Register Now! August 9 & November 1 in LA and October 18 in NYC.
Thousands of senior marketing, product, brand, and operating executives have gained the awareness and strategic vision necessary to connect with young consumers by attending Trend School. Part grad class, part mini-conference, part networking event, Trend School goes beyond what’s happening with young consumers by delving into why they do what they do. These daylong sessions are intimate and interactive, featuring product samples, taste tests and tech demos, as well as featuring an exclusive curriculum drawn from three distinct sources:

We’ll explore:

…How today’s Ys are evaluating their own social media reflections compulsively, to the point where their web presence is now irrevocably tied to their self-worth. This emergent Web Esteem contributes greatly to their feelings about themselves and, perhaps more importantly, how they feel others see them.

…Why, in sharp contrast to the more traditional paths of past generations, Ys are less likely to define themselves mainly by their career history. As a result, it’s their Life Resume — as opposed to their career resume – that has emerged as the principal tool for documenting their achievements and success in life.

…How a new Challenger mindset is pushing Ys to achieve their goals through creative sprints, daily challenges, and even deprivation experiments.

…The Boomerang Effect, Living Solo and Quarter Life Crisis, all of which are key themes in the Quarter Life, a life stage of extended adolescence that is shifting the behaviors, attitudes and preferences of post-college consumers.

Confirmed speakers at LA Trend School, August 9th:

• Apu Gupta, CEO/Co-Founder of Curalate, and Tony Drummond, Associate Partner Media & Entertainment, IBM Global Consulting, will share how harnessing the power of data enables brands to form more meaningful connections with their consumers.
• Artist and businessman DJ Skee will share his journey to becoming one of Billboard Magazine’s “30 under 30″ Industry Power Players by creating a hybrid entertainment, marketing and media powerhouse.
• Matt Munson, CEO/Co-Founder of Instacanvas, Eddy Lu, CEO/Co-Founder of Grubwithus, and Sophia Amoruso, Founder of Nasty Gal, will form a panel to discuss how they are leading their start-ups in disrupting established markets.

Please visit http://www.cassandra.co/live/trendschool/ to inquire about registration and further details or contact Marissa Heitshusen at marissa.heitshusen@intelg.com.

Register Now! August 9 & November 1 in LA and October 18 in NYC.

Thousands of senior marketing, product, brand, and operating executives have gained the awareness and strategic vision necessary to connect with young consumers by attending Trend School. Part grad class, part mini-conference, part networking event, Trend School goes beyond what’s happening with young consumers by delving into why they do what they do. These daylong sessions are intimate and interactive, featuring product samples, taste tests and tech demos, as well as featuring an exclusive curriculum drawn from three distinct sources:

Select Cassandra Content – new “macro” trends as well as emerging movements in web/tech, new media, entertainment, fashion, retail, food, and beauty

Unfiltered Voices of Young Consumers – engage directly with Gen Ys through a live facilitated panel discussion and Q&A

Expert Speakers & Panelists – progressive innovators who share their knowledge and perspectives on consumers, today and into the future

In our upcoming Trend Schools in Los Angeles and New York we will reevaluate who Gen Y is today, including a deep investigation of how their identities have shifted from a decade ago when the world’s post 9-11 hangover and the reality of an unstable global economy began to affect their lives.

We’ll explore:

…How today’s Ys are evaluating their own social media reflections compulsively, to the point where their web presence is now irrevocably tied to their self-worth. This emergent Web Esteem contributes greatly to their feelings about themselves and, perhaps more importantly, how they feel others see them.

…Why, in sharp contrast to the more traditional paths of past generations, Ys are less likely to define themselves mainly by their career history. As a result, it’s their Life Resume — as opposed to their career resume – that has emerged as the principal tool for documenting their achievements and success in life.

…How a new Challenger mindset is pushing Ys to achieve their goals through creative sprints, daily challenges, and even deprivation experiments.

…The Boomerang Effect, Living Solo and Quarter Life Crisis, all of which are key themes in the Quarter Life, a life stage of extended adolescence that is shifting the behaviors, attitudes and preferences of post-college consumers.

Please visit www.cassandra.co/live/trendschool/ to inquire about registration and further details or contact Marissa Heitshusen at marissa.heitshusen@cassandra.co.

For this edition, we surveyed more than 1,000 18-45-year-old moms and also utilized our Cassandra Speaks online community for qualitative research. The result is an engaging profile of the modern mom, her emerging attitudes and preferences, as well as the qualities that differentiate her from her Baby Boomer predecessors. 

• You’ll learn about new homeMAKERS – a resurgence of both working and stay-at-home moms who embrace traditional skills and put a modern spin on the idea of domesticity. These moms feel empowered by their ability to do, fix, and create and live by the mantra “good is good enough.”
• We discovered that technology is playing an even more important role in today’s Family unIT than most would imagine, with apps and tech gadgets providing a necessary utility for moms, but complicating family time as children and spouses retreat to individual screens. The implications for marketers are critical.
• And, as moms continue to seek out their own approach among a vast array of child-rearing methods, the report provides a comprehensive guide to the Parenting Styles that every marketer should know.

In addition to analyzing the new modern mom (and dad), the front of this issue reveals the current trends and social movements affecting Gen Y consumers overall. We examine their need for INTELLIGENT TASTE, or more personal and intuitive recommendations from brands and content providers based on individual taste profiles. Also, you’ll learn how Ys have developed a digital SIXTH SENSE to make sense of the world around them, utilizing search, mobile applications and the Web to help provide a guidebook for life. And, in reaction to their overwhelmingly interactive surroundings, many Ys are seeking a CULTURE OF CALM in which introspection, daydreaming, and letting one’s mind wander are viewed as meaningful endeavors.

For more information about subscribing to The Cassandra Report, as well as all of The Intelligence Group’s services, please contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

Haycations are the latest travel trend?
Game jams are the newest way for coders to collaborate?
Festival cruises are an emerging concert format?

If these questions leave you with more of your own, Trend School can provide the answers. Today’s fast changing, digitally driven landscape makes it difficult for even the most plugged-in to stay current with the latest social and cultural movements. Join us on August 23^rd at CAA in Los Angeles and August 30^th at the Soho House in New York from 9 AM to 5 PM as we help get you up to speed by identifying not only what’s happening with young consumers, but why. Trend School is an immersive, interactive daylong session, breaking down emerging entertainment, technology, fashion, lifestyle, and marketing trends and offering participants the opportunity to interact with panels of both Gen Y trendsetters and industry experts. [Confirmed panelists include executives from Shazam (LA), Turntable.fm(NY) and Percolate (NY).] Highlighting the latest research and insights from our Summer 2011 Cassandra Report, we’ll explain how:

- For a generation compelled to constantly “do,” learn, create, and share, mental relaxation has become more aspirational than ever, manifesting a new CULTURE OF CALM in which introspection, daydreaming, and letting one’s mind wander are viewed as meaningful endeavors.

- Gen Ys are working to achieve a level of “taste accomplishment” which, together with their booming desire for social cred, has inspired the rise of INTELLIGENT TASTE – a program’s capacity to seemingly “intuit” its users’ wants and needs in ways that allow for recommendation-making across categories.

- For a generation of people more inclined to “just Google it” than to think for themselves, Gen Ys are relying increasingly on a digital SIXTH SENSE to perceive, understand, and react to the world around them.

In addition, an optional one-hour breakout session will cover new Cassandra research and data on YOUNG MOMS.

Visit our website to find out more about the Los Angeles and New York sessions. To inquire about cost and further details, contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

Did you know that…

Haycations are the latest travel trend?
Game jams are the newest way for coders to collaborate?
Festival cruises are an emerging concert format?

If these questions leave you with more of your own, Trend School can provide the answers. Today’s fast changing, digitally driven landscape makes it difficult for even the most plugged-in to stay current with the latest social and cultural movements. Join us on August 23^rd at CAA in Los Angeles and August 30^th at the Soho House in New York from 9 AM to 5 PM as we help get you up to speed by identifying not only what’s happening with young consumers, but why. Trend School is an immersive, interactive daylong session, breaking down emerging entertainment, technology, fashion, lifestyle, and marketing trends and offering participants the opportunity to interact with panels of both Gen Y trendsetters and industry experts. [Confirmed panelists include executives from Shazam (LA), Turntable.fm (NY) and Percolate (NY).] Highlighting the latest research and insights from our Summer 2011 Cassandra Report, we’ll explain how:

- For a generation compelled to constantly “do,” learn, create, and share, mental relaxation has become more aspirational than ever, manifesting a new CULTURE OF CALM in which introspection, daydreaming, and letting one’s mind wander are viewed as meaningful endeavors.

- Gen Ys are working to achieve a level of “taste accomplishment” which, together with their booming desire for social cred, has inspired the rise of INTELLIGENT TASTE – a program’s capacity to seemingly “intuit” its users’ wants and needs in ways that allow for recommendation-making across categories.

- For a generation of people more inclined to “just Google it” than to think for themselves, Gen Ys are relying increasingly on a digital SIXTH SENSE to perceive, understand, and react to the world around them.

In addition, an optional one-hour breakout session will cover new Cassandra research and data on YOUNG MOMS.

Visit our website to find out more about the Los Angeles and New York sessions. To inquire about cost and further details, contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

Haycations are the latest travel trend?
Game jams are the newest way for coders to collaborate?
Festival cruises are an emerging concert format?

If these questions leave you with more of your own, Trend School can provide the answers. Today’s fast changing, digitally driven landscape makes it difficult for even the most plugged-in to stay current with the latest social and cultural movements. Join us on August 23^rd at CAA in Los Angeles and August 30^th at the Soho House in New York from 9 AM to 5 PM as we help get you up to speed by identifying not only what’s happening with young consumers, but why. Trend School is an immersive, interactive daylong session, breaking down emerging entertainment, technology, fashion, lifestyle, and marketing trends and offering participants the opportunity to interact with panels of both Gen Y trendsetters and industry experts. Highlighting the latest research and insights from our Summer 2011 Cassandra Report, we’ll explain how:

- For a generation compelled to constantly “do,” learn, create, and share, mental relaxation has become more aspirational than ever, manifesting a new CULTURE OF CALM in which introspection, daydreaming, and letting one’s mind wander are viewed as meaningful endeavors.

- Gen Ys are working to achieve a level of “taste accomplishment” which, together with their booming desire for social cred, has inspired the rise of INTELLIGENT TASTE – a program’s capacity to seemingly “intuit” its users’ wants and needs in ways that allow for recommendation-making across categories.

- For a generation of people more inclined to “just Google it” than to think for themselves, Gen Ys are relying increasingly on a digital SIXTH SENSE to perceive, understand, and react to the world around them.

In addition, an optional one-hour breakout session will cover new Cassandra research and data on YOUNG MOMS.

Visit our website to find out more about the Los Angeles and New York sessions. To inquire about cost and further details, contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

For this edition, we surveyed more than 1,000 14- to 34-year-old mainstream and trendsetting young consumers to uncover the trends that are impacting their world.  With a view of the year ahead, we explored how life is being redefined for this generation.  We looked at young people’s thoughts on the American Dream, their careers, the green movement, status symbols, and their new definition of luxury.

• You’ll learn that the majority of young people are adjusting their expectations in these recessionary times by downsizing and streamlining their lives.  As such, young consumers are looking for deeper meaning in their possessions through engaging narratives we’re calling STORYTALES.
• We discovered a shift from downtime to UPTIME, or the time young people spend focusing on productive personal pursuits, even when they’re ‘relaxing.’ As a generation that lives by the credo, “I am what I share,” these constructive activities are becoming Gen Y’s social currency among their peers.
• These UPTIME pursuits are giving way to a new group of AMPROS (amateur professionals) who have taken a “learn-it-yourself” approach and risen to the same level of expertise and influence as noted experts in various fields, but without the formal training.

In addition, we examined young consumers’ views on tech etiquette (68% think manners have deteriorated because of technology), professional development (two-thirds of young trendsetters would rather learn a new skill/trade than earn an extra degree), social media and life-tracking (half of young consumers are now tracking their lives through status updates), and how this generation views brand loyalty (60% would rather try new brands than stick with one they know), among many others.

For more information about subscribing to The Cassandra Report, as well as all of The Intelligence Group’s services, please contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

Beard oil is the latest in men’s grooming?

Brukup is experiencing a global revival?

Type-ins are the newest social activity?

If our queries left you with more questions of your own, Trend School can provide the answers.  Today’s fast changing, digitally driven landscape makes it difficult for even the most plugged-in to stay current with the latest social and cultural movements. Join us on June 8^th at the Soho House in New York and June 16^th at CAA in Los Angeles from 9 AM to 5 PM  as we help get you up to speed, identifying not only what is happening with young consumers, but why. Trend School is an immersive, interactive daylong session, breaking down emerging entertainment, technology, fashion, lifestyle, and marketing trends and offering participants the opportunity to interact with panels of both Gen Y trendsetters and industry experts. (YouTube star Philip DeFranco will be one of our featured insider guests at the LA session.) Highlighting the latest research and insights from our Spring 2011 Cassandra Report, we’ll explain how:

- The art of narrative is capturing the ear of engaged audiences, manifesting a new macro trend called STORYTALES.

- UPTIME has replaced the concept of downtime, where leisure is no longer a passive activity but one of active participation and self-improvement.

- A new class of AMPROS, or “amateur professionals,” are becoming the go-to authorities in their respective fields, ranging from athletes to stylists and self-taught chefs.

To inquire about cost and further details for the Los Angeles and New York sessions, please contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

• Discover how Gen Y is learning to adapt to a true recommendation-based society where  they are evaluated and assigned a SOCIAL SCORE, measuring not only their range of friends and followers but also their real influence and reputations.
• Find out how young people are LIFEHACKING their furniture, their food and even their careers, and constructing their very own how-to handbook for life’s short cuts by reinventing a concept that was once considered destructive.
• Continue to explore with us the vast implications of young consumers living in REAL TIME, as long form communication is all but tuned out and the concept of “now” is shrinking by the minute.

To inquire about cost and further details, please contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.

For the Winter 2011 Cassandra Report’s special focus on Tweens, we interviewed more than 400 7- to 13-year-old boys and girls, recruited online through their parents in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We also utilized our Cassandra Speaks online community for the qualitative research used in this report. The result is a comprehensive resource for understanding the commanding segment of young consumers we call Tweens, or Gen Z, who are living in a GRAVE NEW WORLD, well aware of life’s realities at a younger age than ever before, and experiencing a new INDEPENDENCE DAY, affording them opportunities to live life’s “firsts” in a digital world long before it is possible in the physical world.

In addition, as with every issue of Cassandra, we define and illustrate important macro trends that are shaping Gen Y and affecting their relationships with brands. For example, as a generation who believes “they are what they share” and has unlimited information at their fingertips, they are learning to adapt to a true recommendation-based society. They are being evaluated and assigned a SOCIAL SCORE that measures not only their range of friends and followers, but also their real influence and reputations both on the web and in the real world. As this “repfluence” becomes more important, marketers will need to navigate this new dynamic filtering capability if they hope to gain favor with young consumers. This issue, like every edition of Cassandra, also contains hot trends, cultural insights and marketing implications to arm you with the stats, ideas and insights that are crucial to making smart decisions when it comes to engaging young consumers.

For more information about subscribing to The Cassandra Report, as well as The Intelligence Group’s range of products and services, please contact Allison Arling at aarling@intelg.com.