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NEWISM Why more than ever, consumers lust after the new. And why that spells heaven or hell for brands. trendwatching.com’s free Monthly Trend Briefing July 2012 trendwatching.com/trends/newism

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The ‘new’ has never been hotter. For consumers who’ve grown up in an EXPECTATION ECONOMY, demanding the best of the best, the very notion of the 'new' has become a positive one. The whole world is spewing forth (ever-better) new products and services. New products can be tried easily (especially online), with little if any risk. Status-wise: new means interesting, new means cool, new means (more) experiences, new means first, new means... well, ‘new’! ;-) Time to get moving, and indulge your customers’ passion for NEWISM.

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Page 1: trendwatching.com's NEWISM

newism Why more than ever, consumers lust after the new. And why that spells heaven or hell for brands.

trendwatching.com’s free Monthly Trend Briefing July 2012

trendwatching.com/trends/newism

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NEWISMw w w. t r e n d w a t c h i n g . c o m 2

The ‘new’ has never been hotter. For consumers

who’ve grown up in an EXPECTATION ECONOMY,

demanding the best of the best, the very notion

of the ‘new’ has become a positive one. The

whole world is spewing forth (ever-better) new

products and services. New products can be

tried easily (especially online), with little if any

risk. Status-wise: new means interesting, new

means cool, new means (more) experiences, new

means first, new means... well, ‘new’! ;-) Time to

get moving, and indulge your customers’ passion

for NEWISM.

Definition

Here are half a dozen forces propelling

NEWISM into even more prominence »

1. CREATIVE > DESTRUCTION

3. EXPERIENCE CRAMMING

5. TRYSUMERS

2. FSTR

4. STATUS STREAM

6. TO HAVE IS TO (H)OLD

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Creative destruction may have an alarming ring to it, but it’s something to be

celebrated (despite recessions, bank runs and collapsing currencies). With the

volume and pace of innovation faster than ever, the ‘creation’ is outweighing the

‘destruction’. In fact the entire world, from emerging* to mature economies,

is now creating new products, services and experiences on a daily, if not

hourly basis, in every B2C industry. Which moves ‘new’ from being a tired

marketing ploy by ‘old’ brands (‘new and improved!’), to a genuine, exciting

proposition for consumers.

Show us a day in which a previously unheard of brand, or even individual,

doesn’t release a new – and better and more convenient and more surprising –

offering that promises a novel or improved experience. A global celebration of

innovation, of the new, indeed.

* Do re-read our previous Trend Briefing

covering MADE BETTER IN CHINA or dive into

the never-ending (free!) avalanche of new

business ideas and concepts on Springwise

(our sister-company).

1. CREATIVE > DESTRUCTION

2 million patents were applied for in 2010, up

from 1.4 million in 2000

(Source: World Intellectual Property Organization, 

December 2011)

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Everything is getting faster and FSTR ;-). The online world, with its relentless

acceleration and amplification – of information, of excitement, of attention – is of

course a major contributor to NEWISM.

Witness phenomena such as Instagram (10 million users in under a year)

or Draw Something (35 million users in just 6 weeks!). And just to highlight

NEWISM’s often-fleeting nature, many Draw Something users have now

abandoned the app, no doubt off to seek something new ;-).

Products too: witness Pebble raising over USD 10 million in 37 days on

Kickstarter*. Indeed, any new innovation that taps pent-up demand will erupt

and spread faster than ever. Taco Bell sold 100 million of its new Doritos Locos

Tacos in 10 weeks, making it the chain’s fastest ever product launch.

* Kickstarter is a great enabler of the ‘new’ innovation ecosystem: anyone can

now test, fund and launch almost any new idea.

2. FSTR

“excitement and attention are being amplified and accelerated.”

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The desire to tell interesting STATUS STORIES is further fuelling consumers’

never-ending lust for new experiences, especially acute in a world where so

much of identity is expressed online.

Any experience that few others can or have had is a sure-fire status symbol.

However, with more people than ever searching for ‘unique’ experiences, they are

becoming harder-to-find and thus often expensive. The (cheaper, more practical)

alternative therefore is for status-hungry consumers to resort to EXPERIENCE

CRAMMING: collecting and mixing-and-matching as many, and as wide a

variety, of new experiences as possible.

3. EXPERIENCE CRAMMING

“Consumers want to collect and mix-and-match as many new and varied experiences as possible.”

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On top of collecting experiences, in a world where everything is transient keeping

one’s finger firmly on the pulse of the endless global torrent of new products and

services (see driver 1), showing one’s connectedness and being in the know,

will be an ever-richer source of social status (especially for SOCIAL-LITE

consumers). Yes, ‘new’ is the new prestige ;-)

In fact, supporting consumers in their pursuit of the newest of the new, or to be

first in finding, knowing, doing or owning something is an opportunity in itself.

Just one innovative example: in April 2012 Nike launched a number of highly

collectible limited edition sneakers using a Twitter reservation system. Stores

would randomly tweet specific product hashtags during the day of release, and

the first followers to include this in a direct message to the store would reserve a

pair of the sneakers.

4. STATUS STREAM

“social status will come from being in-the-know, and from being part of the ‘new’.”

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The innovation-spurring eco-system described above is also totally

transparent, with everything now reviewed and rated the moment it’s

created, meaning the risk for consumers of trying out something new

is approaching zilch.

Furthermore, new business models (from LIFE: SUBSCRIBED and

TRYVERTISING, to OWNER-LESS and RECOMMERCE described below)

are enabling consumers to experience the ‘new’ with less commitment,

and at lower cost.

5. TRYSUMERS

“The risk of trying out something new is approaching zilch.”

Is our Premium Service for you? This free Trend Briefing is obviously only the  tip of the iceberg.

If you want to be forever and fully in the know, then our Premium

Service is for you. Get access (until May 2013!) to our full 2012 Trend

Report (in three formats) and the 2013 Trend Report (sent to you in

November 2012), searchable Trend Database, and Industry Trend

Reports (covering your industry). MORE» trendwatching.com/premium

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Many possessions don’t (need to) get old anymore. For consumers who’ve

embraced OWNER-LESS solutions, renting or sharing everything (from cars

to clothes to electronics), perpetual upgrades and ‘new’ experiences are but a

booking away.

And, thanks to the RECOMMERCE trend, even for those consumers

who havebought items, it’s never been easier to unlock the value in past

purchases. Novel brand buy-backs, exchange schemes, online platforms and

mobile marketplaces, offer smart and convenient options for consumers keen

to ‘trade in to trade up’ to the new.

Oh, and online, everything is of course endlessly if not automatically renewed

and refreshed (whether ‘owned’ or just accessed).

“Possessions don’t (need to) get old anymore.”

6. TO HAVE IS TO (H)OLD

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Now, NEWISM is not ‘just’ traditional product innovation. The ‘new and improved’

from yesteryear has been surpassed by a genuinely innovative and creative

explosion, taking place worldwide.

It is also not just breathless, eco-unfriendly, product-replacing madness (see

driver 6).

WHAT NEWISM IS NOT (and the inevitable counter-trend)

Last but not least, it does not mean all consumer attention will be focused on

the new. There will still be endless value in heritage brands, known to deliver

constant, trusted quality and provenance. There will be value in well-told,

compelling stories. In comfort. In tradition. In the local. In curation of existing

products. In tailoring. In any of the dimensions that we’ve looked at in previous

Trend Briefings. Remember, no trend applies to all consumers, all of the time,

and the ‘new’ doesn’t always kill the old.

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NEWISM is creative destruction, hyper-competition, globalism,

consumerism on steroids and a celebration of innovation, all in one.

For brands, new and established, it boils down to capturing and

holding consumers’ attention. While consumers’ attention spans might

be shorter and shorter, the rewards can be instant and massive. And

it’s not like you have any choice anyway ;-)

Need (even more) ideas? Kick off a brainstorming session with

a few of our recent Trend Briefings or spottings from our sister-

site Springwise and see what new concepts, products, services and

campaigns emerge that you can run with.

Meanwhile, while you embrace NEWISM, we’re already working on our

NEW Trend Briefing ;-) Make sure you’re subscribed! 

IMPLICATIONS

Page 11: trendwatching.com's NEWISM

Just a few of the participants/brands who have already bought tickets:

trendwatching.com/seminars

Our Consumer Trend seminars

Coming your way...

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truly stay on top of everything, here’s a chance to soak up

all the trends and insights that matter to your business,

brand and job, in just half a day.

Early-bird price

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Toronto Monday, 24 September 2012

IstanbulThursday, 06 September 2012

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New YorkThurday, 27 September 2012

BerlinMonday, 10 September 2012

JohannesburgFriday, 17 August 2012

LondonMonday, 17 September 2012

San FranciscoThurday, 27 September 2012

ChicagoTuesday, 02 October 2012

AmsterdamThurday, 13 September 2012

SydneyWednesday, 29 August 2012

ShanghaiTuesday, 21 August 2012

SeoulFriday, 24 August 2012

Page 12: trendwatching.com's NEWISM

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If you have any comments, suggestions or questions then please do let us know. Just email:

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Head of Client Services

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AbOuT us

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world’s leading brands as clients, while our free monthly Trend Briefings go out to over 160,000 subscribers in 180 countries.

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