Jonathon Brown, or 'Bizz' as he's known around the Trend Hunter office, is all about the interactive social experiments. When 'Bizz' isn't observing public behavior or setting Trend Hunting records during his internship, he's going to the gym. He lists one of his greatest accomplishments as having a poem published in the same book as his mother.
How do you define cool?
I define cool as something that is intrinsically authentic. As long as you're authentic, that's the main factor in cool. If you can come off as being genuine and being yourself, or in a product, just making sense and being true to the brand. That's cool to me.
What's your favorite trend and why?
My favorite trend is interactive social experiments. These people are unsuspectingly walking by a store front when they see a Coca-Cola vending machine. When they go inside this store, they're entering Christmas. Inside there's a band, snow and Santa. It's kind of interesting when you think of the concept of Christmas and entering into Christmas and being surrounded with everything Christmas.
What's your favorite thing about working at Trend Hunter?
My favorite thing about working at Trend Hunter is the atmosphere. The way that they encourage everyone to be themselves and have fun is definitely what makes Trend Hunter a great place to work.
What is your favorite accomplishment?
My favorite accomplishment is that I am published in an anthology of Canadian poets along with my mother. Both of us are published in the same book. That's not usually something that happens and I'm sure it won't happen again in my life.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
When I was a kid I wanted to be two things. A firetruck or Michael Jackson.
What's your cool prediction for the future?
A trend I hope to see in the future is that you take all the cards you have, your Optimum card, your air miles card, every card you have and you load them onto one universal remote. They'll have these universal cards so that you're not fumbling around your wallet trying to find your Air Miles card, holding up the line at the grocery or liquor store.
Is there anything you'd like to add about Trend Hunter?
When you think of sitting down at a computer and writing all day, it can be a really mundane process. What happens when you come to Trend Hunter is that all the things that surround it, the social games and different things they create to keep you engaged and competitive make it a really fun place to go. When I get here at the end of my morning and I've already been up for two hours to get here, and I sit down at my computer at the end of my journey, I'm excited about what I'm going to go search for. The thing I also like is that at the end of the day I've seen, read about, and watched videos on a whole bunch of cool stuff that I probably wouldn't have gotten to see if I wasn't here at Trend Hunter, pushing the envelope of what I can find in the nooks and crannies of the Internet.
Jonathon Brown, Trend Hunter (INTERVIEW)
'Bizz' Brown Looks at Interactive Social Experiments
Trend Themes
1. Interactive Social Experiments - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop new and creative ways to engage with consumers through interactive social experiments, creating memorable and immersive brand experiences.
2. Universal Cards - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Streamline the consumer experience by creating a universal card that consolidates multiple loyalty and membership cards into one convenient platform.
3. Authenticity - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Emphasize the importance of authenticity in branding and marketing strategies, as consumers value genuine experiences and connections with brands.
Industry Implications
1. Marketing - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Utilize interactive social experiments to create unique and engaging marketing campaigns that capture consumers' attention and drive brand loyalty.
2. Retail - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Implement universal cards in retail settings to simplify and enhance the shopping experience, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Publishing - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Publish anthologies and books that showcase unique collaborations and connections, sparking interest and creating new opportunities within the publishing industry.