Everything Comes Back to Status - January 2008

Let's start this Trend Briefing by looking back. At the beginning of 2007, as part of our STATUS LIFESTYLES trend, we wrote: "Here's something trend watchers, CMOs and other business professionals should be able to agree on: in the end, when dealing with (and selling to) people, everything always comes back to status. In a traditional consumer society, he or she who consumes the most, the best, the coolest, the most expensive, the scarcest or the most popular goods, will typically also gain the most status." Now, you guessed it: the above still rings true in 2008, and should be on your mind whenever/wherever -- when tracking trends, when mapping out new strategies and when coming up with new products and services for your customers. In fact, this year, even more brands will realize (if not grudgingly accept) that 'old', mass-era status symbols, from the Audi R8 to the De Beers Talisman Watch Collection are no longer every consumer's wet dream. After all, as mature consumer societies are increasingly dominated by (physical) abundance, by saturation, by experiences, by virtual worlds, by individualism, by participation, by feelings of guilt and concern about the side effects of unbridled consumption, status is to be had in many more ways than leading a lifestyle centered on hoarding as many branded, luxury goods as possible. We've dubbed the above phenomenon STATUS SPHERES: a variety of lifestyles, activities and persuasions, which can be mixed and matched by consumers looking for recognition from various crowds and scenes. Getting too vague? Here are some STATUS SPHERES to keep an eye out for in the next 12 months: Traditional consumption is about buying more and/or better stuff than fellow consumers. Which is by no means dead. In fact, expect the consumer arena in 2008 to still be about hundreds of millions of consumers who do want to consume more, who do covet all things bling, who do crave in-your-face brands. Oh, and even if (a big if*) conspicuous consumption were ever to subside in mature consumer societies, then count on the emerging middle classes in China,** India, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Nigeria, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil to proudly take over the torch. In other words, count on multiple consumption and status arenas to develop simultaneously for years to come. However, while the rise of the global middle class is as big a story as they come, the rise of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) has an equally significant impact on consumerism. Consider the following numbers, from the 2007 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini: The number of HNWIs—individuals with net assets of at least USD 1 million, excluding their primary residence and consumables—in the world increased 8.3% to 9.5 million. The number of ultra-HNWIs—individuals with net assets of at least USD 30 million, excluding their primary residence and consumables—grew by 11.3% to 94,970. The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) continue to play increasingly important roles in the global economy. China and Russia were among the top ten countries with the fastest growing HNWI populations. China’s HNWI population grew by 7.8% to 345,000 people and Russia’s has increased by 15.5% to 119,000. Brazil (120,000 HNWIs) and India (100,000 HNWIs) also showed continued strength. With so much (new) wealth and disposable income around the world, not only is there money to be made from selling premium goods, there’s also a constant need for redefining what constitutes luxury, for what constitutes status in bling-driven consumer societies. If millions have access to the same premium goods, to the same premium brands, these premium offerings lose some of their value, as their entire raison d’être was to offer something that others could not get access to. Scarcity is becoming less scarce and wealth is always relative, leading to actual STATUS DESPAIR among those who are by all means, financially well off. So in an arena that has become crowded with middle class and high net worth consumers, expect luxury goods to take on more outlandish forms and shapes, at ever-higher costs. Our most recent favorite example of STATUS DESPAIR was Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia buying himself a USD 320 million Airbus 380, which for another USD 100+ million will be turned into a 'flying palace' with three bedrooms, private lounges, bathrooms, offices, a steam bath and exercise machines. But even here, commoditization is threatening the Prince's purchase: Airbus actually expects to sell about 20 VIP versions of the A380. * As we’ve pointed out many times before, one mistake both trend watchers and brands make all the time, is to assume or pretend that a certain ‘trend’ will affect or be embraced by ALL consumers. No. Remember, in life and in trends: beauty (or ugliness) is in the eye of the beholder. ** The Chinese middle class consists of those people who have a degree of economic independence, but not a great deal of social influence or power. The term often encompasses merchants and professionals, bureaucrats, and some farmers and skilled workers. Definition of middle class in China: managers, professionals, skilled technicians and service workers earning USD 2,500 to USD 10,000 a year each. It is expected to grow from 100 million people in 2005 to 200 million people by 2010, reaching 315 million by 2015. (Source: Insight Bureau.) Luckily, before we reach total STATUS DESPAIR, there's still plenty of room for innovation in the traditional sphere: check PREMIUMIZATION (trend # 2) below. Attractive to consumers who are driven by experiences instead of the fixed—those who are driven by entertainment, by discovery, by fighting boredom, who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and possessions. We dubbed these consumers TRANSUMERS about a year ago, and the trend is still building. Implications for 2008? An obsession with the here and now, an ever-shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and stories as possible, is undermining the perceived value (and thus status) of fixed goods and services. More practical examples in SNACK CULTURE (trend # 3) below. Where to begin? In an online world or virtual world, social status 2.0 is all about who you connect to and who wants to connect to you, tribal-style. It also encompasses status gained from the number of views for one's photos on Flickr, to the number of friends on Facebook, to one's gaming skills and levels (just a snippet: Microsoft's Halo 3 racked up USD 170 million in sales on its first day of availability, making it the hottest-selling title in video game history. Total sales since September 2007: 4+ million copies) to the good looks of one's avatar, to finding out about whatever/wherever on anything before anyone else does. More on this in ONLINE OXYGEN (trend # 4) below. With the environment finally on the agenda of most powers that be, and millions of consumers now actively trying to greenify their lives, status in the eco-sphere is both more readily available, and increasing in value. A substantial subset of consumers is already bestowing recognition and praise on Prius drivers while scorning SUV owners, and this will only accelerate as even more design-minded and branding-savvy eco-firms push to the forefront in 2008. Make it green, make it effortless, make it visible if not bold if not iconic, and don't hesitate to point out your competitor's polluting alternatives ;-) For more on this, see ECO-ICONIC (trend #5) below. Find us one high-profile billionaire who's not deeply into 'giving' right now. In fact, whether it's giving away your riches, your time, or sharing your (content) creations with total strangers, giving is the new taking. For an excellent overview of the world's most generous philanthropists (trendsetters par excellence!), check out BusinessWeek's recent special on the topic. For brand implications, see BRAND BUTLERS (trend #6) below. Especially for younger (and younger-at-heart) consumers, participation is the new consumption. For these creative beings, status comes from finding an appreciative audience, which is much the same way brands operate. No wonder that it's becoming increasingly important to hone one's creative skills. Status symbols, make way for STATUS SKILLS? What's going to be your participation strategy for 2008? See also trends #7 and 8 in this briefing: MYI | MAKE IT YOURSELF and CROWD MINING. One thing you can't go wrong with this year is to ask yourself how your current and new products and experiences will satisfy an audience of very diverse status seekers. If you haven't done so already, get rid of the habit of only focusing on traditional status symbols, and you will find there is no end to the number of STATUS SPHERES you'll be able to identify.   London's St. Pancras International railway station is now home to Europe's longest champagne bar (96 meters) Definitely part of the 'traditional sphere', PREMIUMIZATION is not going to go away in 2008. Basically, with more wealth burning holes in (saturated and experienced) consumers' pockets than ever before, quick status fixes derived from premium products and premium experiences will continue in full force next year. What's new then? How about 2008 being about the PREMIUMIZATION of everything and anything. In other words, no industry, no sector, no product will escape a premium version in the next 12 months. Some poignant PREMIUMIZATION examples for that sign of the times feeling: OK, so we've done wine, coffee and tea, which leaves water to get its much-deserved PREMIUMIZATION moment. And we don't mean of the Pellegrino or Perrier kind: those 'upgraded' bottled water brands have become too mainstream to excite truly premium-obsessed consumers (who don't care about carbon footprints, but we'll get back to that later on). So make way for Evian's limited release Palace bottle, only available in high end bars and restaurants. Features a specially designed pouring top and is accompanied by a stainless steel coaster, selling for USD 15-20 per bottle. Bling H20 is bottled water that comes in limited edition, corked, 750 ml frosted glass bottles, embellished with Swarovski crystals. Established in 2005 by a Hollywood writer-producer who noticed that “you could tell a lot about a person by the bottled water that they carried,” Bling H20 is designed to be as much a fashion accessory as a drink of water. Aiming to be the Cristal of bottled water, it's been spotted at everything from the MTV Awards to the Emmys. The bottles cost from USD 17–480. Tasmanian Rain is captured "on the pristine north west coast of the island of Tasmania, Australia." The water is collected "just minutes from where the World Meteorological Organization records the world's purest air." As this rain has traveled eastward via air currents over Antarctica and 10,000 miles of ocean, it contains 17 parts per million of dissolved solids. Tasmanian Rain is collected by a custom-designed catchment facility and never touches the ground. And so on. Carlsberg 900 (which doesn't have its own website) launched this summer in a very limited number of selected bars in Stockholm. Developed in collaboration with 12 top Swedish bartenders, Carlsberg 900 is “brewed from refined virgin hops and selected crystal malt, and triple filtered with a longer cooler fermentation process to ensure a pure, delicate taste.” Carlsberg 900 is priced at the premium end of the market, about the price of decent glass of champagne. Further proof that *anything* can be PREMIUMIZED: luxury marshmallows. From Dean & DeLuca's 1-pound Boulé Marshmallow Sampler of lemon chiffon, passion fruit, vanilla and rose-petal flavors (USD 28) to Pete's Gourmet dipped and undipped marshmallows, which are 1 USD a piece, to Plush Puffs' Maple Pecan, RazzVeryBerry, Key Lime Sublime and Toasted Coconut flavored 'gourmet marshmellows'. Get ready to welcome honey to the world of PREMIUMIZATION. Most supermarket honey is imported from China and Argentina, and/or blended from many sources, creating a homogenous taste. But, like water, marshmallows, and beer, honey is now striking back with a sweet vengeance, and artisanal honeys are on the rise. Since honey's flavor and color are determined by the source of nectar, there's a huge variety of very local and exclusive types of honey, with floral sources varying from tupelo gum tree and Tasmanian leatherwood to cranberry and orange blossom. The Savannah Bee Company, for example, sells its honeycomb jars with this awe-inspiring description: "Filled with honey equaling the life's work of two bees, each golden cell brims with the concentrated nectar of thousands of rare and remote Georgia flowers.“ In New York, the Blue Ribbon Bakery Market has installed a honey bar, selling imported raw honey from Mexico. Seasonal (read: limited time only) varieties include mesquite blossom, orange blossom and golden reserve. Also emphasizing the unique flavors of different varieties, Bee Raw Honey sells sets of honey samples, packaging the liquid gold in test-tubes that are corked and hand-sealed with beeswax. More PREMIUMIZATION of the sweet kind: chocolate succumbed to PREMIUMIZATION years ago, with artisan chocolate boutiques now charging top dollar/euro/pound for wasabi-infused bonbons from San Francisco to Singapore. So what's next? A recent article in the Financial Times' How to Spend It supplement (which, together with Monocle, is probably the best publication dedicated to PREMIUMIZATION) lists a number of chocolatiers who are going 'bespoke'. Check out firms like Melt, Paul A Young and Sir Hans Sloane Chocolate House for some mouth-watering bespoke inspiration, then figure out if the future of PREMIUMIZATION for your industry is bespoke, too. Hey, Puma is already on board ;-) Now, even though the food and beverage sector definitely leads the PREMIUMIZATION trend, there's much more going on: The Hasbro FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony seeks to "fulfill every little girl's dream of having her very own pony." From Hasbro: “Butterscotch is a miniature Shetland pony, with a fur coat and mane that feel just like a real pony. Butterscotch also has built-in sensors all over her body, which enable her to respond to children in lifelike ways. If talked to, she will cock her head toward the speaker quizzically and blink her eyes. She will also react to petting, showing her enjoyment by rubbing her head against a child, twitching her ears, and swishing her tail. At over three feet tall, Butterscotch is more than strong enough to support a rider up to 80 pounds in weight. Along with her brush and carrot, Butterscotch comes with a special adoption certificate.” Hasbro told BusinessWeek that “Butterscotch is an attempt to think beyond the toy industry's usual pricing limits to capture a bigger share of the family budgets that regularly go to iPods and video game consoles.” Portuguese paper products company Renova sells Renova Black, lauded as the first fashionable toilet paper. Price per roll is EUR 2.17. Renova Black is also available as Renova Red, Renova Orange, and Renova Green. Emirates' First Class private suites   Singapore Airlines Suites   Jet Airways' Suite in the Sky Air travel has become one massive inspiration source for PREMIUMIZATION. We're not even going to try to list all the business-class-only carriers that have sprung up, some of which are thriving. Also keep a close eye on the PREMIUMIZATION pissing match in First involving airlines like Emirates ('First Class private suites'), Singapore Airlines (12 suites on board of each of its new Airbus 380s) and Jet Airways (Suite in the Sky). The battle continues on terra firma: Lufthansa has been operating a dedicated First Class terminal in Frankfurt for a few years now, and recently opened a second one in Munchen, but got trumped in size and pomp by Qatar Airways' Premium Terminal in Doha. BTW, notice how these exercises in PREMIUMIZATION do wonders for brand and quality perception across the board... Hauzen is Samsung's new premium home appliance brand. Products include a washing machine, kimchi cooler, fridge and air conditioning system. Some of the appliances are designed by well-known Korean designer Andre Kim (that's right, a premium edition within a premium edition). Not available outside South Korea. Yet. The Plantronics Voyager 855 is the first two-in-one stereo bluetooth headset with "exclusive AudioIQ technology for crystal clear wireless sound." Price: USD 120. The KABE Royal Tower is a double-decker caravan. The 8.2 meter long camper is 4.4 meters high, allowing people to stand up straight even on the top deck. The lower deck features a living room, kitchen and breakfast dinette, plus a bedroom with single beds, while the upper deck has a 'lounge' with an L-shaped sofa and a cocktail cabinet. A door from the lounge leads out onto the roof of the front section, which serves as a sunbathing terrace. The new double-decker caravan is fully equipped with air conditioning on both floors, a dishwasher and more. Price: EUR 105,000. Strollers had their PREMIUMIZATION moment a few years ago when Bugaboos and Stokkes burst onto the scene. Now car manufacturers like Porsche want a piece of the premium pie: their stroller folds up small enough to fit in the luggage compartment of almost all sports cars. It comes with pneumatic tires and Carrera S rims for a high-performance ride, as well as a lockable front wheel, a handbrake and parking brake. Price: USD 690. Next: baby furniture. Combining functionality with style, Ooba designs cribs and high chairs that are touted by everyone from the curator of MoMA to French magazines that cater to parents who want to help their children develop a taste for beautiful objects. Lenovo now offers the ThinkPad Reserve Edition laptop, encased in leather. The Reserve Edition is based on the recently released 12.1-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X61s, and comes with 'Blue-Button Instant Access' for instant messaging with dedicated support staff. Price: USD 5,000, sold by invitation only. The Laundress is a collection of high-end fabric detergents and care products. When Lindsey Wieber, a sales executive for Chanel, and Gwen Whiting, a senior designer for Ralph Lauren, realized that their expensive clothes were suffering from dry cleaning, they took matters into their own hands and created The Laundress. Their line of premium fabric care products provides detergents for superior fabrics, from wool/cashmere shampoo to baby detergent. In their own words: “All fabrics are different—everything needs to be treated differently. All of our products were developed for a specific reason.” Adding to the sense of luxury, detergents and care products come in four signature fragrances: Classic, Cedar, Baby and Lady. The Laundress range also includes laundry bags and 'wet' swimsuit pouches. British Feature Radiators proudly states: “Our collection is made up of the best contemporary designer radiators (including stainless steel radiators), traditional cast iron radiators, electric radiators and towel rails on the market. With over 150 radiators on display in our showroom, expert advice, unrivalled customer service and nationwide delivery, feature radiators has been recognized the UK's leading radiator specialist." And regarding their 'Trend' model: "Tall and flat-fronted, this supermodel in the radiator world is an exclusive addition to Feature Radiators' contemporary collection. Made of lightweight aluminum and created by top Italian designers, the Trend not only has a tidy appearance but also has a magnificent heat output. Available in classic white and silver metallic.” Clearly, the list goes on forever. In 2008, no self-respecting brand, even those who market the most mundane of commodities, will fail to introduce at least one premium version of whatever it is they're peddling. (Candles! Did we mention candles yet? Check out Acqua di Parma's Design Candle Collection, priced at a cool USD 130 per candle). If only for the premium profit margins that are involved. Is your industry or sector next? SNACK CULTURE represents the 'transient sphere' on steroids, catering to consumers’ insatiable craving for instant gratification. SNACK CULTURE thus embodies the phenomenon of products, services and experiences becoming more temporary and transient; products that are being deconstructed in easier to digest, easier to afford bits, making it possible to collect even more experiences, as often as possible, in an even shorter timeframe. The signs are everywhere, from ubiquitous commerce to fragmented (shattered?) media to fast fashion to temporary ownership to Netflix-style all-you-can-eat models. SNACK CULTURE, like PREMIUMIZATION, is not a 'new new ' trend, but definitely one that will continue to thrive next year. To get you going, here’s a list of fairly random SNACK CULTURE spottings that is sure to grow longer in the next 12 months: Food & Beverage | Some numbers on actual food snacks from the New York Times: In just three years, sales of 100-calorie packs of crackers, chips, cookies and candy have passed the USD 200-million-a-year mark, and sales grew nearly 30 percent last year. According to analysts, the market for these pint-size packages could easily double because of their simple appeal: they help consumers eat less without having to count calories themselves. The growing popularity of these snack packs may also be another sign that some consumers have had their fill of supersized food. A report from the Hartman Group found that 29 percent of Americans believed that 100-calorie packages were worth the extra cost. For manufacturers, snack packs are about 20 percent more profitable than larger packages. Some snack makers think even 100 calories might be too much for some diet-conscious consumers. Hershey, for example, now sells 60-calorie chocolate bars. And Jell-O sells 60-calorie pudding packs. Which then may explain the success of Chicago-based burger joint Minnies, which proves that bigger isn't always better. Featuring a wide selection of Lilliputian gourmet burgers and sandwiches—including traditional favorites such as grilled cheese and Reubens, alongside the more inventive Mykonos (roast chicken, tzatziki sauce and kalamata tapenade) and Thanksgiving Delight (roast turkey, cranberries and wild rice gravy)—Minnies applies nouvelle cuisine portions to casual dining. Old-school SNACK CULTURE meets PREMIUMIZATION: in Europe, McDonald’s is replacing bolted-down, yellow-and-white plastic furniture with lime green designer chairs and dark leather upholstery. It is the restaurant chain’s biggest overhaul in more than 20 years and, with its franchisees, it has spent more than EUR 600 million (USD 890 million), remodeling 1,280 European restaurants in 2007.   Laundry care | Procter & Gamble’s Swash offers students dryer sheets, dewrinkling spray, stain-removing pens, odor-removing sprays and lint rollers that can help give their clothes the look and smell of having been washed without the trouble or expense of actual washing. Cosmetics | Take a high-margin product like cosmetics, and cut prices by at least half. Now add online accessibility with customization, community and values. Throw in a pinch of demystifying expert advice, and you've got e.l.f., short for "eyes, lips, face." Launched by New York-based JA Cosmetics roughly three years ago, e.l.f. appears to be turning the cosmetics industry on its ear. All cosmetics cost just USD 1, and customers can create personalized profiles that generate product recommendations and customized looks. e.l.f. currently ships only to US and Canadian addresses, but versions of the site have recently launched for both the UK and Australia. The company 's products are also available in US stores, including Target and a variety of drugstores and convenience chains. Automotive | Just like bicycles, a pretty staid sector suddenly brimming with innovation, the small car sector seems ready for a truly global boom. Eco-concerns, design savvy and an (urban) willingness to regard cars as a utility instead of the ultimate status symbol will lead to a neverending stream of small-car innovations. Keep an eye on the company who kick-started most of this: Smart. Since its introduction in October 1998, nearly 800,000 people in 36 countries have purchased a ‘Smart Fortwo’. The new Smart Fortwo was released in Europe in April 2007 and will become available in the US, for the first time, in Q1 of 2008. The vehicles will be built at a plant in France and will be equipped for the US market. The Smart Fortwo will come in three trim levels—a Pure baseline model that starts under USD 12,000, a Passion Coupe that starts under USD 14,000 and a convertible that starts under USD 17,000. Consumers can place a USD 99 refundable reservation for a production model on smartusa.com. So far, more than 30,000 reservations have been received. Fast Fashion | Snacks, cars, magazines…. And fashion, of course! If you need to explain SNACK CULTURE to colleagues who may not totally get it (yet), discussing the success of the Zaras and H&Ms of this world will probably do the trick. Whether it’s fast fashion’s fast moving product cycles, low prices, or SNACK-style ‘wear-only-a-few-times'. In fact, shopping for clothes increasingly resembles shopping for groceries. The numbers are impressive: H&M’s turnover in 2006 was SEK 68,400,000,000 (EUR 6.8 billion). Currently, H&M has 1,400+ stores in 28 countries. Most of its future expansion will take place in the USA, Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK and Canada. In 2007, H&M opened first-time stores in Hong Kong and Shanghai, with a Tokyo store planned for fall 2008. Zara is part of Spanish Inditex, which also includes fashion chain Bershka. Zara’s turnover (EUR 5.35 billion in 2006) accounts for two-thirds of Inditex’s turnover (EUR 8.2 billion in 2006). For the next years, the focus of Inditex’s expansion will be on Europe (outside home market Spain) and on Japan and China. Zara had 990 stores in 62 countries at the end of last year, and expects to have added another 130-140 before the end of this year. Media | Described as "Rocketboom for Wall Street" and "Squawk Box meets Saturday Night Live", Wallstrip offers stock advice in a format that's second nature to viewers who watch YouTube instead of CNBC. Wallstrip's daily videos are taped in New York, hosted by actress Lindsay Campbell, and feature one public company in every 3-minute online show. Wallstrip was founded in October 2006, aiming to be both sassy and serious while teaching a new generation of investors to pick their own stocks. The show was created by Howard Lindzon, who runs an investment firm and hedge fund in Arizona and a venture capital fund in Toronto. Following Lindzon's personal investment philosophy, the focus is on stocks at all-time highs, like Apple, Google and Toyota, analyzing why they're strong and whether they'll continue to increase in value. 'Man on the street' interviews add to Wallstrip's informal vibe. The show has been voted one of the top podcasts on iTunes, and is also distributed via social video sites like Revver and YouTube. With enough VC backing to wait and see how its own value will develop, Wallstrip is in no hurry to chase advertising revenues, focusing instead on building a dedicated following of valuable eyeballs. Wallstrip perfectly fits what Wired Magazine touted as 'snack-o-tainment' earlier this year (yes, that inspired us to come up with SNACK CULTURE). People are becoming accustomed to consuming large amounts of 'bite-size' content rather than the longer-form stuff of traditional media. Online video clips, the iPod Nano, pay-per-view TV shows on iTunes, short games played on handheld devices, the list goes on (do check out MediaSnackers, a news site dedicated to this demographic). From Wired's article: “Music, television, games, movies, fashion: We now devour our pop culture the same way we enjoy candy and chips—in conveniently packaged bite-size nuggets made to be munched easily with increased frequency and maximum speed. Today, media snacking is a way of life. In the morning, we check news and tap out emails on our laptops. At work, we graze all day on videos and blogs. Back home, the giant HDTV is for 10-course feasting - say, an entire season of 24. In between are the morsels that fill those whenever minutes, as your mobile phone carrier calls them: a 30-second game on your Nintendo DS, a 60-second webisode on your cell, a three-minute podcast on your MP3 player. Like Homer Simpson at the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, we are capable of devouring whatever is in front of us—down to the plastic crustaceans—and still go fishing for Colbert clips at 3 am." OK, so one more: 20 Minutes, which distributes more than 2,3 million copies every weekday in Spain, France and Switzerland. Forget free newspapers that want 1 hour of your time; 20 minutes is all consumers need to get their daily fix. Surprise | Infusing SNACK CULTURE with a dose of surprise, Singapore beverage company Out of the Box caters to consumers who respond to "What would you like to drink?" with a non-committal "anything" or "whatever". The company has launched two complementary brands: Anything and Whatever. Anything is fizzy and comes in six flavors (Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer), while Whatever is non-carbonated (Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea). The surprise part? Consumers don 't know which flavor they're getting until they take a sip. Cans are simply labeled Anything and Whatever, and the list of ingredients is limited to generic wording. Judging from the buzz on Singapore forums, teens immediately got the concept and are loving it. Surprise fits SNACK CULTURE well, as it satisfies the desire for the thrill, for discovery. Worth bringing a surprise to market in 2008, even if it's just a one-off, and even if only for creating a buzz. People | SNACK CULTURE applies to more than consumption of goods and services. Consider Adult FriendFinder, the ‘casual encounters’ site now claiming more than 19 million active members. (Real world) sex too has now become something that can be instantly gratified, with the help from millions of other ‘willing and able’ participants. The ‘rate before you date’ features add a level of TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY, too. Note: not everything will come in bite-size format. If only for the mass-scale infrastructure that is needed to jet off countless ‘sun snack’ travelers, or to ship those millions of containers loaded with SNACK CULTURE goods and ingredients. So in addition to the ever-smaller, we’re seeing the ever-bigger. In fact, 'biggest of the biggest' is going to grab quite a few headlines in 2008. Check out: The Emma Mærsk was named in August 2007 at Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark, and at 397 meters long, 56 meters wide and at 11,000 TEU*, she and her sister vessels** are the largest container vessels in the world. EMMA MÆRSK, and three of her sister vessels, are visiting the following ports: Algeciras, Bremerhaven, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Rotterdam, Suez Canal, Tanjung Pelepas, Yantian and Xiamen. Singapore Airlines debuted the first of its new A380 airplanes last month. Singapore Airlines has configured the aircraft in a 471-seat layout, even though it has the potential to hold 853 people in full economy class configuration. * TEU stands for 'twenty-foot equivalent unit'; a measure of volume based on the size of a container that is twenty feet long by eight feet wide by eight feet high. ** There will be a total of eight of these mammoth ships, with the last one due for delivery to Mærsk Line in January 2008. Oh, and then we haven't even discussed SNACK CULTURE infiltrating banking (ING Direct, anyone?) or hotels (from Ginger Hotels to Yotel to Qbic)... Needless to say, we’re truly looking forward to your transient, SNACK CULTURE innovations in 2008. Let us know, so that we can include them in our 2009 overview ;-) SNACK CULTURE meets 'Instant Gratification 2.0': the growing number of sophisticated SEE-HEAR-BUY services that enable consumers to instantly purchase anything virtual they see or hear. Best example to watch in 2008: the iTunes WiFi Music Store. How it works: when a user hears a particular song playing at his or her local Starbucks, he/she can instantly find the artist, album and name of the track on his iPhone or iPod Touch. By tapping the Starbucks button in either device's main menu, the current song shows up, as well as the last ten songs played. They can be purchased and downloaded instantly via Starbucks' wifi connection. Amazon.com's just-launched Kindle, a digital book reading device, is going after the same market for the written word, with books and (international or niche) paper-based magazines as the most desirable 'must have right now' items. (We're not sure about charging for otherwise free blogs, though ;-) However, taking the SEE-HEAR-BUY trend one step further is Midomi; anyone who's ever had a song stuck in his or her head (and who hasn't?) but was unable to place the title or artist is bound to think Midomi pure genius. Users need only sing, hum or whistle a few bars into their computer microphones, and this online search engine can match the tune against its ever-growing musical library. The customer then has the option to purchase the track and can connect with others who share the same musical interests. Currently available in six languages and with more than two million licensed music tracks and a growing collection of user-created files, Midomi still has lots of potential for further enhancements, such as allowing for customers to call Midomi and download songs directly to their mobile devices. So... Who's going to build similar SEE-HEAR-BUY services in 2008 for looking up movies, television shows and even commercials by just saying a few lines? And how will these instant gratification services further shape expectations among demanding, INFOLUSTY consumers? More on this in our February 2008 Briefing, which will highlight the EXPECTATION ECONOMY. Stay tuned ;-)