Eight critical marketing trends to watch and profit from in 2008

January 2, 2008

While the rise of the global middle class is as big a story as they come, the rise of high networth individuals (HNIs) has an equally significant impact on consumerism

As 2007 draws to a close, Mint brings you exclusive insights from the global 2008 Trend Report from Trendwatching.com BV, the Amsterdam-based consulting company that relies on a network of about 8,000 trend spotters in some 70 countries to identify promising consumer trends and insights.

The network is based on volunteers who alert the company on trends they have spotted, be it a new male grooming lounge in Dubai to an affordable book publishing service for new writers in Canada. Such ideas are then simply emailed to the firm by the spotters, who register themselves with the company and collect points for every accepted trend. Points then add up to gifts. Mint readers, too, can register by visiting the site, Springspotters.com.

Here are edited excerpts of the 2008 Trend Report to give Indian companies and marketers lots of examples from around the world and, perhaps, new ways to pitch their products and services to Indian consumers. Part I introduces two such trends.

1. STATUS SPHERES
Here’s something trend watchers, chief marketing officers and other business professionals should be able to agree on: in the end, when dealing with (and selling to) people, everything always comes back to status. In a traditional consumer society, he or she who consumes the most, the best, the coolest, the most expensive, the scarcest or the most popular goods, will typically also gain the most status.

Traditional sphere: Airbus SAS CEO Tom Enders (left) with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, who bought a $320 million Airbus 380, which will be turned into a ‘flying palace’.

Now, you guessed it: the above will still ring true in 2008, and should be on your mind whenever/wherever in the new year—when tracking trends, when mapping out new strategies and when coming up with new products and services for your customers.
In fact, expect 2008 to be the year in which even more brands realize (if not grudgingly accept) that old, mass-era status symbols, from the Audi R8 to the De Beers Talisman Watch Collection are no longer every consumer’s wet dream. After all, as mature consumer societies are increasingly dominated by (physical) abundance, by saturation, by experiences, by virtual worlds, by individualism, by participation, by feelings of guilt and concern about the side effects of unbridled consumption, status is to be had in many more ways than leading a lifestyle centred on hoarding as many branded, luxury goods as possible.

We’ve dubbed the above phenomenon status spheres— a variety of lifestyles, activities and persuasions, which can be mixed and matched by consumers looking for recognition from various crowds and scenes. Getting too vague? Here are some status spheres to keep an eye out for in 2008.

 

 

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