Robyn Waters’ second book on trendspotting, The Hummer and The Mini, urges marketers to spot and embrace the paradoxes going on in the world today to better reveal consumer trends. Be it “luxurious commodities” (Whirlpool’s Duet washer/dryer, the Michael Graves designed Toilet Brush, or In-N-Out Burger) or “healthy indulgences” (Whole Foods Market, functional candy), Robyn contends trends emerge from discovering consumer dichotomy.
It’s an interesting premise that Waters proffers because it follows the trend of what’s old is new. Much of Waters’ insights are “old” as she resurrects and remixes some of Charles Handy’s “Age of Paradox” thinking with Seth Godin’s “Purple Cow” concept with Michael Silverstein’s “Trading Up”/”Treasure Hunt” writings. Then again, as she notes on pg. 45, “Many of our best ideas are really just old ideas reinterpreted.”
The Hummer and The Mini is a breezy read with hints of brilliance. The concept of identifying emerging trends through identifying paradoxes is rich. However, we would all be richer in knowledge if Waters dug deeper with more brilliant insights rather than retro-fitting case studies to support her paradox trend position.
Money Quotes from THE HUMMER AND THE MINI …
“It became clear that for every trend there was a countertrend, and both were equally valid. The trend itself wasn’t important anymore. It was how the trend meshed with the consumer’s conflicted paradoxical, and often counterintuitive desires that mattered.” (p. 2)
“It seemed to me that by the late nineties, everywhere I looked I saw contradictory trends as consumers pursued opposites simultaneously. Just as video-game sales skyrocketed, sales of old-fashioned book games took off too. While Sony racked up sales of PlayStation, Cranium became a big hit.” (p. 5)
”Luxurious Commodities. A commodity is a mass-produced, unspecialized product that is both useful or valued. A luxury is something that adds pleasure but isn’t absolutely necessary. Surely then, a luxurious commodity qualifies as an enchanting paradox.” (p. 74)
”Paradoxes make life interesting. Remembering what Charles Handy said, ‘Paradoxes are to be lived with, not solved,’ I believe you can discover new approaches to old problems by embracing the paradoxes.” (p. 209)
For more on The Hummer and The Mini, go here.
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