Marketing trends for 2008 and beyond….

US marketing consultancy Fletcher Knight has released this interesting list of trends that it believes will be particularly important over the next year and going forward:

The New Luxury: Expertise vs. Prestige
As high-end goods reach down to the masses, luxury is evolving to create a new elite consumer that values expertise more than prestige. Instead of looking to the wealthy for what’s aspirational, this consumer looks to the experts as their role models. Rather than just going out and buying a Sub-Zero refrigerator, for example, these new luxury consumers are asking, “What are the best chefs using in their kitchens?”

The Weight Management Gap
Just as the income gap continues to widen, there will be a growing gap in waistlines. A small group of consumers will take advantage of the proliferating healthy eating options — from organic food to low fat ice cream — to assertively take and keep control of their weight. But the vast majority of overweight Americans, stressed out and financially stretched, will continue to grow heavier. The disparity between the lightest and the heaviest will widen, making America both one of the healthiest and unhealthiest nations at the same time.

Beyond Green To Transparent
As more and more companies jump on the green bandwagon, consumers’ skepticism meters will start to go off. Environmentally friendly platitudes will no longer be sufficient to differentiate. Consumers
will demand more proof that a company or brand is actively reducing its carbon footprint. In this world of evidence-based marketing, even “bad guy” companies like Wal-mart, which is helping to save the planet because it saves costs, can turn out to be “good guy” winners.

The Rise of The Male Influencer
As men continue to shop more and play a bigger role on the home front, their influence as consumers will continue to grow. No longer relegated only to stores like Home Depot, Best Buy and the car dealership, they will look for products – from shampoo to marinades – and retail experiences that understand their unique and increasingly complex male point-of-view.

Beautiful Food
After the proliferation of health and wellness in foods, some consumers are now more readily accepting that food is the source of true beauty and food can be truly beautiful. Super sensory and super Functional foods will seek a more receptive target who truly adopts the mantra that beauty is from the inside out. Functional foods that target hair, skin, nails, metabolism and longevity, will seek efficacious beauty, while super sensory food products will help the consumer consumer experience
new dimensions of beautiful vitality in food.

Purity & Safety
When it comes to safety and purity of products and services, consumers are quickly moving beyond instant nation bashing. A consumer realization is re-emerging that brands have the central responsibility for maintaining trust with the consumer when it comes to safety. A growing number of consumers will wield their true power and influence in the brand choices that they make. They will expect their brands to communicate safety and purity in way that is clear, believable and trustworthy. And some segments will be willing to pay a lot more for the peace of mind and reassurance that the brand has the checks in place.

According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, nonfood antibacterial products in-creased from fewer than 200 new product introductions in 2003 to 1,610 in 2006–a 713% growth. This year, more
than 1,700 antibacterial products have launched globally, as manufacturers continue to exploit people’s squirms about germs. In 2006, the U.S. saw the greatest number of new antibacterial products hit the
market: around 170. So far this year, there have already been more than 200 introductions.

The Sound Of Products
Snap Crackle & Pop has long demonstrated the influence and association that sound can have on consumers. Now the world of physical product and sound is about to become a hot bed of innovation. Greeting cards have successfully demonstrated the potential to move consumer into a new
level of ‘auditory association’. Products will look for new ways to integrate digital media in to packaging, POP and of course sponsored programming. Consumer will seek out digital sound that creates new
levels of emotional and sensory association and also provides more specific functional information on product.

Authenticity: Brand Soul
Consumer are now in constant communication/ dialogue with their brands and because of this they will look more and more for true brand authenticity or Brands with ’soul’ that share their passions and
motivation. Such brands have a clear ‘reason for being’ that allows them to ‘dialogue’ with an authentic voice. The brand ’soul’ is not necessarily a mission or a charitable cause, although it can be that.
Brand ’soul’ is usually related to values and ethics, such a quality, self-esteem or integrity
Consumer will see brands without ’soul’ as relying on the ‘hard sell’ of products and services built only on ‘pushy’ benefit-based positioning statements and forgettable pay-offs.