creating a brand seems to be the ideal of each and every individual with access to the web and a reliable connection. the rags to riches success stories of bright sparks that conquer the world with a single keyboard stroke is well known and probably well deserved. what thrills me however is the proud fight that small family businesses have put up with for decades or even centuries, to firmly establish themselves in our consciousness.
this passion and perseverance has seen many of the brands we know today go through other crisis in other times. companies have to adapt to markets and markets are always in motion, but even so, people stay the same. analyzing the market is probably a good idea if you have to justify your positioning strategies to the board or flummox them with graphs and presentations. its all part of the process and while it keeps a lot of people busy working contributing members of society, and enabled consumers to boot, i fear it distracts them from thinking as well.
whether you look at it from a generational perspective or a geographical perspective or a demographical perspective, it all boils down to people’s propensity for adapting to their environment. where as it seems on the surface that one person can change the world, they need a horde of followers to do it. i fear we neglect our past too much when it comes to our future. this nostalgia, which is commonly referred to as retro-this and retro-that, testifies to that emotional condition all people suffer from, admittedly or not. the utopian minded trend forecastresses dazzle us with new jargon, only to distract us from the basics. what we want.
last night i attended an launch of a well known brand, which rates high on the aspiration meter. the entertainment was an incomprehensible babble of trending talk while everyone was eyeing the food counter like some starved soldiers at a soup kitchen. also take into account that the epicurean angle fell short of delivering the promised sensations although everyone was grateful to get their fill. while it was stating the obvious; that food is important, and it being a kitchen appliance brand, i felt that the justifications still did not target the true power of the brand. fashion, flavour and the feel good factor. that is ultimately why consumers connect to products. there are many motivators in between, but the feel good factor is the one that sells - find that and you have the market. obviously the aspirations and emotional motivators of one market differs from another even down to street address level; this is the conundrum of global trending experts; to sell a product, you should rather focus on the understanding the state of your audience than trying to convince them of the importance of the topics on the agenda in davos. my advice for launches; show everyone a good time. my advice to trend forecasters; just serve the food and shut up.
