Event Recap: International Home and Housewares Show

Things have been a little scarce here on the blog while we have been prepping for the International Home and Housewares Show at work for the past several weeks. Yesterday, I was able to enjoy the fruits of all of our labor when I visited the convention. Unfortunately,  photography was not allowed, so I can’t share any sneak peaks. However, I can say that there are a lot of fun and innovative products on the horizon if the show is any indication. While at the show, I was also able to attend two seminars on trends and color, so I thought I would share a few of my notes and thoughts.

Top Trends for 2011: Staying Relevant to a Changing Consumer
Moderated by Tom Mirabile, with panelists Susan Yashinsky, Michelle Lamb, and Robin Albing

Focusing on generational differences in buying power and the resulting buying trends, I found this session to be rather interesting. I was expecting it to focus on design and product trends, but was instead pleased to find it focused more on marketing strategy and consumer psychology.

For me the biggest idea that I took away from this talk dealt with the need for companies to not only be true to their brand, but also to be authentic, honest, have integrity, and above all be compassionate in order to sell to today’s consumer. I found these thoughts to be especially relevant after having just read Emotional Branding last month. While designing for the mass market, the challenge for the designer then becomes to create products that connect emotionally with the consumer on an individual level.

Further, companies can no longer rely on their brand to sell themselves to the consumer. Today’s market is all about collaboration between the company and the consumer: with open dialog between the two. A lot of what I was hearing about authenticity in your messaging/products hearkened back to what we stressed to our clients at Fleishman Hillard in our Online Editorial Outreach group. The consumer can recognize when a message is being staged, as well as when a company is really listening to consumer concerns. Being genuine is the best way for your brand to be recognized, and in this day and age, you had better have an online presence in the social media community.

Color Trends: The Catalysts That Create Change
Presented by Pantone with Leatrice Eiseman

Once again, the stress was on connecting emotionally with the consumer: this time through color. Authenticity, simplicity and clarity in a line’s color palette signify a product’s relation to an individual’s lifestyle or fashion sense. As the consumer market fragments more and more into marketing to individuals, color palettes begin to broaden. Rather than a specific shade of purple being the “it” color of the season, we are beginning to see a wide variety of hues within a certain color family: allowing for individuals to be on trend, yet showcase their own personal style.

Luckily, we were allowed to take pictures of the Pantone display, so I shot a few for reference. Although you may not see it on the following photos, Pantone’s new Color of the Year is a lovely shade of jewel-like turquoise.Below are a few of my favorite spreads:

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