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Housewares Design, Trends and Change Equals “inKNOWvation”
New IHA Approach Takes in Huge Range of Design Concepts
ROSEMONT, ILL. (January 2010)--If you think you’ve heard it all before, guess again. Design, overarching trends and changing consumer profiles come together into an easily identifiable message of inKNOWvation at the 2010 International Home + Housewares Show.
inKNOWvation is a new look at the events and displays that focus on all aspects of new products—“to know you gotta go.”
Exhibits under the inKNOWvation banner include Design Directions: Going Green, Design Defined, the 2010 Student Design Competition, Pantone ColorWatch, New Product Showcases and the always informative Housewares Design Theater. Other Show initiatives highlighting inKNOWvation are the Inventors Corner and Inventors Revue.
“The new concept is a way to consolidate what can be an overwhelming amount of information at the Show into a clear statement of what drives the housewares industry through good and bad times,” said Phil Brandl, president of the International Housewares Association, which owns and manages the Show. “More than ever, the industry must rely on high design and true innovation to meet consumer needs. Consumers are changing. Old concepts are falling by the wayside and the best way to understand how that translates to products on the market is to understand how the three legs of the housewares stool—Design, Trends and Change—work together. The best place to do that is at the Show, where everything—and everybody— is in one place.”
“Housewares products today have to relate on an emotional level with consumers in a way that responds to their values,” adds Vicki Matranga, IHA’s design programs coordinator. “Particularly given the economic conditions, consumers have a growing interest in products and companies that dovetail with their concerns about social and economic responsibility. So, it’s not just about what a product costs anymore, or how a product looks and functions. It’s also about the back-story of how companies operate.”
When design is dissected today, the key concept is innovation, a big part of the reason that IHA adapted the new inKNOWvation theme. Simply put, Matranga says, “companies must integrate design ideas into a practical direction or they won’t be in business very long. It’s harder than ever to wow consumers with just the promise of ‘new products.’”
Housewares Design Theater
Innovation and differentiation contribute to successful new products in the housewares industry. At the Housewares Design Theater, leading designers, trend spotters and marketers offer presentations that represent the sharpest edge in today’s thinking. With 19 presentations over three days, the Theater is a who’s who of industry visionaries who see what’s coming before it’s even a twinkle in the eye.
This year, the Theater will move from the Lakeside Center, Level 3 Lobby onto the Wired + Well exhibit floor in the Lakeside Center.
“Green” remains a hot topic this year, with several presentations focusing on sustainability for beginners—a green vocabulary, green retail design, sustainable packaging, moving beyond “light green” with innovation, and understanding the differences in green consumers.
Other timely presentations include:
Can You Believe She Posted That About You?—In this Sunday, March 14 presentation, Mark Bachmann and Michelle Venorsky of Marcus Thomas, LLC will talk about why social media is here to stay and, more importantly, how it is affecting consumer habits and spending. In this somewhat scary new world, it’s never been a better time to be a marketer because you can engage with consumers directly. One hour with these speakers and everyone will understand how the blogosphere, Twittosphere, video sharing and measuring social marketing efforts are revolutionizing integrated marketing plans.
The Importance of a Brand—Peter Goldman, president of the Home Division for The NPD Group, Inc., knows the ins and outs of brand like no one else. Goldman is known as a guru on housewares categories for NPD’s tracking of consumer purchasing trends across the broad housewares industry. Branding is a benchmark of marketing, but the standard rules don’t always apply, particularly in an evolving marketplace and challenging economic times. In making the case, Goldman will look at the small appliance industry, in which brand is the third most important reason for making a purchase.
Millennials (20-somethings) Have $200 Billion in Spending Power! What Do They Want for Their Homes?—Homegoods market researcher Robin Albing says millennials are emerging consumers in the household formation stage. Albing will present data that reflect the huge potential for the housewares industry such as millennials’ weddings and first-time home setup, and illustrate how millennials are influencing branding choices by reacquainting their parents with iconic brands. This “brand sharing” will be an important factor in the buying habits of the 20-something demographic. Albing also will use her data to support the fact that the millennials are savvy, sophisticated consumers with more information than ever before. Companies that begin to tap into this emerging demographic will find success.
Design Directions: Going Green
Sustainability is a complex topic that companies large and small are still trying to understand. Part of the challenge appears to be separating “greenwashing”—over-promising environmental benefits—from truly “green” products. Many housewares manufacturers are working hard to reconsider materials for their products and packaging, energy and water use in production and the reuse of waste produced. At the same time, retailers are requiring vendors to meet guidelines for more sustainable products and packaging and are asking for more sustainability reporting.
As makers and sellers of housewares seek answers to what’s possible, Design Directions: Going Green will look at the efforts some companies are making to produce sustainable products. Visitors to the display, now located in the Clean + Contain Expo in the North Building, will see a wide selection of green products and materials, and will be able to ask experts on hand about greener directions for any business.
One of the experts, for example, will be Aimee Heilbrunn of EcoScene, Inc., a Web-based reviewer of eco-friendly products and services that make it easier for homeowners and others to go green. EcoScene partners with the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business on green-focused research projects. “We’re very much consumer-focused and one of the product aspects I find to be most important is ‘does it work?’ ” she said. “That’s so fundamental, the concept almost gets lost. A product can be made with recycled materials, but if it doesn’t work it does more harm than good. We’re very honest with our feedback.”
Design Defined
What defines great design? At the 2010 Show, teams of design professionals will fan out across the exhibit floor in the Clean + Contain Expo to find notable, well-designed products. A display in the Grand Concourse Lobby will feature products selected in 2009. Products that receive the coveted recognition in 2010 will be announced on Monday, March 15 and featured in a slide presentation that will play at the display throughout the rest of the Show. Who knows design better than designers? Be there to see what floats their boat.
Global Design
With several hundred international suppliers on hand, the 2010 Show is a global marketplace for buyers. To sort it all out, savvy buyers stop at several specified sites on the Show floor arranged by country, including Brazil,China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Turkey. The Global Crossroads Expo, located in the North Building and featuring hundreds of products from China, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan, is an innovative mixture of cultures and customs from sources that defy imagination. A walk through the Expo offers a fascinating cross-section of products arranged by country and the trends behind them.
Student Design Competition
The Student Design Competition, sponsored by IHA in partnership with the Industrial Designers Society of America, is recognized by professional designers and educators as a valuable contribution to industrial design education. The rigorous contest is judged by design professionals and managers at housewares companies and has convince many young designers to make housewares design their career.
The winning products and their designers can be found in the Housewares Design Center exhibit in the Lakeside Center, Level 3 Lobby. Products run the gamut of imagination, from small electrics, to home healthcare, tableware and cleaning products. Each student has devoted many months of effort to the winning entries and their stories of inspiration are well worth hearing.
Pantone ColorWatch
The housewares industry is well aware of color’s importance in the marketplace. Research indicates that product color evokes a strong emotional response from consumers and drives more than 60 percent of purchases. Pantone ColorWatch, located in the Lakeside Center, Level 3 Lobby, is an annual must see for hundreds of buyers and other visitors to the Show who want a concise overview of the color palettes representing the strongest home furnishing trends for 2011. Each of the nine palettes include individual Pantone colors, the philosophy behind the color selections
and actual products from Show exhibitors. The display compliments Monday’s color trends seminar by noted color expert Leatrice Eiseman.
New Product Showcases
See the hundreds of new products making their debut at the Show in the New Product Showcases, located in the Buyers Clubs in each building. While the Clubs are lounges for the buyer attendees, credentialed news media are allowed in to see the showcases.
For more information on the new inKNOWvation concept, please visit www.housewares.org.
