Claudia Lieshout
Global Leader CultureScan / Global Leader Trends, Strategic Futures Design 

Yesterday I came across the website: http://www.watchingthetrendwatcher.nl. And it got me thinking. The word TREND, or rather, ‘trendwatcher’ has become worn-out - it’s so 1999. Everybody can be a trend watcher these days, it’s no big deal. With hundreds of thousand of blogs all connected together, the internet provides us with a constant update of what is happening all around us.

I have seen an important shift while dealing with and carrying out research in cultural and aesthetic trends for Philips for the last 12 years.  In the nineties we literally had to wait for the magazines to be published and the fairs and conferences to be held to get the trends and forecasts for the years to come. Now, with the internet, it seems as if it is almost impossible to make sense out of these streams of information. Impossible indeed to physically keep up with all the trends, directions and ideas - there are just too many.

But, getting back to the website, when I read it a bit more carefully, this is exactly the point the site is making: what makes good trend information? And how can we make sense of it all? At last, a site that might be able help stimulate open discussions to create understanding rather than just creating more noise.

So why is it important to carry out trend research? What is it that makes us an important stakeholder in the process of product and service innovation? We still need ‘editors’ to lead us through the pool of information overkill. Editors that are able to filter and connect manifestations, ideas and weak signals to create brand-fitting stories, identify future needs and, of course, trends. And most importantly of all: ask ‘So what?  Are these trend directions important to my brand?’ Translation is the magic word.

Remember the days when it was so difficult to get trend input? Today we should actually consider ourselves blessed with so many (free) sources. Now it’s a matter of putting it into the right context, making it relevant to the brand and last but not least, inspiring us to identify new opportunities and bright futures. Furthermore, we should look beyond the trend, why is it there and what does it mean? Because when it is already a trend, technically speaking, a company is already too late. Watch the trendwatchers, watch this space…