* THIS INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM FIRST APPEARED IN ‘THE INDEPENDENT’ *

Will Higham spent his early career in the music industry. He
identified the rise of the older entertainment consumer — “50 quid bloke” — and the
retro trend. His recent interest is the “Saffys,” teens who, like their Ab Fab namesake,
eschew the hedonism of their parents for more conservative interests. …

Leading trend analysts can earn a fortune by spotting the next big thing. Clare Goff profiles the best of the bunch.

Peter Schwartz, CHAIRMAN AND CO-FOUNDER OF GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK
A “godfather” of trends analysis, Schwartz realised the importance of identifying
consumer trends as head of scenario planning for Shell in the 1970s. He founded
Global Business Network in 1987 and works with governments and industry to
develop “scenario stories” that bring possible futures to life. His key interest is scientific
and technological breakthroughs; he anticipated global warming and rising
terrorism. 9/10

Marian Salzman, EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR STRATEGIC CONTENT, JWT
Salzman wrote college essays on the threat of terrorism, was challenged on “wiggers”
(white kids who want to be black) by Oprah, and identified the Sex and the City
generation back in 1989. Coming from marketing, she claims a “gift for identifying
what’s next” and finding the “tweak” that makes a brand stand out. Recent interests
have been metrosexual man (she co-authored a book The Future of Men) and fortyfication.
10/10

William Higham, FOUNDER, THE NEXT BIG THING
Higham spent his early career in the music industry, and launchedThe Next BigThing
in 2001 after finding himself at gigs analysing the audience rather than the band. He
identified the rise of the older entertainment consumer — “50 quid bloke” — and the
retro trend. His recent interest is the “Saffys,” teens who, like their Ab Fab namesake,
eschew the hedonism of their parents for more conservative interests. 7.5/10

Martin Raymond, CO-FOUNDER, THE FUTURE LABORATORY
Raymond was editing Viewpoint in 2001 when he spotted a gap for a creative
approach to trendspotting. S ince then, The Future Lab has been pitched between
number-crunching and cool-hunting, and calls on a LifeSigns network of 2,500
thinkers, academics and DJs. New trends include ethics, or “consumanism,” and
FUD, the ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’ of modern culture. 7.5/10

Melanie Howard, CO-FOUNDER, THE FUTURE FOUNDATION
Howard co-founded The Future Foundation in 1996 after making a name for
herself at The Henley Centre. Taking a sociological approach to trends analysis,
The Future Foundation offers a self-service, online trends-forecasting service,
nVision. Howard’s own work includes a survey into the effect of technology
on our quality of life, for BT, and a survey on ethical consumers, for the
Co-op Bank. 8/10

Reinier Evers, FOUNDER, TRENDWATCHING
Dutch-born Evers launched Trendwatching three years ago as an online, global network
of trends and new business ideas. It relies on 7,000 “spotters” across more than
70 countries. Recent finds include Generation C (consumers who generate and
share material), Massclusivity (exclusivity for the masses) and Uber Premium (über
exclusive goods that the masses have not yet commoditised). 6.5/10

Roger Tredre, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, WORTH GLOBAL STYLE NETWORK (WGSN)
A former Independent journalist, Tredre joined online fashion trends portal WGSN
in its launch year in 1998 and has witnessed its growth from dot.com start-up to
multimillion-pound business. Publisher Emap paid £140m for the company last
month. Mixing research with journalistic skills, WGSN has correspondents across
the globe, covering sectors from clothing to mobile phone technology. 8/10

Sue Elms, HEAD OF CARAT INSIGHT
Elms uncovered the emergence of Generation Jones in the U.K. — late babyboomers
whose world view straddles the idealism of the Sixties and the selfishness
of later generations. Her focus is understanding consumers for the purposes of marketing,
and she subjects trends to rigorous testing for traction, scale and longevity.
Recently, she has developed Connect 27, a classification of U.K. mind-sets. 8.5/10

Jo Rigby, HEAD, OMD INSIGHT
At 34, Rigby is part of a new generation of trend-spotters, and her most famous
piece of research “UFO: Understanding Fifties and Over” has overturned negative
perceptions of the “grey” market, showing advertisers the spending power of this
growing audience. She has worked with Channel 4 on a gay community project,
and is now looking at ethnic minorities, who she describes as “hugely underresearched.”
8/10

Martin Lindstrom, AUTHOR AND BRAND EXPERT
Lindstrom founded his own advertising company at the age of 12. Now, he’s a branding
guru to the likes of Disney and Pepsi, and predicts how brands will evolve. His latest
book forecasts that brands will take on a religious dimension, with rituals, icons, a
sense of belonging, and will need to appeal to all the senses, including smell. He anticipated
the rise in text messaging, coining the word ‘tweenspeak’ back in 1999. 6.5/10

Sian Davies, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE HENLEY CENTRE HEADLIGHTVISION
Now 30 years old, The Henley Centre was the first company in the U.K. to introduce
the notion of tracking consumer and social trends. Its trends-forecasting is
based heavily on quantitative research, but it has a more cultural edge following
merger with HeadlightVision. The Henley Centre was responsible for the phrase
“time poor, money rich.” It was acquired by the advertising group WPP in the
1990s. 8/10

Rohit Talwar, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FAST FUTURE
What will happen if Britain is hit by an asteroid in the year 3000, or suffers blackouts
as a result of climate change in 2020? Government departments are beginning to
realise the need to think long-term, and Talwar’s consultancy has been helping it
future-proof its policy decisions. His focus is theeffects of trends and helping the public
sector and industry set goals to maximise — or minimise — their effect. 7.5/10

View original article by Clare Goff in The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/analysis-trendspotters-the-crystal-ball-gazers-6112870.html