After the war with Troy, Ulysses was cautioned that siren calls would lure him to the depth of the ocean and that he would succumb. Aware of the dangers of seduction, Ulysses was able to take measures. He asked his crew for help so that he wouldn´t fall into themptation, and was able to continue navigating.
As in the siren calls in Ulysses´ journey, tendencies appear before us, they seduce us, and many times reshape our direction. Initially they attract us, they allow us to see further and give us the possibility to visualize opportunities stepping into the future. We feel modern, carriers of something exclusive and avant-garde, altering the status quo. People who crave novelty and opportunities love tendencies, literally: we love them, they leave as perplexed, ready to surrender.
We are not going to deny the fascination and the opportunity to detect tendencies, but if we are not conscious of our direction we can mistake the whole for the parts, the emerging for the profound, the global for the local and make costly mistakes. Like Ulysses, it is vital to ask for help, even if you are a leader. Every global tendency has to be analyzed taking into account the culture that envelops our brands and products.
If we observe novelties and opportunities, the first step is to investigate, validating in what manner that tendency lands in the local context.
When we let ourselves be fascinated by tendencies without “localizing”, we give uncomfortable speeches that don´t represent our customers, we launch actions that have no impact, and we can even provoke sensations were consumers can feel pressured or even manipulated. It is important to know that we will encounter “siren calls” in our journey. Having a preventive kit is essential: clear objectives, certainty of direction and fellow crew members who will not allow us to fall into temptation and help us reach our destiny. To offer what people desire in their daily lives, which may be different from the seductive tendencies of foreign cultures and different lifestyles, is the best goal for our brand.
Do you have clear objectives? Or are you letting new get the best of you?
