GET THE SKINNY ON TRENDS

14 Dec GET THE SKINNY ON TRENDS

By Jenny Fujita and Joy K. Miura, Fujita & Miura Public Relations

Pacific Business News recently reported that “Hawaii’s ubiquitous L&L Drive-Inn chain has rolled out a low-carb meal it calls the Hawaiian Atkins Plate…a high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate meal with no rice and no macaroni salad.” However appetizing (or not) that sounds to you, the move to tap into a trend was a smart one PR-wise. The trick is to know what’s trendy and how to apply the “fashion to your passion.”

In general, the following are good places to find out what’s hot and what’s not: www.msn.com, In Style magazine, TV, cartoons like Doonesbury or Dilbert, the New York Times bestseller list, the water cooler at work, E! Online, the stock market, the World Future Society at www.wfs.org, political speeches – there are tons of sources.

If you want to know the next big thing for your particular target public, a little research may be in order. Check out publications, organizations and products aimed at your audience. For example, if your target is children, you can bet Nickelodeon will be marketing all things cool and tasty to our keiki. If it’s seniors your after, AARP will be one aficionado on elderly issues.

There are also a wide variety of trend-spotting specialists like www.springwise.com.

Whatever resource you use, if you keep your finger on the pulse of what’s popular and adjust your products, services and messages appropriately to fit the times, you will be able to continuously spark the interest of and please your publics. And remember, once you make your move, tell the world.