by Miriam Hara | Feb 22, 2024 | Advertising, Agency, Creative
In the creative sphere of trend forecasting, the phrase “timing is everything” holds particular weight. Being on-trend, or even better, a trendsetter, is not just an added bonus—it’s an essential part of the job. Whether you’re designing product packaging, concocting compelling social media campaigns, or producing engaging TV ads, understanding and forecasting trends is an indispensable part of your role.
From Trend Following to Trend Forecasting: The Shift in Creative Navigation
However, being on trend is about more than just keeping up with the latest fads—it’s about being attuned to the subtle shifts and changes, staying a step ahead of the curve. Is this a talent only a select few possess? Not quite.
Keeping up with trends isn’t about having a unique skill set—it’s about dedicating time and effort to stay informed and observant. It’s about distinguishing between what’s simply popular and what’s truly trend-setting, and recognizing when an idea has run its course to anticipate what’s next. Here are some strategies to keep you ahead in the trend game:
- Diversify Your Sources: Engage with a broad range of content from diverse sources—the more eclectic, the better. Time constraint? Don’t restrict yourself to written content; turn to audiobooks and podcasts to keep up with the latest developments. Not all information will be immediately relevant, but building a rich knowledge base is the first step toward identifying emerging trends.
- Harness Digital Tools: The internet is more than a browsing tool—it’s a treasure trove of insights. Explore online stores, social media trends on platforms like Instagram, and utilize Google trend reports. The advent of AI has also simplified trend tracking and analysis, so leverage these tools to stay informed.
- Cultivate Curiosity: Whether you’re traveling, enjoying a leisurely walk, or simply observing your surroundings, stay alert and curious. Pay attention to people, cars, colours, styles—take note of what’s happening around you.
- Draw Connections: Identify commonalities across different sectors such as fashion, food, automotive, consumer electronics, leisure, etc. Linking these seemingly disparate elements can help you spot a potential trend that’s about to make a big splash.
Remember, trends often originate in a specific context. If the idea gains traction, it’s adopted and applied across various categories. Take the example of bamboo, which was a trendy material a few years back. It’s still popular today, but is it trend-setting? Or has it transitioned into the mainstream?
Navigating the trend landscape is a nuanced process, requiring a vigilant eye, keen observation, and continuous learning. How do you identify and stay on top of trends? I’d love to hear your experiences and techniques.
Stay ahead, stay on trend, and above all, stay curious! Keep the wheels of innovation turning, and remember—the next big thing could be just an idea away.
by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 10, 2014 | Creative, Latest
Whether you are tasked to come up with ideas for a corporate creative campaign using a team of people, or you are just trying to generate ideas for yourself, the process of “brainstorming” is virtually the same. It doesn’t have to be an intimidating process and hopefully the idea of facilitating a session doesn’t strike in you with the same kind of blinding fear it did in me the first time I had to lead one – which happened when I was barely an account executive, with half the agency present, including the Big Boss, and The Client! But not only did I survive, I gained tremendous confidence through the challenge and (I think) managed to impress a few people.
1. Preparation: When it comes to involving other people in a brainstorming session, how well you prepare everyone for it BEFORE they get there is important. Provide a one or two page outline including background on the situation, the issues, and the competition, as well as some direction as to the kinds of ideas you are looking for. Send this out a few days in advance of your session to give people time to ruminate about it. I find that when I’m coming up with ideas it sometimes takes a few hours of just sitting with the concept in my mind before ideas really start to flow. Suggest that your participants take note of any thoughts and bring those with them into the session to share – this will also help to get things started.
2. Relaxed atmosphere: Where you get creative is equally important. A room that is comfortable, quiet, and without distraction will help people focus on what you are trying to accomplish. Also, keeping the atmosphere friendly and inviting so people will feel free to contribute is key. No stuffed shirts allowed. Otherwise, you’ll just get the same old boring ideas, from the same old people and that may result in a less effective campaign. In fact, working with a more diverse group should be your objective.
We all come from different places and you want to take advantage of unique perspectives.
3. Scheduling: According to Mind Power News http://www.mindpowernews.com/BestTimeOfDay.htm the most productive time of the day to generate ideas is between 9am and 11am. This is when your brain has activated enough of the stress hormone, cortisol, to allow your mind to focus and be creative. Having light snacks, such as fruit and nuts, and keeping everyone hydrated is also a good idea.
4. No negativity: It’s all good… or not. But don’t start judging anything until the session is done. Certainly not all ideas are going to be stellar, but that luke-warm, never-gonna-fly, embarrassed-you-said-it idea could lead to the next latest and greatest one. You owe it to the team (or yourself) to just put it out there – plant the seed and see what develops, for you or someone else in the group. That crazy idea could lead to something truly original and creative.
5. Post it: Write all the ideas on a board (or several boards) around the room so everyone can see them. Having all your ideas front and center will help maintain focus and flow.
6. Visual Aids: Using images can also be helpful to stimulate creative thinking. Ask people to bring tear-sheets from magazines, or print-outs from inspiring web content. Put those up on the wall too. There also some amazing online programs and apps available to help you organize your ideas: Pinterest, Wordstorm, Springpad, and Popplet are just a few.
7. Organize & Evaluate: As you are writing down ideas, try to keep them in some kind of cohesive order. When you have what you consider to be enough to work with, filter through them all categorically and see if you can expand on anything that you particularly like. Once everything has been explored to the fullest, you should be ready to put together a strong and comprehensive creative campaign strategy.
by Miriam Hara | Mar 14, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative
In today’s social market landscape never has the consumer adage of “What’s it in for me?” been more key in all communications. Today, Brand must be upfront, in the consumer’s line of vision, without selling. Brand must engage with intent, with less frills, less sell and more substance. Social Brand has enabled this. Today ‘advertising’ through the social channels must be informative, educational and add value. The concept of Social Brand has emerged, trumping all other frivolous communications. I am not saying that traditional media is out, quite the contrary, it has a very strong future. It will finally evolve to the place that it should have always been… revenue generating. The emergence of social media with its marketing intimacy and emergence of inbound marketing has proven to be the catalyst for Traditional media. Entertainment value is no longer enough… mind you, the creative of advertising should never have been the focal point of advertising… and now it can’t be, because it is no longer relevant. From a brand’s point of view, it should never have been about creative, because creative doesn’t translate into revenue. Mark Stevens who wrote the book Your Marketing Sucks stated it very clearly: “Marketing that doesn’t suck should be about the revenue, not about how beautiful the advertisement is”.
From the advertising agency’s point of view, the Traditional ad (broadcast, print or out of home) needs to be tied more succinctly to Brand Persona and what the brand is communicating within its other platforms, such as social media channels. It has to be more functional. Being a Chief Creative Officer with a strong heritage of marketing and business, ad evaluation has always been about brand context. My team constantly mimics me “Are we asking the consumer to do too many calisthenics to get to the point?“. It always irks me when I see an advertisement (print, radio, TV, out of home) where the creative won over the brand… when the creative premise/idea/visual was so beautiful that it won out over the primary objective of what the ad was actually supposed to achieve. Answer these few questions when you see an ad that has captivated your attention:
- What is the Brand? (Does it have presence, seen or stated? Does it inspire you to remember it?)
- What is the single message the ad has communicated? (What is the message? Does it speak to the Brand’s Basic Premise and its reason to believe?)
- Does the message hold any relevance for you? (Are they speaking to you, the intended Target Market, in the way you wish to be addressed? Are you the Target Market?)
If you can’t answer all these questions succinctly, then the advertising has failed. Over the years, I have seen ads that are clever and witty, utilizing the latest and greatest animation techniques to create a thing of real beauty… it almost becomes a piece of art – so much so that they win awards, as they are award-winning creative. But do they win sales for the client, for the Brand? That really should be the metrics to measure the success of an advertising campaign. My creative philosophy has always stemmed from my marketing background. As such, when we are brainstorming sessions at 3H, the objective is written out, clearly on the big LCD screen. All creative ideas are scrutinized against the objective and more often than not, the objective is to increase sales.
Don’t get me wrong, there are ads that are beautifully conceptualized, executed and very brand relevant. But, more often than not, advertising loses the perspective that it’s there to promote Brand and deliver on sales, not creative. Achieving the delicate balance of creative and brand… adding in a strong understanding of target psychographics is never easy… but believe me it’s totally doable! Clear concise messaging, with strong benefits, executed with a seamless strategy relevant to the target market is what brand advertising should be all about.
by Angelika Orgacki | Oct 7, 2011 | Creative
Sitting in on a production meeting at 3H and listening to how the team is trying to come up with an innovative idea for a new project caused me to recall a video I had watched in my Design Thinking class. The video was titled “The Deep Dive” and was about the employees at IDEO, a design firm, who were devising a plan to redesign the shopping cart. As with any of their projects, the employees at IDEO stress the importance of brainstorming to help create the best idea. The most interesting part of the video, and the one that seemed most fitting to this production meeting at 3H was IDEO’s acceptance and encouragement of wild ideas. The video reveals several ideas the team comes up with and emphasizes the need to build on wild ideas in order to ultimately achieve something innovative. This type of brainstorming was referred to as “focused chaos” and I have come to understand its practical application here at 3H as the team strives for innovative and creative ideas in everything they do.
The idea of brainstorming has peaked my curiousity of the actual origin of brainstorming. I visited Google for a little help to learn that Alex Faickney Osborn was the first to introduce group-thinking sessions to generate more ideas. He essentially set the technique of brainstorming into action. Osborn developed 4 rules to follow:
- Focus on quantity
- Withold criticism
- Welcome unusual ideas
- Combine and improve ideas.
Looking at these ideas, and comparing it to the brainstorming methods at IDEO and 3H, it is obvious to see that we continue to apply Osborn’s method as we search for the perfect answer to any and every problem at hand. It is with these unrealistic and diverse thoughts that we can step back and see what elements can be combined and eliminated to develop something new and creative.
