A Trend Worth Watching

Trend:

1.            a general tendency, movement, or direction

2.            a current fashion or mode

vi: to show a tendency or movement toward something or in a particular direction

In a recent conversation with Backyard partner Roy Skillicorn, we touched on some trends worth watching, and some that are more dubious. Each is a hot topic on Twitter and in the trades, but Roy predicts that some will be a flash in the pan while others will “stick.” Some trends like iPhone technology, change our lives forever.

We asked him about commercials and 3D. “Some people think that 3D is to HD as color TV was to black and white,” Roy says. “I hesitate because I don’t know how many people want to put [the 3D] glasses on in their own homes.” That’s seemingly a small matter, but one whose answer will ultimately determine the future of 3D. He did find a recent 3D display for the out-of-home market (at the Boards Summit) that required no glasses; provocative, but not ready for prime time.  

“Precision Marketing” is a trend Roy feels fits into the iPhone category of relevance: the movement toward marketing to individual customers rather than to a mass audience. “The whole concept of precision targeting – not blanketing the same message to thousands, but addressing people one-on-one, is more respected,” Roy explains. “Precision targeting allows you to convey a richer, more personal touch.” Ironically, the current phenomenon of Facebook actually harkens back to an earlier era where personal relationships reigned supreme. Facebook has spawned a movement – both for baby boomers and for youth – to be “much more apt to experiment with brands that have contacted them individually.”

The last trend we considered is the current movement toward personal reinvention in the marketplace. “Many people have lost their jobs because of belt tightening and/or their age, and they are re-inventing themselves.  Many, facing a dreary job search are even starting their own companies.  I see these people rejuvenated and it is inspiring.”

“There is a trend to tighten up and reduce the amount of waste in the work environment.” Perhaps in business, as in life, anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…