Trends: Off = On, On = Off

My favorite trendwatching source, the aptly-named Trendwatching.com, has a particularly insightful briefing this month on the Off = On trend. The briefing looks at how concepts from the online world are being brought into the offline world and vice-versa in so many areas -- art, fashion, home decor, retail displays, et al.

They recommend ways to apply the trend to your own business:

1. Incorporate online symbols into one of your next designs.
2. Have customers design something from scratch online, then bring it into the real world.
3. Add any kind of online functionality or access feature to existing physical products.
4. Study and then incorporate winning characteristics of living and doing business online into your offline processes.
5. Infuse your campaigns with the language of the online-versed.
6. Give your online brand an offline presence.
7. Partner with any kind of relevant meet-up venture.
8. Introduce a 'warm bodies FEEDER BUSINESS'.
9. Hop on the mobile-meets-web bandwagon. Start with introducing an iPhone app. Hey, if British Airways can do it...
10. Look beyond the next 6 to 12 months and dive into leading online gurus' visions. After all, even if their exact timing is sometimes off, their predictions so far have all come true.

For more trends, check out some of their recent briefings:

• INNOVATION AVALANCHE (Aug 2008)
• ECO-ICONIC (May / Jun 2008)
• STATUS STORIES (Apr 2008)
• FREE LOVE (Mar 2008)
• THE EXPECTATION ECONOMY (Feb 2008)