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Consumer Trend Watch : Here come the "TRYSUMERS"

Our favorite folks over at Trendwatching.com have released their first 2007 report about the TRYSUMERS trend. The concept of consumers becoming more daring in their consumption patterns just because they can.You can also check out their 2007 Trend Report, crammed with emerging trends and examples from brands already capitalizing on them »»

Hate the name, love the trend. TRYSUMERS are transient, experienced consumers who are becoming more daring in how and what they consume, thanks to a wide range of societal and technological changes. Here’s our stab at defining the phenomenon:

         

TRYSUMERS: “Freed from the shackles of convention and scarcity, immune to most advertising, and enjoying full access to information, reviews, and navigation, experienced consumers are trying out new appliances, new services, new flavors, new authors, new destinations, new artists, new outfits, new relationships, new *anything* with post mass-market gusto.”

         

To get you going, here’s a list of observations on what's encouraging a growing number of consumers to morph into TRYSUMERS:  
            

         

• Living in a world of abundance means there’s loads to try out, and it doesn’t hurt that millions of members of GENERATION C(ONTENT) are adding to the pile of unique, original niche content and products. Niche of course being the new mass, as consumer societies are now about standing out, not conformity. Which in turn means an encouragement to explore one’s often broader-than-assumed taste, aided by recommendations from  TWINSUMER sites like thisnext.com.
• As saturated, experienced consumers can draw on plenty of past experiences, and know that many more experiences will follow, it's easier to cope with possible disappointment stemming from trying out the unknown. For example, a weekend spoilt by bad weather is more acceptable knowing another three or four trips are planned for the rest of the year.

         

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Second Life Marketing Director Gives Tips for Small Business Success

Second Life continues to intrigue me. This time on the commercial side. Once you settle down and get past the fact that you can fly (it took me 3 weeks) the notion of what it means to exist in an alternate dimension with other humans snaps into focus. A little thing called the invisible hand. It only makes sense that good ole Adam Smith would be such an early resident of a digital world that already boasts a population over one million. Get all those people together and you can almost smell the supply and demand. Think about it, the upside is fantastic. Imagine being able to buy the equivalent of Manhattan in pixels. The big brands are already moving there so buying up entire islands (like GM just did) or thousands of acres of land for big cities is really a no brainer. Buy now or forever hold your lease.

Beyond the obvious real estate opportunities though, people are starting companies that provide an SL service. You get paid in Lindens which goes into your real world Paypal account where it's converted to dollars. Currently the rate is 270L Linden dollars to $1 US dollar.

The entrepreneurs are already diving in. There are fashion designers example that make and sell digital outfits. Not to far off I can see new locations for brands we already know like GAP SL, JCREW SL and Banana Republic SL. Maybe BR will give away free SL outfits that match your own when you buy them online? It's all possible, and probable.

What will work in terms of SL success? Here's some advice from someone who should know, Catherine Smith, marketing director at Linden Lab, creators of Second Life. The original article is from silicon.com

"If you are not authentic and do not offer anything to the community, you are likely to be ignored, at best. However, those firms who commit to a long-term, creative presence in Second Life have an opportunity to interact with their community in new and innovative ways," she said.

Companies should learn about Second Life and experience it before plunging in commercially, she added. "Keep it fresh, build the foundation and let your customers join in creating the experience, keep them involved, offer social context (discussions, parties, games, etc.), create connections to the real world - website, content uploads, social tools for connecting and sharing successes."

For companies that get it right there is the chance for tighter engagement with their customers, she said: "As both the number of Second Life residents and the amount of unique content grows, the overall experience will become increasingly rich for businesses and individuals alike."

The Evolution Debate is Over - Chuck Norris Speaks

For all of you pursuing the greater truths to the source of our own existence, your intellectual and spiritual journey has come to end. One of the greatest minds and souls of our time has finally set the record straight. Chuck Norris has declared evolution "not real".

For all those countless times when you've thanked God for Chuck Norris, now you can thank Chuck Norris for validating the very notion of God himself. Finally a sensible voice is heard to end to the evolution debate. Thank you Chuck, thank you.

FROM THINK PROGRESS
Actor and high-profile conservative Chuck Norris became an internet phenomenon last year after a website called “Chuck Norris Facts” attracted over 150 million hits. Some sample facts: “Guns don’t kill people. Chuck Norris kills people.” Another: “Chuck Norris wins Connect Four in three moves.”

Now, the right-wing website World Net Daily has given Chuck Norris a regular weekly column. In his first column, he takes on an “alleged” Chuck Norris fact:

Alleged Chuck Norris Fact: “There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.” It’s funny. It’s cute. But here’s what I really think about the theory of evolution: It’s not real. It is not the way we got here. In fact, the life you see on this planet is really just a list of creatures God has allowed to live. We are not creations of random chance. We are not accidents.

You can keep up with Chuck Norris’s columns HERE.

GM Leads the Brand March to Second Life

The brand march to Second Life continues as General Motors buys an island and brand mecca for car lovers everywhere. Ahhh, there's nothing quite like cool new technology to lure all those mavens, early adopters and opinion leaders.

At the risk of repeating myself - Second Life is going to be huge. For a sense of the appeal - think AOL chat back in 1995 except now you can see everyone around you, walk around freely, teleport from place to place and use online currency (called Lindens) that converts to actual dollars. The real killer app - you can fly. Nuff said.

ARTICLE FROM MARKETING VOX

Hoping that the love people have for their cars in real life can follow them into Second Life, GM has bought an island in the online world and hopes to build a community of car aficionados around it.
       
Pontiac will set up Motorati Island, a 96-acre section in Second Life, in late November AdWeek reports. Pontiac will sell virtual versions of the Pontiac Solstice GXP, host virtual concerts at the Pontiac Garage music stage in Times Square and stage car races.

Pontiac also plans to invite the entire Second Life population to submit proposals for how they would create a "car culture" on the island. Pontiac is assuming that as Second Life grows a culture of car lovers will develop there, and the automaker wants to be at the forefront of the movement. The proposals will officially be submitted next month in Second Life, and online at MotoratiLife.com

"What we're trying to do is go far beyond a press release saying we're on Second Life," Tor Myhren, executive creative director at Leo Burnett in Detroit, Pontiac's ad agency, says. "We want to connect with the people there." Pontiac's intent is to give the Second Life community a sense of involvement
and ownership in the creation of Motorati Island, he said.

technorati

Google Google On The Wall

OK, I'll admit it, I love Google. Love the business model. Love the brand. Love the products. Love that database. Oh that database.

Google can tell us more about ourselves than we'd like to admit. Consider this. In all of 2005 we searched more on the term "Janet Jackson" than on Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Nipples trump disasters, everytime. Good to know.

If you're as addicted to this stuff as I am you need to check out Google's 2005 Zeitgeist Year Wrap. They've compiled the years top stats into World Affairs, Nature, Movies, Celebrities, and Phenomona

Here's a peek:

Major Natural Disasters
With seven major storms, the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active in more than 150 years of record-keeping. The tsunami, the result of a 9.0 earthquake in the Indian Ocean, hit on December 26, 2004, but of course its effects have lasted throughout this year. As for the Kashmir earthquake that occurred on October 8, it measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.   

The Newest Flu
Searches for seasonal keywords like “flu” tend to follow distinct patterns – say, showing a high volume throughout the winter season (in the northern hemisphere). But in 2005 a new type of flu came to the world's attention: avian flu. See the effect it had on overall “flu” searches as news and information about this new strain proliferated.

Remember WMD?

Sometimes a hot search query – a buzzword – has longevity, and sometimes it doesn’t. (Remember “hanging chads”?) When looking at “weapons of mass destruction” or its acronym, we saw that last year’s search for information fell off dramatically this year.

Time for a Yoda spinoff?
Do or do not, there is no try. This year Yoda did it, the teachings of Jedi master Yoda drew more interest from searchers than did information about his well-known colleagues and students, Skywalkers Luke and Anakin. Wonder how things worked out for Lord of the Ring's Gollum?

GODFIGHT - the existential blog project :: question 2

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QUESTION 2

What's the best proof that your God is real?

With the line between church and state as blurry as ever, the questions
for week two are relevant  for every human; democrats,
republicans, gay, straight, man or woman, or even those fearless
few who still think Pat Robertson has street cred.

If you believe in intelligent design, then who or what do you think the
designer is? If it’s creationism that you gravitate towards, who is that
creator? If its evolution you imbibe, is there truly is no master plan?
We all know what George Bush and the Pope think, but what about
the rest of us?

Let the GODFIGHT begin...

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ARE YOU ALIVE? - the existential blog project

When the mass evolves, there is massive evolution. Or at least that's the hope.

Here's the idea - what if comments made to a blog posting were about something OTHER than reality tv or Paris' new boy toy.

What if thousands of people from across the globe opened their minds and shared their personal insights to questions
that no one individual can answer.

That's exactly the inspiration for : "Are You Alive?: The Existential Blog Project" We'll feature a total of eight existential question that hundreds of people can weigh in on. All participants get a free copy of the compiled E-book. Raw thought encouraged.

As we all add comments, our collective insights soar. Take a minute and give us your two cents....personal thoughts, opinions, facts, religious answers whatever you feel compelled to say.

_______________________________

Question week one ::  What happens to you after you die?
_______________________________

Upcoming Weekly Questions :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

1. What happens to you after you die?
2. What's the best proof that your God is real?
3. Why are are we all here?
4. How does one obtain true peace?
5. Why are so many people depressed?
6. What are we all so afraid of?
7. Is current religion serving its purpose?
8. Do you think we're somehow “all one”?

 

 

Questions from and inspired by the independent film Oneness (www.onethemovie.org)

News

Cheese in Cheese out - why must direct marketing equal myopic marketing?

A few years ago I wrote and published a white paper about how websites have shifted from being a spoke in the wheel of marketing to the hub itself. Yes it's a cute title and all, and it was well received at the ARF conference, but it's meaning is still lost on some of marketing's most defiant : the old guard of direct marketers. It's not that they dont get it - they dont want to get it. After all, websites and all that "internet hype" are hogwash. Branding? Well that's nothing more than fluff of course.

I just got of the phone with one of these non-beleivers and it was extremely frustrating. He was insistent that the only purpose of a website is to sell product or get leads. Design, content, functionality, etc. all come second. To that I posed a question. Tell me about Disney. What does it mean, in one word? He was stumped.

It means Magic. It's about having a fun experience.  If you go on the Disney website and they used infomercial marketing strategies to sell you one of their exclusive vacation packages, I doubt Mickey would approve. Mickey being the Walt Disney Corporate Board of Directors of course. Why? Because the role of a website, or any customer touchpoint for that matter is to grow the business and build the brand. The brand is the personality of business. 

Going for the old huckster approach just doesnt make sense anymore. When will direct marketers learn that being direct doesnt shouldnt mean being myopic. I'm shocked that it's 2005 and we're still having these kinds of debates. It's like always just going for the one night stand because things like love, family and relationships are just fluff anyhow. Deep customer relationships that surround strong brands and products produce significantly higher lifetime values than their non-branded counterparts. Like it or not personality matters.

Five Million dollars offered for a holy miracle?

Call me a cynical New Yorker. Call me jaded. Just dont call me late to Church. Not because I'm a religious person at all, I just REALLY want to see a miracle.

They used to happen all the time, back in the day with Moses and his water-parting abilities. Remember the one about Jesus and the loaves? All those hunrgy people. Tiny but of fish. Everyone ate, in fact rumor has it that Peter went back for seconds.

Where are the modern miracles though? The media certainly doesnt know. As John Stewart reported on last night's episode of the Daily Show; CNN, ABC, CBS and FOX called a well executed plane evacuation a "miracle". Good news yes, miracle? Not so much.

Can our mighty mega churches manufacture a miracle? Perhaps a single show of something truly spiritual is what's needed to rekindle our faith in the divine. We humans can wager billion dollar venture investments on disposable business models but why has no one ever offered the divine a dime to showcase their best stuff?

Here's what I propose. We get a group of investors to pool $5 million dollars and offer it to the first person who performs a mircale. A real "media tested, Pope approved" kind of a miracle.  One with good lighting and slow motion footage. Think of it as putting Jesus, Jehovah, Buddha and Allah on a reality show. Call it Faith Factor and watch the world tune in and wait.

Religious scholars scoff at the thought of course. Anyone with an education knows it doesn't work that way. Other might even think it blasphemous. Why? Our own scientific theory that has driven every major breakthough is based on questioning, seeking proofs to theories, testing them, testing them again and then arriving at a definite solution. Whenever we try to apply that same thinking to anything even remotely religous the Pope gets all schvitzy and preachers start to sound more like politicians.

My goal is to create an environment for a real miracle that's witnessed by millions. Surely any venture capitalist worth the weight of their Harvard MBA would jump at the chance to own the rights to the first ever modern day miracle. If ever there was an pay-per-view event this is one worth watching. It would HAVE to be guranteed to work of course. Investors need assurances. You gotta have faith...and probably a whole of lot of collateral. Now we're back to needing money.

This is all tounge in cheek of course. It'd be crazy to think investors would actually pool a fund to see what would happen if we as a species decided to play the ultimate game of truth or dare.

That said, any takers?