Mark Penn, better known as Hilary Clinton’s chief strategist who predicted she would clinch the nomination with the California primaries, wrote a book about microtrends (Microtrend: the small forces behind tomorrow’s big changes, Hachette Book Group USA, 2007). While his credibility as a trend watcher may have taken a hit, he’s credited with having identified “soccer moms” as a crucial constituency in President Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign.
His book lists more than seventy such microtrends in the US – trends that are wielding great influence on politics and business that marketers can tap into. Penn claims that only one percent, or three million people, is enough to launch a business or social movement. I’ll review some of these trends and look for signs that they offer similar opportunities in Quebec.
Microtrend: Sun-Haters
These are the people who greet summer sunshine with floppy
hats that look like Snoopy’s World War I bomber gear (complete with earflaps),
grudgingly show up at pool parties in full-body wetsuits, and slather on
fourteen layers of 50+ sunscreen just to go to work.
Sun-Haters have spawned an industry for sun-safe clothing, which means long-sleeved shirts and pants that are woven more tightly than regular clothes. They’re also triggering innovations that build sun protection into our daily lives. Just coming on to the market is a product called Sun-Guard, a laundry aid that washes sun protection right into clothes, boosting their UPF level from 5 to 30.
We took a look at Quebeckers’ usage of suntan and sunscreen products based on PMB data.
Sun-Haters use self-tanners, which work with the skin to alter skin colour without the risk of UV exposure. This microtrend is apparently responsible for the tremendous growth of these products in recent years. And Quebeckers are significantly more likely to use self-tanners (3.9% of adults 18+ in English Canada use self tanners compared to 6.3% in French Quebec – 114 index).
But before you jump to the conclusion that Quebeckers are more likely to be Sun-Haters than Canadians in the ROC, look at the more complete picture.
Quebeckers are significantly more likely to use suntan oil (144 index). They’re significantly less likely to use sunscreen products (89 index) and sunscreen with a high SPF of 36+ (52 index).
It should therefore not be a surprise that Quebeckers are significantly more likely to use sunburn and after sun products (126 index).
The days of the face tanners that literally fried your face might be over but this data suggest that Quebeckers are not yet as inclined to hate the sun.

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