Thursday, April 30, 2009

5 Steps In Trendhunting: presentation at 2009 Event Marketing Summit

The 7th Annual Event Marketing Summit was held this week in Chicago. I was able to attend along with Melissa Strebing and Michelle Travis from STINSON's corporate communications team.

The summit has always been a great source of ideas ranging from how to leverage new trends and tools to amplifying reach and prioritizing marketing objectives. This year was no different - and included several informative breakout sessions - one in particular presented by Lorin Pollack-Platto, Event Marketing Director for Google, on ways to be cost-conscious and user-friendly when planning events.

A highlight of the event was the luncheon keynote presentation. Jeremy Gutsche, founder of Trendhunter.com and innovation expert was there to give advice on being Cool and going viral with your brand.

"Popular is not cool. Cool is the next big thing."

To find the next big thing you must start by Trendhunting.

Here are the 5 steps in Trendhunting:

1. Reset your expectations

· There's no point innovating if you think you already know the answer - avoid your bias

2. Observe your customers

· In all industries, innovation starts by observing customers. Observe customers in their zone by interacting with them, observing product use, and watching the purchase.

3. Hunt for cool

· Get inspiration by hunting for cool. Ex: Trendhunter.com

4. Cluster Insights Into Trends

· Cluster the cool trends, and then re-cluster. That's how to unlock insight.

5. Develop a Point of View

· Identify how to act upon your new trend.


For Jeremy's complete presentation, watch his YouTube video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMHbm8me7tU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ejeremygutsche%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

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