Tia Clarke, Trend Hunter (INTERVIEW)

Tia Clarke, an Editorial Intern at Trend Hunter, uses her smartphone regularly for apps that turn users into song creators. Clarke, a native of Dundalk in Southern Ireland, brings a wonderful Irish flair and warm spirit to the Trend Hunter office. Her other interests and talents are numerous, but are most notable in her journalism coverage of the music industry. After recently moving to Toronto from Belfast she's now working as the Canadian musical correspondent for Spindle Magazine.

How do you define cool?

I think cool is anything that is bubbling under the surface, current and cutting edge. Cool people are people who go out on a limb and don't care what anyone else thinks.

What's your secret to uncovering the best trends?

My secret to uncovering the best trends is research, research, research. Just going on gut instinct. I look for something that is very visually compelling or interesting, and just trust my judgement on it.

What's your favorite trend and why?

My favorite trend at the moment is this lovely one that's titled Romantic Song Creators from Heineken. It allows you to get the lady or guy that you want by serenading them with a personalized song from the app. The app is very interesting in that you can add personal details in there and win them over. The video contains a mariachi band that's really quirky with a singer and a guitar. They even freak out and start playing slide guitars with a Heineken bottles, which I think is quite fun. It's a good trend to show how companies are reaching out to customers.

What's your favorite thing about working at Trend Hunter?

My favorite thing about working at Trend Hunter I think is the people and the community here. Everything feels like a big family.

What's your favorite accomplishment?

My favorite accomplishment would be the fact that I moved to Canada in July of last year. I've only been here a couple of months, which I think is a big accomplishment. I also won an award for features journalism in Ireland for an article in the Irish Times.

In what ways do you see the business world changing?

The most remarkable way I see business changing is that there's a face behind the business. Just like in the trend I showed you today, companies want to be more in touch with consumers and not just known as a corporation in stuffy suits. It's helpful for everyone to get to know the company for them to get to know the consumers.

Is there anything you'd like to add about Trend Hunter?

Trend Hunter is an awesome place to work. If you're looking for an internship in the Toronto area, I'd really encourage applying.