9 WAYS TO BUILD A TREND CULTURE

9 Ways to Build an Unstoppable Trend CultureGet your team to SEE what’s next, ACT on it, and WIN!

GLOBAL TREND BRIEFING

OCTOBER 2015

We know: you’re smart.

After all, you read our Trend Briefings ;)

There’s nothing we need to tell you about how trends

work, how to spot them, or other aspects of being an

INSTANT TREND EXPERT.

But successful organizations don’t win by spotting a

single trend, no matter how game-changing it is. From

long-established behemoths such as General Electric to

recently emerged giants such as Tencent, organizations

win because they build a trend-driven culture that can

spot where consumer expectations are heading next, and

innovate to meet those emerging expectations, time after

time. That takes more than an individual - it takes a culture.

So where can your organization start? With YOU!

Can your organization see around corners?

We know YOU get trends. But that’s

not enough!

INTRODUCTION

BUILD A TREND CULTURE 2www.trendwatching.com/trends/build-a-trend-culture

http://trendwatching.com/trends/instant-trend-expert/

http://trendwatching.com/trends/build-a-trend-culture


The most powerful cultural dimension of a trend-driven

organization is its inclusiveness. That means everyone is

empowered to spot trends and act on them.

Of course, that doesn’t happen by magic. But it’s easier than

you think to start building an intensely powerful culture of

trend-driven innovation. In this Briefing we give a step-

by-step guide to building that culture. First, we’ll look at

INTERNAL AFFAIRS: building a great internal trend culture.

Next, EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEMS: how to fuel your trend

culture by building connections to the outside world.

It’s up to you to adapt this roadmap to suit your needs,

then run with it! That will transform your organization’s

ability to create game-changing new brands, products, and

campaigns. And it won’t do your career any harm, either ;)

Be your organization’s trend champion.

Soak up the awe and respect of

your colleagues.

INTRODUCTION




INTERNAL AFFAIRSBuild a culture that allows you to spot and apply

trends, time after time.

PART ONE





1. DEFINEThe first step to building an awesome trend culture? Make sure everyone understands the three building blocks of any trend.



There are three building blocks that come together to create

any consumer trend: (i) basic needs, (ii) drivers of change

and (iii) innovations.

New trends emerge when drivers of change –

technological, social, economic and more – unlock new

ways of serving basic human needs, such as connection,

safety, value, fun (the list is endless). And you can see that

happening when you track game-changing innovations that

address basic needs in a new way.

To build a trend-driven culture, you need to embed these

three building blocks deep in your organizational psyche.

Then encourage colleagues to keep a constant look out for

new products, services and campaigns and ask: does this

innovation address a basic need in a new way? What new

expectations could it create? What do those expectations

mean for US?

How to do that? Keep reading!

Basic Needs. Drivers of Change. Innovations.

If your colleagues aren’t sick of hearing

about these, you haven’t repeated them

often enough ;)

1. DEFINE





2. INSPIREOnce your colleagues understand trends, you need to ignite their enthusiasm and keep it burning.



One sure-fire way to get trends on the agenda in your

organization? Announce the date of YOUR first trend

presentation.

The aim is to update your colleagues on a handful of

trends that should be on their radar. But also to convince

them that trends are a must-have part of how your

organization creates new brands, products and services,

or campaigns.

For each trend, briefly outline the relevant drivers of change

and basic human needs. Share between three and six

innovations that show the trend in action, and ask: what

new expectations are these innovations creating? And most

importantly of all, finish on a Lightbulb Moment: what can

WE do with this!?

After that, you need to develop regular practises that inspire

a culture of trends. Try creating an internal newsletter; create

innovation screensavers to display on screens in your office;

use social networks; put up physical posters.

Whatever works to prove to your colleagues that trend

watching is easy, fun, and everyone’s responsibility!

Ready to channel your inner trend rockstar?

Give an awesome trend presentation –

and then keep the pressure on!

2. INSPIRE




EXAMPLE: INSPIRE

Kiln IdeakegWorkshop box contains ‘cultural artifacts’


http://kilnco.com/ideakeg-single/




3. COLLABORATEIt’s not enough to just share ideas. You need collaborative action, too.



The whole point of trends is to inspire, validate and help you

launch successful new innovations. So a trend-driven culture

must include action to innovate around trends and bring new,

trend-led products, services and campaigns to market.

Day-to-day, most people focus on the successful execution

of their daily activities, leaving little time for innovation.

But if you’re going to be your organization’s trend

champion, it’s up to you and colleagues who are already

on board to build a platform on which collaboration can

happen. Remember to sell the personal benefit to your

colleagues: a culture of trend-driven collaboration will

ultimately make everyone’s work lives more meaningful,

enjoyable and effective.

A platform for collaboration can take many forms – the right

one depends on the nature, practises and shape of your

organization. See below how global media company PHD

approached this challenge.

Create a shared platform for innovation.

Trend-driven innovation is faster, more

effective and more fun if you do it

TOGETHER.

3. COLLABORATE




EXAMPLE: COLLABORATE

PHD SourceGamified internal innovation collaboration platform


http://www.phdmedia.com/home.aspx




4. EMPOWERNow it’s time to unleash the disruptive innovator hidden inside every colleague.



In a perfect world, your colleagues would be not only

spotting trends continuously, but also implementing the new

trend-led products, services and campaigns that could be

your next (or first!) breakthrough hit.

But for the most part, your colleagues are busy with

business as usual. And the only innovations they’ll come up

with in their day-to-day work are incremental changes on

what you’re already doing.

Empowering colleagues to become disruptive innovators

won’t happen by accident – it takes focused action. One

compelling way is via specific programs or competitions,

where staff can propose, pitch and launch new

innovations themselves.

Whatever you run with, aim for short bursts of focus and

excitement that interrupt ‘business as usual’. And when

thinking about how to reward colleagues that engage,

remember that recognition and a sense of having made a

difference can be even more important than material prizes.

Make it your job to interrupt your colleagues.

Because the innovation that

changes everything won’t come via

business as usual.

4. EMPOWER




EXAMPLE: EMPOWER

Adobe KickboxEmployees can request box containing innovation toolkit


https://kickbox.adobe.com/




5. LABSInside your organization, but also outside your organization.



You can, and should, do everything in your power to create

a culture of trend-driven innovation in your organization. But

one truth remains: it’s hard to think truly radical thoughts

when you’re coming to the same office, seeing the same

people, and facing the same day-to-day challenges.

One answer? Create separate, specific units outside your

core organization that have innovation as their focus.

Call them labs, skunkworks, whatever: the point is that

being separated from the core – and granted a mission

of creative destruction – enables these units to shake

off organizational convention, be more daring in their

thinking, and experiment with, execute and deploy new

ideas faster. What’s more, they’ll help you attract a broader

range of creative thinkers.

Of course, the key here is getting senior management buy-

in. No one said being a trend champion would be easy!

You could start by showing them how labs have worked

successfully for other brands – such as Westfield (see below).

You know how you have all your best ideas out of the office?

Take a team, give them a home, and set

them free to experiment.

5. LABS




EXAMPLE: LABS

Westfield Labs70 person division pursues compelling retail innovations


http://www.westfieldlabs.com/



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EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEMSFeed your trend culture with external inspiration,

ideas and opportunities.

PART TWO





6. NETWORKSAn awesome trend culture can’t stop at the door. You need to build connections far beyond your office walls.



Just as sharing information between colleagues is vital

for an awesome trend culture, so too is sharing with and

learning from those who are not part of your organization.

Indeed, consumer expectations accelerate so rapidly and

creative destruction is so rampant that no organization can

expect to keep up simply by relying on its own people.

There’s a whole world of ideas, insights and experience

out there – tap it! Digital technologies offer an incredible

opportunity to build and engage with super-smart people

on a global scale, at low cost. Organize your platform around

a shared interest (such as consumer trends), or even around a

specific trend (see the Crowd Companies example, below).

And yes, we’ve been tapping the collective wisdom

of thousands of trend spotters for years via the

TrendWatching Insight Network (TW:IN). What, you mean

you’re not already a member?

Make EVERYONE your trendwatcher.

Or at least invite them in. Hey, it

works for us ;)

6. NETWORKS


http://spotters.trendwatching.com/



EXAMPLE: NETWORKS

Crowd CompaniesPlatform brings corporates together with collaborative economy startups


http://crowdcompanies.com/blog/




7. CROWDSOURCEYou don’t have a monopoly on smart people. Just saying.



Reality check: no matter how large or compelling your

organization, most of the smartest people will still be

working for someone else. That’s the idea that underpins

‘open innovation’ – a term coined by Henry Chesborough, a

professor at the Haas School of Business, in 2003.

Open innovation encompasses many approaches,

but the central idea is simple: to create compelling

innovations, seek external inputs when innovating. A

2014 Haas Business School study showed that 78% of

large companies were now engaged in some form of open

innovation.

So think about competitions intended to engage entirely

new people in your innovation efforts – see below

how platform eYeka leverages that idea – as well as

communities that bring diverse individuals together and

platforms that empower other innovators and bring their

products and services into your ecosystem.

If you ask them, they will come.

Leverage the power of the crowd by

opening up your innovation efforts.

7. CROWDSOURCE




EXAMPLE: CROWDSOURCE

eYeka & UnileverGlobal brand leverages global community of creative professionals


https://en.eyeka.com/




8. HOUSEShare physical space with other organizations to get access to new people and resources.



Online collaboration is great (and necessary). But physical

proximity still counts.

One thing that larger, incumbent organizations frequently

have is a surplus of physical space – or the resources

to provide it. So why not share that space with smaller

startups, creative communities, and individuals who can

share their ideas and processes with you? Or if you’re

a small outfit, how about looking around for a large

organization that would make a great home, or consider a

co-working space?

The Hatch example (below) demonstrates how large

organizations can ride the co-working trend, to the mutual

benefit of themselves and the teams they house.

Empty desk, meet smart person.

Give your spare desk space to some

smart outsiders. Or BE the outsiders

coming in!

8. HOUSE




EXAMPLE: HOUSE

3Space & Barclays: HatchCo-working space focused on social enterprises and community groups


https://www.3space.org/locations/hatch




9. VENTUREBecause you can’t out innovate everyone, all the time.



Another way for your organization – especially if yours is a

large incumbent – to ride new waves of consumer trends?

Nurture, partner with and invest in the very startups that

threaten to disrupt you.

By lending startups your resources, expertise and

experience, you can help them refine their proposition and

scale. And when they do this inside your walled garden,

you both reap the benefits.

Especially in the non-digital world, where production

and distribution at scale pose serious operational

challenges, partnerships can be very attractive for smaller

organizations. However, even startups with a digital product

can often be seduced by the resources and large existing

customer bases of incumbents, as Telefónica’s Wayra

program (below) shows.

If you can’t beat them...

...why not nurture, accelerate, fund and

acquire them?

9. VENTURE




EXAMPLE: VENTURE

Telefonica WayraAccelerator program nurtures and invests in startups


http://wayra.co/en



PHEW, CAN I GET A SUMMARY OF ALL THAT?

Sure, here’s a recap.

PART THREE




1. DEFINE: make sure everyone understands the three

building blocks of any trend – basic needs, drivers of

change and innovations.

2. INSPIRE: once your colleagues understand trends,

light a fire of trend enthusiasm with an awesome trend

presentation – and keep it burning!

3. COLLABORATE: it’s not enough only to share ideas, you

need to take collaborative action, too.

4. EMPOWER: unleash the disruptive innovator hidden inside

every colleague.

5. LABS: take a team, give them a home, and set them free

to experiment.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS

Build a culture of spotting and applying

trends, time after time.




6. NETWORK: an awesome trend culture means building

connections beyond your office doors – so make

EVERYONE your trendwatcher.

7. CROWDSOURCE: leverage the power of the crowd by

opening up your innovation efforts.

8. HOUSE: share physical space with other organizations to

get access to new ideas and new people.

9.VENTURE: nurture and invest in the startups that threaten

to disrupt your organization.

EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEMS

Feed your trend culture with external

inspiration, ideas and opportunities.




SO GET BUILDING!NEXT

You’re already deep in planning for 2016 – make

sure trends are a part of it!





NEXT 1/2

You can’t go it alone.You can only be a lone trend champion for so long. In the end, it will be about getting buy-in from colleagues, including senior management. So start practising your diplomacy ;)




NEXT 2/2

We can help!An awesome trend culture has to be fueled by a constant stream of trend and innovation content – and tools to apply them.

Our Premium Service will tick that box, at a ridiculously affordable price! Leaving you more time and capacity to do what only YOU can – create your next killer product, service or campaign.




If you have any comments, suggestions or questions then please do let us know. Just email:

PAUL BACKMANHead of Client [email protected]

ABOUT USEstablished in 2002, trendwatching.com is the world’s leading trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. Our Premium Service counts

many of the world’s leading brands as clients, while our free monthly Trend Briefings go out to over 260,000 subscribers in 180 countries.

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9 WAYS TO BUILD A TREND CULTURE