The Prosumer
Cometh
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (OCTOBER 2001)
At
The Licensing Letter’s recent symposium on “The
Future of Licensing,” trendmeister Marian Salzman
presented the keynote speech, “10 Observations About
the Prosumer [that’s “empowered consumer”] in Today’s
Mood,” an oration she said had been written long before,
but because of recent events, revised up until moments
before her October 1 delivery. Salzman, Director of
Strategic Planning at advertising behemoth Euro RSCG
Worldwide, claims that “everything that was true
has been turned upside down,” but nonetheless, we’re
“living at hope’s edge” with new opportunities emerging
and nascent trends becoming stronger, including such
hot topics as “hearth and home,” “safety and endurance,”
and “authenticity and values.” To wit, a selection from
her ten observations:
•
Coping With the New Change Metric: Anyone remotely
involved in celebrating the home is sitting pretty at
the moment, as the nation desperately seeks out the
familiar and the guaranteed as a buffer against our
culture’s breakneck pace.
•
The Prosumer Has Arrived: The consumer expects to
have things his/her way, or the highway. Still, there
is a tug between mass merchandisers who offer discounts,
and specialized retailers who offer depth of product
and service. Department stores will have an increasingly
difficult time in this climate.
•
Contradictions Reign: Every prosumer trend has a
yin and a yang, whether it’s global vs. hyperlocal;
mass vs. customization; 24/7 vs. simplification; or
anti-religion vs. pro-spirituality.
•
The Unbranded Rises: A backlash is under way in
both the US and Europe against brands, with demonstrators
(invariably wearing branded jeans and sneakers) lashing
out at various global brands like Nike. Adidas
has taken the high road, and now sponsors community
parks, rather than posting giant billboards. The “no-brow”
look — mixing Gucci shoes with Old Navy
jeans — is definitely in.
•
Boomers Redefine the Youth Market: What is now considered
the “middle youth market” (those between the ages of
50 and 70) will experience a boomer adolescence, experiencing
life on a global level (traveling, reading about other
countries) while living it locally via gardening, pets,
and home projects. Call it the rise of “glocal existence.”
•
New Media? The average American, who already is
exposed to 3,000 advertising messages daily, can expect
to see more, displayed in ingenious ways. There are
temporary brand tattoos; product placement on Survivor;
Fay Weldon’s Bulgari book; and advertising
on cars in France (with commensurately lower monthly
lease payments, of course).
•
Did I Mention Fear? Watch for a decline in casual
sex, as adulterers’ flings are fewer and last longer.
And remember, when all else fails, “Safe is sexy.”
©2001
Publishing Trends
