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Why Trends Are Dumb

Bill Petrie

They are not - and will never be - a creative pursuit.


I'm a believer that marketing, at its core, is an art. Because of this, the solution to each new problem or client challenge needs to begin with a blank canvas and an open mind, not with the tepid borrowing of other people's mediocre ideas. From where I sit, that's precisely what trends are – a search for something safe. This leads to average work that yields average results.


This past year, while at the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas, I was asked, "What do you think the trends are going to be in branded merchandise in 2025?" I could have answered something along the lines of retail-inspired packaging or co-branding between two companies. Instead, I responded to the question the way I always do when posed: "I have no clue."


Trends are nothing more than traps. In any creative industry, the fact that others are moving in one direction always proves that a new direction is the only direction. I suppose a different way to say that is when your competition zigs, it's time to zag.


Regardless of how you express it, the fact remains that following a trend and believing you're being creative is an expressway to oblivion.

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