As in-boxes the world over fill with the assorted year-end "top trends" and "best of" pronouncements, elements of those lists seem to add up to one big trend: that 2008 will be the year of the holistic thought leader.
In order to stay one step ahead of - or even just in step with- today's consumers, a brand's management team must be able to connect seemingly disparate dots from politics to psychology to art, and everything in between. Our current culture of global abundance, you see, allows for consumers to take a more systemic approach to shopping or any sort of decision-making. If what a brand says and does doesn't match up, there is always another brand that better fits that particular consumer's holistic, it all matters, perspective.
From cause marketing to corporate responsibility, and everywhere in between, consuming is no longer about linear buying, but about integrated thinking and decision-making that leads to more meaningful purchases (and sometimes that means the consumer, after thinking long and hard, may decide not to purchase a thing).
In other words, this is not your father's customer. And these customers aren't buying your father's brands.
So, how to prepare for the savvy, demanding, holistic-thinking 2008 consumer? Business leaders could resolve to more frequently exercise their individual observation and dot-connecting muscles, for one. Laurel-resting and literal interpretations of job and industry descriptions will not lead to success in the global economy. Instead, brain cross-training (using right and left hemispheres), and regularly "inputting" all types and layers of information - from your daughter's grade school geography textbook to The Economist - are key. Finally, stepping out of traditional brand silos, and reaching out to others who are committed to the same sort of training, will help piece together future-ready growth patterns.
Interestingly, "The Emergence of the 'Renaissance Marketer'" was one of ten 2008 trends spotted by Association of National Advertisers President Bob Liodice and published in Advertising Age. According to the description, this sort of marketer has a holistic view of the world and extraordinary observational skills, and, is furthermore, a powerful combination of humanist, psychologist, anthropologist and technologist.
A set of leadership qualities that should apply beyond the marketing field, wouldn't you agree?
"Renaissance" as defined by the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition, is "a movement or period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity." Consumers have been nudging brands toward such a movement for years now. In 2008, those who have trained to think more holistically, in response to new renaissance era consumers, will have the edge.