Trend Trackers State the Obvious

In a New York Times article, Stuart Elliott interviewed Zoe Lazarus and Richard Welch who head up a new trend tracking division of Ogilvy. Absolutely nothing new is revealed in this interview and the whole trend tracking movement, while important, comes off as just being all about good 'ol marketing 101: Know Thy Target Audience. Witty repartee included:

"Q. Why has trend tracking become such a trend? Or is it just a fad? A lot of the so-called cool hunters, self-styled experts at spotting trends among younger consumers, seem to be fading away.

Ms. Lazarus: It has maybe been a bit of a fad, but the ideas behind it make good sense. It's good to have advance-warning radar about what's happening among consumers."

Brilliant.