Thursday, June 30, 2005

Twinsumers

Trendwatching is onto something with enormous implications for marketing folks. It's what they call the "Twinsumer."

More and more, people aren't listening to traditional advertising because, frankly, they don't have to. They can get better info from people just like themselves. That's the key. People just like themselves.

In a nutshell:

. . . customers increasingly rely on purchasing advice from fellow consumers they don't personally know, yet who are eerily likeminded. It's yet another nail in the coffin of traditional marketing, if not an opportunity for forward thinking marketers.
It's yet another affirmation of the whole Clue Train-Hughtrain phenomenon.

What does a forward thinking marketer do? Find new ways to engage in conversations with real people. Be really, really good. The twinsumer phenomena will spot a phony a mile off.

The old approaches are still part of the mix, but the ground has shifted.