Retro as a trend?

ESEIG_DEZEMBRO 2009

RETRO AS A CONSUMER TREND

“It is increasingly clear that the current downturn is fundamentally different from recessions of recent decades. We are experiencing not merely another turn of the business cycle, but a restructuring of the economic order.”- Ian Davis, McKinsey’s worldwide managing director.

TODAY – RESTRICTION ECONOMIES http://www.flickr.com/photos/cizake/3336416992/sizes/o/

http://www.kindergesundheit.de/TODAY – PARADOXAL PROHIBITION

Smoking kills. Resource scarcity. Identity control. Carbon emissions monitoring. War on waste. After decades of a consensual consumerism culture, the austere and responsible counter-trend is becoming an increasingly relevant alternative. In western societies, status associations are shifting from showing off “bigger, better more” icons to “more responsible”, “more contributive” ones. Control is being stimulated by both public institutions and individuals, through legislation or intolerance on “irresponsible behavior”.

TODAY – NICHE EVERYTHING

“The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-targeted goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare.”- Chris Anderson, author of “The long tail”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stabilo-boss/93136022/

TOMORROW – WHAT WILL “NORMAL” LOOK LIKE?

TOMORROW – WHAT WILL “NORMAL” LOOK LIKE?

Who knows?

40% of interviewees answered they wanted to become less dependent on

brands, products and services, even after the crisis passed, showing signs of

change in consumption habits, or mistrust towards brands/corporations as they

are today. However, 42% of people didn’t feel affected by the crisis so far, so

they feel that the recovery may also not affect them…

WHAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR BEHAVIOUR AFTER THE CRISIS?

www.slideshare.net/OAKbrands/genxy-1742869WERE DOES THIS LEAD US?

40% of interviewees answered they wanted to become less dependent on

brands, products and services, even after the crisis passed, showing signs of

change in consumption habits, or mistrust towards brands/corporations as they

are today. However, 42% of people didn’t feel affected by the crisis so far, so

they feel that the recovery may also not affect them…

WHAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR BEHAVIOUR AFTER THE CRISIS?


… but whatever their answer is, it’s clear that financing their expectations will

not be a linear issue, as a new economic order is evolving for western, open

economies.

AGREE – 32% / DO NOT AGREE – 43% / INDIFFERENT – 25%

I BELIEVE THAT I WILL RECEIVE A SOCIAL SECURITY PENSION WHEN I STOP WORKING.


I TRUST THE FUNDAMENTAL ETHICS OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.

AGREE – 8% / DO NOT AGREE – 54% / INDIFRERENT – 37%

AGREE –11% / DO NOT AGREE – 74% / INDIFFERENT – 15%

I BELIEVE IN THE ABILITY OF OUR POLITICAL LEADERS TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT SITUATION.

I TRUST IN POLITITIANS.



Restrictive and fragmented present

Will to escape

Uncertain future, hard to predict the “new normal”

Lack of unification and identity

WERE DOES THIS LEAD US?

WERE DOES THIS LEAD US?

Can retro be a solution?

Restrictive and fragmented present

Will to escape

Uncertain future, hard to predict the “new normal”

Lack of unification and identity


I FEEL THINGS ARE NOT AS AUTHENTIC AND TRANSPARENT AS THEY WERE 10 YEARS AGO



I AM WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR PRODUCTS WITH A NOSTALGIC VALUE

www.slideshare.net/OAKbrands/genxy-1742869www.slideshare.net/OAKbrands/genxy-1742869WERE DOES THIS LEAD US?


I FEEL THINGS ARE NOT AS AUTHENTIC AND TRANSPARENT AS THEY WERE 10 YEARS AGO

RETRO AS AN OPPORTUNITY IN UNCERTAINTY?

Authentic

Transparent

Amateur

Fun

Escapist

Uncompromising

Comfortable

Identity

Nesting in the past


Authentic

Transparent

Amateur

Fun

Escapist

Uncompromising

Comfortable

Identity

Nesting in the past

Retro is like a permanent counter-trend. It is always present, opposing

the speed of change and economic restriction. And when change is

boosted by uncertainty and identity fragmentation, so does retro’s

appeal.

RETRO AS AN OPPORTUNITY IN UNCERTAINTY - EXAMPLES

ABSENCE OF A FATHER FIGURE– RULES, UNITY, CERTAINTY

António Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese dictator between 1932 and 1968

won the contest “Grandes Portugueses” (Based on BBC’s “100 Greatest

Britons”). His lifelong communist political opponent Álvaro Cunhal

came second. Both were political opposites, but are bonded by

seriousness, commitment, responsibility.

“After 20 years, economic depression is creating a nostalgic

phenomenon. In a recent poll conducted by German magazine “Der

Spiegel” in March, 57 percent of western citizens supported that the

German Democratic Republic had more positive than negative aspects,

or they would actually state that life was better before the

reunification of Germany”.- Loosely translated from Notícias Magazine (JN nº167/122)

NOSTALGIA – ECONOMIC DEPRESSION STIMULATES EASTERN NOSTALGIA

Nuno Markl’s: “Caderneta de Cromos” A national radio program “that aims to

create the definitive encyclopedia of the things that were a part of your young

existence, somewhere between the 70’s and 80’s (yes, it’s a thirtysomething, going

on forty, program)

The “Caderneta de Cromos” will be a fun repository of all of those pieces of our

existence and counts on you – not only to (…) contribute in a more active way: do you still have a functional ZX Spectrum?

Film yourselves (or just capture the sound) playing some Chuckie Egg or something

similar, proving you still have what it takes. “

- Loosely translated from http://havidaemmarkl.blogs.sapo.pt/

NOSTALGIC FLOW – ARTEFACTS THAT ENHANCE EXPERIENCE SHARING

DIGITAL FLEA MARKETS – PLATFORMS FOR RETRO “SCAVENGER HUNTS”

RETRO ENTERTAINMENT– REMEMBER, BABY?

“Nostalgia - it's delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, "nostalgia" literally means "the pain from an old wound." It's a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn't a spaceship, it's a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards... it takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It's not called the wheel, it's called the carousel. It let's us travel the way a child travels - around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know are loved.“ – “Don Draper” in "Mad Men: The Wheel (#1.13)"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevan/3024164460/sizes/o/

URBAN CRAFTERS– NEW PUBLICS, IMEMORIAL MATERIALS?

Picture taken in an arts & crafts fair in Lisbon. Local urban crafters gather there to sell and show their art. Retro is also about customization, amateurship, love for the process. And fun, by the way.

PORTUGUESE IDENTITY – WHAT DEFINES AND BINDS US?

“A vida portuguesa”. Klaus. Viarco. Pasta Couto. Not jut retro, but icons of national identity, prior to the globalization.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lluisdezamora/2727998654/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/candiedwomanire/15899841/

POP CULTURE – FOLK AND RETRO-FUTURISM

From Lady Gaga’s retro-futurism to Au Revoir Simone’s indie folk appeal, the references are there.

THE LAST DAYS OF DECADENCE– ESCAPISM ON A FRIDAY NIGHT

“The last days of decadence”, just one of the many parties in London in which the goal is to escape reality by dressing up and living another life/decade for the night. Dressing up allows people to role-play different tribes each night and be “normal” on the next day. Escaping reality is crucial in a frantic environment.

REMIX CULTURE– THE PRESENT IS MIXING THE PAST

Remixing content can be criminalized, but youngsters will keep on doing it. Using music and video from previous decades and updating/renovating them is current practice, aided by an access to technology that has never been so democratic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/candiedwomanire/15899841/

FAST RETRO– ACCELERATED CULTURE: 90’S CAN BE THE 00’S RETRO

The worldwide web in the 1990’s can look retro when compared to nowadays tools. Cultures change so fast that they can easily become outdated and then easily surpass the test of time to come back.


Retro can be an innovative solution for brands whose historical claim is relevant. Products that are not recognized by the public as associated to innovation can find in retro a powerful solution, whether for brand activation or even the construction of a central, brand idea.

Retro could be a brand solution when associated to values such as

authenticity, escapism, comfortableness, identity, amateurship, fun,

customization, powered by design solutions that enhance it, depending

on the brand story being built and the audiences it is designed for.

It is necessarily linked with recession. But it will tend to have a more

relevant part, given the rise of remix cultures, uncertainty, fragmented

identity, increasing niches, etc.

SO IS RETRO A TREND?

SO IS RETRO A TREND?

More like a increasingly relevant counter-trend.

IS IT A BRAND SOLUTION?

IS IT A BRAND SOLUTION?

Depends.

On much more that can ever be written on a powerpoint.

Pedro RochaE. [email protected] T. +351 935 094 597Skype oak.brands

PortoRua Afonso Cordeiro,nº877 1º sala 103Matosinhos

LisboaEdifício AvizAv. Fontes Pereira de Melo, Nº35, 14ºELisboa

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Retro as a trend?