Month: December 2007

Trendwatching has come out with
their top 8 trends for 2008. 

They are
status spheres
(status symbol consumption based on lifestyle),
premiumization
(high end products in EVERY industry),
snack culture
(temporary or transient pleasure buys),
online oxygen
(increase reliance on the internet),
eco-ionic
(broadcasting eco-credentials to others),
brand butlers
(marketing by taking care of the consumer…
think Charmin sponsored public restrooms),
Make It Yourself
(consumers wishing to create and
personalize products themselves)
and
crowd mining
(using consumers input and sweat equity).

The Pantone Fashion Report highlights
the top ten colors of Spring 2008. 

What does this have to do
with product development? 
Everything if you’re in the fashion or
any other trendy, fad driven industry
(or thinking about a blog redesign). 

One top pick? 
“Daiquiri Green, a brighter version of
the popular earth-tone yellow-greens
naturally associated with eco-awareness.” 

You read that right. 
Eco-awareness. 
The colors are a reflection of the consumers they target. 
They are well worth tracking.  

I’ve read advice saying
to gather all the members of a project launch team
together from day one. 
This supposedly promotes ownership of the project. 
I disagree. 
It promotes frustration. 

I recently joined a group project. 
My role was to help implement. 
I was a doer. 

This was the first day of the project so
the group was still at the conceptual part. 
They were thinking. 

(Because they wanted this product to be “unique”,
they weren’t interested in my input.) 

Three weeks later,
I’m still waiting for the go-ahead decision. 

Am I frustrated? 
Yes. 
Am I ready to walk away? 
Yes. 

Bring people onboard
when you need them or their insights,
not before. 

Successful people come
from all backgrounds, all beliefs but
most of them have one belief in common. 

They believe life is not a zero-sum game (win-lose).  
It is abundant (win-win). 

Rich Kaarlgard in Forbes calls zero-sum thinking 
the “World’s Worst Disease” 
I agree. 
And it is especially deadly for innovation.  

With zero-sum game,
there would be no “new” markets,
simply stolen markets. 
There would be no line extensions
because the products would fully cannibalize
the existing offering.  
Entering competitors wouldn’t grow a market. 
Companies would grow only by stealing
from other companies.    

I was in a Florida Target recently and
it seemed that every second woman
was wearing daytime pajamas.  
My loved one was shocked, 
commenting on this “new” trend. 

Daytime pajamas are NOT a new trend. 
They were being worn in the 30’s. 

What IS new is wearing them to the store. 
Inside wear has become outside wear.
Daytime pajamas are going upscale. 

Could you think of a new occasion
for using your product?

I’m a big believer that
buffers are where the truly exciting opportunities lie. 

Have a bit of a financial buffer? 
Then you can invest in that bit of marketing
that will pay off big, sure,
but only in a year. 

Are your projects ahead of schedule? 
Then you can take on that high profile,
executive fast track assignment
everyone else would kill for but
doesn’t have time for. 

So whatever spare moment/dollar/resource I have,
I use it to build buffer,
creating space for those future opportunities.