TrendFire TrendSpotters
TrendFire embraces being part of the global brain. In this information age the diversity of our trend networks and trend spotters is what fuels our creative engine. Simply to be alive makes each and every one of us a trend spotter! At TrendFire we have a team consumed by all things consumer and shopper:


TRACEY JOHNSON, United Kingdom
"With a background in consumer marketing, I have a passion for brand building and the real deal: consumer led strategy. I spend most of my waking hours thinking about trends and most of my working hours heading up TrendFire at InDeed Strategy into Action Consultancy. I confess to consuming media at a voracious level..... all in the name of research! I’m fascinated with how technology is shaping shopper and consumer behaviour and vice-versa. I’m a would be artist and frustrated novelist, a treasure trove of random bits of information."



MICHELLE STEARNS, USA
"Global shopper and consumer trends have always been the driving force behind the strategic planning I've done when crafting global brand solutions with unique brand positionings. Living near to the Big Apple has also meant that I'm always surprised and often delighted by the energy and rich diversity of the creativity and cutting edge nature of New York City. This mirrors my own high energy approach to life. A mum of three and successful business woman, I am always interested in time saving inventions, and ideation that inspires!"




SITA LAKSHMI NARAYAN SWAMY, India 
"Passionate about painting, books, music, travelling ,running, yoga and believe it or not, cooking, I am probably the last person you would expect to find in the corporate world. However, I completed my MBA at the age of 21 and there was no looking back. A nomadic childhood led to my interest in people from various backgrounds and cultures. In the years I spent in both advertising and media, across Asia, consumer behaviour and insight mining have been my interest and forte. I also went back to the London School of Economics to study globalisation and leadership. The challenges of our inter-connected world and the pot pourri of global cultures will continue to be a lifelong fascination. I am at the moment writing a book of short stories for children." 




CHRISTINE DOUGLAS, United Kingdom
"I'm a commercially creative corporate strategist who is committed to saving the planet. By Friday. My passion for combining business and the environment is such that I spent a year at Imperial College London, studying for a MSc in Environmental Technology and convincing Wal-Mart US to collaborate on my thesis - in return for writing the business plan for one of their sustainability initiatives. All these things, plus my high and ethical standards, make me a natural pioneer of the corporate sustainability agenda. My big interest is in global and local environmental trends and the ways in which they shape and are shaped by consumer perception and shopper behaviour. When I’m not poring over all things sustainable, I read Hindu literature, practice hatha yoga and walk the same five miles of the North Cornwall coastal path."


HEATHER MEYER, New Zealand
"I am a 'child who books built' in Francis Spufford's words. I'm passionate about language - after a long career in teaching I completed a Masters degree in Applied Language Studies (a field of Linguistics) which has led to the award of a scholarship to continue with PhD studies, on which I am now just embarking. My main concern is in educating students as to the power of language to both deceive them and empower them! Branding and advertising communication has spawned a language of consumerism-speak and contributes to social structures and our sense of selves. As a mum I am passionate about the impacts of global shopper and consumer trends on children."


MARCO GUIDOTTI, Australia
"Running a successful advertising agency means that I keep my finger on the pulse of shopper and consumer culture, creating meaningful interactions with them. The communication landscape has been forever transformed and traditional media now sits alongside new media in a fragmented multi channel world. It has never been more challenging or more exciting time to blend creativity with strategic planning in the advertising world - all being driven by increasingly more empowered consumers in a world that's becoming smaller each day. In my spare time I take to the oceans, a tropical haven under water that's indescribable."



SARA JAMES, United Kingdom
"I wear a clinical hat most days, deeply immersed in developing scheduled medicines and clinical trials. I have a keen interest in healthcare and the future challenges facing the healthcare industry. As a mum I have a passion for healthy principles and habits being inculcated at an early age, as a way to counter the growing health problems faced by today's youth. I am a gym fanatic, always looking for the latest fitness trends. This is balanced by a lifelong relationship with chocolate, particularly Snickers Bars!"






DEBBIE SIMMS, South Africa
"Although qualifying and working briefly as a teacher, my career has largely been spent in the broad arena of consumer marketing. A passion for writing and theatre landed me firmly in brand activation. Conjuring concepts and colour, developing the props, enticing interest and penning the script had me hooked. I began Compass Communications in 1987, which was acquired by the Smollan group in 2005. I've now set up  The Organised Life and remain connected to the challenges of modern day life for my users by being open to new thinking and generally fascinated by the future. I do however still just think of myself as a teacher, albeit a somewhat eccentric and creative one.”




MARGARET GAUNTLETT, Australia
"My working hours have been spent contemplating the complexities of the software programs I invent and how these are then applied within a business context. I am however a renaissance woman: multi-tasking with varied business interests and twins at home to keep me busy. I am fascinated with the pace of technology and how this is impacting our daily lives, and particularly our working lives. As a mum I am watching with keen interest how technology is being accepted and used by children, and believe that its role in education could be of vital future importance in the developing world."



CATE TROTTER, United Kingdom
"Studying the future fascinates me because it enables me to fuse research and creativity: two major passions of mine. I love to learn about new breakthroughs and to be inspired by others' ideas, creatively extrapolating from these to imagine and explore new opportunities. I'm very interested in how new technology enables grassroots initiatives, groups and businesses to spring up, helping people to live more creative, sustainable lives. My background's in ethical design, marketing, and creative strategy: observing and developing new retail concepts, business models and customer relationships. I take a 'why not?' approach to life, trying to fit in as much as I can before I die and experiencing the newest things London can offer, including mobile clubbing, dining on double decker buses and learning to clown. This, of course, is the fuel for my professional life, as the best business ideas often emerge from play."


MELANIE GUIDOTTI, Australia
"As a busy stylist and mum I'm always looking at the latest décor trends, and am acutely aware of how one's environment adds to quality of life ( Decor by Design) Living in a world of flux your home is your refuge and personal touches make a house a home. Technology has increased the ease with which decorating trends filter across the globe and most homes today reflect a mixture of textures and cultures. I'm keenly interested in how house design in the future will be dominated by built in connectivity and increasingly interactive features."





CAROL MAIBAUM, United Kingdom
"I've worked in customer service all my life, and my interest in the evolution of popular culture from all parts of the globe is like my own personal ethnographic study. I also find time to indulge my passion for shopping. I am the original shopaholic - retail experiences are my forte, in my imagination I have created many ideal shops and shopping occasions. My passion for creativity is reflected in my painting, which occupies my free time."





MAGDA HARDING, South Africa
"My formal background is in business communications and hotel management which feeds my interest in both PR and tourism. Combined with this I need to keep pace with the changing shopping needs of a teenager at home. I am constantly amazed at the speed of which brands are either ‘in’ or ‘out’ and how important brand choices are to teenagers, affecting their social status and sense of self related to their peers. I am particularly interested in how publicity is fuelled by technology that is second nature to teenagers, and marketers are able to exploit the ‘cool’ factor through viral and word of mouth campaigns for youth markets. The power of PR has never been greater. In my free time I enjoy the outdoors, the more adventurous the better!"

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