Babies

Implications - Aligning with the increasing role convenience culture plays in consumers' daily lives, brands in the baby space are creating more portable versions of infant necessities for busy parents. By honing in on convenience, these products are able to stand out and win the loyalty of discerning consumers.

Homework Question - What could you change about your product/experience in order to make your consumers' lives easier? [More]

Implications - The specialty care that many premature babies require from caregivers is being honed in on by brands, with the infant care industry seeing a rise of preemie-specific products and services. This shift comes as brands recognize the growing value in catering to diverse sets of consumers, rather than attempting to cater to the majority alone.

Homework Question - How could your brand serve consumers with more niche needs and preferences within its area of expertise? [More]

Implications - Brands begin creating cosmetic-like toiletry products for children in the hopes of generating a loyal following from young consumers. Typically adult-oriented products like perfumes are being redesigned for younger demographics, as a way for children to get a head-start on their personal brand and experiment with their personal preferences. Brands that begin to target young consumers first, are likely to remain in the consumers’ mind and therefore more likely to holster a loyal audience.

Homework Question - How is your brand pre-planning for the future generation of consumers? [More]

Implications - For infants with allergies to cow's milk, the recent prevalence of infant formulas featuring goat's milk signals an increased appetite for hypoallergenic alternatives. Goat's milk formula serves as a nutritious alternative for parents prioritizing health and wellness for their infants, and underlines the evolution of large brands as they increasingly accommodate niche consumer needs and interests.

Homework Question - How is your brand taking into account consumers with niche interests and needs? [More]

Implications - As streetwear inspirations permeate all levels of contemporary fashion culture, established brands expand on their cult statuses by introducing capsule collections designed for young children. This progression speaks to the ability of brands to provide new product ranges that keep their original demographic enthralled as they age, as well as the new emphasis on youth-targeted options that broaden luxury experiences up to being family activities.

Homework Question - How can you expand the life aspirations of your brand to include the children of your valued customers? [More]

Implications - Brands are now accommodating a new generation of parents that often prioritizes personal health and pre-pregnancy routines, alongside their new responsibilities as parents. This reactive shift recognizes the importance of multifunctionality in convenience, as it takes a "two birds one stone" approach to parenting while maintaining health.

Homework Question - How can your brand better accommodate the need for multifunctionality? [More]

Implications - With environmental pollution being hazardous to health and only gaining intensity in populated areas, brands are beginning to create products for infants that prevent them from breathing in contaminated air. These emerging innovations come as babies are the most vulnerable population, highly susceptible to the health hazards associated with pollution. This shift reflects the widely acknowledged fact of climate change and pollution's effects, and works to cater to concerned consumers' desire for preventative products, rather than those that simply offer treatments post-consequence.

Homework Question - How can your brand contribute to positive change in its own area of interest in a way that forecasts consequences and works to prevent them? [More]

Implications - Millennials are notoriously globally minded, using the Internet as a way to gain insight into social issues and expose themselves to different situations to gain empathy. They want to instill the same values in their children. Toy companies are responding by crafting products and services that not only expose kids to various issues, but educate them on how to practice empathy in a tangible way.

Homework Question - How does your product or service make your customer a better person? [More]

Implications - Between paying off school debt and having taken on unpaid internships and other career hardships, the older Millennial is not willing to sacrifice their career to have children. They plan to maintain both by leveraging the help of assistive technology. This goes beyond the logistics of parenting, and into productionizing qualitative aspects of parenting.

Homework Question - How can your product or service enable consumers to reach a compromise regarding more difficult parts of their lives? [More]

Implications - Creativity and self-expression are important to the socially minded Millennial. This does not change as the Millennial enters parenthood, and in fact is a value they're passing on to their own children. Brands are responding by developing products that are conducive to an aspirational, enviable childhood.

Homework Question - What are the key motivators of your target consumer, and do they impact their family/relationship dynamics? [More]