articles

Submitted by Chris Middleton of Futures Coaching

Trends Overload

Trends are coming at us thick and fast these days. The TV programming schedules seem to be full of them (buying and retiring abroad, '70's man, knife crime and so on). Meanwhile, Trend scouts such as Trendwatching.com fill their websites with lots of tempting morsels. And journalists, too, fancy their crystal-ball gazing talents. Each edition of a typical broadsheet newspaper carries in excess of 10 'trend' predictions.

With this glut of Trends, it's no wonder I've heard business people moan: "I'm drowning in Trends".

It's a bit like herding cats

Trends can seem like cats. You think you've captured a few but some get away just as easily. Just when you think you've understood 'Thrill Pleasure' you are told there is a new 'Assault on Pleasure'. Meanwhile, 'Crude Hedonism' has apparently morphed into 'Healthy Hedonism'. The 'Body Perfection' Trend is growing but so too is 'Obesity'. Very slippery these social Trends.

Meanwhile, just as cats can look very similar one to the other, so too Trends. Are 'Affluent Activists' from agency x the same as so and so's 'Social Entrepreneurs'? And isn't 'Ethical Consumption' and 'Conscience Consumption' really the same thing - albeit baptised differently by two competing Trend scouts?

So what?

Time and again, I've seen people emerge from Trend seminars, swooning at the story-telling capacity of their favourite agency. Energised they undoubtedly are, but like a hard drug, the hit is soon over and the withdrawal sets in. Once back at the office, the dread begins: "what do I do next?" It all sounded so good at the time but what do I tell my boss tomorrow and just how do I integrate Trends into my decision-making?

A familiar story?

If this sounds all to familiar to you, join the crowd. Many marketing people find themselves in this situation. And here's the salt in the wound. People with responsibility for the future of brands and businesses typically have had very little training to deal with every Trend life throws at them. You can't get a degree in Trend Studies and 'British Association of Trends' does not exist. You are on your own. Or, at least, you were......

That was then, this is now

I set up Futures Coaching having had almost 25 years' experience in consumer marketing. Its aim is to help marketers re-energise brands and businesses with the fuel of consumer trends. Our coaches are expert in Trends and scenarios and guide our clients through the futuring minefield.

Building a Trends System

The key to handling the mass of Trends coming your way is to have a structured framework to help you organise and sort them. Once you start collecting Trends within a System, you will suddenly find you have relaxed control over them. You can find them. You can link them. You can prioritise them. You can share them. In short, Trends become the slave and you the master - not the other way round. Having a Trend System gives you confidence that your raw materials are in-house and in order.

There are 5 stages to structuring a Trends System:

1. Distinguishing between types of Trends
2. Understanding the core logic
3. Collecting the right information
4. Loading the system
5. Using it!

1. Distinguishing between types of Trends

Not all Trends are the same and it is vital to distinguish between: 'Fashions and Fads', (eg. Sudoku) 'Social Trends' (eg. .'Over-eating' ) and 'Long Wave' Trends (eg. Global climate change). You may need to be aware of all three, but when and where you use each is of vital importance if your Trend watching is to add value to your brand.

2. Understanding the core logic

In setting up a Trend System it is important to collect information in a logical way and this involves having a coordinating principle. I have a colleague who collects Trends according to the logic of over-arching future scenarios. Other systems filter by pre-defined Social Trends.

3. Collecting the right information

To share Trends with your colleagues, you'll need to collect 7 key pieces of information for each Trend:

? definition
? key words
? photos and visuals
? historic evolution
? evidence, facts and figures
? physical artefacts, manifestations
? Trend stories/anecdotes

With this information to hand, you are able to communicate what the Trend is, where it has come from and provide supporting evidence about its presence and force in today's society. You will have the right information to convince both left and right brainers. Finally, you will have made an important step towards constructing a common language and understanding within the business.

4. Loading the system

Jean Luc Godard said that it is not about where you take things from but where you take things to. So, borrow and 'steal' Trends from anywhere and everywhere. Take your existing consumer research and 'future mine' it. Speak to experts. Surf the net. Turn to the trendspotters. Read widely. Keep your eyes open as you walk down the street. I started by saying Trends are all around us and indeed they are.

 5. Using it!

I believe that by following the above advice you will already be well on your way to using Trends in more ways and more often than you do today. However, companies often limit themselves in the value they squeeze from Trends. Trends have to be more than the warm-up act to the Senior Managers' Away-Day! If Kodak had observed Trends - or GM - their businesses would be in entirely different places today!

So think about using Trends in the following areas:

? to increase understanding about disruptive change
? to counter-act the tendency for senior managers to be dictated to by news headlines
? to decode your offer and your communications
? to future proof your business and brands
? to stimulate your creativity and generate new ideas and innovations
? to validate strategy and build contingencies
? to engage colleagues and clients in neutral space
? to avoid short-termism and develop a futures-oriented culture.

Now more than ever, Trends should be helping your 'Recession Marketing' activities and Rejuvenating your brand or business.

Conclusions

Most of us are time poor and stressed out. So any insights that allows us to be more relaxed and get more achieved should be welcome. The Taming Trends strategies outlined above are a move in this direction. Efficient collection and structuring of Trends will free you from the tyranny of confusion and liberate you to use Trends productively. Adding value through Trends is about sexy things like radical innovation, strategy evaluation and company rejuvenation - but it all starts with the solid foundation of an organised Trend System.

If you want to take this to the next step and would like tailored guidance, contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Plus, for more of my opinions on Trends, Recession Marketing and Rejuvenation visit my blog at: recessionmarketing.blogspot.com

Like Christmas, Brand Planning comes around once a year...but is rarely welcomed with the same level of enthusiasm as the Agency Party.

In my experience it usually involves taking last year's plan from the dusty shelf around September, changing the dates, adjusting the numbers and trying to getting it past your boss whilst he's distracted.

However, great planning is a essential step in growing brands and need not be so painful. Here's a few basic principles.

1 Look at the Big Picture

This is the first thing you should do before you dive into your Plan. It involves stepping back and taking a long hard at how well your brand is doing. Examine your brand in microscopic detail, but equally look at how it sits in the broader category context.

Look at the here and now, but equally important look forward and take a point of view on the key trends that are going to impact on your market. There's usually plenty of data and information freely available (the internet is an amazing tool) but you just have to take the time to look for it.

2 Get Clarity on Your Brand Vision

Before you dive into the Plan you need clarity on
- your brand proposition / brand positioning
- your brand's role in the Company's portolio
- your target audience / needstate
- the key consumer insight that underpins your brand

If there's fuzziness at this level then it will translate into a muddled plan

3 Clarity Objectives

As a start point get clarity on

- your business objectives. These are internal measures of success. They're usually financial, profit, volume, etc
- your marketing objectives These are the changes in your target consumers' attitude and behaviour required over the course of the plan to hit your business objectives.

Consumer Attitude Objectives include: awareness, image perception, desirability, etc
Consumer Behaviour Objectives include: trial, repeat purchase levels, retention/loyalty levels

Key things to watch out for
- don't confuse business and marketing objectives
- ensure they all adhere to SMART principles (which I'm sure everyone knows): easy to say, difficult to achieve
- make sure you can genuinely measure and track your objectives, otherwise you're relying on assumption and guesswork

4 Show Linkages

Everything in a plan needs to connect together from objectives through to marketing activities. Synergy and integration are the words marketers like to use. ‘Joined up thinking' is the phrase favoured by politicians

Some people use the 6 Ps, some use 7 Ps to articulate marketing strategy and activities, but I've still a fan of the original Philip Kotler 4 Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Everything fits into these 4 boxes and I think that the other Ps make life too complicated.

5 Keep it Focused

Many plans try to do too much, often too quickly with too little budget. Rather than moan about having no money to spend, it's much better to do 2 or 3 things really, really well over the course of a Plan than to spread your resources too thinly.

6 Keep it Short and Simple

Try to avoid marketing jargon wherever possible. It's not big and it's not clever. People don't understand what you're taking about .It only serves to confirm what they've always thought of marketing people.

You should be able to pin down the essentials of a Marketing Plan onto a couple of pages. It ensures your thinking is sharp, you can discuss it over a desk and carry it around with you. Writing a short plan is much harder than writing a long one, but is worth it.

7 Engage Others

Although the Plan is developed by the marketing team, it should be owned by everyone. You can engage others in lots of ways:
- use their expertise to help input to the plan: salesmen, market researchers, r&d people are all particularly helpful - they're usually very smart and are good at keeping you grounded
- share the plan with the whole organisation

Brand planning days are good, as long as they're well facilitated (give me a call) and the egos of the agency teams are kept in check.

8 What Gets Measured Gets Done

The favourite saying of my old boss. Selecting and monitoring KPIs (key performance indicators) isn't particularly exciting, but is a great way to keep you focused and on track. In choosing KPIs, ensure
- you measure marketing activities
- you measure both inputs (eg number of supermarket listings) and outputs (eg average rate of sale)
If you can summarise all your KPIs on one page - often called a Dashboard - then they're easy to track and diagnose

9 Combine Creativity and Rigour

The best plans include both - creativity in terms of innovation, communication, packaging etc and rigour in terms of analysis and strategic thinking. Both are equally important. There shouldn't be a trade off between the two

Enhancing your creative thinking is a lifelong journey. However, here's a few habits and behaviours that might help you along the way.

1. The Morning Pages
Get and A4 notebook and each morning, as soon as you get up, fill 3 pages. Typically you will capture fragments of your dreams, ideas and rambling thoughts. For more details read Julia Cameron's ‘The Artist's Way'.

2. Keep and Ideas Book
Ideas come to you in odd places and at unusual times. Always carry an ‘Ideas Book' with you. Use it to record your ideas, thoughts and observations throughout the day (and night).

3. Get Regular Fresh Input
The mind needs fresh stimulation to get new ideas and to change your perceptions. Therefore, aim to do something different everyday. Listen to different radio stations, read different magazines, taste, look and smell new things

4. Learn to Draw

Using the visual side of your brain more actively can open up a whole new world of seeing the world and expressing yourself
Attend an evening class, read a book on drawing techniques. Start drawing!

5. Learn From the Greats
Reflect upon the lives, ideas and actions of your favourite creative genius. Read a biography. Immerse yourself in their work.

6. Relax!
When you relax, your subconscious mind gets to work and ideas pop into your head. Listen to music on your headphones, lie in the sunshine, swim, ride your bike

7. Learn Improvisation Skills
Attending drama or improvisation classes helps you to stop blocking ideas and learn how to run with an idea instead.

8. Learn Creative Techniques
There are a wealth of creativity techniques that can be used individually and in smaller groups. Start with mind mapping one of the simplest and most powerful techniques.

9. Play Games
Toys and games can help keep your mind stimulated and playful as well as putting you in a good mood. Play your favourite board games, play cards, do a crossword, kick a football

10. Get Fit
Exercise can contribute to creative output as: it increases oxygen to the blood which is delivered to the brain, it releases endorphins (the runners' high) it's an unrestrained form of play, it can creative meditative rhythms

11. Take Up a Hobby

Find an outlet for your creativity: learn to write, paint, play the piano, get cooking, create a garden. You will also develop supplementary skills such as hand-eye co-ordination, spatial dexterity, concentration

12. Find a Creative Place

Find a room, environment where you feel comfortable in undertaking your creative thinking

13. Find Some Creative Space

Put aside some regular time time in your life so that you can focus on creative activity. Julia Cameron calls these ‘the artist's dates'

14. Join a Creative Community
Creative communities often develop in specific locations eg the Paris Left Bank, Fitzrovia in London. Draw inspiration from creative friends who can help, support and inspire you

 I regularly teach people how to facilitate creative workshops. Here are what I reckon are my top tips on how to run fabulous sessions

1. Manage the Energy

Over the phase of a meeting energy levels will invariably dip. Boredom and distraction can easily kick. There are lots of ways to maintain good energy levels over the course of a workshop. Here's some suggestions

- move people around: get people to work in different teams, change seats, work on the floor

- be aware of your own energy: the more you give, the more you will get back

- undertake some some energisers: simple stretches, games, quizzes to distract people and physically revive them

- provide chocolate and sweeties, especially in the afternoons. Its amazing how much the sight of a Malteser or a Pear Drop can lift the mood

2. Simple and Clear Instructions

People don't listen very well and find it hard to take it too much information at once. Therefore, ensure that you:

- speak slowly and clearly

- only give out one instruction at a time. Wait until they've completed this before you give out another one

- if necessary write them down on a flipchart to ensure you're crystal clear

- act like a traffic cop and use hand signals to direct people

3. Remember You're The Boss

There may be occasions when you're facilitating sessions where there are more senior people present - including your boss. However, during the session, stay in control and don't abdicate this responsibility to others. Stay at the centre of the room and don't be afraid to exert your authority.

4. Listen and Summarise

Whilst people are working in groups or in long discussions, its easy to tune out. Try to avoid this. Stay focused. At some point someone will say 'so...where are we?' and look to you to sum up the status of the meeting.  Responding by saying 'I wasn't listening' isn't good enough. Be prepared to summarise where necessary. Signal to people where you are in the process and explain what's happening next.

5. It Helps If You're Funny

If everyone is in a good mood, the meeting will be more productive. If you're relaxed and confident, you'll give a good performance. You don't have to be a comedian, but its important that you:

- keep the tone informal and friendly

- plan a few light hearted faces - games, quizzes, energisers

6. Keep Your Distance

Remember, as a facilitator, your role is to manage the process of the moment, giving others the freedom to contribute fully to the content. If you want to add new ideas, do so as a build. Don't feel its your duty to the be the idea generator or the person with all the answers.

7. Stick Close to the Core Team

There's always an inner sanctum at any meeting. This is usually the problem owner, the most senior person in the room, the agency account handler. Chat to them during breaks. Check their comfort levels. Reassure if necessary. Respond to their suggestions.

8. Practice Makes Perfect

Keep expanding your repertoire. Keep trying out new things: a new energiser, a new warm-up exercise a new creative exercise. Expose yourself to as many different kinds as sessions as possible. This way your expertise will grow and will you cope with the unexpected.

9. Manage the Paper

The boring bit. Ensure that after the workshop the output is easy to process. Head the flipcharts. Write in sub-headings. Number them. Ensure everything is legible. If you can't make sense of the output, then its been a waste of time.

10. Plan, Plan, Plan

Great facilitation is all about great planning. Getting clarity on the task of the session and desired output. Getting the right people to attend. Thinking through all the details, whilst being prepared to improvise where necessary. Do this well and the session itself will be a piece of cake.

All the techniques I'm about to describe focus on encouraging and stimulating lateral thinking - taking loose, spontaneous observations and bringing them together to generate new thoughts and ideas.

There's a lot of stuff written about different tools and techniques. I reckon these are the most powerful and the ones I tend to start from when trying to structure innovation sessions.

1. Mind Mapping

Invented by Tony Buzan, mind mapping is a visual device that creates ideas by association. By displaying thoughts and using symbols and colour, new connections are made highly visible.

How it Works
1 Write down the subject you are trying to create around in the centre of the page
2 Allow ideas to expand into branches and sub-branches via free association
3 Emphasise the associations: use arrows, colours and codes
4 Work quickly, keep moving
5 Generate, don't judge
6 Develop your own personal style

Get individuals to do it themselves an then ask them to highlight and share key ideas

2. Introducing Randomness

One of the simplest and most powerful techniques is called Random Word.

How it Works
1. Choose a random word from a bag. I find that those magnetic words used for creating poems on your fridge work really well
2. List its attributes and associations
3. Connect back to the problem: use as a springboard for idea generation

A variation on random word is to use a random image (I like the postcards from Paperchase), toy or object that happens to be lying around the room

3. Related Worlds

A technique that examines how other people / professions have solved a similar problem to the one you're facing and then applying the learning back to your own situation.

How it Works
1. Think about who else has had to face / deal with a similar problem to the one you're facing
2. Capture the approaches they took, the solutions they came up with
3. Consider how these could be adapted and re-applied to your situation

The secret is ensuring you choose the most appropriate and fruitful related world. For example, if the subject is about ‘improving navigation' then look to the world of pilots, the navy, etc for inspiration. Once you've chosen the right world, the ideas really flow

4. Rule Breaking

A great technique for challenging conventional wisdom and giving yourself permission to break boundaries

How It Works
1. On one side of a flipchart write down the ‘rules' beliefs and assumptions that relate to the subject under discussion
2. On the other side, generate ideas that break / challenge them

This is particularly useful when you're looking for radical solutions or breakthrough innovation

5. Role Playing

A good start point for any creative workshop. Most people find this an easy and productive exercise. It involves looking at the problem through the eyes of others and using their perspective as a way of generating ideas.

Version 1 Consumer Role Play

1. Imagine you are the target audience for your product / service. Describe your needs, wants, desires, problems
2. Generate ideas that would address them

Version 2 Famous People

1. Imagine a famous person (celebrity, leader, etc) has taken over your brand / organisation
2. What ideas would they generate / really love?

This is a just a flavour of the kinds of tools that can be used to generate new ideas. There are many more of them which can be used to address your creative challenge. If you want to know more, please get in touch