Keeping up with Trends

I saw a very interesting movie called "The Joneses."




 This movie rarely got any press despite having David Duchovny and Demi Moore as the stars.  It had an interesting concept to it.  If you want to watch it, It is available on Hulu.

Premise:
Both stars play a "married" couple that moves into an affluent neighborhood.  The story comes under the pretense that they are a typical family relocating due to their changing of careers.  Demi Moore's character is actually the leader of stealth marketers who use sneaky ways to expose product placement in a daily life. David Duchovny plays one of her "salesmen" that is conflicted with deceiving every day people.  They even have two teenaged kids that are part of the plan.

What makes it unique is that due to their look and popularity with others in the neighborhood, businesses begin stocking products due to the Joneses' recommendations to friends and neighbors.  They become the "trendsetters" of the neighborhood.

This concept doesn't seem so far fetched to happen ( if it hasn't already)  Professional athletes and celebrities have been using this concept for years.  One of the sole reasons I wanted Air Jordan's was because I was a Chicago kid witnessing Michael Jordan and wanting to jump high and run fast like him.

What made this concept scary to me was in the movie, these were just supposed to be "regular people."  I'm always curious to see how marketing will push the envelope when it comes to becoming more personal.

The questions I ask are:

1. Is it Invasive?  As a consumer, I should have privacy from advertising; Yet advertising ads creep up on my phone and even in the sky. (Sky writers)

     2. Do majority people truly keep up with the "Joneses?" - Data says in the innovation adoption life cycle only roughly 14% can be considered "head of the curve." 

So many questions can be asked and no one knows the true answer.  I do believe as marketing moves toward custom messages for specific niches, there will be slightly more invasive motives to truly connect with consumers.  There's really no right or wrong answer other than asking, "How often do you keep up with the trends?"