Trendwatching.com’s 2011 most important consumer marketing developments

Home Trendwatching.com’s 2011 most important consumer marketing developments

As a brand, you should have the “F-factor”, practice some Random Acts of Kindness and be aware of the rise of ‘citysumers’. That is, if you want to keep up with the most import consumer marketing developments, according to Trendwatching.com (briefing august 2011), via MarketingCharts. It’s all there in the conversation management strategy and philosophy, it makes our book still a relevant read, although it’s already a year old ;).

The F-factor
The F-factor. You might think this is about facebook, but it isn’t, not literally that is. The F-factor is about friends, fans, and followers. Consumers are tapping into their networks to discover, discuss and purchase goods and services in ever-more sophisticated ways. Trendwatching.com identifies five key ways the F-Factor influences consumer behavior:

1. F-Discovery: How consumers discover new products and services by relying on their social networks.
2. F-Rated: How consumers will increasingly (and automatically) receive targeted ratings, recommendations and reviews from their social networks.
3. F-Feedback: New ways in which consumers can ask their friends and followers to improve and validate their buying decisions.
4. F-Together: How shopping is becoming increasingly social, even when consumers and their peers are not physically together.
5. F-Me: How consumers’ social networks are literally being turned into products and services.

Random acts of what?
A Random act of Kindness. It’s just…. what it says. And although Trendwatching.com is defining this as an important consumer marketing trend; a simple Googlesearch leads you to this article: “29 Ways to Carry Out Random Acts of Kindness Every Day”. MC writes:

“For consumers long used to (and annoyed by) distant, inflexible and self-serving corporations, trendwatching.com says any acts of kindness (R.A.K.) by brands will be gratefully received. For brands, increasingly open communications both with and between consumers (especially online), means that it’s never been easier to surprise and delight audiences with R.A.K.: whether sending gifts, responding to publicly expressed moods or just showing that they care.”

Citysumers
‘Citysumers’, it’s the name given to the hundreds of millions of experienced and sophisticated urbanites. Trendwatching.com identifies three key factors driving the citysumers trend, find them below:

1. Urban Boom: Close to 180,000 people move into cities daily, adding roughly 60 million new urban dwellers each year. And, while ‘traditional’ global powerhouses such as New York, London and Paris are already sharing the stage with Beijing, Mumbai and Istanbul, increasingly cities such as Belem, Chongqing and Guadalajara are ready to make their mark.
2. Urban Might: Rich in networks and opportunities, cities act as magnets, sucking in talent and spewing out innovation. The result? Increased wealth and power of cities and those who live in them.
3. Urbane: Urban culture and values now dominate. Citsysumers are addicted to the here-and-now, experiences, choice and freedom, flexibility and rawness, unrestricted opportunity, and hunt for the “Next Big Thing†if not the “Next Big Story.â€