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A couple of years ago, McDonald’s Corp. got quite a bit of media attention by announcing that that the restaurant chain was walking away from “super-sized” portions in an effort to help combat obesity in the United States. The truth is, McDonald’s didn’t change its meal sizes. The company just stopped calling the bigger meal deal “super-sized” and now it’s the “large.” But let’s not debate if it really matters how many fries you eat when you’ve already had the Big Mac, but instead look at it from the marketing angle.

McDonald’s capitalized on the buzz. The company was paying attention to the media and to the trends. How in touch are you? Look at some of the hottest trends of today. Had you anticipated how they might affect your business?

• DVRs. With TiVo and other digital video recorders, consumers can now control exactly what they watch and when they watch it. This technology is now in about 25 million homes. Did you change your media strategy?

• Wireless communications. It’s far beyond personal digital assistants. Think digital butler. You can now adjust oven settings for a late arrival from work or check to see if you have a jar of salsa in the fridge. How did this alter the “voice” of your communications?

• “Medifying” our looks. Tummy tucks? Old news. We’re talking surgery to make us taller, thinner and complete with permanent lip liner. We take pills to be happier, to be more potent or to bulk up. How does this change the life cycle of your consumer?

The point is not to struggle to make these trends significant to your business. The point is these trends are changing your business, like it or not. Did you see them coming?

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2008 Drew McLellan