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Trendwatching.com, leading trend firm and publisher of Trend Briefings, recently surveyed the innovative ways in which brands are using promotions and offers and the ways in which consumer attitudes to discounts and deals are keeping pace. Declaring the avalanche of deals currently available to consumers not just a symptom of the financial crisis, they coin the term “Dealer-Chic” and describe it this way:

“Consumers have always loved getting good deals or exclusive rewards, but rather than having to hide one’s haggling, securing the best deal is now accepted, if not admired by one’s fellow consumers. Deal hunting will continue to be an integral part of consumers’ lives, as it’s now about more than just saving money: it’s the thrill, the pursuit, the control, and the perceived smartness, and thus a source of status too.”

For status-conscious consumers (and that’s all of them), making the most of discounts and deals is no longer considered cumbersome or even embarrassing, but simply smart. And in the quick-shifting consumer arena savvy consumers have more choice, higher expectations, and more control, while mature consumers have an ever-less reverential relationship to brands.

Here are three reasons why Dealer-Chic is set to get bigger and bigger in the coming years:

1 | More For Less
People want to experience more, even when they have less to spend. While many people in developed economies may have less money to spend right now, consumers everywhere will forever look to experience more.

• 62% of US consumers rarely pay full price for clothing and 58% of UK consumers “don’t like paying full price for anything” (Source: Mintel, September 2011).
• 81% of US consumers think it’s fun to see how much money they can save by using coupons or their shopper loyalty card (Source: Deloitte 2010 American Pantry Survey, July 2010).
• More than 40% of coupon “enthusiasts” had a household income greater than $70,000 USD (Source: Neilsen, April 2010).

2 | The Medium Is The Motivation
Deals are now a source of tech and online innovation, and thus smart, cool, and fun to switched-on consumers. Consumers are now being alerted to, using, reusing, and sharing offers and deals via new (and therefore infinitely more exciting and attractive) technologies.

• Online coupons account for only 1% of all coupons distributed, but 10% of those that are redeemed (Source: Catalina, April 2011).
• 79% of smartphone owners use their phones for shopping-related activities, and of those nearly half (48%) use their phones to look for or use discounts and coupons (Source: Google & IPSOS, April 2011).
• 67% of mobile users agree that location-based coupons on a mobile device are “convenient and useful,” while 42% say they have already used a mobile coupon of some kind (Source: Prosper Mobile Insights, October 2011).

3 | Best Of The Best
Why consumers can be increasingly confident they are getting the best price and the best product. With instant mobile or online access to not only deals but reviews as well, consumers can now be confident they’re getting the best price for the best product or service. One example:

• Launched in November 2010, SNIQUEaway is an invite-only travel deals website operated by U.S.-based Smarter Travel Media (owner of TripAdvisor). The limited-time-only deals all feature four star or more properties that were given the highest ratings in TripAdvisor reviews, ensuring that each deal is pre-vetted.

According to TrendWatch, every B2C brand will have to deal with Dealer-Chic’s impact, and there are plenty of opportunities to be had. For brands, Dealer-Chic is not about giving everything away or wildly slashing prices. The “perform or perish” message still holds true. Instead, brands should be thinking about the ways in which Dealer-Chic enables them to reach out to new audiences, engage with them in novel ways, and help them do the things they want to do at a lower cost.

In this wide-open deal ecosystem, where will your brands find opportunity? From new sectors, to ancillary services, to deal review sites, to new technologies — if you get it right, consumers (and businesses) will want to hear from you.

Coca-Cola’s popular holiday mascots, the polar bears, will soon be selling soda to consumers around the world. For nearly a century, those big white salesbears have been charming us with six packs of celebration, and this year they’ve got a real treat for U.S. consumers. Wrapped up in a complex square of black-and-white code is a free iPad and trip for two to the Arctic. Oh, and a nice little donation to the World Wildlife Fund.

Incredibly, Coca-Cola is launching its first-ever QR code campaign this holiday season (and running through March 2012). Millions of coded cups, distributed by 7-Eleven exclusively, will enable users to download the iPhone and iPad app, Snowball Effect by Coca-Cola. This Facebook-connected game enables users to rack up points and win one of 80 iPads and the Arctic adventure. The app links users to Coca-Cola Arctic Home, a site that takes donations to WWF’s work in conserving the bears’ arctic habitat. The beverage behemoth has already donated $2 million and will match user donations up to $1 million.

Scanbuy, the producer of the code-enabled drinkware, ran a QR code program for Taco Bell in August 2011 — thought to be one of the first QR code campaigns in the fast food category. That particular program connected consumers to Taco Bell–sponsored MTV content. McDonald’s has also used QR codes in non-U.S. markets. Results of a comScore survey released this summer noted that 14 million people in the U.S. scanned QR codes in June alone. This could be great news for polar bears around the world.

Hard to believe that a year’s gone by, but we’re back looking and laughing at 2011′s worst ads as polled and posted by Consumerist.com. That’s right, the second annual Worst Ad in America Awards have been announced and there are some surprises in the pack of winners. The ads populating (some may say plaguing) the television screens of this country have been rated and it ain’t pretty.

“The first year, I researched and comment-called every involved agency I could find. None would provide an official quote, though I did get yelled at for 90 minutes by a publicist from a top 5 agency who accused me of unfairly targeting their clients,” says Chris Morran, Consumerist senior editor. No surprise. If you’d created any one of these spots, would you return the call?

What do you think? Would you stand up and claim these spots as yours? Would you return the call?

ABSOLUTE WORST AD IN AMERICA
Luvs — Poop There It Is

 
 
MOST GRATING PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN
AT&T — Flash Mob Dancer

 
 
GROUP THAT OUGHT TO GO ITS SEPARATE WAYS
Esurance — Esurance Staff

 
 
TREND THAT NEEDS TO STOP BEING A TREND
Klondike — Men Enduring Wives/Girlfriends

 
 
MOST IRRITATING ANIMATED ACTOR
CarFax — CarFox

 
 
CELEBRITY WHO COULD PROBABLY USE A NEW MANAGER
Rent-A-Center — Hulk Hogan & Troy Aikman

 
 
CREEPIEST COMMERCIAL
Rejoyn Medical Systems — The Pos-T-Vac Penis Vacuum

 
Final results can be found on The Consumerist website.

We’ve been crowdsourcing everything from the clothes we wear to the logos sewn onto those clothes, so it’s about time we have the ability to put our salty snacks through the same rigorous process of popularity and pop-science. The fine folks making Terra Chips — at least the fine European folks — are doing just that.

Head over to Kreator and start putting together your “dream chip.” Ingredients, from soy sauce to smoke flavor, bananas to beer, appear on-screen in row upon row of images. Hover over your choice and the name quickly appears; click and you’re asked just how much you’d like to add (you choose from three different “amount” settings). Repeat this process to include up to five “flavors” and you’ve just created your own custom chip. But you’re not done yet.

After you hit the “create” button, you’re now on the serious side of the snack-crafting business. This is where they separate the weekend warriors from the chip masters. This is where you tap out your personal info, agree to the terms and conditions, and step into the ring. You’re chip crowdsourcing now as your creation heads into a gallery of contenders.

Of course, savvy snack-makers will also choose to share their new chip with Facebook friends, ensuring the votes they’ll need to move their flavor-packed snack to the top of the roster.

It’s still to be seen if the same can said of Terra Chips. Will this crowdsourcing-plus-social application get consumers excited about beet and carrot chips? Let the voting begin.

Bit.ly, the URL shortener service, recently surveyed links shared on social networks to determine the “life span” of links. As it turns out links shared on Twitter lasted only half as long as links shared on YouTube.

How did the researchers measure the longevity of (shortened) links? They looked at their half-lives — “the amount of time at which this link will receive half of the clicks it will ever receive after it’s reached its peak.” Auditing 1,000 popular bit.ly links, they found links posted on Twitter have the shortest half-life of any social network at 2.8 hours; Facebook links clock in at 3.2 hours and YouTube links sustain at 7.4 hours.

Hilary Mason, chief scientist at bit.ly, noted “Many links last a lot less than 2 hours; other more sticky links last longer than 11 hours over all the referrers. This leads us to believe that the lifespan of your link is connected more to what content it points to than on where you post it.”

While links might get a slight edge when posted on Facebook versus Twitter, it is the (perceived) quality of the content that has the greatest effect on how long it will stay in rotation. And if what you share is likely more important than where you share it how will that effect your next social media initiative and how best can you posit and place your links?

Here’s bit.ly’s Hilary Mason at Strata 2011, speaking on ” What Data Tells Us.”

Adobe released the first public beta of its new web design application, Muse. Created by the team that developed InDesign, this tool promises to free designers from the hassle of code and return them to the joy of pure design. From the sound of it, these guys really love designers and understand that they’d rather not mess with pesky HTML and CSS. Well, that’s what they’re saying (over and over) in the promotional video.

Christina Warren, posting at Mashable earlier this week, notes, “Adobe says that the majority of users who identify themselves as graphic designers — i.e., not web developers or interaction designers — still primarily work with print. Muse is for these users.”

Graphic designers will essentially cut out the coding when they no longer have to pass off native AI or PSD files. For basic or flat sites — those that are not particularly dynamic in nature or requiring highly interactive components — these designers will use Muse to create layouts and generate code with a single application.

The public beta is free to users and will be until its official release early next year. Once launched, it will be available via Adobe AIR and subscription ($15/month for one year, $20/month on a monthly basis). This will be the first Adobe product with subscription-only pricing.

Warren’s is not the only online review and many user-generated review and tutorial videos have been made available. What’s interesting is the commentary — most of it neutral to negative — from developers concerned about the quality of the source code, effects that this code will have on SEO, and the apparent “back to the future” nature of software that mimics everything from 1990s-era FrontPage, Publisher, and GoLive. Many share a feeling of déjà vu and wonder if this is simply Adobe’s attempt to resurrect GoLive as a dumbed down application for print designers that want nothing more than a translation device for layouts they’d rather create once.

What do you think? Have you tried the new Muse? Are you a designer looking for easy and intuitive solutions? Are you a developer wishing for clean code and disappointed with what you see? And what of the flexibility to design beyond the desktop — could this be the beginning of a device-agnostic tool?

The Gap is rolling out their new marketing campaign just in time for back-to-school in a style that’s more back-to-the-future. The campaign is the first major marketing push by Gap Inc. since a management shake-up in February ended with a new brand president, chief marketing offer, and ad agency.

“1969: L.A. and Beyond” is composed of 30- to 90-second online documentary-style videos centered around the goings on at its denim design studio in Los Angeles. Print ads support the urban fashion mashup as well. Taking the show on the road, “Pico de Gap” vintage taco trucks with celebrity chefs will hit New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, tweeting locations for each.

While food trucks have become a coast-to-coast craze, boasting everything from sushi and dumplings to street sweets and schnitzel, Gap is sticking with the “original” food truck that started the now nationwide trend. “The idea of Pico de Gap — and the taco truck used in our fall campaign 1969: L.A. and Beyond — came about one night when I was having dinner with our 1969 design team in downtown L.A.,” said Seth Farbman, Gap’s Chief Marketing Officer. “It’s these types of everyday moments that shape who we are as people and inspire the product we design for our customers. We thought it would be an unexpected, engaging way to share a little more about ourselves and the experience we had that night.”

To create an authentic aesthetic, each Pico de Gap truck was hand-painted and includes a replica of a vintage Gap ad and neon sign from the ’70s. Customers can check out the latest 1969 fall denim styles on display while enjoying tacos for a $1.69. With proof of a same-day Gap denim purchase, the meal is free.

Gap’s campaign launches in a back-to-school season in which consumers are expected to cut back spending because of economic woes and rising prices. Not good odds for a brand struggling to regain position — and profits. The once-leading brand is up against a half-decade of shrinking sales and shrinking stature.

Seth Farbman, CMO since 1Q 2011, says the campaign is not a quick fix, but an effort to drive sales and revive Gap’s image, which he says has “lost a bit of relevance.” Farbman says the focus of the campaign — jeans — is appropriate because they have been one of Gap’s strengths, accounting for about a quarter of the Gap brands revenue.

“This is the start; one step. This campaign begins to put us on the right course,” Farbman said. “Longer term, it starts a conversation about the brand.”

You know something’s gone mainstream when USA Today runs a piece, and food trucks are no exception. Foodies have known this for a long time. You know something’s hot when there are apps on virtually every platform, and apps for locating food trucks are also no exception. Tech savvy foodies know this as well.

The most recent addition to the collection of food truck–locating apps was developed by The Barbarian Group for the Android OS. Gastrodamus, a free app for iPhone and Android, is also uniquely built to aggregate Twitter content. Unlike other apps that rely on self/consumer reporting or GPS, the digital agency’s creation lists trucks and locations based on Twitter mentions. No location, no listing.

Developed as a side-project-in-progress — and taking recommendations for more food trucks — there are some obvious hiccups. The “nearby” functionality is glitchy and some vendors don’t show up as expected. The fact that the app is tracking and collecting specific content may have something to contribute to the less-than-perfect user experience, but should this app’s popularity pick up we may see that vendors and fans alike optimize their tweets, ensuring inclusion in each day’s display of not-to-be-missed locales.

Here are some of the mobile apps built to connect the hungry with local food trucks. Take a look. Is your favorite on the short-list? Could your agency design and develop something better for you and your famished colleagues?

Food Truck Fiesta

Eat St.

Roaming Hunger

Road Stoves GPS

TruxMap Lite Food Truck Map

Just when you think you’ve got your social media strategy down — constituents profiled, contingencies considered, centralized messaging plotted — REI pulls up the stakes and takes their show on the road.

Well, they’re taking their show out to the 53 markets they have a presence in nationally. And with an approach that takes into account the regional needs of its customers rather than the restrictive needs of corporate, it would appear that we all may want to slip a look out from under HQ’s tent.

REI will now be tweeting via market-based handles, talking up climbing gear in home-base Washington state and cycling wear in NYC, one of its newest locales. Retooling brick-and-mortar stores to better serve consumers partaking of local and regional recreation aligns perfectly with a social and digital direction designed to better dialogue with friends and followers.

“We are not moving away completely from a national presence. The local teams will be in addition to our national presence. Also, in terms of staffing, we have a handful of employees at each location participating in social media. They may play different roles within retail (customer service, outreach, product specialist, etc.).”

Jordan Williams, manager of digital engagement for REI, told AdAge recently that certain staff members are being identified as experts at handling customer complaints, others at communicating new product arrivals and features, and others as people who can provide local travel advice. Claiming no real difference from the offline world, he entrusts more than 9,000 employees every day with these responsibilities as they communicate with customers in person. Why wouldn’t he and the company trust them to do the same online?

Is your company or employer engaging in localized social media? What would it take to make the switch and how likely is it that Twitter would be the channel of choice?