Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Trend forecasting is a science: tomorrow is predictable. Understanding consumer trends means the difference between corporate success and failure, as trends affect every sector and every market. The success or failure of global brands from Dove to Apple, McDonalds to Coca Cola is increasingly recognised as being trend-driven. For companies to survive, they will need to understand how to take advantage of these changes, rather than just react to them.The Next Big Thing reveals how trends work, how to spot them, and then how to use that knowledge to gain financial and competitive advantage. Full of examples of trends and comments from industry insiders, it also includes case studies of companies that benefited from spotting trends and those who lost out by not spotting them. The Next Big Thing will enable you to anticipate, prepare for and benefit from trends.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgments (p. viii)
• Introduction: Predicting success (p. 1)
• Section 1 Trends (p. 5)
• Part 1 The Value of trends (p. 7)
• 1 The importance of trends (p. 9)
• The meaning of consumers (p. 9)
• The meaning of change (p. 10)
• The meaning of trends (p. 13)
• Consumer trends (p. 15)
• 2 The relevance of trends (p. 17)
• Trends today (p. 17)
• Accelerated change (p. 17)
• Boundary blurring (p. 19)
• Consumer is king (p. 20)
• Globalism (p. 22)
• 3 The impact of trends (p. 24)
• Marketing impact (p. 24)
• Purchase drivers (p. 25)
• Communications (p. 26)
• Distribution (p. 28)
• New markets (p. 29)
• New products (p. 30)
• 4 The benefit of trends
• Trend as opportunity (p. 33)
• Trend as threat (p. 35)
• Missing trends (p. 36)
• Catching trends (p. 38)
• Summary (p. 40)
• Part 2 Beginning with trends (p. 41)
• 5 The three Is (p. 41)
• What trend marketing is (p. 43)
• What trend marketing is not (p. 46)
• The Trend Marketing Process (p. 49)
• 6 Preparation (p. 52)
• Focus on the future (p. 52)
• Avoid bias (p. 53)
• Keep an open mind (p. 55)
• Be systematic (p. 57)
• Innovate (p. 59)
• 7 In-house insights
• Trend integration (p. 61)
• Trend team (p. 62)
• Trend department (p. 63)
• 8 Outsourcing insights (p. 67)
• Trend outsourcing (p. 67)
• Trend scouts (p. 69)
• Trend consultants (p. 70)
• Summary (p. 74)
• Part 3 Understanding trends (p. 75)
• 9 How trends start (p. 77)
• Trend initiators (p. 77)
• Initiator typologies (p. 78)
• 10 Trend typologies (p. 83)
• Typology traits (p. 83)
• Behavioural versus attitudinal (p. 84)
• Micro versus macro (p. 87)
• International versus national (p. 89)
• Conflicting trends (p. 92)
• 11 Where trends occur (p. 94)
• Sectors (p. 94)
• Segments (p. 98)
• 12 Trends versus fads (p. 103)
• Avoidance (p. 103)
• Creation (p. 104)
• Identification (p. 106)
• Utilization (p. 107)
• Summary (p. 109)
• Section 2 Trend Marketing (p. 111)
• Part 4 Identification (p. 113)
• 13 What to look for (p. 115)
• What to study (p. 115)
• Who to study (p. 116)
• When to study (p. 120)
• How to study (p. 121)
• 14 Statistical data (p. 126)
• Finding data (p. 126)
• Future data (p. 127)
• Primary data (p. 129)
• Secondary data (p. 130)
• Testing data (p. 132)
• 15 Observational data (p. 134)
• The boardroom (p. 134)
• The living room (p. 135)
• The street (p. 137)
• The internet (p. 139)
• 16 Media monitoring (p. 141)
• How to monitor (p. 141)
• What to monitor (p. 144)
• Summary (p. 149)
• Part 5 Interpretation
• 17 How trends spread (p. 151)
• Where trends spread (p. 153)
• Who trends spread to (p. 153)
• How trends spread (p. 156)
• 18 Active trend drivers (p. 161)
• Assistance attributes (p. 161)
• Need attributes (p. 164)
• 19 Passive trend drivers (p. 169)
• Passive drivers (p. 169)
• Constants (p. 170)
• Cycles (p. 173)
• Calculables (p. 175)
• Chaotics (p. 176)
• 20 Predicting trends (p. 178)
• Trend prediction (p. 178)
• Trend mapping (p. 182)
• Summary (p. 189)
• Part 6 Implementation (p. 191)
• 21 Convincing the company (p. 193)
• Presentation needs (p. 193)
• Presentation drivers (p. 194)
• Presentation typologies (p. 198)
• Presentation tips (p. 200)
• 22 Determining strategy (p. 203)
• Implication determination (p. 203)
• Communal determination (p. 204)
• Formal determination (p. 207)
• 23 What's in it for me? (p. 212)
• Picking your purpose (p. 212)
• Packing parameters (p. 213)
• 24 Theory into practice (p. 218)
• The implementation process (p. 218)
• Responding to trends (p. 221)
• The next steps (p. 224)
• Summary (p. 228)
• Afterword: Tomorrow today (p. 229)
• Appendix: Trend marketing action (p. 231)
• Index (p. 251)