THIS SERIES OF PRESENTATION TENDS TO DFISCUSS THE ISSUES OF FADS AND TRENDS AND ITS DEFINING FACTORS THAT CAN HELP STUDENTS TO APPLY

1. LESSON 1: EXAMINING TRENDS
AND FADS

2.  Understanding the difference between fads and trends is critical for all organizations. However, many
leaders seem to be unaware of their important differences
 Both fads and trends can play an important role in an organization’s success- but they must be
treated differently. If they are not, leaders risk burning out adapting to every fad, and critical trends
required for an organization’s survival may be missed. Let’s start by looking into fads and trends
individually.
 ads certainly have value and they can profoundly change organizations- consider the ALS Ice Bucket
Challenge! Utilizing fads in marketing and programs can increase top-of-mind awareness,
demonstrate the timeliness of your organization, and serve as a gateway for new audiences.
 This is all great and important stuff but – remember – fads don’t stick around.

3. FADS COME FAST AND FADE AWAY
 A fad is any form of behavior that is intensely followed by a population for a short period of time. The
behavior will rise relatively quickly and fall relatively quickly once the perception of novelty is gone.
 There are some great fads out there! Collecting beanie babies was a fad, so were pet rocks, sending
spam, #followfriday, Ouiji boards, troll dolls, water beds…the list goes on. We can thank fads for
basically everything that we wore in the 80s (or 90s, or 2000s…) And there are a lot of fads going on
right now that may bring us a laugh twenty years from now.

4. TRENDS SOLVE PROBLEMS AND GET STRONGER OVER TIME
 trend, on the other hand, gets stronger over time and does stick around. Trends have identifiable and
explainable rises that are driven by audience needs. They help solve a problem for people. In the
words of the forever-awesome Seth Godin, “A trend gains power over time, because it’s not merely
part of a moment, it’s a tool, a connector that will become more valuable as other people commit to
engaging in it.”
 The increasing use of social networks is a trend (that connects us to one another). So is quitting
smoking (which lengthens our lives), evidence-based medicine (that removes the guesswork in
medical-related situations), and the use of mobile devices (that allow us to look up information in real
time). These are things that have grown – and continue to grow – in market penetration. They solve
problems. They represent new ways of life.

5. ORGANIZATIONS IGNORE TRENDS AT THEIR OWN RISK.
 gnoring trends means that they will either be forced to adapt later and will necessarily be behind, or
the organization will fade away.

6. CONFUSING FADS AND TRENDS CAUSES BIG PROBLEMS
 Trends inform your organization’s successful evolution. When organizations write off things like web-
based engagement or data-informed management (for instance) as fads instead of trends, evolution
stops. Things get held back.
 However, if we approach passing fads as trends, we cry wolf on organizational change. We burn out
believing that every week, we need to change our organization’s structure based on “what’s hot right
now.” Treating fads like trends can lead organizations to become overwhelmed, give up on following
along, and, again, stop evolution.

7. A TRICK FOR TELLING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FADS AND TRENDS
 A helpful trick may be to consider that trends inevitably affect some form of the organization’s
engagement strategy, but fads usually influence tactics. This isn’t a fool-proof trick, but it can help your
organization think strategically about the differences between both fads and trends.
 For instance, social media use is a trend and that affects your engagement strategy, but selfies affect
how you can carry out that strategy. Screaming “YOLO” and going gluten-free are things that folks
may be doing these days – and, in order to remain relevant, your organization may benefit by
embracing them for now. But these fads affect your organization’s tactics (and messages and
programs), not its strategy. Data-informed management affects your strategy. Embracing transparency
affects your strategy. The trend toward personalized interactions and programs thanks to our
increasingly individually-tailored world is a trend and also deeply affects our strategies.
 If there is growing, multi-year data demonstrating that something affects the market, then you know
it’s a trend. But sometimes we need to know when and how far we should move and embrace change
before there’s multi-year data telling us that something is sticking around.

8.  Both fads and trends have real value for cultural organizations, but understanding the difference may be
necessary for survival. Fads can inform your tactics and help you to maintain the perception of
being “current,” but ignoring trends can lead to irrelevance and create a divide between
and their audiences.