Breaking Through The Noise...With Silence?

At Fuse 2012, Sheena Iyengar spoke about choice, and about the paralysis that comes with being presented too many choices. At that time, I wondered " if we will all walk away from Fuse this year with a new desire to
narrow down, simplify and create less clutter, both personally and
professionally."

Back in July 2012, The New York Times ran a feature on "Paring Down Marketing Messages to a Few Simple Basics" noting that the simplicity trend was "in response to three related trends: how busy life today seems, the growing complexity of technology and the increasingly complicated economic picture."

And now, UK retailer Selfridges is kicking off 2013 with their "No Noise" campaign." Featuring quiet rooms and debranded products, even taking the branding off of iconic Heinz containers.

As an immersive retail experience, I love the sound (or lack thereof) of this campaign. To this frenzied city-dweller a bit of quiet sounds like pure delight. Is this really just another gimmick, or a sign of an enduring move towards something a bit more simple?

I wouldn't call our plans for FUSE 2013 simple, but I do know that out of the cacophony we hope to find "One Collective Voice." Download our new brochure now to learn more.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a
specialization in marketing. She is the voice of the Fuse conference on Facebook and Twitter.