TREND ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT

1
TREND ANALYSISASSIGNMENT

• CIS Writing
• Mara Corey, Irondale High School

2
Basic Features of Trend Analysis

• Presentation of Trend
• A Convincing Causal Argument
• An Prediction or Discussion of Future

3
For most people, the terms "trend" and "fad are
used interchangeably.

• When the media tell us "what's hot" they label
  them as trends.
• Someone who wears the latest fashions or has
  obscure new music on their iPod is called
  "trendy."

4
In other words, fads are short-term fanaticisms
a blip in culture time whereby it seems the whole
world is joined in the same craze. Exciting and
electric as they are, they burn out fast.
5
A fad is a fast and furious practice, product, or
interest, fueled by tremendous hype and followed
by a deep decline. Usually isolated to a few
market segments, or particular demographic
groups, fads are self-contained, short-lived
phenomena.
6
Witness the short-lived era of the Trucker Hat
(2001-2003, depending on whom you ask). Or
Rubik's Cubes, virtual reality, grunge, pogs, and
countless others.
7
We want fad amnesia, to forget them and bury them
away. . . at least until the next generation
revives them as retro goofs. That's because they
stand for a certain point in time that we have
moved past.
8
Trends, though, may represent long-term changes
or movements that are substantial to society.
They become part of our DNA, even though they may
begin with just a few people, the trendsetters.
9
A trend is a slower, steadier development. Trends
are characterized by new ways of doing business,
new lifestyle practices, the changing needs of
customers and new products or services that
render older ones obsolete.
10
While trends dont usually generate as much
enthusiasm as fads and take longer to develop,
they are longer lasting and far more widespread.
Instead of plummeting to their demise, many
trends evolve into permanent shifts in the ways
we live, work, and interact with others.
11
Many types of trends exist, including industrial,
economic, societal, cultural, demographic, and
technological.
12
What youre looking for . . .

• Some service, product, behavior, or value that
  extends in one direction, follows a course that
  is traceable over time.
• A line of movement that shows a prevailing
  inclination, a statistically detectable change.
• A shift or veer in a new direction that is more
  than a current style or preference.

13
Fads span several categories as well as, most
notably, entertainment, fashion and lifestyle.
14
Both trends and fads begin on the fringe and move
toward the center (the mainstream), but fads fall
away, while trends continue to penetrate larger
groups with lasting effects.
15
Uncovering the epiphany - Fads create a frenzy
and fade trends spur a transformation in our
culture. More fascinating still, many fads are
the byproducts of larger, looming trends.
16
Take the portable music trend spurred by the
eighties boom box, which then evolved into the
nineties walkman and matriculated into the
millennium with the iPod.
17
While the hardware has been replaced with devices
that are more popular and portable, this trend
has rocked steady for decades (and may already be
classified as a permanent shift).
18
Trendsetters get the ball rolling, like the first
geeks who began file sharing on the Internet in
the mid-nineties. They led to the digitization
of music, which has built new industries and
changed the way most of us consume music.
19
Or JFK, a trendsetter in many ways, who was
credited with influencing men in the early
sixties to go hatless. Since then, practically no
one outside of a costume party, swing band, or
Mafia film wears a Fedora.
20
Trends have staying power. No matter how long
since their initial popularity, they still matter.
21
Take hip-hop music

• It could have been labeled an early eighties fad
  given its centrality on the streets of NYC.
• Now it's at the foundation of our popular
  culture.
• From Billboard and MTV to ad jingles, with the
  look and fashion adorned by Midwestern high
  school kids.
• Hip-hop and urbanization of culture was a trend
  that took hold over the last twenty years.

22
Real trends have depth. Something causes their
popularity and acceptance. In the example above,
hip-hop must have fused itself to our culture for
a reason.
23
Understanding that is the job of sociologists,
trendwatchers, market researchers and other
professionals who are sought to analyze society
and forecast the trends that will change the game.
24
Real trendwatchers . . .

• Use analysis to understand what is behind the
  fad.
• Examine why the trend is here.
• Predict its potential to develop into a trend.
• Are wary of the latest hype and media spin, which
  often portray minor movements as national
  sensations.

25
Some tips to help YOU be a trend-watcher . . .
26
First, prove the trend exists.
27
Presentation of Trend

• Introduce engagingly
• Prove existence of trend through
• anecdotes, statistics
• Provide details, background, current status
• Thesis identify both the trend and the
• main reason or reasons for the existence of
  the trend

28
Track the trends progression. Is it
progressing or regressing? Trends steadily
progress and build momentum over time.
29
Second, determine what's driving the trends
development.
30
Make a convincing case for a particular cause (s)
31
In order to effectively analyze a trend, as
opposed to simply reporting on a trend, you must
consider the effects of the trend on the culture.
32
Research

• A.  Confirms your own hunches about the
• trend
• B.  Suggests other causes for the trend
• C. Provides evidence in support of your
• proposed causes
• D. Suggests effects of the trend
• E. Suggests problems/solutions for the trend

33
If applicable, suggest possible solutions for the
trend.
34
How do you start?

• Valuable information is everywhere you look.
• Read magazines, newspapers, and web articles and
  watch TV news shows to spot recurring themes.
• Scan Web sites, forums, and chat rooms. File away
  information for future reference.
• Examine whether the fads around you add up to the
  deeper, wider trends.
• Recognize that the obvious often isn't so
  obvious. You may see something in front of you,
  but when you analyze it, you see it's really
  something else. How many people go out and jog
  for an hour, then go home and eat a pint of ice
  cream? That's fitness and fatness in the same
  person.