He who dies with the most toys wins

In Brussels the other week for a conference hosted by a family owned investment business, I was treated to a presentation by Henry Mason of Trendwatching.com.

They’re funny things these “Latest Trends” presentations. I’ve seen a fair few of them over the years, many done by my old firm Added Value and some by the truly dedicated soothsayers.

Positive mood

The first one I ever saw was from the Henley Centre who pioneered the trend business as far as I recall. How you respond to them I think depends on a number of things. Obviously how good was the presentation and presenter makes a difference but they’re normally both pretty good if they do it for a living. More important is your mood. If you are in a positive, open, curious frame of mind they work well. If you are working on something that fits one of the trends they work really well. You get an enormous sense of satisfaction in discovering that quite by happenstance you are bang on trend.

Negative mood

The cynical might say they are a bit like horoscopes – there is just enough breadth of prediction that something will always ring a chord. “Today is full of opportunity but take care to choose your options wisely” – something for the optimistic and cautious alike. If you are cynical in mood or by nature you can come away very negative. Your reaction can range from “I knew that” to “So f****** what”. I’m not sure anyone comes out of a session on “Latest Global Trends’ having had so strong an epiphany they will immediately change their innovation strategy, launch a new brand or company. But they can make you think, they can inspire you and they can definitely re-adjust your judgment compass as regards your innovation priorities, your decision to back a new venture or even a new marketing campaign.

Henry’s presentation was, I thought, very good indeed and I was in the mood for it. I had a brief chat with him afterwards and was impressed by their business model as well. The internet has changed everything – what the soothsayers and trend watchers of old would have given for the wealth of insight that can now be gathered from around the globe in real time, especially with some virtually connected spotters dotted around the place. I’d encourage you to hear it first hand and will not try to synthesize it here. Not only would I fail to do it justice but it also seems a bit unfair – like telling someone the denouement of a film they were thinking of paying to see.

Newcomers and trust

But I might just share a few tidbits especially as they relate to themes that I have raised in this blog before. Henry talked about Clean Slate Brands, the real newcomers and how they can often command greater trust than the big global brands. Why? Because the latter always have a few skeletons that have come out of the closet and are known to have Big Marketing to manipulate us. The new kids on the other hand are young and fresh and you know you can trust them because you can access a load of peer group reviews in social media. As on old lag who has gone into print saying that trust takes a long time to build and a short time to lose, that brand managers might like to think of themselves as Trust Managers etc this did indeed make me think.

Under the heading of “I knew that already” I was ready to dismiss what he had to say about the evolution of status. I know all about the importance of social status and how the digital world has provided new ways to achieve it through online bragging rights – game levels, followers, league tables of various sorts. However, I liked the way he segmented the whole Maslovian search for Social Status. You can build your status through eco credentials, charity, skills and various other means in what he described as the Status-sphere.

Bored billionaires

Finally, he talked about the desire to acquire experiences not just (or even) possessions. This applies not just to the bored billionaires ready to book their place on the Space Shuttle or take the ultimate $1 million holiday that also costs a year of your life in return for the modern wonders of the world. It equally applies to the less well off who are getting bored with the latest iPhone and want to fill their scrap book (and Twitter feed) not just their diary.

Which reminds me of a Ferrari I once saw in the car park of an expensive golf club. In the back window was a sticker that read “He who dies with the most toys wins”. I have lived that philosophy for years but still don’t seem to have won. Maybe Henry is right – “He who dies with the most joys wins” especially if you can shove this fact up the noses of your peers in social media.

Rich vs. Smart

And one last anecdote, told to me by one of the founders of the Henley Centre who shall remain nameless. He was delivering a typically smart presentation to a select group of successful businessman and entrepreneurs. At the end of his session one stood up and asked him “If you are so f**** smart how come you’re not rich?” He claims he answered “Good question but nowhere near as interesting as the one about why, if you’re so f***** rich, you’re not that smart?”. I do so hope this was a true story.

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