in 2009. Nearly 6 in 10 agreed that “My friends are doing interesting entrepreneurial things to make more money,” up from 34% in 2009. This indicates that there’s a solid entrepreneurial streak among Millennials, one that has significantly increased in the past two years.

Twentysomethings in the developed world are finding opportunity in economic adversity. Out of continued joblessness or discontent with the status quo is springing an unprecedented entrepreneurial mindset, enabled by technology that obliterates traditional barriers to entry. A so-called Lost Generation is transforming itself into a uniquely resourceful cohort.

Q. Navigating the new normal seems to be more about re-packaging (less frills University degree, smaller pack of gum, fewer featured tablet like Kindle Fire etc.) than offering something new.  How do you think this will manifest itself in the services arena?

You’ll see more services that strip out amenities and features or lower quality standards, DIY options (e.g., Ikea-style assemble-your-own items), off-peak or otherwise restricted offerings, and unbundled/more flexible services and subscriptions.

Equinox gyms, for instance, opened Blink Fitness at the beginning of 2011: The pleasant, polished fitness centers cost just $20 a month (more than $100 less than Equinox gyms in the area), offering the basics and nothing more.

Meanwhile, prepaid, no-contract phone plans—which have been a minimal part of the U.S. mobile market—are now the fastest-growing segment. A new low-cost, no-contract T-Mobile plan offered through Walmart, for example, allows for unlimited Internet access and texting but only 100 voice minutes. The carrier also now offers three Pay by the Day plans, charging customers only for days they use their phones.

Q. How does the trend Reengineering Randomness and the hunger for new/different work in light of both the information overload syndrome and desire to simplify that everyone seems to be dealing with about these days?

To your point, most people welcome the extraction of irrelevant or less interesting information and options. But most people recognize when they are in a rut. Reengineering Randomness is about reaching consumers through surprise and delight, online and off, while avoiding their overstimulation.

As consumers increasingly rely on Hyper-Personalization to help them navigate the Web and the wider world, the random element will come to represent the human touch. Increasingly, breaking through the personalization bubble will become an important way to grab consumers’ attention. By providing a dose of the unexpected, brands can inspire consumers who crave discovery and perhaps find new markets as well.

If you’d like to see the entire 102 page report, you can purchase it here.

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