A Quick Fad or a Lasting Trend? Steampunk Inspires IBM’s Trend Tracking

Steampunk-inspired fashions

As steampunk evolved from a Victorian-era-inspired sci-fi subculture to a much more mainstream fashion concept — with mechanical touches appearing in both Macy’s 2011 Christmas window display and Prada‘s fall/winter 2012 menswear collection — IBM was tracking the transformation online.

Today, Big Blue says that other brands can use its steampunk example to learn how a long-lasting trend develops – and how companies can try to foster a trend that will resonate in the marketplace. Learn more in this piece by Kate Kaye in AdAge Digital.

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Is steampunk big in your part of the world? Are you a fan?

Birth of a Trend: What’s More Important than What’s Trending?

In this piece, Trevor Davis, a leading consumer products expert and consultant with IBM Global Business Services, talks about how our society is well-attuned to what’s trending at any moment, thanks to the rise of social media plus analytical tools.

But these trends are only fleeting, and because of their very nature, have limited value. How, then, do we extract the real value from all the noise, and figure out the long-term, meaningful trends with staying power? Read here.