Marian Salzman's Ten Trends That Will Shape Our World in 2007

Marian Salzman has released her list of the top trends that will shape 2007.  It’s all featured in the enclosed press release:

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/—JWT, the largest advertising agency in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world, announces the top 10 trends for 2007, in conjunction with the release of Next Now: Trends for the Future, co- written by Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. The book is due out December 26 from Palgrave Macmillan.

“My working life has been spent observing business and societies from the bird’s-eye view, the worm’s-eye view and all points in between,” said Salzman, one of the world’s leading trendspotters. “For marketers, it’s essential to know what’s next now in order to understand and capitalize on the future today. Best case scenario, a marketer can steer a trend or cultural movement in the direction that is most meaningful to their consumer and business.”

In Next Now, Salzman and co-author Ira Matathia, co-founder of brand consultancy NoFormula, slow the world’s ever accelerating spin just long enough to explore how technology and globalization are shaping the near future and to connect the dots between international forces and our day-to-day lives. The book holds up a cultural mirror that allows readers to better understand their own attitudes, anxieties and aspirations. Based on intensive research as well as the authors’ global business experiences, Next Now offers up some surprising insights for anyone who wants to know where the world is headed.

Ten Trends for 2007:

THE PRICE IS RIGHTEOUS: Despite the bad press generated by the indiscretions of religious leaders such as evangelical minister Ted Haggard and myriad Catholic priests, expect the business of religion to boom in 2007. For corporations, churches will become just one more distribution channel, with worshippers serving as word-of-mouth promoters for everything from approved books and movies, such as the holiday season’s The Nativity Story, to almost any goods and services. Just take a look at Mach 4 Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, Washington, which counts Hewlett-Packard, Burger King and Gillette among its sponsors.

NEW TIES THAT BIND: Watch as our definition of family continues to broaden and evolve while dating takes a turn toward the traditional. Today, the family circle may include a child born from donor insemination and his/her half- siblings scattered across the country, found through online registries. As more singles become too time-pressed and discouraged to find suitable mates, they will turn to extended family for help, as well as Web sites that take cues from the way modern-day matches are arranged in India. Watch too as more people seek family in community, clustering in niche, like-minded towns such as Ave Maria in Florida, a development that will be based on strict Catholic values.

THE ART OF EATING WELL: A trip to the supermarket will become more complicated and complex than ever. Look for more information to appear on food packaging, a response to our growing interest in knowing more about what we eat. That includes knowing where food comes from-2007 will see leading-edge consumers turn their attention from organics, now mainstream, to local sourcing. Food safety will become a higher-profile issue, especially as the specter of agricultural terrorism hovers over national breadbaskets. Good news for gourmands: As tastes in global gastronomy evolve, once-exotic edibles like Mexican jicama and Portuguese peri-peri sauces will be front and center in upscale groceries.

MIDDLING AMERICA: The midterm election that turned Congress over to the Democrats was seen not as a wholesale rejection of Republican ideals but as a desperate plea for a more thoughtful, moderate path. In 2007 we will see the middle ground taking hold beyond Washington, permeating other facets of culture, such as media and entertainment. In the retailing world, “masstige,” the marriage of mass and prestige a la Viktor & Rolf for H&M, will gain more momentum. And department stores-that middle ground between Wal-Mart and niche shops-are waging a comeback by heightening the customer experience and touting the convenience of supersized but specialized.

SHADES OF GREEN: As environmental responsibility becomes a prerequisite for corporations, companies will battle to become the greenest in their respective categories. Think BP or Toyota, whose hybrid vehicles have given the company gold-star status. Some companies will seek to stand out by promoting a particular cause or natural resource. Bonus points will go to businesses that help consumers understand environmental issues and offer smart, easy ways to make a difference. At gepower.com, for instance, GE explains its energy-saving initiatives. For those companies that don’t act, 2007 will see newly concerned consumers speaking out and taking action.

WORK ON, WORK OFF: As technology makes jobs more portable and demands that we be always on, we’ll struggle to compartmentalize our lives and learn how to master constant connectivity. Work will saturate our homes, blurring the line between on and off time, and the notion of “work hours” and the way in which we work will change dramatically. Coffee bars, for example, have become the de facto office for many mobile workers and a venue for meetings. Celebrity- centric blogger Perez Hilton famously writes at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Angeles, where the likes of Diane Warren, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie stop by his “office” for a quick hello and photo op while grabbing their nonfat lattes. The counter-trend: As our working lives speed up, people are making a conscious effort to slow down. Turning off a cell phone during lunch will become a resounding statement that this is “me time.”

LOCAL LOYALTY: Globalization is giving us not only a new perspective on the world but also a greater loyalty to our own communities. Remember American Idol Ruben Studdard’s custom-made shirts emblazoned with the area code of his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama? More people will feel compelled to support local businesses, producers, artists and community initiatives. The local-food movement is leading the trend: In Manhattan, for example, high-profile chefs such as Danny Meyer have helped to make the Union Square farmers market a must for locally minded shoppers. Just as globalization has made the world seem smaller, localization allows us to make our hometowns feel bigger and more important.

Single-Minded Ethics: Bono has AIDS, Angelina Jolie has orphans, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue change vigorously rather than skim like a stone across the ethics pond. We believe we can change the world, but we know we can’t change it all at once.

Unstrategic Alliances: It all began with those most awkward of best buddies: 41 and 42, namely, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. And we’re seeing more odd couples and couplings every day: Brooke Shields blessing Tom Cruise, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham. “Unstrategic” may be something of a misnomer, however: In the age of Brand Me, there’s little that garners more press attention than an unlikely and inexplicable partnership.

This Tube Is MyTube: More of us will start creating entertainment using formats such as blogs or publicly posted video clips as today’s technology makes it easy for amateurs to express themselves at minimal expense or risk. And it’s not just for fun or, sometimes, profit: Because they cannot be easily reined in, these forms of online media are becoming increasingly vital forums in countries where free speech is repressed.

About Next Now: Trends for the Future

Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia slow the world’s ever accelerating spin just long enough to explore how technology and globalization are shaping the near future and to connect the dots between international forces and our day- to-day lives. The book holds up a cultural mirror that allows readers to better understand their own attitudes, anxieties and aspirations. Based on intensive research as well as the authors’ global business experiences, Next Now offers up some surprising insights into everything from work to sex to home and family life for anyone who wants to know where the world is headed.

About the Authors

Marian Salzman, one of the world’s leading trendspotters, is also co- author of The Future of Men, Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand and Next: Trends for the Near Future (all co-authored with Ira Matathia) and seven other nonfiction titles published over 20 years. She is executive vice president, chief marketing officer, JWT Worldwide, and previously held positions as chief strategic officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide and creator of TBWA International’s Department of the Future, headquartered in the Netherlands. Salzman is a TV regular, has presented on CNBC Europe and is best known for popularizing such words (and the trends they represent) as “wigger,” “singleton” and, most recently, “metrosexual.”

Ira Matathia has led some of the world’s most significant advertising agencies, as president of Chiat\Day offices in Toronto and New York. Over the last decade, he has managed a range of trend and strategic consultancies, including Chiat\Day’s Department of the Future, Y&R’s Brand Futures Group (Intelligence Factory) and Euro RSCG’s buzz@eurorscg. His current position as managing partner of NoFormula Ltd. is a collaboration with former strategic colleagues at Euro RSCG. He is also co-author (with Marian Salzman) of The Future of Men and Next.

About NoFormula

NoFormula, based in New York, and London, advises clients on global brand development, brand architecture and evolution, target identification and profiling, portfolio management strategy, and qualitative and quantitative strategic research. Its offer is “Better strategy faster,” based on the expertise of its founding managing partners.

About JWT

JWT’s heritage of brand-building excellence extends back to 1864, making us the world’s oldest advertising agency brand. In 1939, JWT pioneered the first national consumer research panel. In 1988, we created the first research study of consumer lifestyles, “Life Stages.” We believe in being anthropologists first, advertising people second. JWT, which celebrates its 142nd anniversary this year, ranks as the largest advertising agency brand in the United States and as the fourth largest full-service network in the world. Its parent company is WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) .

Press Contact: David Hahn

212-593-5847

Website: http://www.jwt.com/