Essay: Irma Zandi – Trendwatcher as an acknowledged expert in the field of consumer insight

president of trend-analysis firm The Zandi Group
Background
Zandi who has been trendwatcher since 1986 has operated Zandi group which is named after her. Zandi group is A New York City-based agency dedicated to keeping brands & businesses on-trend and culturally relevant to today’s hard-to-reach consumers: Gen Y/Millennials, Gen X, Boomers. This company analyzes the nature of the fashion which is sent by about 3000 correspondents across the United states
Methodology & approach
Zandi who is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost experts on trends starts every day with watching cable music channel MTV at 5:30a.m. After that, she reads five daily newpapers to understand the flow of that day. She travels to many cities worldwide and makes it a point to attend every concert, party, car show that could be an issue. Meeting people there and identifing their interest and fashion is her job.
Zandi group has a lot of methodologies. Every excursion are customized to their client partners’ needs. Scouting, Patterning & Scene Immersions, one of their methodology, include 3 steps.
First thing is Pre-search & Planning. It is tapping into our network of experts and directional consumers as well as mining blogs and other online sources for the most forward-looking developments
Second one is Experiential Activities. It is about Private meetings and interviews with relevant experts/insiders
Third one is Retail/Market Immersions. Itineraries are developed to provide first-hand exposure to directional stores, markets, restaurants, and other new venues.
Immersions are often documented by a videographer or photographer to provide a visual record. They also engage resident experts and ‘cultural translators’ to provide context and further dimensionalize the scene for them (e.g. hoteliers, skate pros, museum curators, nightlife promoters, chefs).
And there is Industry Experts & Tastemaker Interviews as well.
It is a rare opportunity to interact with, and learn from, creative, forward-looking entrepreneurs and companies and Informal discussions with individual experts/frontline insiders, who are chosen for their diverse perspectives and for their high level of category/industry engagement. In many instances, They help clients have continued to work with the experts independently as projects evolve.
In New York, They frequently conduct the interviews at the Zandl Rivington Loft, a relaxed setting that encourages easy participation in the discussions by both clients and experts. In other cities, the interviews are conducted in hotel suites or other locations conducive to the creative flow of information.
Their network includes cultural observers and insiders/experts with diverse backgrounds and expertise – ranging from influential sub-cultures to mainstream tastemakers.
Zandi Group has published Bimomthly megazine ‘ hot sheet ‘ based on
survey responses and information which is sent by a wide range of various correspondents aging from 8 years old to 24 years old. Coca, Disney, GM, etc. sensitive to market trends are paying a lot of money $ 15,000 to subscribe to the magazine .
Specialization
Zandi group specializes in directional research, experiential immersions, and custom presentations that help businesses better understand their consumers and anticipate future trends.
Over the past 20 years, They have pioneered the use of many non-traditional and ethnographic approaches that yield rich insights while also providing our client partners with first-hand exposure to their consumers’ world.
Irma zandi’s Specialties are Trends, Blogging, Marketing Innovation, Consulting, Consumer and Generational Insights, Keynotes and other Presentations
clients
with FOX, Nestle, Discovery, Kellogg’s, NIKE, MTV, Coca Cola, P&G, 20th century fox, NBC, etc
‘Our instinct and insight on contemporary culture make them a valuable resource for anyone trying to get in touch with what’s going on today’-Irma zandi
Jane buckingham
Founder and president of consumer insights firm Trendera, and an expert on marketing to people of different generations.
Background
At the age of 16, Jane Buckingham wrote the book Teens Speak Out, a report from teens on their most intimate thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future. This started her on a quest to better understand and explain how young people feel. The book was featured on programs including “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Regis and Kelly.”
After working in advertising at BBDO New York, FCB/Leber Katz New York and Houston Effler Boston, she started her own youth-focused trend-forecasting firm, Youth Intelligence, in 1996. which she sold to Creative Artists Agency in 2003.
She created and published The Cassandra Report, the leading trend forecasting study which is used by CEO’s and Movie Studio heads and has become an industry wide standard for all things ‘cool.’ Jane has worked with numerous Fortune 500 Clients including Microsoft, Nike, Target, Chanel, NBC, Procter and Gamble, MTV, Levis, Sony and others.
Having studied the generations for over 20 years she is able to help companies and individuals gain insights and actions around these dif’cult to understand groups. Buckingham left the Intelligence Group in 2009 to start Trendera, an innovative trend forecasting, consulting, research, and multi media company. Using digital technologies and traditional social research, Trendera became an authority in consumer insights with clients such as Target, NBC, ABC, 20th Century Fox, and Gap.
Methodology & approach
Jane’s work is based on personal observations and survey data. Jane combines research tools with trend knowledge helping companies understand how consumers feel and what trends will impact their businesses.
With a focus on Gen X, Y and Z, Trendera assists companies, parents and educators in reaching the most sought after groups: Teens, twenty-somethings, kids, and parents. She and her team leverage online and real world research to provide Trendera’s cutting edge services to help clients gain a competitive advantage.
With networks of ‘Trenders’ from around the globe and panels in each segment (moms, teens, tweens, 20’s, 30’s), Trendera accesses the minds of consumers to help shape its marketing and consulting strategies. Recently, Jane has launched a new multi-media business in synch with the digital age. Trendera utilizes digital platforms to allow for more digital research to be used in conjunction with traditional research. In addition, Trendera has launched several websites and iphone apps for consumer use.
Trendera’s mission is to access, engage and analyze consumers by creating new and innovative research methodologies that are reflective of and integrated into the way consumers live their lives. So, Trendera combines traditional and non-traditional methods and engages consumers online, in person and wherever they can get insight into their thoughts, behaviors, passions, likes and dislikes. More importantly, Trendera then contextualizes findings with cultural and behavioral insights in order to provide meaningful implications for brands.
As consumers have become accustomed to customization and instant gratification, their research methodologies and tools for engagement have had to evolve in order to be able to forecast what’s next rather than report what’s already happened. Therefore, they are constantly evolving and tweaking the frequency and format with which we disseminate information, in order to make it the most impactful for our clients. Their methodologies and reporting will continue to evolve and change with the lifestyles of the consumers we track and the needs of our clients.
Their products and services include proprietary research and consulting as well as a digital syndicated report (The Trendera Files). Their proprietary services include social media consulting, mobile research, immersion investigations, Travel Trends and Customized Branded Communities, just to name a few. Their proprietary work with clients is highly customized. They pride theirselves in developing strategies and executions that will result in greater insights with longer impact across multiple areas of a brand’s business.
The Trendera Files is a multi-media trend study covering attitudes and behaviors among 8-44 year olds. The report includes access to an interactive community of their “Influencers”. The Trendera Files covers what consumers are into or over, and digs into the ‘Why’?. The Trendera Files reveal not only who the consumer is today, but also who they will become, giving marketers and brands the ability to be a step ahead. The Trendera Files is a forecasting tool not a reporting tool.
Specialization
Jane Buckingham is the world’s foremost expert on Gen X, Y, and upcoming Z Generations.
Partnerships
Trendera produces the trend forecasting report ‘THE TRENDERA FILES’ and works with clients including Facebook, Paramount, Fox, Target, L’Oreal, numerous Fortune 500 Clients including Microsoft, Nike, Target, Chanel, NBC, Procter and Gamble, MTV, Levis, Sony and others.)
‘How key it is to know how to pivot. Not reinvent, pivot. Look at where you are going and adjust slightly.’ -Jane buckingham