The Hummer and the Mini
Subtitle: Navigating the Contradictions of the New Trend Landscape
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover; Portfolio
Published: October 5, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9781591841364
Subjects: Business strategy; Marketing - Research; Consumer Behavior; Business & Economics; Business / Economics / Finance; Business/Economics; Marketing research; Consumer Behavior - General; Business & Economics / Marketing / General; Marketing - General; Fads; New products
First sentence: WHEN I BEGAN MY CAREER IN THE LATE 1970S, THE TREND-spotting business was pretty black and white.
Description: "In The Hummer and the Mini, Robyn Waters urges companies to stop looking for the one right answer in their industry. There are many good ways to design products, develop a line of goods, merchandise a store, or craft a marketing message. You can thrive by selling huge cars (the Hummer) or tiny ones (the Mini). You can turn something old into something new and desirable (the Vespa) or turn a commodity into a luxury (In-and-Out burgers at the Oscars). You can even customize a product designed for the masses (personalized postage stamps) or sell less as more (Minute Clinics).

Through tales of influential trends and countertrends, The Hummer and the Mini will show you how to live with the contradictions, make the most of the inconsistencies, and embrace the paradoxes of business as a source of fresh ideas."--Jacket.