2012 Market Research Association Conference

You don't know me but can I spend the morning in your bathroom? By the way, there'll be four of us plus a camera man...

"I think it's probably smart," Brooks says. "If you offer people change and something radical at a time when they are feeling cautious and not open to making big, radical statements, that stuff will sit on the shelf."

While London's Daily Telegraph dubbed the tracksuit a "sartorial disaster," this line will be closely based on Madonna's personal style (see sketch at left). "This time, she's going to be involved in the designing," Brooks says, "and they're offering clothes that are going to reflect her classy sensibility."

"Shorts reflect what's going on in rock culture, in Hollywood culture," says Claire Brooks, president of brand consulting company ModelPeople.

While London's Daily Telegraph dubbed the tracksuit a "sartorial disaster," this line will be closely based on Madonna's personal style (see sketch at left). "This time, she's going to be involved in the designing," Brooks says, "and they're offering clothes that are going to reflect her classy sensibility."

"When people buy a brand," says Brooks, "they're trying to tell a story about themselves: 'This is who I am and what I value.' "

Claire Brooks said: "It’s no longer particularly hip to own an iPod, but it’s definitely not passe either. The iPod has moved from hip accessory to lifestyle classic almost immediately, which is something very few brands are able to do, and certainly none of the competitive offerings."

Shopping for home electronics seems to be rooted in an almost-scholarly evaluation of features... or is it?"

"Trendspotting is big business in the US. The never-ending quest for the Next Big Thing means jobs for people like British-born Claire Brooks..."

The cool industry is a matriarchal one. "Women are the net-workers, the chatterers", says Claire Brooks, "what you need in this industry is an ability to get beneath what people are saying, and doing, and look at what it really means."

Brooks said Apple is one of the top brands among trendsetters, along with Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Nike. "(Apple) is a core trendsetter brand," she said. "It’s a lifestyle thing. Apple just comes up all the time."

Claire Brooks...placed such wares, whether homely or glamorous, among a proliferating list of brands that are promoting their authenticity. Pitching authenticity, she said, is a ''platform against a tidal wave of new competitors.''