So a week before the 2010 Fantastic Tavern Trends debate and things are shaping up nicely. I have received a diverse selection of trends to discuss – I thought I’d share them with you so you can get a taste for what’s in store.
While we might easily be obsessing with digital culture and social media phenomena (Forrester’s big tip for 2010), perhaps we’re neglecting the power of traditional media to captivate the imagination of audiences sat in front of the ubiquitous media format in every home – the humble TV. Like water. Think Evian, Think those amazing dancing babies. And of course, word of mouth (“have you seen...”) has driven massive hits to the digital equivalent, YouTube, with Skating Babies getting third place on their top ten after Michael Jackson (a 2009 phenomena). In fact in other ratings, it comes number two to this saucy offering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elD38pJX7iE&feature=player_embedded
So while we might be racking our brains (as creatives) to work out how to get people to share their confessions or discussion the merits of fat free cheese with our friends, perhaps we should be thinking about a great creative idea, brilliantly executed. Having said that, my 9 year old did ask me why Lewis Hamilton was building a Lego bridge and even after I explained what a metaphor was, she declared “I don’t get it.”
Switch tack in the winds of change...
Why do we waste so much effort (as marketers) trying to ‘find’ someone to sell our products and services to. Segment them, watch their behavior, demographic them, psychometric them... and then hit and hope. Wouldn’t it be better to have a marketplace where people ‘hand raise’ and then you tailor your service to the recognised demand, at the right time, place and price? Traditionally, this thinking would have been virtually impossible to achieve but perhaps now, it’s an inevitability. Is Consumer to Brand marketing about to become a (virtual) reality? If so, what are the catalysts for this to happen?
Finally, we could consider part of the DNA of a global macro trend like authenticity. As a brand how do you change your behavior to be able to improve (or maintain) your relevance as a brand? Truth and transparency is surely part of the answer. Reputations can be affected at internet speed and expectations are high. We are well beyond Nike used third world labour forces. We talking virtual floggings for mismanagement and disappointment (think Eurostar’s Christmas ‘break’) and whole paradigms like ‘trade secrets’ collapsing as enterprise becomes more pervious. I remind you of the sorry soul (employee) who decided to respond to an observation that American Airline’s website had inherent user experience issues. He responded ‘privately’ and honestly and sixty minutes later, was sacked.
http://airplanepilot.blogspot.com/2009/11/on-keeping-your-mouth-shut.html
These are just three of the themes we’ll be pontificating over. The sausages are on the grill, the beer being chilled. I cannot wait.
(and sorry, but if you're name isn’t on the list, it’s virtually impossible to get in)
Brand Meister