Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2012 | Page 53

FASTFACT

Global chain hotels and spas like Hilton Hotels
Worldwide and Starwood Hotels are already
onboard with the Red Carpet trend. In July 2011,
Hilton launched its “Hilton Huanying” program
(“Huanying” means welcome in Mandarin).
Available at 30 Hilton hotels across the globe,
the program offers tailored-assistance for
Chinese guests, including check-in in their native
language. Starwood Hotels also plans to have a
similar program called the Starwood
Personalized Travel Program. But even if you are
a small day spa, this trend may soon impact you
as wealthy Chinese travelers may soon reach
your business doorstep, with 100 million Chinese
tourists estimated to travel internationally by
2020 (World Tourism Organization).
P: For entrepreneurs constantly bombarded with
trends and fads, it is often challenging to distinguish
one from the other. What’s the best way to identify
trends versus fads?
M: People often ask about how to spot the difference. All we
can say is this: Whether pigs are the new cats, or pizza cones

Four Areas
Where
Trends Can
Be Applied

are (again) the new “it” snack, these phenomena won’t dramatically change the consumer arena. At most, they’re yet another
manifestation that consumers want to
be unique or crave convenience and
surprise. The latter are trends. The
products are fads.

P: Trendwatching.com pointed
out that one common mistake by
entrepreneurs is to assume that
consumer trends will automatically be embraced by all
consumers. Why do you think
those in the business should be
cautious of this mentality?
M: In life and in trends, beauty is in
the eye of the beholder. Not everything applies to everyone and every
trend has its anti-trend.
Furthermore, the new doesn’t
always kill the old. For instance, ecommerce may be booming but real
world retail is far from dead. Has retail
changed in response to e-commerce? Sure. But take one look
at excited shoppers spending hours in Apple stores from New
York to Shanghai, and it becomes clear that both online and
offline retail have many years of innovation and opportunity
ahead of them.

1.) Trends can shape a company’s whole vision. One example: The eco/sustainability trend recently
inspired Procter and Gamble to set out an ambitious long-term “environmental sustainability vision.”

2.) Trends can inspire new business concepts. Think anything—from low-cost airlines to car rental by the
hour—that tap into consumer desires for new experiences at lower costs, for spontaneity, or for convenience.

3.) Trends can launch new products, services, experiences. Every sector can launch new products
informed by trends. Think about the health positioning of many spa treatments.

4.) Trends can be used in marketing, advertising and public relations. This is about speaking your customers’ language. Our recent Trend Briefing on Maturialism (companies following the zeitgeist; thus,
becoming a bit more daring) has some great examples of how well-known brands, like the Mini Cooper,
that come up with risqué campaigns that resonate with their forward-thinking, more casual audiences.

January/February 2012

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PULSE 51