TRAILBLAZER WEB
Cultural credibility cannot be reverse-engineered. Many organisations claim to be culturally connected. Few can demonstrate participation in the formation of culture. TFTK insights are not derived from trend scraping or desk research alone. They come from on-going cultural immersion, insider relationships and active involvement in the formation of new movements.
With a proven ability to identify culturally and commercially consequential people before the market recognises them, we offer high-quality short-cuts to future opportunities, as they emerge. This means we can support clients to make innovation, communication and growth decisions based on where culture is heading, rather than where it has already arrived.
TFTK's Trailblazer Web is a network of hand-picked individuals from around the world, giving you access to the Innovator. Occupying the pole position on the 'innovations diffusion' curve, preceding the Early Adopter, the Innovator is the greatest marketing asset but it is also the most difficult to reach. Innovators are often the people creating, authenticating and accelerating entirely new behaviours, aesthetics, values and communities.
In the market research industry, you’ll hear ‘cutting edgers’, ‘creative consumers’, ‘experts’, ‘Gen Z’ (the persisting myth that ‘youth’ are innately trend-setters) – all of these to connote being a step ahead of the consuming crowd. At best, they are Early Adopters and, in many cases, they are the Early Majority looking trendy. By the time this category gives you a second-hand version of the Innovator's lifestyle and values, significant opportunities have already been won or lost.
In contrast, by tapping directly into Innovator circles, TFTK gives you a headstart. We employ our ‘science’ that combines our proprietary concepts of our cool cycles of reinvention™ with messenger continuum to help you navigate through which voices are the most relevant for you.
According to the first to know™, there are two main types of Innovators: Alphas and Mavericks, and sub-categories within. ‘Who’s who’ is forever in flux. We have a deep understanding of the Innovator’s universe. We’re equally fluent in street talk and boardroom speak. We can help you translate new, groundbreaking ideas from the underground into powerful, future-proof propositions of your own or create hype to get you talked about, by spreading worm.
The three books (so far) outline all of this – and are critically acclaimed by marketing peers, received public accolades and are taught at leading universities.
What is an Alpha?
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Alphas are a fluid global network of style leaders, whose word of mouth is not just powerful but essential when it comes to dictating what’s the next ‘black’. The-first-to-know™ messenger continuum identifies four main types of Alphas and explains the cyclical nature of ‘cool’ phenomenon – being ahead of the consuming crowd.
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‘Everyone here is a work of art’ is a spot-on description of Alpha Trend Setters, the elusive club-to-catwalk-to-culture pathway that the-first-to-know captures. Referring to one of those future-talent hubs, Madonna’s hit Danceteria is a nostalgic trip to the days when she was an aspiring artist. For every future Madonna, there are hundred of scenesters , who know where it’s at. Cool today, gone tomorrow or becoming the next big thing, TFTK is at right at the centre of that zeitgeist.
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Taste-Makers are the Alpha category at the cusp of the Early Adopter. No longer looking ‘weird’, they help cool transition from art to commerce.
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See The 2.5% and Never Conform with roots in The First to Know, with examples of literally spotting talent years before Madonna herself commissioned them.
What is a Maverick?
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Mavericks are visionaries with disruptive business ideas. They challenge the status quo. They are on the outskirts of the-first-to-know innovation diffusion model in that, in most cases, they are not part of Alpha’s outré circles but through sharing values and aesthetic sensibilities with Alphas, their respective ideas find ways of morphing into trends. The two meet at the frontier end of Alphas (the 4th category on the-first-to-know messenger continuum called Taste Maker) and the start of the Early Adopters on the innovation curve. See The 2.5%.
What is an Expert?
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In TFTK’s universe, an Expert is someone with a specialist interest/knowledge area – this can equally be a scholar or someone who is extremely passionate about their niche interest. It’s a term we use to separate this grouping from Innovators (Alphas and Mavericks). Experts provide a valuable, well-informed perspective on their subjects, but they are outside innovator circles. We’ll rely on Experts if the occasion calls for, but our main focus is Innovators and the transition to Early Adopters.
If you'd like a little bit more information to help you consider how this might work for your Brand or Business, click here to get in touch.
Alpha Trend Setters, The First to Know
Alpha Trend Setters, transition into The 2.5%
Alpha Trend Setters, Never Conform
