NeoCon 2008 commentary

Each year in early June, tens of thousands of people make a pilgrimage to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart to see this year’s latest and greatest contract design products. It’s an exhibition that as its name implies is about “new.” Yet it’s a show so lost in the weeds that its exhibitors believe that unveiling new products is in itself a marketing plan.

I’ve been told again and again that architects and designers don’t want to be told how to use a product—that they will create a vision based on their project need. That they’re  enlightened artists who can intuit how “new” will be utilized. And that a mere suggestion of a concept to tell the story of the design risks clouding their uncluttered minds. (Or at least that’s what the exhibitors at NeoCon would have us think.)

But does that preclude the idea of telling the story of what the product means on an emotional level? Does that exempt the need to build an experience with the brand? Are we saying that these new products’ intrinsic beauty alone will forge deep connections because the A&D market is so visual, so creative? Please.

How can an industry based on design be so devoid of conceptual thinking? I speculate that the majority of people attending the show had a hard time differentiating the products in their minds. Separating one “new” color palette from another at a neighboring showroom. Or recognizing how superior the rectilinear shape of this year’s model is to its predecessor.

Here’s another question: How can the industry that spawned “Green” be addicted to “new”? Perhaps the label of successful is more appropriate for products that remain appealing after twenty years. That’s brilliant design.

So here’s some advice to exhibitors who may be thinking that maybe “new” isn’t enough:
•    Connect emotionally, not just visually—a cool rug with a new product isn’t a strategy
•    Create a reason to remember a product and realize there’s lots of other candy out there that smells and tastes like yours
•    Tell a story that’s memorable and different
•    Create new product experiences that are visceral
•    It’s OK to create messages that sell product, but make sure the messages are relevant to your audience
•    Stimulate the brain as well as the senses

Lastly, realize that while architects and designers are creative, they’re still ordinary folks. They consume the same Coca-Cola, lattes, iPods, tacos and cell phones you and I do. They wake up in the morning, get dressed  (probably in black) and get stuck in rush hour. They even read and watch the same news we do. Perhaps it’s time we started making emotional connections with them the same way we do with everyday people. How’s that for a marketing plan?