Trend-Driven Innovation

for trend watchers, to witness businesses voluntarily and pre-emptively making certain sacrifices is an interesting signal. These businesses were placing bets that “doing the right thing” (environmentally, socially, or for people's health) would be the right economic decision too.

Analyze these bets through the lens of the fundamental needs and wants that underpin them, and you can draw powerful insights on where customers are headed.

TAP INTO THE COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE OF THE BUSINESS CROWD.

USING INNOVATIONS TO SPOT TRENDS ALLOWS YOU TO

Data is fantastic at validation and optimization, but bad at generating the radical and unconventional connections that underpin many successful innovations.

But all resolved meaningful tensions and set new customer expectations (which then created new points of tension for their competitors' customers).

Vision How are the shifts driving the trend manifested in the long-term visions of companies at the forefront of the trend? Product/Service/Experience What new products and services are emerging as a result of the trend?

Business Model Is the trend unlocking whole new business models? Marketing How are brands reflecting the trend in their marketing and campaigns? How are consumers responding?

But now, deep-running social, technological, and customer shifts mean that around the world people are no longer living the lives determined for them by their demographics. Liberated from traditional ideas about the lives they “should” live given their age, gender, income bracket, and more, these people are instead constructing lifestyles and ident

THROW OUT THE OLD ASSUMPTIONS—ABOUT YOUR BRAND AND CUSTOMERS—THAT UNDERPINNED YOUR FOCUS. IT'S TIME TO REFOCUS AROUND MORE FLUID, MORE COMPLEX CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR.