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Okay, we are rounding the bend on our look at trendwatching.com's top 11 consumer trends for 2011. If you missed the first three installments, just click on these links: Part one, part two and of course, part three.
9.Planned Spontaneity: With lifestyles having become fragmented, with dense urban environments offering consumers any number of instantly available options, and with cell /smartphones having created a generation who have little experience of making (or sticking to) rigid plans, 2011 will see what trendwatching.com calls full-on “planned spontaneity.”
Brands can expect to see consumers in 2011 rushing to sign up to services (the planned part) that allow for endless and almost effortless mass mingling with friends, family, colleagues or strangers (the spontaneity part). A developing segment of this trend is consumers signing up for mobile services that passively and constantly broadcast their location.
Question re: trend #9: We've seen the breadcrumbs of this trend with all of the geo-locating services out there like Foursquare and Gowalla. I think you can also point to TweetUps and other "let's just hang" but planned events. Even the Laid Back Networking Event that McLellan Marketing Group hosts every quarter.
Could you create this sort of planned spontaneity that would attract potential customers? Or perhaps an exclusive gathering for your clients? Then, once you have them together — could you give the event some sort of twist that would make it feel spontaneous and a little crazy. (makes me think of a flashmob kind of energy.)
10.Eco-Superior: When it comes to ‘green consumption’, brands should expect a rise in “eco-superior” products; products that are not only eco-friendly, but superior to polluting incumbents in every possible way. Trendwatching.com says brands should think of a combination of eco-friendly yet superior functionality, superior design, and/or superior savings.
Question re: trend #10: This feels like old news to me. We've been talking green for the last several years. So my question is this — how do you make this tired old trend feel new to your customers and prospects? When you combine the "old news" aspect of this trend with the economic pinch that many people and companies are experiencing — I think you have to make this about the pocketbook. So how do you do that?
11:Owner-less: Fractional ownership and lifestyle leasing business models have re-emerged, with services such as car-sharing and public bike programs enjoying success around the globe. For many consumers, access is better than ownership.
Question re: trend #11: This demands a completely new way of thinking about sales. Especially if you are a big ticket purchase — how could you group potential buyers who are reluctant to pull the trigger on the entire amount? Could you lease, rent or somehow break up your offering?
Okay…those are the 11 trends that trendswatching.com says we should be prepping for. How are you going to take this information and capitalize on it in 2011?
I saw the “planned spontaneity” trend on a post by Saatchi & Saatchi this morning – so your post backs that up completely.
You’re right too, I think Tweet-ups and the like are the natural progression of last year’s Flash Mobs, and I expect to see many more of them.