Trendwatching's 'Ten Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010'

One of my Linked-In contacts passed this piece along for my interest (and yours). It's from Trendwatching, an Amsterdam-based trendspotting collective, and the blog post is about a new report called "Ten Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010". It's part of a bigger premium study that you can pony up some dollars for, if interested.

In the blog post, the team puts together 10 different areas worthy of watching in the new year. They write: "Forget the recession: the societal changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we temporarily stared into the abyss."

Likely true, and the emphasis on the key concepts below seem to be on how your urban-o-tropolois will figure into how the dollars will be delivered. "Urban culture is the culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world." Fascinating to read against the backdrop of what makes cities tick - people, places, things?

Other points from the Trendwatching study worth soaking in include:

* Whatever it is you're selling or launching in 2010, it will be reviewed 'en masse', live, 24/7.

* Closely tied to what constitutes status (which is becoming more fragmented), luxury will be whatever consumers want it to be over the next 12 months.

* Online lifestyles are fueling and encouraging 'real world' meet-ups like there's no tomorrow, shattering all cliches and predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated future.

* To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals in 2010, corporations and governments will have to forcefully make it 'easy' for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives.

* Tracking and alerting are the new search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will help consumers expand their web of control.

* Next year, generosity as a trend will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and collaborative donation services for consumers.

* With hundreds of millions of consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 will be a good year to introduce some services to help them make the most of it (financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife services.

Always good to take part of your daily work life to peer into the crystal ball and see what it all looks like ahead. Definitely click over to the Trendwatching blog post for some idea generation. And THEN bring them into your own daily life.

Doing Social Media the Sports Way

Hey, this looks to be a fun event coming up in the busy December holiday season. AZIMA (Arizona Interactive Marketing Association) is hosting at its December 8th gathering the Phoenix Suns’ Vice President of Interactive Services, Jeramie McPeek, and the Arizona Diamonbacks’ Senior Director of Marketing, Karina Bohn, who will talk about the social media strategies and tactics that they use to win fans of the two hottest teams in pro sports right now.

The AZIMA event will be on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 6pm-8pm.
6:00 PM Social Hour (cocktails and light dinner served)
7:00 PM Presentation
8:00 PM Wrap-up

Tempe Mission Palms
60 East Fifth Street (Mill Avenue and Fifth Street)
Tempe, Ariz. 85281
Members - $35, non-members $45 - register at AZIMA.

Are executives really paying attention to social media?

I'm always wary of 'studies' like the one announced last week by Hill & Knowlton and The CMO Club - "CMOs Need Greater Engagement Internally and Through Social Networks for Their Brands to Thrive".

In general, these 'studies' are usually PR exercises designed to push forth a new thought strategy by one of the proponents involved. It's pretty common PR practice, and in this case, Hill & Knowlton are flexing their muscles with client The CMO Club. The study was conducted online with 124 chief marketing officers in the Club responding between September 15, 2009, and October 15, 2009.

Who are these CMOs in the club? You can see the sampling of the Club's represented companies at this link. The range is from multimillion corps like Oracle, Kaiser Permanente and Novell to smaller groups like LA Weight Loss, The Johnny Rockets Group and Trend Micro.

It seems across the board, these CMOs are not doing enough to further company/brand social media either through budget allocation, company collaboration or brand alignment. For instance, according to the study, about 84% of the 124 CMOs who responded to the survey allocate less than 10% of their budgets to experimenting through social media and non-traditional communications channels, with more than 55% allocating 5% or less. Clearly, that ante needs to upped significantly in 2010.

And then there's this: "CMOs report a lack of managing or interacting closely with departments within their businesses and, more importantly, with those responsible for communicating with key audiences. Nearly half of all CMOs questioned (48 percent) said they have no formal interaction with the department responsible for NGOs. More than a third (39 percent) do not formally liaise with their investor relations departments, and only around a fifth (22 percent) do collaborate with those responsible for liaising with financial analysts."

That could be read as 'business as usual' at some companies where departments do not effectively communicate with each other, to foster consistent brand messaging across the board. Social media practices can spotlight those deficiencies pretty easily, if the marketing messages and operational execution is at odds.

To me, the study seems to be little more than a heads up for marketing teams to dig a little deeper, collaborate a bit more effectively and find ways to use social media within companies on a greater consistent level. Which is what they should be paid to be doing all along, rather than worrying how much the company is going to put out for the holiday party. :-)

PR Week offers another look at the study.

Twitter now asks 'What's happening?"

PR2.0's Brian Solis gives Twitter a kick in its metaphysical butt today by saying the service was asking us the wrong question all along.

"In all honesty, who cares...it was really never about “what you were doing” that inspired your network to stay connected nor was it the siren for attracting new followers. We chose to follow you because you moved or encouraged us to do so – with every update. For many of the users on Twitter, the question that engendered a response and also also aroused a cultural movement was, “what are you doing?” It was a prompt that, for the most part, was taken quite literally. Its answer served as the foundation for an entirely new form of communication, while also connecting people through ideas, interests, passions, and principles."

BAM! That's it. I think I can count on my fingers how many times I simply tweeted that "I am at Flo's eating lettuce boats" or something like that. it was more about "hey, here's what's going on in my world and I think you'll dig this."

Maybe the next iteration of Twitter will be a split screen intro:
* What's riveting?
* What's exciting?
* What's next?

[Related]: The Next Web wrote of Brian's conference talk this week: "Brian asks the audience “Who do you want to be online?” in a presentation titled “Social Economy”. What you do, say and post online defines who you are and broadcasts this image ahead of you wherever you go. Some people might find that disconcerting but it seems to be the new reality."

Remember that next time you're angry/sleepy/hungover/bitter and want to rant in a post - think twice.

Another Pleasant Valley Thursday

Wow - Again, another Thursday night of too many events in the Valley and wishing one could clone to hit 'em all. What's a girl (or guy) to do? Check out key biz events on Thursday, November 19, 2009:

- The Networking Phoenix Signature Event, held quarterly, brings together loads of entrepreneurs, go-getters, hob-nobbers and the occasional charlatan to schmooze, network and hang out in the cool evening air. Register at Networking Phoenix site.
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 - 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Hilton Scottsdale - 6333 N Scottsdale Rd

- The Millionaire Mind Phoenix event is being held Thursday at the Phoenix Convention Center 7pm-10pm - Explore concepts behind wealth creation, maintenance strategies and financial underpinnings in this economy.

- Phoenix is breeding start-ups like bunny rabbits and what better place to find them all than at a Thursday (6pm-9pm) drinks party called Phoenix Startups Drinks. This months' drinks party will be held in Tempe at Bison Witches. A simple concept, really: startup culture in cities around the world gathers around a bar to have a drink and discuss what they are working on, what they need help with and what they can do for each other. A perfect match for this economy. RSVP here.

- The AZ Tech Council is hosting its annual Governor's Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) Thursday evening (4pm-10pm) at downtown Phoenix Orpheum Theatre to honor Arizona's technology leaders and innovators in a night of networking, food and fun. Members $150, Non-members $200. Valley companies will be recognized for outstanding work in 2009 in the following areas: Pioneering Innovation, Green Innovator of the Year, Innovator of the Year - Start-Up Company, Innovator of the Year - Small Company, Innovator of the Year - Large Company, Innovator of the Year – Academia.

Or just...

- Get Your Wonka Bar on.

Social TV - The next NEXT NEW Thing?

Advertising Age writes today about how the U.S. broadcasting community is embracing social media and finding ways to incorporate its elements into promos and programming. The future is coming and it's interactive, not your old passive TV experience. I clipped a part here:
"Already, some shows are trying to demonstrate how well they can work with new social-media dynamics. Time Warner's TBS ran a scroll of selected tweets from fans of its new late-night "Lopez Tonight" show on high-definition screens in Times Square and in about 300 bars around the country. Walt Disney's ABC recently unveiled a new feature for its ABC.com video player that allows users to read comments from show producers and writers, while adding their own commentary, also sharable on Facebook. ABC launched the feature with the first online availability of the premiere episode of sci-fi thriller "V" and said it intends to roll it out "across other series on ABC.com over the coming weeks."

On the same day, the team at Agoramedia (a UK creative consultancy) writes about a newcomer Orca TV which is touting its 'social TV' product. They saw Orca at the International Broadcast Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, which bills itself as ’The content creation management delivery experience’. IBC2008 attracted 49,000+ visitors and 1,300+ exhibitors from more than 130 countries.

Agoramedia also cites recent social media stats - "...a recent report by The Nielsen Company found that there are 87 percent more online social media users now than in 2003, with 883 percent more time devoted to social media sites. Also, the number of American users frequenting online video destinations has also increased by 339 percent since 2003." Big gains, no surprises there, amigo.

But as one commenter at the Ad Age post mentioned, this may not be ideal for our culture: "The horror...More screens, not enough talent - combined with not a lot of money for producing programming (not-enough-money has given us the reality-TV jungle)...TV all the time, everywhere...Newton Minow's "Vast Wasteland" is becoming ubiquitous. Video-splatter everywhere."

HA! Love that 'video splatter everywhere.' I get more than enough media, social or otherwise, than I know what to do with, through a combination of glass screens everywhere and my online connection everywhere. What do you think? Do you prefer your online social media experience and your TV experiences to stay separate? Or would you rather see the entire real-time media explode in the next few years as one massive eyeball experience? Drop a note in the comments!

PodCampAZ Ghost-tweeting presentation

Thanks to PodcampAZ '09 for having me share a presentation on ghost tweeting with the attendees. I've embedded the presentation below and it's a got a direct link here as well. You may have to open it full size for the formatting to look right.

My room attendees were nearly evenly split on the good/bad right/wrong when I asked how they felt about the concept on the WHOLE ghost tweeting thing. Pretty typical from what I'm seeing. Coming from a journalistic/PR background, I'm less annoyed and in fact encourage by ghost tweeting than, say, others of the Twitter 'purist-ocracy'. Hope you like.

PodCamp AZ weekend!

If you haven't yet heard, this weekend will find 600-100 Web enthusiasts gathered at University of Advancing Technology in Tempe to have a two day Podcamp AZ, which explores all things new media - podcasts, blogging, Twitter, social media, some web development and more. Lots of smart people will be in attendance, sharing, listening, learning.

I'm speaking on the topic of ghost tweeting later in the day - if you have any insights you want to share on this topic, email me today and I'll see if I can include them in my short presentation.

Hope to see you tomorrow! Say hello - I'm the guy to the left!

Google - Your new Phone service? (via Wired)

Great article out of WIRED today about Google's acquisition of Gizmo5 and what its long-term plans might include for bringing the renegade voice provider into the Google Kingdom.

Writer Ryan Singel writes:
"Google has bought Gizmo5, an online phone company that is akin to Skype but based on open protocols and with a lot fewer users. TechCrunch, which broke the news on Monday, reported that Google spent $30 million on the company. It's a potent recipe -- take Gizmo5's open standards-based online calling system. Add to it the new ability to route calls on Google's massive network of cheap fiber. Toss in Google Voice's free phone number, which will ring your mobile phone, your home phone and your Gizmo5 client on your laptop.

Meanwhile you can use Gizmo5 to make ultracheap outgoing calls to domestic and international phone numbers, and free calls to Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo and AIM users. You could make and receive calls that bypass the per-minute billing on your smartphone. Then layer on deluxe phone services like free SMS, voicemail transcription, customized call routing, free conference calls and voicemails sent as recordings to your e-mail account, and you have a phone service that competes with Skype, landlines and the Internet telephone offerings from Vonage and cable companies. That's not just pie in-the-sky dreaming."

Read the whole article for all the ins and outs. TechCrunch's piece is here. Another excellent look at the possibilities is explored at Daily Finance. The future possibilities are amazing for those of us who can gravitate with an open mind to the service. It's Google's World - we only live in it. :-)

AZ State Treasurer Martin to speak on AZ economy

AZ State Treasurer Dean Martin will speak at the North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, in the midst of the still bad unemployment/budget news and the fact that Arizona has been ranked by the Milken Institute as having the 4th worst job market in the nation.

Think he'll face some tough questions from the Chamber's attendees? You betcha! Register at the North Phoenix Chamber site. More details below:

NPCC PRESENTS...Honorable Dean Martin, Treasurer, State of Arizona
Thursday, November 12, 2009
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Deer Valley Airport Restaurant
702 W. Deer Valley Road

Treasurer Dean Martin will be speaking on Arizona's Economy and Budget: How Do We Fix It? Hear about current Economic Statistics and Forecasts for Housing, Construction, Commercial Real Estate, as well as State Budget Status and Forecast, and State Cash Flow History and Status. Members $15.00 Non-Members - $20.00 (includes lunch).

The Way We Get By- TV Premiere Wed. Nov 11

The TV premiere of the acclaimed SXSW Special Jury Award winner documentary 'The Way We Get By' is on Wednesday night on your local PBS POV program. Don't miss this amazing look at three senior citizens who are there in Bangor, Maine to support our country's troops leaving to and arriving home from battle. Even the trailer will shake your emotions. Watch it below.

The Way We Get By - Trailer from The Way We Get By on Vimeo.

Using New Social Media for Old Marketing Ways

Meta new media guy Chris Brogan has a fine post at his blog today titled "Marketing and How Social Software Aligns". In it he speaks of the old marketing methods that must be tweaked in order to work in the new social media world. What worked then may still work, but in different ways. He writes...

"What’s exciting about how social media and social software aligns with marketing is that there are new opportunities that far surpass the old methods for marketing, and that’s where the magic truly hides. Marketers do have to understand the tools, but more so, here’s a quick list of what else needs to be understood:

* From bullhorn to phone – Your message is no longer to be shouted, but to be socialized.
* From theater on the stage to theater in the round – Marketing is human again. Don’t stay “on message.” Stay connected to people.
* From millions, to the right 10,000 – Mass never worked well. It just did well enough. Find relationships that yield.
* From campaign to community – You’re in it for the long haul. Build awareness, reputation, and trust by being there.
* From exclusion to “one of us” – Your customers (b2b or otherwise) want to be included in the whole experience, not just to buy.

Chris is always one to stress the 'social' in social media. And that's something too that every marketer should remember - to use our social universe tools to create, further or cement relationships, not just buy them.



Coincidentally, local social media pro Steven Groves, co-founder of TheSocialMediaBible.com, writing in his blog this weekend, held a similar view that stressed the social in social media as well - but from another look. He writes:

"Long live media that is social. I predict that we’ll see companies who can withstand the scrutiny of an open, public examination prospering and those who try to shrink or control a social media-based interaction diminishing." Click over for a read, as his post opens up all kinds of new thoughts regarding how media, advertising, consumers and the world will all co-exist in absolutely new ways.

This Week in Social Media

Sure is a busy time in social media and Internet circles this week in the greater Phoenix area! Here are a few cool conferences happening this week (see local cool guy Chuck Reynolds' more comprehensive list over at his site).

- Tuesday's AZIMA (Arizona Interactive Marketing Association) meeting is hosting life coach and author Pamela Slim to talk about Build Your Tribe: How to Use Social Networks to Learn, Grow and Expand Your Markets. Early registration is $35 for AZIMA members, $35 for students (with valid ID shown at check-in), & $45 for non-members. Add a tenner to those prices if you are a walk-in.

- Thursday's Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference (see last week's post). Speakers include Tara Hunt, founder of Horse:Pig:Cow and author of “The Whuffie Factor”, Michelle Robson, founder of EmpowHer.com, women’s health 2.0 site, Kevin Surace, Founder and CEO of Serious Materials, green building technologies, Howard Lindzon, co-founder, StockTwitS, Pam Slim (see above), author of “Escape from Cubicle Nation,” and Merlin Mann, founder of 43Folders.

- Saturday's (and Sunday's) Podcamp AZ (which I attended last year) is a two-day casual conference that has so many cool sessions and topics to choose from. It's free to attend and you can start voting on which sessions you'd like to attend. I'm going to lead a discussion on ghost tweeting and assorted other uh-oh/no-nos, so come on out and lend your vice to PodCampAZ.

Google Android platform at a store near you

Here's a swell video about Google's Android platform, which I reckon will become the platform of choice for many cellular phone companies in the coming months.

Google says "Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications that run on Android-powered devices."

Motorola launched its new Android platform device on Friday in Verizon stores. And it's being rumored that Sony Ericsson will also launch an Android platform phone next week. (Stay on top of all Android buzz on Twitter.)

The video below starts and ends with Google co-founder Sergey Brin for a bit, then Engineering Director Steve Horowitz takes you through the demo (which gets to the good bits at 1:20).

More DIY videos at 5min.com

Here's a new Google marketing ad that runs smack up against what the iPhone platform does not do, and the Android platform does. Battle chargers Go!



Blogger Kris Colvin has a swell piece about how her Droid phone made her smarter in two hours. Check the reviews at the end o fher post.

Spunch - virtual punch card rewards for social media mentions

Pow! Click! Click! Spunch, the virtual rewards system for retailers and businesses, has launched in beta this week and I'm helping their team spread the word about it to greater PHX metro and worlds beyond.

Customers are already talking about brand and businesses online - so why not reward them with a virtual punch card loyalty tool? Spunch helps build word of mouth marketing and lets businesses reward customers already talking about them online. Spunch brings your local retail shop's 'loyalty card' to a whole new social media playing field, acting as a terrific lead generation tool with word-of-mouth marketing to give local businesses and customers a closer one-to-one commerce relationship.

• For businesses, Spunch's virtual punch card will boost lead generation, customer sales opportunities and buying relationships through a savvy use of local geotargeting via sites like BrightKite and Foursquare.
• For customers, Spunch rewards them with retail rewards for spreading news online via social media and other discussion forums.

For more information, visit Spunch. Pow! Click! Click!

Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference (Nov 12)

The 4th Annual Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference is coming up in nine days. It promises big talks about upcoming opportunities for entrepreneurs from a fantastic panel of smart people.

Word is the organizers are still seeking additional sponsors to help build awareness (and defray organizational costs), so if any big hitters and major leaguers out there can lend a financial helping hand, contact the AZ Entrepreneurship team.

Thursday, November 12, 2009
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM (MT)
Register at EventBrite

Desert Willow Conference Center
4340 E Cotton Center Blvd
Phoenix, AZ 85040

Ignite Phoenix #5

Once again, the innovative team behind Ignite Phoenix threw up a fine event Tuesday night at the Tempe Center of the Arts.

Ignite Phoenix is an evening of short presentations scheduled several times a year. At an event, you hear 18 passionate speakers talking about their favorite topics or projects for just 5 minutes each. Judges rank the submissions and they put in a lot of time to make sure the event gets a nice variety of creativity and fun.

I attended the first and third Ignites and really liked the format - if one presenter's topic isn't up your alley, you know another will be up shortly.

Using a ploy from Up on the Sun, I've culled some tweets around last night's presentations:

"iamchanelle: #ignitePHX rocked the casbah tonite. thanks to everyone who put in long hours to make it awesome."

"krysvs: thanks for all the kind words everybody. we had a great time at #ignitephx, and all the other presenters rocked it!"

nickhammond: Sites discovered at #ignitephx tonight: http://phxnom.com, http://scratch.mit.edu, http://pictureisunrelated.com, http://misusedthings.com

"KammieK: Much love for #ignitephx tonight. Kudos to all presenters & many thx to all the crew & volunteers. Super fun event & after party!"

But a seasoned miscreant also noted...
"tdhurst: Something was different about #ignitephx tonight. Could feel it."
(Ed. is that a good different? or a different different?)

In any case, a great event pulling together Phoenix creative web community artisans. Check out Tyson Crosbie's great photos here. Sad that my sniffles, chills and cold kept me away last night, but the presentations looked fine on their live UStream.