Tearing Down The Walls And Digging Out Of The Minutia

This year is off and running… fast.  And for that, I am grateful.

Companies, politicians, brand leaders, ad agencies… my iPhone has been buzzing.

And if the Super Bowl ads were a sign of where marketing and advertising is at… my bet is that there will be more folks calling needing help.

Isn’t there a saying that flows something like… “What stupid sees, stupid does.”

If you have been following this blog over the years, I have posted a long stream of observations of how GenXers and Boomers – the older relics of brand management – are inwardly clustering in their self-woven cocoons. 

Many ad agencies and creative shops have turned inward too.

The past couple of weeks, I have worked with two firms struggling to unify their online strategies with their brand marketing strategies.

I had the chance to review four written proposals put together by the “digital agencies.” 

What struck me with all four was that there was no mention of just whom the programs were designed to reach, engage and interact.

No mention of their demographics.  No mention of the psyches.  No mention of their online behaviors.  No mention of how they interact with the product category. 

Nothing.

I remember in my early days in the business asking an outdoor billboard firm how a person could strategically use billboards to reach defined target groups.

The reply… “you don’t have to worry about targeting, everyone drives by the billboard in their daily travels.”

Believe it or not, that's not too different from a digital techie saying… “who cares about who it is that hits your website, we engineer it around their online behaviors to net the most engaged.”

Okay. 

In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal is a news story with the headline, “Kohl’s Eliminates Three Senior Roles.”

First sentence in the article goes on to say, “the department store chain is battling sluggish sales and a depressed share price.”

So the company and brand are in deep doodoo

Who are the three executives that Kohl’s eliminated?

The Chief Digital Officer. The VP of Store Environment.  The Senior VP of Communications and Public Relations.

Not sure about blog readers, but I gave up on going to Kohl’s about five years ago.  Personally, I could not really figure out just what made Kohl’s a differentiated brand other than their claims of discount pricing.

Shoot, if I shop where price is critical, I will journey over to Target and feel hip or Wal-Mart and feel patriotic.

By the way, a lot of corporate leadership should hang at Target and Wal-Mart at least once a week.

I spent a lot of time on the phone with a client yesterday afternoon attempting to elevate the discussion to the higher level of just what in the heck is the brand experience that drives sales revenue.

I could not get the client’s perspective raised beyond the mechanics of the website.

As I said right up front, I am grateful that many teams are calling right now.

Many are desperately in need of help. 

Many have got specialized specialists added to their team. 

Many have built up walls to shelter the specialized specialists as they look downward into the minutia of their specialized specialties.

Many give reinforcement for creative for the sake of original creative.

I remember a cartoon I saw one of that feature a set of Gen X parents debating the details of just how they were going to stage-set-up their child’s birthday among friends and relatives while the child was sitting on the sidelines staring at a wall.

Substitute the consumer for the child.

As I enter 2016 with the phone ringing, I have to keep in mind the mission of why EXPERIENCE exists… put the consumer in the center seat and look at the brand on the consumer’s experiential perspective with the goal to emotionally connect beyond rational thought and competitive options.

My advice is to corporate leadership is to tear down the walls of the corporate cocoons and go dwell with real people in their environments.

The Wall Street Journal article about Kohl’s goes on to say that Kohl’s board of directors is seriously considering selling the chain off to a private-equity firm.

We shall see if Kohl’s is sold to individuals with a passion to deliver a brand experience or individuals who acquire very screwed up corporations and milk the assets for what worth might remain.

Encountering Truth versus Attempting To Resurrect A Declining Mature Brand

I remember the day when Woolworth announced that they were closing down. 

As a young kid, my parents used to take me to the Woolworth located in Willoughby, Ohio to see what toys I wanted for Christmas. 

I also remember going over to the store and picking out whatever candies I wanted with the quarter my parents would give me.

In the late 1990s, Woolworth went out of business. Woolworth was once the only alternative to the department and catalogue stores.

By then Target, Kmart and Walmart had redefined the five and dime marketplace.

This past weekend, the Wall Street Journal wrote about two corporations that are in the process of plotting out how to survive from a similar impending decline.

One of those corporations is Yum Brands. The other corporation is Wal-Mart.

Corporations and marketing today is all geared around capitalizing on trends, diversifying and growing fast. 

It’s what Wall Street fosters and reinforces.  Its what executive management uses to drive their own personal portfolios and early retirement expectations.

But whether their management teams are willing to admit it, there are brands that have matured and operate today in the midst of very, very dated operational environments. 

One of those brands is Yum Brands. 

This corporation is not radically different than many of its aging peers like McDonalds, Burger King and Dairy Queen.

Yum Brands owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. 

The article highlights management “refocusing” on its brands with “new product development and digital expansion.”  Yum Brands management talks about the great success the breakfast tacos at Taco Bell.

Over the course of my time in business, I’ve worked with a number of mature brands – brands that have exhausted distribution expansion opportunities and now face declining market share.

Even after the announcement of the corporate priorities and focus, the Yum Brands stock share price continues to decline.

Fast food chick, tacos and pizza are no longer new, novel or different. 

Low cost, tummy fillers are also hard to manage from a cost standpoint let alone government oversight that is out to manage the health welfare of America.

Operational modifications like drive-thrus and 24/7 hours of access are “been there and done that” status.

Not too sure that selling fast food on the Internet is going to remedy the aging decline.

While I do not necessarily quest to visit Arby’s any time soon, I will give its management and marketing team credit because that brand platform has become much more focused and defined around a unique brand experience… Meat… We Have The Meats!

If Yum Brands called EXPERIENCE and asked what to do my advice would be direct.

Simplify your product delivery… model your menu boards after Chipotle in terms of simplicity and focus.

And start exploring the launch of new brands that embrace the next wave of where fast food is today and where it will likely be in 2020.

I already know that advice like that is not received well by the Boomers and GenXers sitting in the corporate towers.

It requires thinking beyond that corporate retirement package.

The other brand is Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has been in the news a lot over the last 6 months.  They are facing some rather difficult times ahead as they finally elected to pay their workforce more and re-engineer the layout of the stores. 

As I noted above, mature brands heading into decline embrace operational changes as part of the confrontation with reality process.

The news is that Wal-Mart hired Michael Francis as their new Chief Marketing Officer. 

For readers who do not know who Michael Francis, his bio will quickly give you a perceptual grounding. 

Michael is the marketing guy who helped craft the Target brand in the 90s and early 2000s.  He spent nearly 30 years client-side at Target. 

A lot of the cool stuff that Target is famous for was not bred internally at Target.  Wieden + Kennedy, the agency famous for doing cool stuff for brands like Nike and Apple, drove the cool that empowered Target.

When Michael left Target, he made history by being the marketing guy that attempted to convert JCPenney from a dying brand to a Target-look-alike.

From a sideline viewpoint, the fact that Michael Francis really never worked outside of retail helps to explain his passion – or limited scope. 

He did not explore other contexts of the brand experience.  He really has not even worked with an alternative media environment. 

My bet is that the team that hired Michael Francis at Wal-Mart is also very likely to have recently received a Viagra prescription.

The article quotes a Wal-Mart exec as saying, “If I was working at Target, my heart would sink… knowing that Michael is now working for the competition.”

Okay. Bet that Wal-Mart team already seeing similar ad copy, filming and websites.  They are probably already seeing their Wal-Mart graphic icon that mimics a flower in a similar context as the Target graphic icon.

The same management team at Wal-Mart is further quoted as saying… “Globally, we know growth [of Wal-Mart] will disproportionately come from middle- and upper- income households in the years ahead.”

OMG. Something says that they took a multiple dose of that Viagra!

I do not in any way make a mockery of Wal-Mart. 

In fact, I encourage clients and colleagues alike to once a month get in a car and drive out to a Wal-Mart and walk around.  Watch the shoppers.  Wal-Mart captures the best of what remains of the mass unwashed!

I like to say that if copy is not understood by the folks who shop at Wal-Mart, its not being scripted with the correct words.

If the cost of raising the average pay per employee by a couple of dollars an hour caused Wal-Mart to face Wall Street challenges, can you imagine what the cost of converting the Wal-Mart brand experience into something like Target to net more upper income households will do to the corporate stock value?

I am astounded how Wal-Mart management cannot digest the lessons that many learned by watching JCPenney make an attempt to change the fundamentals of its brand experience.

My bet is we will likely see some management changes at Wal-Mart in the next year as its corporate leadership comes into contact with some fundamental realities. 

If EXPERIENCE was hired to assist Wal-Mart in its marketing, I would very quickly recommend to keep a focus on its online sales and ways in which it can make that consumer “touch-point” more current with where its brand equity audience headset is at in the next several years.

I also think that Wal-Mart has an opportunity to tap “working class” and “first entry into the U.S.” Millennials as they begin to create their own home space and raise families. 

As we are closing out 2015, there are a lot of interesting challenges ahead. 

My advice to those who read the EXPERINCE blog is to get out from behind your desk.  Go out into the marketplace at large to watch, observe and converse with the groups out there that are getting even more diverse in who they are and what they define as their goals and desires.

When Woolworth turned its lights out, it was time to move on. 

In the next couple of years, there will be a host of other brands that need to follow the Woolworth example.

Observations of the Presidential Race And What's Likely Ahead

The blog I write after each year’s trend posts is always a dull one.

No question that part of the situation is being driven by the magnitude of the trends predicted. 

Since I posted the last two blogs, I have made more than a dozen presentations and many attending are also still pondering both the opportunities and challenges ahead.

So I write this post about the presidential election and what we are seeing transpiring in front of us.

Topline, here are a few interesting observations…

(1)  The number of candidates on the GOP side that threw their hat in the ring.

Market splintering often happens when new technology or new innovative thought initially hits the marketplace.  I remember the diversity of brands with the advent of personal computers… I remember the initial diversity of cell phone providers. 

Although I will quickly say that I do not think the same dynamic is driving what we are observing. 

Instead I think that the culture of social media and the belief that we are only a “click” away from influencing the change agent are more the drivers. 

Also… the culture of social media transcends beyond the Millennials who grew up within in it.  Old and young alike … even candidate specific… are addicted to the belief system right now.

(2)  The networking of the media. 

The consolidation of media and its conversion to 24/7 programming has culminated into what we now have before us. 

“Debates” that are really more Q&A “60 Minutes” news “shows.”

News nets attempting to “brand” their forums, formats, question sets and exchange dialogue.

The conversion of “grass roots” politicking to “media visibility” and “story bytes.”

Tracking public sediment not too unlike tracking television ratings.

(3)  The Dems riding a wave of assumptions vs. proactive strategy.

Whether you like her or not, you have to admit Hillary carries a lot of baggage.  So far to date, she has not necessarily performed well as a “unifier.” 

The Dems have historically way out performed the GOP in unifying divergent camps.  Single moms, union labor, 20-something Millennials and gay folks… not much shared, common ground. 

The Dems marketplace has changed.  Not too sure that their strategic approach has change much – if at all. 

I still believe that Joe Biden may still enter the race.  He just might be strategically staying behind the scenes… for now.

(4)  What might drive continued attention.

As I write this blog, global security and a flow of standard logic is being challenged.  Today’s headline story in the Wall Street Journal is that the economy is cooling… yet again. 

Many assert that the large media coverage of the election way in advance of the primaries will ultimately “burn out.”  That people will simply get tired of hearing about it and focus their attention on other things.

That assumption might have some supportive rationale to it if we were not in the midst or fluid, radical challenge and change.

From Islamic Terrorist to a struggling China to an erratic Wall Street, the future is not predictable… nor like any past models.

A number of the media channels showcased Jeb Bush and his third campaign theme born again experience.  They commented on the lack of “brand” equity. 

I agree to a large extent.  But I think that the campaign challenge for many will be to secure a brand strategy that can be extended over a course of radical change.

For all his craziness and lack of thought-out implementation strategy, I hate to say it, but Donald Trump might have the most adaptable strategic brand platform given what is likely to evolve in the next 12 months.

The election is always a very good read of marketplace thinking.  It also provides a rich understanding of how individuals align their viewpoints with others. 

Sad to say, but it also provides a rich perspective of the group, “The Unconnected Sub-Generation,” highlighted in the 2016 EXPERIENCE Trendcast report.

The next blog I post will showcase the changes that have evolved and produced a set of new 2016 PRIZM neighborhood lifestyle groups that wear a new set of nicknames that include “Generation Web,” “Metro Grads,” “Networked Neighborhoods,” “Second City Start-ups” and “Pick-up Patriarchs.”

2016 Trendcast – Part #2 – The Next Five

In response to my posting of the first five trends, a handful of my peers contacted me and wanted to chat.

Most of the conversation was focused around Millennials.  Many corporate brand teams are beginning to finally embrace them. 

I laugh most of time.  Unless you are a brand that caters to the elderly you have no choice. 

No question as I share the next five, the Millennials are driving a lot of what’s hitting us with each of the trends.  But like in the very next one, the Boomers are also on stage playing an important co-lead role!

Trendcast #6 – The Downsizing of House & Home

The less-is-more philosophy has come home to roost with square footage taking a back seat to quality, functionality, charm and character. 

This is not just a reflection of the empty-nest Boomers and just-coupled Millennials seeking less space for two.

The cost of housing is soaring.

Bloomberg Business published an article this past spring titled, “Housing’s 30 Percent-of-Income Rule Is Near Useless.” 

The article goes on to post that 41 million of U.S. households are now paying more than 50% of the their monthly income on housing.

Rents are climbing too.

About three-quarters of Millennials no longer living with their parents (just over 26%) are renting and nearly half of those not coupled are having to net a roommate to afford the space.

One of the major changes that will hit housing a lot more in 2016 and beyond will be the downsizing of the average dwelling space square footage. 

HGTV’s Tiny House programming is so much a hit among the growing Millennial audience groups that HGTV is now expanding small home space programming.

“Loft” condos are popular today more because the space visually appears larger than because retro loft décor is hip and cool.

And the likes of Pier 1 and IKEA in the home furnishings retail arena might be perceived as lower price, but when you talk to the buyers making the purchases, they very quickly talk about the furniture pieces “fitting better” in their “smaller home space.”

Where the impact will be hitting in 2016 the most will be on homebuilders and architects. 

Many of the homebuilders believe that custom homes always should be big.  And the smaller share that are still into developments and spec homes still think that the larger the square footage the better even if it means jamming more houses on the limited land space. 

Not too sure that those homebuilders will see their inventory moving as quickly in 2016.

The impact on furniture will continue in 2016 as more personality emerges, but watch for more small space décor enhancements in texture and patterns as well as novel ways to multi-use space. 

Trendcast #7 -- DIY to DIO – (Do It Ourselves)

Their Baby Boomer parents sometimes were labeled as “groupies,” but the label was used more to describe the following of rock stars than how Boomers took on tasks.

The Millennials umbilical cord to social media today has translated to group bonds that are now part of most anything they do.

(LOL… as you read further, you will see that a percentage even continue to chat with online friends as they are having sex!)

If you watch any of the competitive count-downs on HGTV, Food Network, History Channel or even Animal Planet, you will see quickly how teams compete against teams vs. individuals competing against individuals.

Out is personal pursuit.  Grrrrhhhh… self-centered, entrepreneurs out for their own innovative self-pursuit.

In is collective goal setting and team achievement. Its all about we, not me!

Employees today – white collar and professional – work better in environments that resemble or duplicate the communal spirit of a coffee house than the isolation environment of a private office.

According to Infographic.com, the number of co-working spaces worldwide is now doubling every year. 

Some of the ad agency management I work with has replaced their desks with IKEA kitchen tables which are much more welcoming of others even if someone elects to join them and work on another client project at the same table.

A psychologist friend of mine and I have observed that just as much as individuals seek out co-working space, the bottomline is that many work in the communal space focused in their own bubble-land of the laptops, iPads and iPhones.

This trend will hit hard and fast in 2016. 

Early Target Holiday spots are scripted around communal fashion vs. individual identity.

Hamburger Helper ads feature family together times around the kitchen co-working to get food on the table.

Buick ads showcase their new 24 hour test drive offers as a way for “all involved in the purchase decision” to have their chance to drive the Buick and determine if it meets the wholistic needs of all.

Trendcast #8 – The Unconnected Sub-Generation

You will hear a lot about the unconnected in 2016.  It's a presidential election year.

Here’s some interesting factoids…

• About half of Americans don’t know what “GOP” stands for…and about 75% of those are either Democrats or Independents
• Just over 40% cannot name who is the Vice President
• About 30% think that “Google” is a cartoon character on television
• When asked where Apple branded products are sold, more than a third of adults less than 40 years of age say in grocery stores
• 40% have no idea the century in which the American Revolution took place
• 30% do not know in what year 9-11 took place
• 65% cannot name even one of the Supreme Court Justices

I don’t share these stats to showcase the ignorant or the uneducated.

The “Unconnected Sub-Generation” literally lives their lives with limited, if any, interest or investment in the reality of the world around them. 

The Sub-Generation is comprised of a combination of Millennials, Tweeners and GenXers. 

Few have college degrees, but if they do, it is often a liberal arts degree.

Most work to pay their monthly bills and fund access to fun people and fun stuff.  Most of the fun is accessed via the web.  Nearly all perceive money as a plastic card.

They connect with programming on networks like FX, Sy-Fy, TruTV, E! Entertainment, Cartoon Network, TLC and Animal Planet. They play online games and venture into virtual reality lands. They text their “friends” about little outside the here and now of their own unconnected worlds.

But as much as they are perceived as literally stupid by folks living a connected life, the Unconnected Sub-Generation is sought out by national politicians and drive the sales of the mass brands.

You find yourself watching ads and wondering… what did that ad just communicate of value... What did that ad even have to do with the brand?

Next time that happens, you now know that the ads are designed to reach the Unconnected Sub-Generation… and not you!

Some sources cite economic stagnation and the daily threat of crime and terrorism as forces creating the Unconnected Sub-Generation… and yet, others cite information overload.

As we move into 2016, I already have had a client ask me if there are avenues to research and define this group more. 

Trendcast #9 – The Celebration of Purity

Not to say that where I live is the trendiest part of the ATL, but it’s close!

Most of the new housing is either tear-down-re-builds or home renovations. 

With my recent move into some new digs in Atlanta, I have spent a lot of time visiting the nearby Home Depot and Lowe’s.

In a number of my recent visits, I have been amazed at how many folks – from Millennials to Boomers – are purchasing paint for their homes and the most popular color is…

White or Beige. 

When I ask them why they are selecting white or a variation of white, the response is almost always the same… “it’s so nice and clean…so pure.”

If you think I am making this up… go visit Elle Décor’s website and see the stories about the “18 whites to make your space feel cozy” and “the 25+ white kitchens to inspire your next remodel.”

However, interior paint colors is only one area of where purity is securing top priority.

Think about it… the top three GOP candidates do not come from past political roles.   

Check out…

• Water-only energy drinks are hot and hip because of their clarity and non-contaminated compositions
• "Organic" and “free range” are perceived as healthier because they are non-violated by chemicals, hormones … not even pruning nor containment!
• "Gospel" and “Soul” are re-emerging because of their “purified” originality and “purified” roots
• While virginity might be part of the past, self-directed abstinence is emerging as the new form of self-purity and self-cleansing, especially in Hollywood and 5^th Avenue
• More clothing retailers are showcasing white as the new fashion statement
• An iPhone video is perceived as more honest than one filmed by a professional crew

As more and more of reality coupled with dishonesty and lack of justice intrudes into our daily intake of news and information, there appears to be more and more emphasis on seeking out the pure and un-contaminated.

Watch how much more this trend will surface in 2016 as the election takes front and center. 

Trendcast #10 – The Sustainable Reality of Work-Life Balance

More and more and more and more and… more… articles, apps, resources and classes are popping up to help individuals balance work and life-away-from work. 

Although a healthy work-life balance is the spoken goal of many individuals today, so few attain that goal. 

In fact, in a 2015 study completed by PSFK Labs, 80% of the adults age 25-54 feel critical stress on the job. 

The Millennials believe that they can craft career-development pathways in which work and life can operate in unison. 

The reality is that it can’t and the Millennials are quickly coming to realize that if they truly want to own a home someday, they have to have job security and maybe even receive a few sizeable raises in pay.

The GenXers might be the most reality-driven generational group in the perception of work-life balance.  They have already faced the reality that with kids at home, jobs at stake and mortgages to pay, they have cannot live in the ideal balance.

And Boomers, now faced with the challenges of retirement post the Great Recession, realize that a balance of work-life may be more of an ongoing challenge upon turning age 60 than they originally thought.

Here’s some true-reality stats among the adults age 25-54 surveyed:

• 79% feel it will be harder to reach their financial goals now than in the midst of the Great Recession
• 70% check their smart phones every 6 minutes
• 40% of employees working for a company of 50+ employees are required to be in contact with the business outside of work
• 20% have actually checked their Emails on their smart phones in the middle of havng sex!

As much as past Trendcasts have highlighted the ideal and what was perceived as business and brand outcomes in the marketplace, watch as we move into 2016 as more websites, speakers, workshops and business management courses will focus on “there’s no such thing as the perfect work-life balance.”

Part of this trend is being driven by the aging Millennial – and even further, the home-owning, parental Millennial – and even further, the Millennial whose own parents moved away and raised the “your on your own now honey” banner.

Part of the trend is being driven by GenXers and Boomers who have long aspired to be the boss and are now facing the reality of a Millennial being their boss.

We will see this same live-work reality factor take a role in marketing and advertising.

Look for more brands to feature experiential payouts in the midst of stress and conflict.

A Parting For Now…

I look forward to presenting this 2016 Trendcast to some cool groups over the next few months.  No question that there will be challenges and doubts raised, but my bet is there will be more heads shaking confirmation.

Generational changes, the advancement of technology and the inescapable connection points with reality are critical “movers and shakers” at work right now.

Sometimes in the midst of owning EXPERIENCE, I wish for a day in which I can let go and just be one of a team… and then again, when I get home and cuddle with my dog and watch COPS or Housewives of Orange County, I think maybe I can gain membership in the Unconnected Sub-Generation.

But about the time I think about it, I get a phone call from a CEO, entrepreneur or politician about the challenge they face and ask when can we meet to discuss ways to move their brands forward. 

I enjoy what I do and have fun!

And lastly… my personal celebration of purity is single barrel bourbon over the rocks. 

Cheers!

2016 Trendcast -- Part #1 -- The First Five

The market challenges this year have forced my team to explore some uncharted waters of the past. 

We have been asked to embrace and look right in the eye of some evolving market changes that many have not been forced to encounter as of yet…but will.

This blog showcases the Top Five of the Top 10 Emerging Trends that EXPERIENCE believes will challenge brand and market strategy more so in 2016 than they have to-date.

All the average trend forecasters out there seldom think big enough.  They cite changes that are interesting, but seldom changes that are dramatic. 

As Wired Magazine notes, “It’s not a lack of imagination, it’s instead a lack of observation.”

Here they are in order of magnitude from our perspective.

Trendcast #1 – IoT: The Internet of Things

Much of technology that has driven the marketplace to-date has been machine-to-machine communication – devices talking to like devices.

But the next tech megatrend isn’t unifying together programs, but instead unifying sensory data into actual useful intelligence.

To the Sci-fi fanatics, its like 1984 becoming reality in 2016!

IoT or the Internet of Things links measurement data and transmits the comprehensive, linked together information back in real time to machine technology. 

Think of it as the connection of the sensory reads of things all around us to make intelligent, processed judgment.

The big news this year has been the Google driver-less car.  The top-of-mind applications are first to appear… watch what happens next as IoT crafts our personal brand experiences.

Here’s some stats that will grab your attention…

In 2008, more "things" were connected to the Internet than people.

By 2020, the amount of Internet-connected things will reach 50 billion.

It is forecast that $19 trillion in profits and cost savings will be generated from IoT between 2015 and 2025.

Currently, most IoT smart devices aren’t in your home or phone, but instead in factories, business and healthcare. 

Watch as IoT hits the home, hotels, retail, public utilities and automotive… even the classroom in 2016. 

Trendcast #2 -- The Millennials Making Babies

Millennials are coupling and are now beginning to birth their first – and what might be their only – kid. 

In fact, 90% of all new moms are Millennials.

In 2016, the leading-edge of the Millennial Generation will turn 37 and the trailing-edge will turn 22.

Gone is the traditional role of the mom. More than seven out of 10 Millennial moms work outside the home. 

In is the dad with a defined primary role and parents who are overly sensitive to the peer pressures of social media.

Unlike the GenXer parents who combated the threat of divorce, Millennials appear to be fixated on more high-touch face time than tech and social media defined interaction.

More personal daycare in which both moms and dads allocate personal interactive time with the kids will emerge... and the daycare facilities with apps that allow the parents to peak in on the kids will likely profit the most. 

Only a small share of middle-to-upper income Millennials plan to move out from the city to what the GenXers crafted as the like-peer, kid-centric suburbs.

Also be prepared to watch some new unveilings of social sites, support groups and specialty retailers all designed around catering to the “helicopter” grandparants.    

Trendcast #3 – The Integration of the Social Media Society

The top-feeder marketing mavens believe that social media is all about being able to post free-access and free-to-use information to generate “word-of-mouth” endorsement.

Give me a break. 

These are the same mavens that probably believed that television was all about visually showing how a product works. 

This Trendcast is not about the rise in the use of social media, but rather the culture of society that social media has created. 

The stage show of a social media society has already begun.

It’s the 2016 presidential run that has turned the political and media models upside down.  

Like him or not, but Donald Trump and the way he interacts with people, the press and the politico is right off the pages of Facebook.

The fundamental sense of access anytime, anywhere, anyhow connected to the freedom to express anything, anyway further connected to free for all the world to see with immediate acknowledgement of engagement and response has moved way beyond the Smartphone and iPad. 

Watch in 2016 as brands, retailers and corporate boards deal with consumers in which the corporate towers fail to exist and tell it like it is to everyone out there to digest.

Also watch how “likes” expressed offline will generate the same interest and expectations as “likes” online.

Trendcast #4 – Zoomers & Tweeners Emerge More In The “Here & Now”

In 2016, the first wave of the GenZer Zoomers will get their driver’s license and hit the road as independents. 

And Tweeners, those age 17-22 in 2016, will make up the vast majority of kids pursuing a college degree.

Zoomers are the kids birthed by their Gen X parents who married, birthed their family units and modeled the ideal home “cocoon” environment.   

Nearly half of GenXers grew up with divorced parents… and they vowed to create the ideal family once they found their mate.

But in reality, while GenXers have stayed together and worked hard to portray themselves as the ideal family, behind the scenes GenXers have confronted economic challenges of the Great Recession, upside down mortgages, job loss and being overlooked as the Millennials have taken over the stage.

Zoomer and Tweeners have not only lived in the same house with GenXers, but they have “clustered” and “cocooned” directly with their “open-communication” parents.

If you don’t believe the impact that GenXers have had on their kids, go and track dialogue exchanges on any of the social media sites. 

Zoomers and Tweeners have grown up with terrorism and economic turmoil.  They have watched folks march on Wall Street and town squares from Orlando to St. Louis quickly evolve into look-alike communities found in the Middle East. 

As a result, they seek out brands that live in the “here” and “now.”

Out are the sitcoms and in are reality TV-videos… BTW… Zoomers have no idea where the “Tube” in YouTube originated!

But Zoomers and Tweeners were also born into the digital social interactive world with the Internet, Selfies, Facebook and Smartphones and in the here and now are driving the success of Instagram, Tumblr, Yik Yak and WhatsApp. 

As a result, engagement is an assumed expectation and many find it easier to talk to friends online versus in-person.

As Tweeners go off to college and more Zoomers enter into puberty and adolescence, marketers need to watch as the kids actually take on the role of reverse parenting in 2016 and act as a grounding agent for their increasing sheltered and bitter Gen X parents.

Trendcast #5 – Self-Assessment Health Maintenance

2016 will prove to be a watershed year in health and wellness.

Politicians may talk the talk, but Obamacare not only has changed the way healthcare is accessed, provided and compensated, but it has effectively shifted the onus of responsibility over to oneself… the individual.

On one level, individual responsibility for staying well and recovering quickly and effectively is the driver of the new model of healthcare.  Patients spend less time at hospitals in recovery and more time on their own under advisory guidance.

On another level, individuals face high deductibles and now proactively work to avoid costly care through prevention, exercise and diet. 

Information is increasingly becoming more and more important.

However, information too has evolved from a meter reading of where I am today and educational background information on illness, conditions and disease to ongoing tracking insights and alternative treatment options.

With the impending explosion of IoT, the stage is set for healthcare to move from diagnostics and care to ongoing assessment and maintenance. 

“Wellness” and “healthy” also will become redefined in terms of life-stage, heredity and self-assigned achievement goals. 

If you might have some doubts about the actuality of this trend coming true in 2016, go Google “health and wellness self assessment tools.”

And by the way, aging Boomers play part of the role as the change agents, but surprisingly, the Millennials are more involved than the 20 and 30-somethings of the past.

A Glimpse Into The Next Five

I promise… cross my heart… that I will post the next Blog in about two weeks and it will share more on these next five 2016 emerging trends:

The Downsizing of House & Home

DIY to DIO – (Do It Ourselves)

The Celebration of Purity

The Unconnected Sub-Generation

The Sustainability Reality of Work-Life Balance

Just as we have done in years past, we have a presentation of these Trends and are happy to share them in greater depth and work with your teams on engineering strategy to capitalize on the opportunities they represent.

Lastly, if you read these, think I am toking on something out in Colorado and you do nothing, you might as well start packing up and moving out of the way as your peers and competitors  give new meaning to "Roll Tide" -Tsunami not Alabama... 

The Millennials Connect With Being Real... Not Being Politically Correct

There was a delay in the posting of this blog. 

I dedicated one blog post already this year to the Millennials.  It showcases a lot about who they are and what drives them in terms of what they seek and who they aspire to be.

However, I feel very compelled to post another blog entry about them.  This time highlighting just how simplistic reality drives them more than what's politically correct.

This past week, the Wall Street Journal published another top news story about the Millennials.  This time showcasing that they now represent the majority share of the American workforce. 

They ran an article the week before about how the television and cable networks are facing a sliding decline of audience share as the Millennials enter their primary target group of Adults 25-54. 

I am not too amazed how HGTV and Adult Swim continue to do well.  Both networks have fashioned programming – much of it niche targeted – around the Millennials. 

While HGTV and Adult Swim get it right, the other networks face continued ratings decline. 

Here’s an audience group that custom fashions the content of their social media pages and Google search websites based on niche-defined needs… and network after network tries to become more like the other struggling, lack of any defined personality networks just to be the one touting the highest ratings.

Like him or hate him, Donald Trump is a stellar example of the Millennial mindset. While not a Millennial, Trump is the personification of Millennial Facebook postings. 

Millennials never hold back commentary, factual or not, in their posts and do so for all to read with little rational or accountability. 

Donald Trump is the personification of a Facebook or Twitter post.

He leads in the polls right now and the media has no idea of how to assess it.  Many believe that voting public will get rational quickly and Trump will have no chance. 

Obama came into office in 2008 because the Millennials were just beginning to embrace “mid-century culture” and “Hope”and “Change We Can Believe In” was quickly married with “Peace” and “Love.”

And its not just Trump capitalizing on the Millennials. 

Bernie Sanders is certainly making waves… and the political armchair critics dismiss his DNC rise because he appeals too much to the younger, Millennial, ideal seekers. 

Anyone who comments that Joe Biden has little chance of winning over Hillary only has to Google “Bidenisms” and can quickly see how Joe and Donald just might be related.

Politicians that run on platforms of bringing back the past and a return to a moral compass are so out of it that I wonder just who is running with their consultancy dollars.

The Millennials do not care if commentary is politically-correct.  As the Boomer academics preach the no-nos of non-politically correct terms and phrases, the Millennials are texting their “friends” and wondering just what these folks smoked before dinner.

The presidential race is global in many perspectives.  Shoot right here in Atlanta, in our newest city of Brookhaven, we saw politics turn upside down as the leading-edge Gen X mayor was defeated by a Millennial in the bid for a House District rep. 

Historically, Brookhaven has been so Republican that in some circles, the red turns deep crimson. 

Not only was the late 20-something elected and had never before been involved in politics, he was also a democrat. 

I send out an Email to fellow Chamber of Commerce Board members in Brookhaven and highlighted that what I preached about Millennials and how they were driving the community was, in fact, real.  I laughed when at least five individuals Emailed me back and said that they had no idea what I was talking about and saw no connection with the outcome of the local race.

Okay.  Wonder if they have any programs to help Boomers come out of the closet and accept that the Millennials are here… and in charge!

Another Atlanta news-story that hit this week is that builders, developers and community planners are re-assessing new housing and will be pressing for smaller square foot single-family homes. 

As stated in the news clip, “we are pushing for more 1,500 square feet or less, cottage-style and contemporary design homes versus the McMansion rage of the past several years.

Wow.  Maybe some of those builders, developers and community planners watch HGTV Tiny House shows and found the shows inspiring.  Or maybe they came to a reality check point that way too many Millennials are having to lease apartments because they cannot even begin to consider owning a 3,000 square foot home with a starting price of $850,000. 

Last commentary in this post is that there are a bunch of companies that are just as blind as many of the broadcast networks.

One of the companies that I think is tanking quickly is Dominos Pizza. 

Not only do Millennials think that Pizza is not healthy, good-for-me, make-me-fit-and-good-looking food, it's a product that is way too Boomer and Gen X rooted. 

They say that docs can quickly diagnose a patient based on a couple easy indicators of the likely condition affecting the patient.

One of those Blinding Glimpses of the Obvious with a fast food restaurant is just how diverse the menu becomes. 

Dominos spent a lot of money on a set of ads telling the American populace that their brand name was dropping “pizza.”  Then came a set of ads in which each ad promoted chicken or sandwiches or pasta dishes. 

I think that Millennials totally get it right when they no longer connect with a “friend” or a brand, they quickly click “unfriend” and move-on. 

Going back to politics, I think we need to sit back for some great entertainment in the next few months. 

I bet that Dominos and Hillary share some common ground.  Both are working at hard at taking a brand from the past and modifying it, altering it and re-engineering it when the core base of the brand is in deep, deep trouble.