It seems to us here at Big Tent that one of the biggest and most significant trends currently playing out is that of retail “Going Mobile”, towards more flexible, less rigid physical structures. The implications of this new retail paradigm promise to be meaningful to our business.

In case you haven’t noticed, Pop-Up Shops have sprung up, well, everywhere. While Pop-Up-Shops are nothing new, this past year seemed to bring this concept into the mainstream here in New York and across the U.S. From seasonal to promotional to short-term inventory sales to brand launches we have seen the Pop-Up Shop used across a wide array of objectives. While retailers like Target and Spencer have very successfully used Pop-Up shops for a while, we find it very interesting to see how many major consumer brands are now jumping into the Pop-Up Shop business as well. The idea of a physical retail structure being tethered to a permanent brick and mortar location, or the exclusive province of big retailers seems to have been irrevocably dismantled. Clearly, what we have seen happen in the digital world of retailing now seems to be happening in the physical world as well.

Furthermore, the Retail On Wheels trend is not just limited to consumer goods; it’s also hitting the restaurant business. You can walk in any direction from our office in the Flatiron area of Manhattan and within 2 blocks are likely to find a gourmet coffee truck, a Tex-Mex truck, a Greek cuisine truck, a Cup Cake truck, and many, many more. And it’s not just a trend in Manhattan. NPR recently did a very interesting story entitled “Gourmet Food Trucks Racing To Serve You Lunch”. The story’s presenter, Charla Bear, described how “gourmet vendors are rolling out from Austin, Texas, to Washington, D.C. And they're serving everything from appetizers to desserts.” These gourmet food trucks have even become so popular across the US that they’ve now spawned their own Food Network show, The Great American Food Truck Race.

And then we have the space race that’s currently going on in the on-line world with brick & mortar retail banners vying with digital and hybrid retailers for sales and mindspace.

So what exactly is happening here and what does it mean for our business? Well, it’s clear that retail is being re-invented, although to what extent and over what period of time we can’t yet say. We happen to like JWT’s take on it; “Retail spaces will increasingly serve as a “third space” that’s only partly about shopping. With more people buying on-line as well as downloading digital versions of physical goods (books, movies, video games, etc.), shopping is becoming as much about experiences, unique environments and customer service as it is about the merchandise.”

If JWT’s prediction is correct then the Apple Store may well be the model for the future of the physical retail space. If so, that could pose a very interesting challenge for brand owners as marketing budgets are strained and stretched to accommodate a Pop-Up Shop or some other form of branded retail experience. We are excited by these sorts of challenges and are now working on ways we can both develop engaging on-line and physical retail environments for the brands we represent. Let’s roll!

It’s been very hard to watch the news from Japan these past weeks. The human toll there has been horrific and it seems that their troubles may continue for years due to the nuclear issues they are now facing. We at Big Tent have many friends and colleagues there, and while we are grateful to report all are safe, we are not able to stand by idly when so much help is needed. Therefore, we have reached out to noted jewelry designer Udi Behr to utilize his Love + Peace + Hope design as we think it sends the right message in response to the events in Japan. Using Udi’s concept as our base, we then worked with Fifth Sun to come up with a special Domo design that we will offer to each of our licensees. The design is meant to express our support for the people of Japan and features symbols that are understood globally.

We are now in discussions with our Licensees and retail partners to organize products and retail space for this new Domo design. Big Tent will donate a percentage of our income and we are hoping that our Licensees will agree to match our donation. Donations will go to The Japan Society, who will pass through 100% of the funds collected to organizations that directly help victims recover from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami . We have set a goal of generating at least $50,000 USD in donations.

This is a time for the DomoNation to unite in support of the people of Japan. We would greatly appreciate you joining us in this effort. If you would care to make a donation directly to The Japan Society, please do so at this URL: http://www.japansociety.org/earthquake

This past month here in the U.S. we’ve all been treated to The Charlie Sheen Show. I guess it’s probably news most everywhere that film and TV star Charlie Sheen seems to have come unglued, or at least he is giving that appearance, not sure which. We see him here on TV and our mobile screens 24/7, with each and every day bringing a new episode. His every utterance is being replayed, driving catchphrases like “Tiger Blood” or “Winning” into our daily pop vocabulary. There’s hardly a magazine show or supermarket rag that isn’t covering his ride on the crazy train as their lead story. And apparently, judging from ratings and sales, this is what the public wants. One of the most interesting stats to come out of the Sheen-a-thon is that he has been the quickest in history to both the 1 and 2 million follower mark on Twitter. So, we can surmise that not only do people want to read about and watch him, they also want to follow his every utterance. What can I say, crazy sells.

Charlie is not the first celebrity to discover that a little controversy can be a good thing, and he certainly won’t be the last. Aditya Chakrabortty, in a column for The Guardian last year, talked about how these sorts of celebrity missteps become a “social adhesive” that gives colleagues and schoolchildren something to discuss. I like that notion as we certainly can use more things that bring us together in a world where one can easily live from mobile screen to computer screen to TV screen without much human contact if one chooses.

The other day at lunch a few of us were debating what this all means to the Charlie Sheen Brand. After a lot of debate, and some good laughs, we couldn’t agree if it was good or bad thing for him long-term, although we unanimously concluded that it was clearly very good in the short-term. I came back from that lunch to find a leading industry trade association newsletter carrying a lead story on how Charlie Sheen was looking to cash in on his increased popularity by offering a line of merchandise including T-shirts, mugs, and other novelty items. You can bet they’ll sell like crazy – at least for the next six months.

The entire world, myself included, has been transfixed this past month by the dramatic events in Tunisia, Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East. At this point we are not able to say with certainty whether the changes will be positive or negative. Of course, we hope for the best, but I have a feeling that there is much yet to be played out in these countries What we can say today, with certainty I believe, is that this unprecedented movement was largely facilitated and accelerated via access to Social Media. And while it is truly astounding that major leaders and governments are being, more or less, peacefully dismantled, it is even more amazing to learn how Social Media played such a critical role. After all, this is the same Social Media that has been used here in North America as a means of keeping in touch with old friends and making new ones. For many it is a place to play games, see what everyone is up to, and brag about your kids, job, or home. Through our work with Domo we had additionally learned the marketing value of Social Media as a media for communicating and interacting with fans in ways that was not previously possible. But all this pales into insignificance in the face of what has transpired across the Middle East. Suddenly, we see a new and important dimension as an enabler of social and political transformation that was not imagined for Social Media just 5 short years ago. While we knew it was a powerful idea for connecting people, we now see the extent of its reach, if not yet fully understanding all of its potential for human transformation. So, what happens from here? Well, for businesses like ours, it’s a chance to re-think our strategy and to increase our focus on Social Media as a great tool for our business to establish even deeper connections to our brand’s fans. While Social Media is bound to evolve, it’s for sure that it’s here to stay.

Charlie is not the first celebrity to discover that a little controversy can be a good thing, and he certainly won’t be the last. Aditya Chakrabortty, in a column for The Guardian last year, talked about how these sorts of celebrity missteps become a “social adhesive” that gives colleagues and schoolchildren something to discuss. I like that notion as we certainly can use more things that bring us together in a world where one can easily live from mobile screen to computer screen to TV screen without much human contact if one chooses.

The other day at lunch a few of us were debating what this all means to the Charlie Sheen Brand. After a lot of debate, and some good laughs, we couldn’t agree if it was good or bad thing for him long-term, although we unanimously concluded that it was clearly very good in the short-term. I came back from that lunch to find a leading industry trade association newsletter carrying a lead story on how Charlie Sheen was looking to cash in on his increased popularity by offering a line of merchandise including T-shirts, mugs, and other novelty items. You can bet they’ll sell like crazy – at least for the next six months.

In January many in our company attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The early January show serves as a great jumping off point for a new year as its energy gets us all thinking about new trends and future opportunities. As such it helps us to take stock on where we’ve been, as well as where we’re headed. Directly from here I went to Hong Kong and Shanghai for a week. The entire trip really provided me with clarity and a new focus on the tides that will carry us to a world where Mobile is first among all screens, TV, Film, Computer, Game, etc.

At CES we saw that all the leading consumer electronics companies are doubling down on Tablets. Whereas last year we saw the emergence of Tablets at a handful of companies, this year we saw that almost every consumer electronics company, big and small, is launching one, and many of those in color versions. So, it’s definitely “game on” when it comes to Mobile and Tablets with everyone poised to battle for market share in the coming years. When one counted the number of tablets displayed in, literally, almost every booth (even the Accessory companies had Tablets in their booths), and the number of tablets being used at the show to make presentations, well let’s just say that Apple had a very good year.

From the tablet-frenzy of Las Vegas it was on to Hong Kong and mainland China where I saw first-hand a country that is focused on Mobile infrastructure. I was amazed to find, sadly, that my iPhone worked better in the Shanghai subway than it does above ground in New York. It wasn’t only the infrastructure that impressed me, however. I saw a very youthful population that views the computer screen as their main window on the outside world, not the TV as we in the West do. In fact, when one considers that China now has 450 million people on the Internet, it is not a reach to imagine that a boom in mobile devices is just around the corner. The implications are significant for our business, especially if we can meet the demands of a content-starved population with great products and global brands.

As Tablets accelerate the move to Mobile all over the world, we can expect to see a demand for more content that is specifically developed for the Tablets and Smart Phones of a population that wants to consume entertainment on-the-go. If I needed any reminder of this, the trip to CES and China certainly helped to re-focus on the prize.