Landor’s 2011 trends forecast

Landor’s 2011 trends forecast

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© 2010 Landor Associates. All rights reserved.

Landor Associates is one of the world’s leading strategic brand consulting and design firms. Landor is part of WPP, one of the largest global communications services companies. Visit us at landor.com.

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Trevor Wade is director of digital marketing for Landor Associates and editor of Landor’s trends forecast.

In the all-inclusive spirit of social media, we asked a broad spectrum of Landor’s experts to comment on what they expect to see next year. Here, then, are our predictions for 2011 on these timely topics:

• The search for purpose• Design• Social media• Shopping behavior• Packaging• Sustainability• Color direction• The petroleum industry• The energy industry• Marketing in the Middle East• Food • The globalization of Asian brands• Interactive entertainment• Brand management

Over the past year, we’ve seen our world grow smaller and more transparent. People are feeling empowered by social media: breaking news on Twitter before it reaches major media outlets, boldly critiquing products and experi-ences online, trusting word-of-mouth over traditional marketing. Demonstrating sustain-able practices has become the cost of entry for businesses and is no longer a differentiator in the marketplace. And the good a company does within and for its community is beginning to have an impact on its bottom line.

In spite of a sobered financial consciousness, people are ready to be surprised and delighted again — not by the flashy or the fancy, but by authentic brand stories and personal connections.

As public awareness of marketing, brands, and design continues to grow, those in the business of selling have to work harder and smarter to earn the money consumers are spending so carefully. What will this mean for brands in 2011?

Landor’s 2011 trends forecastMarket trends and their impact on brands

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Scott Osman is global director of corporate social responsibility in the New York office of Landor Associates. Scott’s article “Citizenship branding” is available on landor.com.

have already aligned their corporate social responsi-bility practices with their brand management and communications teams — a big shift in corporate structure — and we can expect more of this trend. Once they learn each other’s languages, these disparate departments will benefit greatly from sharing ideas and resources. This internal reorgani-zation will create value for companies at the same time it supports their social contributions.

Which brands will stand out?

Brands that find a way to express their values and merge social purpose with brand promise will stand out. Almost all companies on the Forbes Global 2000 list are currently making significant social contribu-tions, although they may not be communicating this to the public. Making these actions known will be just as important as espousing the values behind them.

In low-engagement categories, social purpose provides a golden opportunity to create passionate, relevant differentiation. Look for purpose-driven breakout brands to emerge in the financial service, airline, education, and energy categories. Companies such as Method have inspired employees and captured the imagination of consumers with its naturally derived, biodegradable household cleaners.

Studies show that CEOs are eager for their compa-nies to have purpose and that employees want to work for good companies. Now it’s time for middle managers, those most responsible for implementa-tion, to climb aboard.

The burning question for 2011

Will middle management recognize and act on the importance of social purpose?

What can we expect to see in 2011?

Social purpose as a business value is here to stay, and in 2011 we can expect even more companies to acknowledge its importance. Brands will work to identify the ways they can help society. Success in the marketplace will require that companies be sustainable, committed, and authentic.

Studies such as Goodpurpose, by Edelman, and Corporate Purpose Impact 2010 from Burson-Marsteller indicate overwhelmingly that when making decisions about what to buy, consumers now look at how a company operates, where its products come from and how they are made, and how it treats its employees. These factors may not drive every purchase, but more and more they are impacting the bottom line. This fundamental shift in consumer behavior is unlikely to reverse.

What are the implications of these trends for brands?

As more “good” goods enter the market, brands will have to clearly define their social purpose and make it central to their business. Many companies

The search for purposeby Scott Osman

Method has enjoyed great success with a business model that strives to develop products using safe, sustainable materials and responsible manufacturing practices.

© method

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Paul Owen is executive creative director in the New York office of Landor Associates. Paul’s work has been recognized interna-tionally with design awards including the D&AD Pencil, PromaxBDA (gold and silver), One Show (gold), and a special accredita-tion from the Art Directors Club, New York.

ABOVE: New license laws from Creative Commons are changing the way designers work and share ideas.

BELOW: Location-based networking presents new opportunities for interface design.

of functional, light-interface designs that optimize content navigation will grow on all screen-based platforms. Novelty plays, such as invisible logos, user-generated logos, and logos as containers, have probably had their day, too.


The buzzwords of 2011? Share, design, delight. Next year, I guarantee, the big brand stories will be developed around an ethical purpose through a design-led, collaborative process. Here are four stories I’m keeping my eye on:

• Redesigned license laws for sharing. Anything produced under Creative Commons license will be worth following. For more information: creativecommons.org

• Simple functional interface design leads, as proximity networking is set to go commercial in 2011. For example: foursquare.com

• Content is king. The shape of TV will radically shift next year. Smaller personalized content aggregators are the ones to watch. For example: devour.com

• Ethical design thinking and business leadership from “B corporations”—defined as socially responsible businesses that are required to consider the interests of societal stakeholders such as employees, communities, and the environment. For more information: bcorporation.net

Awareness of design among the general population is at an all-time high. We will see increased interaction between designers and consumers in the coming year. Tropicana and the Gap are just the beginning. Smart brands, knowing that design is a major means of connecting with audiences, will introduce new elements as adroitly as possible. — Sean King, design director, corporate

communications


Innovation, influence marketing, and customer experience were the business buzzwords of 2010. Consumers no longer believe the smoke and mirrors of traditional marketing. Their trust must be earned on a daily basis. Never before has business collabo-rated so openly with consumers. We’ve learned that we can’t be smart, creative, or innovative without sharing. And the early days of the twenty-first century have provided an explosion of technological tools to optimize collaboration.

It’s clear that the rules of brand design are funda-mentally changing. Success no longer depends on consistency and adherence to strict brand guidelines, but on open, flexible, and innovative experience design that allows for nimble navigation across changing marketplaces. There’s a new mantra for design:

Share=design=delight

Sharing leads to ideas. Ideas facilitate design, and design transforms needs into demand. Design is the process that realizes the potential in collaboration. Design provides the divergent exploration of a shared thought and then the rigorous, convergent focus to deliver something useful or meaningful—and if it’s spot on, something absolutely delightful.

What are the implications of these trends?

Design is having a positive effect on business processes. As more and more companies realize that their Six Sigma processes aren’t giving them sought-after results, they are turning to design thinking to uncover more meaningful solutions.

Corporate responsibility will play a much larger role as many market-leading brands realign their business strategies to values over value. With this growing conscience comes the responsibility for design to deliver sustainable solutions that focus on the right balance of ethics, form, and function. Poor design has ended up in enough landfills.

Online design is dropping flash, splash, and animated extras. With the rise of mobile connectivity, the power

Trends in designby Paul Owen


Location-based services will move toward tailoring suggestions, information, and offers to a user’s current whereabouts for a highly personalized and rewarding digital experience.

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Alex Do is director of digital branding in the San Francisco office of Landor Associates. His article about open-source branding is available on landor.com.


Earn a place in the stream. Brands will have to earn their way into people’s streams with meaningful content and, better yet, rewards. If their content is truly compelling, it’ll get noticed and “liked,” generating comments and re-tweets. Smart brand managers will focus on the story line, engaging customers in relevant dialogue and providing platforms for customer expression.

Reimagine the storefront. Brands will need to augment and extend their e-commerce offerings. More brands and merchants will develop shopping apps inside existing social platforms. Delta Air Lines now lets travelers book flights from its Facebook fan page.

Redesign the mobile experience. More and more interaction will take place via mobile devices. The mobile phone design interface needs to accommo-date this shift. Mobile use of social media alters how people interact with platforms and the way that brands engage customers.

Social media provides an enormous opportunity to craft brand voice and add value by linking brands to the right people at the right time, with messages they will want to share. — Melissa Parsey, senior client manager,

New York office


Curated content: In 2011, social network users will become more discriminating about the content in their streams. Nonstop content and promotions from brands can be overwhelming and annoying; users are starting to hide brand updates, filter friends, and prioritize content.

Social commerce and group buying: Tapping friends for recommendations, posting deals on a network, and following the picks of celebrities can make shopping easier and more enjoyable. People are more willing to share purchase information if there’s something it in for them, such as discounts, trendsetter status, or the cool factor.

Group buying through sites such as Groupon, LivingSocial, YouSwoop, and Scoutmob will continue to thrive in 2011. New players include Wow, The Knot, and Walmart’s CrowdSaver, set to offer an 18 percent discount on plasma TVs when the product gets more than 5,000 “likes.”

Niche markets: In 2010 location-based services including Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places picked up users and garnered a lot of media attention. But many users tired of checking in to places without a payoff beyond earning badges or becoming “mayor.” In 2011 location-based services will move toward tailoring suggestions, information, and offers to a user’s current where-abouts for a highly personalized and rewarding digital experience.

Xtify’s geo-location technology will allow brands to target their users with messages and calls to action specific to where they are and where they’ve been. Shopkick describes itself as the first mobile app to reward consumers simply for walking into a store and scanning product bar codes with their phones. Best Buy, American Eagle Outfitters, Sports Authority, and Facebook have already adopted Shopkick. Other platforms such as Foodspotting appeal to the foodie niche.

Trends in social mediaby Alex Do

Expect group-buying sites such as Groupon (featured above) to become more popular.

http://www.landor.com/thinking/article/753


Real value: The retail sector rocked most by the recession was that broad blur of “masstige” and

“new luxury.” Suddenly, paying premium prices for average products with flashy logos made consumers look dumb rather than rich. In 2011 shoppers will search for ruggedness, longevity, reliability, and real ingredients. Using old-fashioned materials in apparel represents value and emotional security in a very tangible way, as seen in Nike’s Harris Tweed sneakers.

Real stories: At the same time that shoppers found their security shaken and their disposable income decimated, they were also bombarded with novelty. The movement of brands into digital and social media generated odd, attention-seeking strategies that seemed to have little or no link to what products actually did, such as the Vegemite variant rechristened iSnack 2.0. (Don’t expect to find it on shelves today!) Brands must first look at the functionality that differentiates them, then express their essence through authentic stories and ideas that ring true with customers.

The burning question for 2011: Will shoppers return to their old ways, or will the hangover of recession create long-term changes in buying behavior?

Expect to see brands trying disruption tactics to combat “autopilot shopping,” especially for low-involvement fast-moving consumer goods. — Fiona Atzler, client director, New York office

More consumers will shift away from traditional retail toward digital retailing. — Robin Thompson, brand strategist,

New York office

Although private label brands are gaining popularity in the U.S., they have not approached the level of acceptance seen in Europe. In 2011, U.S. retailers will continue to borrow private label strategies from progressive retailers from across the pond such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer. — Samar Birwadker, senior insights manager,

San Francisco office

We all hope that the global recovery will gain strength in 2011. Here in Australia, online sales figures show that strong economies are looking to weaker ones (in our case, to America) as a fertile source of bargains. Consumers learned their lesson from the financial crisis and will proceed with caution. Their behavior is likely to remain volatile, fluctuating between bursts of optimism and pessimism.

Green versus lean: Sustainable consumption was already growing prior to the economic crisis. But in 2011 we’ll see a slight shift as consumers buy fewer new products, opting instead for refills and recycling. Rather than paying a premium for green, shoppers will demand that all brands become more ecofriendly.

Real places: Country-of-origin brands are likely to become a greater force in retail. Origins will be a big part of food retailing; traceability down the length of the supply chain will give brands an opportunity to differentiate. Wherever they can, brands will connect us to the source.

Trends in shopping behaviorby John Matthews

John Matthews is director of strategy in the Sydney office of Landor Associates. His current article, “One playful idea,” is available on landor.com.

Consumers will seek out ruggedness, longevity, and old-fashioned materials, such as those found in Nike’s Air Royal Harris Tweed sneakers.


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in areas affected by disaster. In New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the Procter & Gamble-sponsored initiative washed almost 14,000 loads of laundry for 11,000 families.


The challenge will be finding ways to do more with less — reducing waste, using fewer natural resources, and cutting down transport distance—while using packaging to communicate brand promise and the actions that back it up.

In 2011, expect packaging to become more sustain-able, incorporate recent technological advances, and feed into consumers’ desire for their purchases to serve a greater purpose.

Bells and whistles: Modern consumers are shopping experts who spend mere seconds making purchase decisions. Especially in supermarkets, packaging must work hard to tempt shoppers into trying new products. Revolutionary technologies such as thin film and printed batteries can have a phenomenal impact at the first moment of truth, adding light, sound, and movement to packaging. Sound chips can deliver promotional messages from store shelves; paper-thin video screens can demonstrate product use. The first brands to adopt these cutting-edge strategies are sure to make a splash in the crowded marketplace.

Reusable: After noticing the product (first moment of truth) and reading the product label (second), there is now a third moment of truth for consumers: reusing packaging. More brands will make this possible, banking on the cool factor to extend brand message beyond the life of the product. Burt’s Bees, whose natural body care line already appeals to environmentally conscious customers, now provides reusable carrying cases for its lip balm.

Sustainable: More companies will pledge to lessen their impact on the environment and look for innovative ways to do so. Paper Mate recently introduced biodegradable pens with compostable outer shells that break down into organic matter within a year. Following a more traditional route, Kraft Foods plans to reduce its carbon footprint in 2011 by decreasing waste from its plants, elimin- ating 150 million pounds of packaging material, and cutting CO2 emissions by 25 percent.

Purposeful: To remain relevant in 2011, brands must stand for something and align their brand promise with the good they do — and convey both through their packaging. The Tide Loads of Hope program and its corresponding limited-edition detergent give back to the community in an on-brand way: by providing laundry facilities

Trends in packagingby Wendy Hunt and Anne Reid

Wendy Hunt is client director in the Cincinnati office of Landor Associates, working with multiple Procter & Gamble brands.

Anne Reid is senior director of design realization in the Cincinnati office of Landor Associates. She has a particular interest in sustainable packaging.

With contributions by Anna Singh, client manager, Cincinnati office

The Tide Loads of Hope program gives back to the community in an on-brand way by providing laundry services to families affected by disaster.


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More and more consumers look at facts and figures about product ingredients and environmental impact before they buy.

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green brands are niche players such as Tom’s of Maine and Seventh Generation. Landor’s annual ImagePower® Green Brands Survey shows that consumers think of corporate brands such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Walmart, and General Electric as more sustainable than their product brands. The challenge for corporate brands is to find ways of extending this green halo onto their product and service brands.

Electric cars are poised for plenty of press attention in 2011, a significant year for the car market, when three electric cars will all be available in the United States: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla.


How can we achieve a balance between reducing consumption of resources and encouraging consumers to purchase sustainable products?

Russ Meyer is chief strategy officer of Landor Associates. His article “Five reasons not to have a green brand (and why those reasons are wrong)” is available on landor.com.

Trends in sustainabilityby Russ Meyer


As we continue to emerge from the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, consumers will remain shell-shocked. Perhaps the greatest advance in sustainability over the last three years has been the global decline in consumption. When consumers do buy, they are more thoughtful, considering not just where and how products are created, but whether they really need them at all. I believe this is the beginning of a long-term shift in purchase behavior, moving from wanton, willy-nilly buying sprees into a more considered approach to consumption.

What is the implication of this for brands?

Brands have two challenges. The first is to convince consumers that their product or service will make a noticeable difference in consumers’ lives and that they are worthy of being purchased. They must make their functional benefits overt and apparent. Consumers will no longer be willing to try out sustainable products just for their green-ness — brands must differentiate themselves in other ways, too. In these days of cautious consumerism, products have to prove superior functionality or risk remaining on the shelf.

The second challenge for sustainable brands is to be specific about their green claims. Gone are the days of fuzzy, friendly labels like “natural.” Since 2005, we’ve seen a major increase in consumers’ understanding of sustainability. Smart consumers now look for facts and figures detailing which chemicals their cleaning products contain, how much energy is used to create and transport a piece of furniture, and the true carbon footprint of a pair of sneakers. If brands can’t provide this hard data, consumers will turn to sources like the GoodGuide and other champions of transparency to learn the truth.


Despite the ongoing interest in sustainability, few mainstream consumer brands have smoothly incorporated this attribute into their brand promise and image. Clorox Green Works aside, the best-known




Finally, purples will move away from recent mauve hues and come alive with the influence of fire. They are like the colors seen deep under smoldering coals — a bright glimpse at the joy of the future. Fire will also pull navy into a deep, royal blue purple.

The coming year will challenge brands to set themselves on fire with passion. The brands that come alive with honest, intense warmth and understanding will succeed in attracting customers to their tribal fire.

Color trends are fleeting and ephemeral; color connections, told through compelling design stories that speak to the consumer’s heart, mind, and soul, are the future of color direction.


The color design story for 2011 is an inspiring tale of fire and passion. The world is in a period of accelerated change — a fire building across our globe as we move in a new direction with renewed energy. Fiery red passion is surfacing as the main concept that will fuel the colors and design ideas of 2011.

In India, fire is seen as a cleanser and purifier; it prepares the world for new beginnings. Fire clears away the clutter and brings the possibility of a phoenix to rise from its ashes. A single flame is a symbol of hope; a bonfire is a community celebration of commitment to achieving new goals.

Fire-inspired reds, oranges, and ambers are the fireworks of 2011. These hot divas will burst forth with the power, energy, and passion necessary to bring fresh excitement.

Lighter golden browns represent the natural comforting luxuries enjoyed by the fire. Think of cashmere, almonds, fine scotch, and aged tobacco.

The long-term global blue cycle will continue to develop. Bright, clean blues still symbolize hope for a unified planet. But in 2011, the blues will be more aquatic; their watery presence will balance the fire colors.

Greens will be layered and reminiscent of the forest floor after firewood is collected. In this spectrum of soft hues we find natural, new beginnings.

Charcoal, smoke, and ash will inspire soft whispers of color. Graphite black will celebrate the new Nobel Prize-winning compound graphene, a super-strong but light carbon that is expected to change the future of humankind.

Trends in color directionby Jack Bredenfoerder

Jack Bredenfoerder is design director in the Cincinnati office of Landor Associates. He is internationally recognized as a color authority and served as president of the Color Marketing Group in 2007 and 2008.

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Forest floorWater planet

Smoke and ash Glowing embers

Fire

Landor 2011 color direction

Passionate fireComforting luxuries

Colors by Jack Bredenfoerder© 2010 Landor Associates

© 2010 Getty Images



© 2010 Landor Associates



Fire PANTONE® 1788 C

Red hot PANTONE 193 C

Spark PANTONE 213 C

Burn baby burn PANTONE 207 C

Candlelight PANTONE 7402 C

Glow PANTONE 7409 C

Warmth PANTONE 7413 C

Kiss PANTONE 208 C

Cuddle PANTONE 222 C

Wine cork PANTONE 7500 C

Camel hair PANTONE 720 C

Tobacco PANTONE 7510 C

Scotch PANTONE 8581 C

Smoked almond PANTONE 724 C

Mist PANTONE 535 C

H2 OMG! PANTONE 312 C

Oceanic PANTONE 3135 C

Blue planet PANTONE 653 C

Deepwater PANTONE 654 C

Blue lichen PANTONE 317 C

Lamb ears PANTONE 7464 C

New leaf PANTONE 367 C

Sprout PANTONE 7494 C

Moss PANTONE 7495 C

Frog PANTONE 574 C

Warm thoughts PANTONE 708 C

Passion PANTONE 232 C

Ember PANTONE 241 C

Imagination PANTONE 2613 C

White ash PANTONE Warm Gray 1 C

Wisp PANTONE 7542 C

Fire brick PANTONE 7535 C

Smoke cloud PANTONE 7530 C

Organic ash PANTONE 7538 C

Burnout PANTONE 7547 C

Charcoal PANTONE 7545 C

Graphene PANTONE 8423 C

Reflection PANTONE 304 C

Forecast color information provided by Landor. PANTONE® Colors displayed may not match PANTONE-identified standards. Consult current PANTONE Color Publications for accurate color. Pantone trademarks and copyrights are the property of, and are used with the written permission of, Pantone LLC. Portions © Pantone LLC, 2010. All rights reserved.


such as governmental affiliations, operating licenses, corporate culture, transparency, and communication.

Safety first, second, and third: Operational integrity and safety, always central issues for petroleum companies, will become the primary factors in all commercial, operational, and strategic decisions. In the future, a petroleum company’s success may be determined less by the conventional metrics of profit, market share, and capital invest-ment than by the nontraditional ones of employee behavior and corporate responsibility.

Reassessing the value of values: Big Oil company culture, often the amalgam of disparate acquisitions and inherited operating principles, will find that lip service to brand values is no longer adequate. A clear, uncompromising set of standards for action and accountability will be required both of oil companies and of the local partners that operate on their behalf.

Unified but not uniform: Centralized, monolithic operations may give way to a more agile and locally relevant approach, unified by a common purpose. As many natural energy resources are found in challenging environments, international oil compa-nies will succeed only by building high-quality, durable relationships with local governments and business partners. This will be especially true in emerging economies where officials are unlikely to cede control to oil companies’ American or European headquarters.

Small is beautiful: Going forward, combining local sensitivity and flexible management with global know-how and capital will be the preferred operating model for oil companies. Perhaps in 2011 Big Oil will begin to think, act, and function more like Smaller Oil.

The Macondo well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has been well documented, as has the public outcry in its wake. What remains to be seen is the impact it will have on oil company operations in the future.

Rising costs, risks . . . and rewards: Access to oil reserves remains difficult and treacherous, whether they’re deep under the ocean bed or in the equally inaccessible terrains of Russia and the Middle East. There’s been talk of requiring oil companies to set up prefunded contingency plans to deal with potential disasters. Even so, there will still be big money to be made in Big Oil. Emerging economies have an insatiable appetite for oil; China’s use alone is up 20 percent this year.

Eye of the storm: Petroleum companies will also face unrelenting public scrutiny and renewed hostility. The debate over Big Oil and the environ-ment will be joined by other controversial issues

Andrew Welch is executive director in the London office of Landor Associates. His recent article on transforming the customer experience is available on landor.com.

Trends in the petroleum industryby Andrew Welch

Heavy machinery removes oil-contaminated sands following the Macondo disaster.


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even more challenging, they will be competing against some of the most powerful, stretchable brands in the world.

The winner, however, becomes the gatekeeper to all energy devices in consumers’ homes, and the prize is massive: constant, free brand communica-tion and reinforcement.


Will energy companies be so consumed with the massive undertaking of installing millions of smart meters that they miss the opportunity to communi-cate with residents?

The consumer energy business is facing a rare challenge — and opportunity. In order to reduce carbon output, a number of governments across the globe are mandating the placement of smart meters in all households. In the United Kingdom alone, that amounts to about 20 million homes.

Smart meters, like the non-smart variety, measure energy usage. But they are also capable of communi-cating with an energy supplier and with other household devices. The information is delivered in real time and can be analyzed in a multitude of ways that have been impossible until now: usage by day, season, time, or appliance, making it easier to diagnose problems within a house and much more.

The smart meter, with its ability to manage energy remotely, brings us one step closer to making the digital home a reality. Google and PayPal globally, and Sky, O2, and Tesco in the United Kingdom, envision a residence with a single device or system that controls heating, lighting, programming, security, diagnosis, and entertainment. These brands are competing to own the heart of this new home.

Therein lies the threat and opportunity for energy companies: Smart meters have displays that sit on kitchen countertops or in living rooms. They are the means by which people will monitor and eventually control the heating and lighting in their homes. As a marketer, wouldn’t you love to have access to a wireless, Internet-enabled, updatable touch screen to communicate with your customers — and, better yet, have it paid for by the government?

Right now, energy brands enjoy little equity or loyalty from consumers. They are best liked when they aren’t attracting attention. If they want to play a larger role in the development of the digital home, they will have to put significant effort into areas familiar to marketers: relationship building, innova-tion, customer service, delight and surprise, and value adding. Not only is this new territory for most energy brands to navigate, it will be desperately difficult for them to succeed in wooing customers, given the low base they start from. To make matters

Trends in the energy industryby Ian Wood

Ian Wood is executive director in the London office of Landor Associates. His article “Don’t chicken out of innovation” is available on landor.com.

O2 is making a bid to own the heart of the home with its O2 Joggler—you can watch videos, check the weather, text friends, and more.



to thrive. Telecom companies Du in the UAE and the Kuwait-based Zain, as well as Aramex (the Jordanian version of FedEx), are giving global players a run for their money causing them to reexamine their regional strategies.


Expect more brands to directly address women’s issues and cater to their needs, particularly in the health and fitness, financial service, and retail industries. Mainstream brands will either spin off women’s divisions or develop completely new brands managed by and for Middle Eastern women.

Local brands will continue to grow in 2011 and move into nearby markets that Western brands consider too risky politically.


Global brands that have successfully localized and local brands that exude global confidence will stand out in the year to come.

France 24: This relatively new kid on the media block is growing by leaps and bounds in the Middle East, mainly because of its push to regionalize content both linguistically and editorially. Homegrown news sources Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera will have to watch out.

Air Arabia: The UAE-based budget carrier now operates three hubs, in Sharjah, Alexandria, and Casablanca, which connect regional cities to each other and to destinations in Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.


How will global brands prove their credentials to Middle Eastern consumers — with new products, brands, and tactics? Or simply by acquiring regional companies?

Although growth may not be as rapid and unbridled as in past years, the Middle East, with its half a billion consumers, is still a thriving market. Great opportunities lie not only in Saudi Arabia but also in Syria, Iraq, and North Africa, especially Libya and Algeria.


Woman power: Women exercise considerable economic clout in the Arab world, both as members of the workforce and as business owners in their own right. It is estimated that women control more than 40 percent of the private wealth in Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest economy. Expect to see women-owned businesses grow in size and expand their reach across the Middle East.

Regional pride: Regional brands that couple cultural relevance with global brand stature, high quality, and unique product attributes will continue

Marketing trends in the Middle Eastby Aneesh Sharma

Aneesh Sharma is brand strategist in the Dubai office of Landor Associates. He writes about brands and marketing in the Middle East for Landor’s blog.

The Dubai supermarket Aswaaq offers a sophisticated and extensive variety of products but has the feel of a local corner store.

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How will quick-service restaurants adapt to patrons who are concerned about where and how food is sourced and its impact on the immediate community?

We will see increased transparency about food ingredients in the coming year. New York has banned trans fats in restaurant food and requires chain restaurants to list calorie counts. Smart food brands will make this information available everywhere, not just where it’s mandated by law. — Sean King, design director, corporate

communications

Walmart’s direct farm program in China is giving millions of people access to quality, locally grown food.


The value shift currently under way will mean major growth in the farm-to-table movement — especially in the United States where consumers have long felt unconnected to the source of their food. In the wake of the financial crisis, people want simple, authentic experiences, and they want to under-stand how their choices impact their immediate communities. It is very satisfying to buy locally and feel that you know the person who grew your lettuce or raised your beef.

Food has always been about family and community; this is even more true today. Look for a surge in community and urban gardening and for retailers pushing locally grown products.


Brands will have to build in emotional meaning beyond convenience or trend-driven claims. “Value” no longer means price point, but refers to how products benefit customers and improve their lives.

Not everyone has access to a good farmers’ market or garden, but the underlying drivers for authenticity and connection are something big brands can take on. Walmart is doubling, and in some cases tripling, the amount of locally sourced food it sells, and will be stricter about how that food is grown. Given Walmart’s size, ubiquity, and pricing, that means many more people will have access to quality, locally grown food.


Brands that connect and feel human will get noticed. Marketers should understand that people are still very intimidated by food and cooking, in spite of (or maybe because of) the unprecedented amount of information available. The food industry could learn from new world winemakers, who have taken a very intellectual industry and found a way to connect with customers through down- to-earth brand stories.

Trends in foodby Kristin James

Kristin James is senior marketing manager in the New York office of Landor Associates. She is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education’s Pastry and Baking Arts program.


Meanwhile, many international brands are trying to adapt to local Chinese markets. As local brands become more prominent, international brands’ competitive edge — and with it, their justification for demanding premium prices — will further erode.

On the road: Looking beyond Japan and Korea, the world will turn to China to provide the next great value-added cars. At the 2009 motor show in Shanghai, 20 local brands launched alternative energy cars that drew considerable attention; the government sees this as a major source of investment for the future. Great Wall Motors is already selling in Australia, Chery is running on the road in Central and South America, and Geely made headlines when it purchased Ford’s Swedish Volvo unit.


How will Chinese brands manage the transition to global markets?

Monica Au on ChinaWhat can we expect to see in 2011?

Consumers around the world will lower their resistance to Chinese brands. Buying less expensive products is a smart choice these days, and the worldwide economic downturn will allow Chinese brands that offer reasonable quality at reasonable prices to expand into global markets.

China will also have plenty of opportunity to learn from the world’s best business practices, as international firms continue to bring branding knowledge, R&D capabilities, technologies, and global management models with them into “the Middle Kingdom.” China’s vast domestic market will become more sophisticated, providing a training ground for local brands to experiment and excel in their fields before going global.

Made in China: Local brands adopting the look and feel of international giants have had consider-able success in China, giving them more money to invest in branding. They also move at lightning speed, quick to pick up where global competitors fall short. Brands such as Nike 360 command such status that it was little surprise to see local sports brand 361 Degrees enter the market. Mimicking Nike’s success, 361 Degrees rocketed from a small-scale local operation to one of the largest sports brands in the market over the past eight years.

The globalization of Asian brandsby Monica Au and Lulu Raghavan

Monica Au is client managing director in the Hong Kong office of Landor Associates. She writes regularly about consumer insights and branding in China.

Lulu Raghavan is country director in the Mumbai office of Landor Associates. She has written many articles including a regular column for Hotel Management Asia.

With contributions by Melissa Parsey, senior client manager, New York office

Tsingtao beer is one of the first globally recognized Chinese brands.

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Lulu Raghavan on IndiaWhat can we expect to see in 2011?

Mergers and acquisitions: Indian companies have found that purchasing established interna-tional brands puts them on the fast track to global expansion. Tata’s acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, Wipro Consumer Care’s purchase of Yardley’s Asian assets, and Megha Mittal’s takeover of Escada are all recent examples of successful buyouts. As India Inc.’s pride and confidence in its performance increase, expect to see more such acquisitions.

Homegrown appeal: Global interest in Indian design, craftsmanship, cuisine, and holistic lifestyles will give homegrown brands a boost. Brands already established locally, such as Hidesign (leather accessories), Sula (wine), Ganjam (high-end jewelry), and Shahnaz Husain (ayurvedic beauty care), will focus on getting a foothold in European markets to spearhead international growth.

Purposeful innovation: The Boston Consulting Group’s Innovation 2010 study suggests that mature economies’ once unquestioned dominance in innovation is fading and India, China, and Brazil are poised to take over. The number of Indian companies seen as top innovators is rising while the number of American companies is declining. What’s more, Indian brands are additionally showing the world how social and corporate responsibility can be deeply embedded in a business approach.

The “frugal” or “reverse” style of innovation pioneered in India reduces product price to its lowest possible level, presenting a real threat to Western companies with much higher costs. Especially in countries where per capita income averages far below that of the United States, this puts goods within reach of many more local and global consumers.

Tata’s Swach water purifier won the global ICIS award in 2010 for most innovative product. Tata Nano, “the people’s car,” will change mobility patterns for thousands of middle-class families in the region and beyond, and D.light’s innovative products provide high-quality, reliable electricity solutions for the home.


Do Indian companies have the global management expertise to make their brands profitable in overseas markets?

Tata’s innovative Nano car will change the way thousands of middle-class families in India get around.


Digital delivery: Game companies will shift their delivery from one-time retail transactions to ongoing digital relationships. Alternative business models — such as offering games for free, but selling upgrades, extras, and virtual goods — will attract new gamers and generate volume-based revenue.

Virtual possibilities: Expect gaming to become an immersive, full-sensory experience, moving from narrow, linear story lines to expansive universes with infinite possibilities. Platforms will be made increasingly open source to allow fans to develop richer gaming worlds. Gesture recognition, force feedback technology, and augmented reality games will go mainstream.

Mainstream audience: The definition of “gamer” will broaden to include both genders and all ages. Nintendo’s Wii, which encourages active play and interactivity, opened the door to the family living room; its handheld DS is marketed primarily as a teaching toy and boasts a line of tutoring games for kids. And the Xbox Kinect doesn’t require a controller at all, using motion-sensing technology to make games even more active and appeal to a broader range of interests than ever.


Category leader Electronic Arts will continue to push interactive entertainment in sports, fitness, education, and social gaming.

Disney will use its acquisition of Playdom to push Disney, ESPN, and potentially Touchstone content into social gaming. Startup Zynga will continue to expand its portfolio.

Leading consumer brands such as PepsiCo, and perhaps even business-to-business brands like IBM, will explore interactive edutainment as a way to connect with customers.


How can gaming companies remain profitable while expanding their audiences and shifting to a direct-to-consumer business model?

Interactive entertainment looks very different today than it did 10 years ago due to the spiraling cost of producing games. The industry has gone through a period of contraction, with a small number of publishers — Electronic Arts, Activision, and Ubisoft — bringing development houses on board.

By minimizing risk and maximizing shareholder value, these companies have also effectively stifled creativity among blockbuster titles. They expect to lose money (or earn very little) on the majority of their releases, but make up for it through huge margins on sequels to their most popular games. If a niche title is an unexpected hit, publishers are quick to turn it into a series.


Always on: Gaming will become an always-on, always-connected community. Expect Facebook to build its gaming capabilities, while gaming companies create their own social networks.

Trends in interactive entertainmentby Frank Vial

Frank Vial is strategy director in the San Francisco office of Landor Associates. Frank writes regularly for Landor’s blog and his article “A second honeymoon: Rekindling the romance with the Chinese consumer” is available on landor.com.

With contributions by Chris Pike, knowledge sharing applications developer; Sean King, design director of corporate communications; and Aaron Burghard, designer

The new Xbox Kinect bypasses a controller and uses motion-sensing technology to make games more active and appealing to the whole family.

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Democratic branding: The rise of social media has catapulted marketing into an era of total transparency as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and consumer blogs have made it possible for ordinary consumers to communicate with millions of people they have never met. Before the digital era, brand owners relied on paid advertising to control and spread their message. Today, digital word of mouth allows uncontrolled brand communications to go out to a massive global audience.

Social media conversations focus predominantly on brand delivery. People use these outlets to communicate and evaluate their personal experi-ences — and especially to share stories about how brands are delivering against their promise. The bigger the gap between promise and delivery, the louder their voices will be; and often, the more sarcastic and cynical in tone. Ultimately, the customer’s brand experience is what influences peer impressions.

As a result, marketers will need to move away from brand promise statements and toward brand experience management, with more attention given to how the intended experience is delivered, monitored, and measured. This trend will continue in 2011, especially as constant communication through mobile devices becomes the norm. Expect branding to become more democratized and increasingly open source.

The open paradigm: A brand manager is now a facilitator who engages with a community of consumers to solicit their input. Successful brand managers will provide consumers with tools that encourage feedback, invite collaboration, and offer possibilities for brand personalization. And they’ll pay attention to what customers are telling them.

The brands that adapt best to this open paradigm — being authentic in the delivery and cocreation of experiences — will win in the coming year. Those that don’t will lose first relevance, then credibility, and eventually sales and market share.

I hope brand managers realize that they are in charge of the customer experience, rather than relying on agencies to communicate their positioning. They must find new ways to measure the efficacy of their brand’s experience and to embed great power apps in all functions, from product innovation to customer service. — Frank Vial, strategy director, San Francisco office

We can expect to see more playfulness, consumer creativity, and partner co-programming in brand management going forward, as well as more system innovation. The brands that will stand out in 2011 will be those that inspire and lead us, not just compete. — Fiona Atzler, client director, New York office

Trends in brand managementby Felix Stöckle

Felix Stöckle is managing director in the Hamburg office of Landor Associates. His current article, “How social media is changing the way brands are managed,” is available on landor.com.

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