MBS Events
Consumers: The Next Generation
In conversation with Keith Johnston, Mark Rogers, Al Gosling and Jeffrey Miller
Tue June 21, 2005
| The Fine Art Society, London
On one of the hottest evenings of the year, Moira Benigson Executive Search hosts its most critical debate to date. The newly renovated Fine Art Society is the venue for fifty business leaders to hear a panel of four individuals at the cutting edge of consumer trends discussing the future. Chaired by Moira Benigson, the panel comprises Mark Rogers, Head of Apple Northern Europe, Keith Johnston, CEO of GoinGreen, distributor of the emission-free, electric car, Al Gosling, CEO of Extreme Media Group and, from the USA, Jeffrey Miller, Coolhunter.
The discussion begins with a question directed at Mark Rogers: “The iPod has become a must-have fashion accessory. Through it, Apple has elevated design over technology. How did you come to this point?
“When we designed the iPod, there were many MP3 Players on the market. We realised that we could do it better so we designed a product that is authentically brilliant, has form and function and is very, very simple to use. Apple has created an iconic product in its own right, as it did with the iMac.” The simplicity of the iPod – the fact that, in Mark Rogers’ words, “it does one thing simply and really, really well” – Jeffrey Miller claims, is part of what gives it its claim to be a luxury item. “What you are seeing now is a minimalist piece of freedom because it allows young people to create their own world as they see and hear it. Apple has stolen the ground occupied by luxury brands and re-defined it in the process,” he says.
Having long passed the millennium, Jeffrey reiterates that, over and above heading towards a future where design and technology will be increasingly fused, it is consumer experiences which are evolving: “Go to the Genius Bar at the Apple store – you talk to real people who know more about computers than you do and who try to teach you rather than tell you what to do. Apple is a fantastic alliance between high fashion, design freaks and geeks. There is nothing more compelling right now than the ‘nerds’ at the Wizard Bar in the beautiful and magnificent block of design of the New York Apple space right now.” Apple in general, and the iPod in particular, it seems, are standard bearers for the next generation.
Young, dynamic and dressed in baggy shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops, Al Gosling, whose target customer is 16 to 24 reckons that the people he is marketing to have never been more conscious of the consumer landscape. Now 33, having built his business from the age of 24, he really ‘gets’ the next generation, perhaps because amongst the panellists he is the closest to it. Soon to launch the first youth-targeted mobile phone company, ExtremeMob, Al is passionate about youth culture: “The youth of today are aware and more conscious than ever of the environment, with technical savvy and a desire for authenticity.” That’s why the Extreme Group is doing so well.
In a market where consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the environment, Keith Johnston says that the G-Wiz car is coming in to its own: “Our car is a niche product and we wanted it to be cheap. To keep costs down, we decided to sell it only on the web and grow the brand virally – no advertising, no shows, no brochures. A G-Wiz car is one of the biggest statements you can make about yourself – it’s one of the first cars that says ‘I care’ and ‘I am leaving my motoring ego at home.’ So, we are online and we care about the environment.”
The evening comes alive with spontaneous input from Sir Terence Conran (on in-store merchandising), Mary Portas (on in-store experience) and John Jackson, Chairman of seven of Richard Branson’s companies. We also hear from Stephen Nelson, Marketing Director of Sainsbury’s, a representative of the all-powerful supermarket sector: “Broadly speaking, choice in retailing is determined by customer demand. However, there are new dimensions to our understanding of choice: too much of it makes people anxious; therefore, the supermarkets that will be successful in the future will be those who are brilliant at editing their ranges.”
A final challenge to the panel: “It’s 2015. How will we be living and what will we be buying?” The verdict: department stores will disappear – they will cease to have a place in society; supermarkets will continue to dominate; we will (be forced to) spend more time at home as congestion and pollution increase, and so online businesses will grow to unprecedented levels; businesses that offer personal service with integrity will continue to thrive; we will spend more time and money on experiences and spirituality.
And so we all leave the charged atmosphere with lots to think about, inspired by the sense that, as we go forward, much will be different – more than we can presently comprehend.
“Apple is a fantastic alliance between high fashion, design freaks and geeks. There is nothing more compelling right now than the ‘nerds’ at the Wizard Bar in the beautiful and magnificent block of design of the New York Apple space.”
Jeffrey Miller
“A G-Wiz car is one of the biggest statements you can make about yourself – it’s one of the first cars that says ‘I care’ and ‘I am leaving my motoring ego at home.’ So, we are online and we care about the environment.” Keith Johnston
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