New Brides: The Renaissance Generation

Read with great interest this morning in Ad Age about the next generation of consumers [your brides!] - the "Renaissance Generation" - the rise of the cultural consumer. Described in a new book by Patricia Martin [which is already on its way to my office!]: "Cultural consumers thrive on information and ideas to fuel their creative self-expression. As the RenGen gathers force in our civilization, it will change how we live and work."

Fascinating and makes total sense...witness the meteoric rise in popularity of wedding-design blogs like Style Me Pretty or Snippet & Ink , the DIY-craze [see new site and book] that grows by the day and of course the explosion of increasingly creative wedding photography that goes well beyond documenting the wedding day!!

For our market - the 'cultural consumer' really translates to the 'creative consumer' and as we read in the recent release from TheKnot [see earlier post], creativity truly is the *buzz* word for weddings in 2008!!

Some interesting exerpts from the article:

"Here's a riddle for the new marketplace being formed by the convergence of art, technology, business and education: If creativity is the gift of a talented few, why are so many people suddenly creative? CMOs grappling with the transformative power of the internet and the likes of YouTube and Facebook as advertising platforms may be missing the big picture: The internet is facilitating mass creative output from anyone and everyone. And the velocity of change it's churning in our society is gearing us up for something profound.

Check it out: RenGen. Americans who thrive on content that drives creativity will set the popular-culture agenda and fuel business innovation, Ms. Martin contends in her book. In fact, it looks a lot like what happens right before a renaissance. What we are witnessing runs deeper than fads or trends. It signals a time of vast cultural transformation that is founding a new generation. I call it the RenGen, short for renaissance generation. At its center is a powerful new player: the cultural consumer."

AND

"The most valuable step you can take in positioning your brand for the rising renaissance is to be aware and to make your colleagues aware. The mounting evidence points to an enduring transformation. Sit down with your team and figure out how these ideas may impact your business, your brand and your job."

How creative are you in how you market, sell and service your current [and more importantly, your future] brides and grooms? How much creativity do you allow them in interacting with your brand? Interesting to explore...more on this as I learn more on this 'renaissance'!