TrendWatching.com Releases July/Aug Briefing, TrendDomaining.com Had A Few Right
TrendWatching.com has posted it’s bi-monthly briefing early this morning. These briefings are free and every domainer should check them out when they are released. It is an essential tool as far as I’m concerned. This edition is INNOVATION AVALANCHE (link fixed), as they claim there is more innovation happening right now than ever before. This report discusses 41 copy-worthy innovative ideas.
This is a great site. I’ve used a couple of their reported trends to register domain names. They have a huge trend report that they put out at the end of every year predicting all of the next years trends. At $800, it isn’t for the average Joe. But it would be a wise investment if you could afford it.
So, if you’re in a lazy mood, here is the Cliff’s Notes version of the briefing:
The first 3 innovative ideas are based on the premiumization trend. You take every day normal products or brands and, well, pimp them. For instance, stylish fire extinguishers or the Hi-Q tire company. Premiumization was predicted to be a top trend in 2008, and it’s living up to the prediction.
Ideas 3 and 4 are hyperlocal trends. Sound familiar eh? That’s because I’ve blogged about hyperlocal dating. They go on to say that we spend 49 weeks a year in our local worlds, making the hyperlocal trends inevitable. I agree 100%.
Ideas 6 through 11 are based on the “crowd” or “crowdfunding” trend. These companies are using scores of people to execute their business platform. From a community-managed brewery that donates one third to charity, to rewarding companies that “do good” with mobs of shoppers. This trend is focused on empowering the public, and there are some pretty nifty ideas listed in this report.
Ideas 12-14 focus on the “FREE” trend. Companies are looking for ways to profit off of free products, and a few of them have made it work. Universities are giving away free notebooks that are plastered with advertising. The students get free materials, the University makes a little profit (or breaks even) and the advertisers get impressions; 96 a semester if you’re counting.
Ideas 15-18 are “ItGredients.” This is predicting the next it-ism in the food and beverage industry, such as red espresso; made from red tea and much healthier than regular espresso. Also featured: chocolate covered ants. Yum. They also talk about high-end juices. I almost wrote a post about high-end juice a couple months ago. I figured it wasn’t a trend that domainers could not capitalize on enough to warrant a full post.
Ideas 19-23 are “Tryvertising.” Along with premiumization, this trend was expected to be one of the biggest for 2008. This is another trend I almost wrote a post on. SeatGuru is an example; they have detailed info on the seating layouts of commercial airplanes. This will help you choose the best seat for your next flight. Other examples would be a site that helps you find hotel rooms with the best views and restaurant ratings not for restaurants themselves, but individual dishes they serve. That way, you can “try” them out before you actually purchase.
Ideas 24-28 are based off of making radical eco-friendly decisions that can greatly benefit your company. Examples given were pedal-powered street vendors, solar powered kiosks, mattresses made from recycled materials and something I blogged about: First Look. First Look sells detailed reports to businesses that wish to generate their own power using wind, solar or whatever. This can be extra helpful to domainers who are looking for green geodomain names.
Ideas 29-32 are the “Meconomy.” Not only did I think about blogging about this trend, I have a half-written post on it already. This trend is the personalization of EVERY-FREAKIN-THING: Baby movies, M&M’s, magazines, etc. This is a trend domainers would be interested in as you can plop a “me” or “my” on just about any domain name.
Ideas 33-36 are the convenience economy. This trend focuses on doing things faster, simpler and better. Things like bike stations, they say. They also talk about press-on eyeshadow. This is another topic that I have a working post on. It’s not totally focused on eyeshadow, but is about a bigger, different trend.
Ideas 37-39 are feeder businesses. These are businesses that feed off of other businesses and/or trends. For instance, a company that will put your items on eBay for you. Without eBay the company doesn’t exist.
Idea 40 is the “Eco-Iconic.” We’ve gone from eco-ugly to eco-chic to eco-iconic: proudly showing off your trendy, efficient personal eco-friendly goods. They give a solar-powered lawnmower as an example. I’ve I blogged about personal solar power here.
Idea 41 is “Off=On.” The success of the online revolution is leading to many companies taking advantage of it. Some of them are even mirroring the online world in their offline manufacturing processes and procedures. They give a chocolate company as an example.
Related:The Greatest Plant In The World Is Ready To Change Everything
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Don’t forget “pink profits” although not such a trend considering our agency introduced and opened this market to Fortune 500 corporations in NY in 1992.
http://trendwatching.com/trends/pinkprofits.htm
Today it is the biggest hidden ad revenue source on the web. We created the term URBAN MAJORITY MARKETING to capture the increasingly influential role played by African American, Hispanic, gay and urban youth consumers, and the specialized marketing communications needed to reach them effectively. This group represents the majority of consumers in America’s urban areas, and forms the fusion audience that is today’s youth market. As the trendsetters and opinion leaders of popular culture, they exercise profound influence on the purchasing behavior of the entire U.S. consumer marketplace.
urbanmajoritymarketing.com