Behind the Breakaway Brands: Q&A with Landor Associates

DailyFinance and Landor Associates collaborated to publish a list of the top 10 Breakaway Brands of 2009. To get a deeper sense of the key trends tracked our study, as well as trends that are over the horizon, I spoke to Hayes Roth, Chief Marketing Officer of Landor Associates. Part of Roth's job is tracking these trends and incorporating them both into his own firm's marketing as well as into strategic branding efforts for clients. Here are edited excerpts of our conversation.

Q: What are notable consumer trends that impacted the Breakaway Brands this year?
A: Bearing in mind the Breakaway Brands list is defined by brand strength sustained over a three-year period (in this case from 2005-2008), many of the trends we identify in this report have been fully adopted by smart marketers in that time. One of the most important of these is the developing consumer interest in healthy eating.