Brands need to see both high and low

I had a look at some trendspotting I did back in 2006 and it was a reminder of that even if we see a trend, it can easily change with circumstances. A brand always need to have its ear to the ground and be able to adapt to what´s going on now, and at the same time stay sane...

The trend I was collecting facts on was luxury. Wow, 5 years ago it was all about glam, wasn´t it? Bottled water with Swarowski crystals, gourmet food and words like "ultraposh" in our vocabulary. The more expensive, the better. The economy was booming, and Gen Y still thought this was Reality and felt on top of the world - immortal...The younger generation will change its values after this, which is probably healthy.

I got my first reality check during the dot com crash when being in New York to do PR for all those fluffy web sites with strange offices, and the towers fell just like everything else. 9/11, I lost my job, my sense of safety from growing up in a Volvo-socialistic-style Sweden, and the arrogance I had put on after having dot com money flooding in. Lost it all, but gained a more humble attitude.

Now the same thing is happening to Gen Y. GFC hit hard, they got asked to cut back and it was not all shiny and easy anymore. Today it´s all about lowering costs, and going cheap, cheap, cheap... Grown up and boring :)

But remember, that even if Newsweek, Cosmopolitan and The Economist are not presenting all the luxurious products anymore, the economy is still growing. We go through periods of extremes - ultraposh and megasavings - but the long term trends are the roots and on that level we ARE not directly starving.

Brands need to keep an eye on both levels, to not be swept away by the temporary mood of the culture or trust the long term graphs too much. This moment is just one in a life that contains of many.