Opinion What’s a trend?

Different types of trends emerge at different times. The advent of denim jeans was a trend that cut across society; the poor,rich,middle class,executives,farm hands,old and aged,almost everybody went through the trend. In business,it’s important to understand the latent trend. Having an inkling of the future allows you to direct your business in the right growth path. Although technology is creating a futuristic trend which people have not been associated with before,a trend takes the future as a hook to climb from,even as it is anchored in the tremendous cycles of history.

A brand at the core of the trend absorbs and anticipates the future,it drives the latent trend. Let’s see how Benetton did just that to ride global business with USD 2,751 million in 2010,15% operating profit margin. Benetton case study: Luciano Benetton transformed his company when he changed his brand from Benetton to United Colors of Benetton. The brand thrives on expletives and stands for anti-racism. His extreme provocations have shock value that shakes up the shackles that bind civilised society. But the point he raises is a serious social cause. Being a Caucasian,he alerts fellow Europeans to the racism ingrained in their minds. He’s proved that curses and abuses can be over-stretched to defend a social cause.

Till the 1970s,racism went unbridled. Even poverty-stricken Caucasian countries like Italy,Spain and Portugal were considered inferior; the French would arrogantly dub Portuguese to be good only as concierge of condominiums. African or Arab communities hated the ‘high and mighty white attitude’ which oftentimes led to violence. In this atmosphere,fashion designer Benetton had the calibre,vision and guts to use abusive visual communication with anti-racism as his platform. Fashion’s origins can be traced to royalty that distinguished itself from the proletariat; it has no obvious connect to racism. By whipping up collages of different cultures,Benetton turned the sophisticated world offashion upside down. Not only did his anti-racism pitch disturb the Establishment,Benetton fought for social justice. His political and humanitarian rights causes won him appreciation from liberals,intellectuals and the young. He plastered Western cities with daring,controversial visuals that attracted people of all societies. These people became his buyers. His platform became large,intense and inimitable.

United Colors of Benetton is always linked to colours,in clothing and in uniting races of different skin colours. His messages never abuse anyone,his images expose the totally taboo. Just imagine an outsize billboard in a prime metro area exhibiting innumerable male and female sex organs of multiple colours and races,with nothing else but a tiny United Colors of Benetton sign-off. You may publicly denounce such a picture,but wouldn’t you be curious to openly see the United Colors of sex for your personal hedonism? This outrageous picture created havoc in society.

Benetton billboards communicate people’s subliminal desire to see the unmentionable such as horses,symbolical white and dark,making love. This sexual fantasy with the opposite colour is hidden,especially the coloured person’s revenge over white supremacy through sex. Benetton proves that a desirable object can break racism. He spoke out against incest in societies too,and iconised his clothes to reflect the wearer’s liberal personality.

Fashion codes change every year,but the professional success of United Colors of Benetton is its single message magnified to overwhelming proportions. For over a quarter century,it has not bored people. The media mileage his communication gets is incredible. Just a few confrontational billboards in a country,and the media automatically starts different kinds of debate. Millions of people,shocked,disturbed or supportive of the pictures,watch these TV debates at prime time. No company can hope for such mileage even if they invest huge sums of money. Protests and turbulence have frequently knocked his door. But the cacophonous attentions his unrelenting salvos receive establish that people love to be provoked. People enjoy public exhibition of their unstated desires; they are keen to openly indulge in controversy to keep life dynamic.

A trend is a non-stop wave that has an undercurrent. It is extremely difficult to swim against the undercurrent. Trying to do so can be very laborious,and can drown you. You could ignore companies like Benetton as not being relevant for your business but you do so at your peril because you totally miss the consumer’s deeper social insight,not her subjective or individualistic views. Consequently,you may fail to analyse and understand the consumers’ fantasies that other industry domains are addressing. By not riding the trend,your business may fall into the undercurrent. Your organisation has to create a wave to connect to that ocean of consumers over whom you will never have physical control.

Today’s trends such as hip hop,iPod,Rbk,Niketown,Fcuk,Smart car,Swatch,homosexual marriage,Bose sound,Starbucks,health and fitness are cords that link to consumers,they are not in a vacuum. If managements like Benetton have intellectually translated the world of business to a socio-philosophical mode to create the latent trend in business,so can you. Connecting to these trends will help you generate the latent trend,that better cook of current and past trends.

Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com