Marketers such as Starbucks discover that simple sells

USA Today, October 28, 2009 — Simple is better.

This could be 2010's most powerful marketing mantra.

If 2009's hottest sales pitch was all about buying stuff on the cheap, 2010 marketing will increasingly stress less as more, as in fewer parts, additives or ingredients. While the trend is taking hold in many product categories, including health and beauty items, nowhere is it more apparent than with things we eat and drink.

Top Consumer Trends: Trust, Control, ... Playfulness?

MediaPost Publications, September 4, 2009 — Oh, it's so nice to be right. When market researcher Mintel released its list of leading consumer prognostication late last year, it knew that financial worries would drag consumers' emotions down for much of the year, and put the spotlight on trading down and switching brands.

TV's Future Looks Like Web's Present†

Forrester says targeted ads and a portal-like menu of options are coming to your set

Adweek, August 27, 2008 — TV advertising is poised to change dramatically over the next decade, embracing the kind of targeting and user control already common on the Web, according to a new report by Forrester Research. Forrester lays out a decade-long evolution that will ultimately result in most programming delivered on-demand with targeted ad messages based on location and behavior, along with community functions.

The Case Against Marketing to ‘Influencers’†

Forget social hubs and alpha influencers. To reach consumers, old-fashioned mass marketing might be the way to go.

Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2008 — That message, espoused by sociologist Duncan Watts, is making waves in marketing circles by refuting the notion that an elite group of taste makers spark consumer trends, reports Clive Thompson in the February issue of Fast Company (no online version available yet). The idea of the super-influencer, popularized in books like “The Tipping Point” and “The Influentials,” is compelling. But in Mr. Watts’s view, social networks are so complex that consumer trends are essentially random.

‘Decade of Data’ Study Reveals Key Trends

Marketing Charts, January 17, 2008 — For men 18 and older, TV advertising is no longer the main influencer in purchasing decisions - just 22% say it is (down 8 points), compared with 24% who now cite advertising inserts as the most influential medium, according to the Customer Focus: Decade of Data report from Vertis Communications.

3 Hidden Trends in 2008

eMarketer, January 14, 2008 — Business statistics can often reveal a great deal of information about a market or trend. A single number, like a picture, can be worth a thousand words. Take 9.3%. That figure represents eMarketer’s prediction for the share of total US media spending going to the Internet this year (in 2007, the share was only 7.4%).

From Fashion to Gaming: What's Hot for '08†

Adweek, December 31, 2007 — In a world where Tay Zonday is the best thing to happen to Dr Pepper since its 1970s' "Be a Pepper" campaign, it can be hard to predict which ads consumers will like and which they'll hate. But knowing which trends will take off can help guide you in the right direction. Some have yet to gel, while others—those featured in our "10 Trends of 2007" [Adweek, Dec. 17]—we predict will get even stronger.

Eight business technology trends to watch

Eight emerging trends are transforming many markets and businesses. Executives should learn to shape the outcome rather than just react to it.

McKinsey Quarterly, December 7, 2007 — Technology alone is rarely the key to unlocking economic value: companies create real wealth when they combine technology with new ways of doing business. Through our work and research, we have identified eight technology-enabled trends that will help shape businesses and the economy in coming years. These trends fall within three broad areas of business activity: managing relationships, managing capital and assets, and leveraging information in new ways.

2008: Eco-Marketing To Take Front And Center Stage

MediaPost Publications, December 3, 2007 — NEXT YEAR, EXPECT TO SEE global marketers pitch consumers' inner ecologist. Sure, there are catalogues like Harmony and Gaia aimed at eco-minded consumers. But Chicago-based consultancy Mintel is predicting a raft of new products from mass-market companies.

Ad Spend to Grow 6.7% in ‘08, Internet to Overtake Radio in ‘08 & Mags in ‘10

Marketing Charts, December 3, 2007 — Ad spending worldwide will near $486 billion in 2008, or 6.7% more than in 2007, while ad spend in North America will total $195 billion, up 4.1%, according to a ZenithOptimedia forecast, writes AdAge. Meanwhile, internet advertising is poised to reach three major milestones in the next three years, according to the forecast.