Microtrends

The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes

By: Mark Penn, E. Kinney Zalesne

Narrated by: Brett Barry

The adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and President Bill Clinton proves that small is big by identifying 75 hidden-in-plain-sight trends that are moving America, revealing that the nation is no longer a melting pot but a collection of communities with many individual tastes and lifestyles.

"The ideas in his book will help you see the world in a new way." —Bill Clinton

"Mark Penn has a keen mind and a fascinating sense of what makes America tick, and you see it on every page of Microtrends." —Bill Gates
In 1982, readers discovered Megatrends.

In 2000, The Tipping Point entered the lexicon.

Now, in Microtrends, one of the most respected and sought-after analysts in the world articulates a new way of understanding how we live.

Mark Penn, the man who identified "Soccer Moms" as a crucial constituency in President Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign, is known for his ability to detect relatively small patterns of behavior in our culture-microtrends that are wielding great influence on business, politics, and our personal lives. Only one percent of the public, or three million people, is enough to launch a business or social movement.

Relying on some of the best data available, Penn identifies more than 70 microtrends in religion, leisure, politics, and family life that are changing the way we live. Among them:

• People are retiring but continuing to work.
• Teens are turning to knitting.
• Geeks are becoming the most sociable people around.
• Women are driving technology.
• Dads are older than ever and spending more time with their kids than in the past.
• You have to look at and interpret data to know what's going on, and that conventional wisdom is almost always wrong and outdated. The nation is no longer a melting pot. We are a collection of communities with many individual tastes and lifestyles. Those who recognize these emerging groups will prosper.
  
  Penn shows readers how to identify the microtrends that can transform a business enterprise, tip an election, spark a movement, or change your life. In today's world, small groups can have the biggest impact.

©2007 Mark Penn; (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Great Insights into the future

I love this book! It allowed me to see the forest instead of the trees!

And the author is right. I see myself in some of the weird and funny trends that the book describes.

loved it

I've been living overseas for the past 8 years. This book brought me up-to-date on some interesting trends emerging in the US. The writing is lively, accessible and the narrator does it justice.

I love statistics...

Along the same lines as Freakonomics, this book explores new conclusions based on statistical data. Although you may not agree with the author on all points, he presented many arguments that broadened my perspective. I would recommend it to entrepreneurs and marketing directors.

Mindblowing 👌🏼

In this book Pollster Mark Pen claims that the future is not shaped by society’s broad forces but by the quiet changes within narrow slices of the population. This book was so much fun to read for the geek inside me & for anyone interested in opinion polls. I am fascinated by the analysis of these counterintuitive poll opinions & their impact on economy and sociology.

Facinating perspective

Microtrends takes a unique and optimistic perspective on branding in light of media changes. The concept that media brand images are now actively shaped by buyers in both the intended and unintended markets have a radical impact on the way we think about marketing. Penn's self-created buzz-word merketing is rather trite but OK to make his points. In addition, the work get rather thick at points but their seems to be a method to the madness.