By Robert Radi with the contribution of  Vicki Lederman 

Generally trends are “spotted” at the high end, specialty small producer market, and filter down to the higher volume and mass markets. The timeframe for this movement is getting much shorter, thanks to these same trend forecasting services that distribute the information.

There are slight differences for different product types, though they also track each other. Other forecasts for 2009 have called for soft purples and grays, greens, blues, reds.

So let’s do it in the color of the year?

Unless the product item or brand in question belongs in the Fashion Industry or industries where the design is seasonal and with a short life cycle, we need to ask ourselves: “What are the long term goals for the brand?”

Color is a fundamental factor in a product, a logo identity, an advertising campaign, a web site and even something simple as a business card. In our experience brands that stick to their principle of identity even when the color choice is not the most exciting at that very given time, do better in the long term than brands that chase the hot trend and find themselves unable to establish a unique brand identity. It is a well documented and undisputed fact that colors have a significant impact on people’s emotional state. Colors do form and jog memories of brands in the long term. So if the so called “color of the year” fits within the long term strategy, the brand should certainly make it part of its identity. Furthermore the brand should consider where to apply the color in question. For example if the color is used as an accent on collaterals such as business cards, websites etc. the commitment to the color in question is minimal and it will play a supportive role and can be easily replaced without interfering with the long term identity.

However if a color is to be applied on a product and/or a logo identity it is a clear commitment to the long term strategy of the brand. In both cases the color in question will take a primary role in the perception of the brand from the consumer side. When an investment in tooling and molds is made by a brand, the anticipation is a relatively long lifecycle for that product, perhaps as long as 3 to 5 years. The short slightness and lack of long term vision in selecting the colors for that product could surely affect its expected lifecycle.  

So how much Mimosa yellow the consumer will see depends on how many manufacturers and retailers bought into Pantone’s prediction when they originally made it.

In 2007 Stephon Marbury, the point guard for the New York Knicks of the NBA, started endorsing a sneaker that costs just $14.98, a pittance when compared with the often daunting prices that companies such as Nike, Reebok, and Adidas charge for their footwear (which can cost well over $150 per pair)” (ESPNNews-2007). These shoes are known as Starbury One and Starbury Two, with slightly different designs and color options.Stephon Marbury’s reasoning, while partly motivated by business, is also driven by a desire to make it easier for people of all economic situations purchase a quality, useful basketball shoe, something that, as of now, is difficult to do at a reasonable cost.

Such is the pressure that is now facing all industries when products are “genericized” by shopping out the real design, engineering, and manufacturing to overseas resources are used to reduce the cost of making products. While the products from overseas manufacturing facilities are of good enough quality to meet the needs of the various brand names, the use of large “contract manufacturers” to make products eventually leads to every company’s products being made of very similar performing materials, with very similar manufacturing processes, with very similar designs. And, if someone like Stephon Marbury or some name brand company is willing to sacrifice a little of the bottom line by reducing the profit margins, any product can be drastically reduced in price and delivered to customers. But this is a difficult thing for most large brands to do; protecting their brand identity often requires protecting relatively high prices for their products both to provide revenues for investors and large corporate organizations but also to protect an image of higher quality and better technology than the competition.

Enter Geox® brand shoes-the brainchild of a former winemaker, the Geox® concept of shoes that breath through the sole to provide comfort to the wearer has been the basis for one of the fastest growing shoe brands in the world. Starting in 1997, the Geox® has now grown to be a $1Billion/year business. With an ever-broadening product line ranging from pure fashion shoes selling in retail stores like Nordstrom to a growing line of sports and activity-specific shoes, Geox® is fast becoming a dominant brand in the footwear industry. The founder and people of Geox® have turned a concept for improving the comfort of shoes into a billion dollar/year business and, in the process, established themselves as a highly distinguished and “differentiated” footwear brand dedicated to one thing-supplying devoted customers with good quality, comfortable shoes.

A new patent pending technology called re/ax® offers very promising elements to dislodge the shoe industry from being stuck between a rock and a hard place-a real quandary that equally affects the entire footwear, apparel, and outdoor recreational goods industries, at large-balancing the need for product differentiation through offering a good product at a reasonable, affordable price while also offering a product that provides the wearer with some aspect of real value for the money.

The latest in advanced materials science by re/ax® create materials that “reactuate” to their environments. The purpose of re/ax® is to address a myriad of problems and to enhance the function and value of products by marrying innovative product design with patent pending environmentally adaptive material technology -”reactuation to enhance valuation.” The unique blend of talents and technical expertise at re/ax® can help you find solutions for future product differentiation and market dominance.

“….re/ax® create materials that “reactuate” to their environments. The purpose of re/ax® is to address a myriad of problems and to enhance the function and value of products….”