Digital Hive

Repurposing: the new purchasing?

I found an interesting article on WSJ.com  that I wanted to share. It's about taking older fashion items and repurposing them in new ways to mirror current fashion trends.  The video from the piece helps give you an idea of what this is about.

The overall point about not buying new stuff initially got my attention, but I think a bigger point (unaddressed in the article) is what brands can do to respond to this. On one level we're talking about people not buying as much stuff as they used to, and why on earth would we want to encourage that. But I think there's opportunity in tapping into the notion of working a new purchase into what you already have, helping the consumer get the most from his/her overall collection of items, buying something will stand the test of time and go with lots of other things, etc.

This is a great time to revisit the idea of brands adding value for consumers. If what they want is the ability to make their dollars go further, let's help them with it. And not just by discounting the uber-trendy.

Instead of just pushing new for new's sake, I wonder if a new spin on purchasing would work better in these troubled economic times.

Consumers' changing attitudes about consumption: learnings from American Greetings

Check out this great article in the online WSJ about how American Greetings has been tracking consumer sentiment about spending and revising their expansive product line (3,000 cards!) to reflect what they're learning. A few interesting quotes from the article:

An early clue to the new direction: During brainstorming sessions held late last year for the 2008 holiday collection, nostalgia for simple holiday traditions like cookie-baking, walks through the snow and tree-trimming kept coming up among the writers, artists and trend experts in attendance. Then, amid the glitzy, festive tone that dominated last year's holiday-card designs, American Greetings noticed that traditional cards with heartfelt messages were selling surprisingly well.

By early this year, as the housing downturn accelerated and gas prices rose, the Cleveland-based company's research showed that consumers, spending more time at home, were focusing on personal relationships and reminiscing about happier times together.

The product implications are interesting:

A definite no-no this year is expecting too much from Santa. "The cards with a lot of shopping bags or gifts piled high, the excess we thought was so cute last year, doesn't work now," says Candace Corlett, president of New York consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail. "We don't want to be reminded of our aggressive consumerism."

So the greeting-card giants, never known for radicalism, are playing it especially safe. Nontraditional holiday shades, such as pink and light blue, are being used sparingly. "This year you could add accents of pink with red or green, but you need traditional icons, like trees or snowmen, to do it," says Ms. Sliede of American Greetings.

The text is deliberately long-winded. Before, cards had shorter, snappier messages. "Now people want longer copy," says Rochelle Lulow, creative director of American Greetings' editorial studio. "During difficult times, we see people wanting to connect on a deeper, emotional level that goes above and beyond." Another executive said: "We started seeing that at Mother's Day."

Embedded in the article is a great slideshow of some of their latest designs that reflect these insights.