"Trends are illustrated by the products and services that exemplify them," says Salzman, EVP, who is also the co-author of the new book Next Now (Palgrave Macmillan), a travelogue into the near future.
"As globalization continues to make our world seem smaller, localization will come to a head in 2007," adds Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT. "We'll put great emphasis on sourcing everything from food to textiles. Decadent and excessive consumption will fall to the wayside as we stress quality, minimal environmental impact and support of local producers."
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. Their book holds up a cultural mirror that allows readers to better understand their own attitudes, anxieties and aspirations.
The 70 trends as listed by JWT, are:
1. Skype/VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocal)
2. Wii and the next-generation gaming systems
3. The business of social networking (hanging out online)
4. Pop-up stores, restaurants and bars... installation style
5. Shrinky Dink technology (TVs are flat and hidden, iPods are down to
half an ounce, speakers are smaller and less visible, and so on)
6. The rise of nanotechnology
7. Sustainable construction/green buildings
8. Hydrogen fuel cell technology
9. Veggie-bus: school buses running on biodiesel fuel
10. Trans-fat fallout
11. Reality show talent searches
12. Ohio State's freshman basketball phenom, Greg Oden
13. Fear of agri-terrorism
14. Halal foods
15. Participatory advertising (user-generated advertising and music video
competitions)
16. Premium-drink bars
17. Organic fabrics
18. Stem cell research
19. Iceland
20. Hybrid dogs
21. Locally sourced produce
22. Churchonomics: religion as big business
23. Reunions of donor insemination siblings
24. Hitting the off button: demanding downtime
25. Indian cross-over actress Aishwarya Rai
26. Home-schooling
27. Natural building materials such as stone and wood
28. Binge chilling
29. Personalized diets
30. Brand sluts
31. Modernized tradition
32. Chindia
33. Alpha moms
34. Internet TV
35. Citizen journalism
36. RSS feeds
37. Fresh Direct
38. Google domination (Google as acquirer, and Microsoft as Google
follower)
39. Mobile video
40. Rachael Ray, author and chef
41. Inconspicuous consumption
42. X-Factor's Leona Lewis
43. Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson
44. Environmental causes
45. Companies going green
46. Barack Obama, Illinois Senator and potential 2008 US presidential candidate
47. Soft, natural hair
48. Microgeneration (generating one's own energy)
49. Party planning for teens
50. Paying for user-generated content
51. Higher-waisted pants
52. iPhone
53. Co-branding (think Nike plus Apple)
54. Britain's Amy Winehouse, jazz/soul singer and songwriter
55. The rebirth of raves
56. Energy-saving lightbulbs
57. Cult comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen
58. Mash-ups (music, Web sites, everything)
59. Japanese apparel chain Uniqlo
60. Promoting "Brand Me"
61. Ensemble TV casts (Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Criminal Minds)
62. Multilingual cinema
63. "Kidults"
64. Transformers alien flick starring Jon Voight and Bernie Mac
65. Web-based microfinancing
66. Generosity
67. Al Gore, the environmentalist
68. Unstrategic alliances (Paris and Britney, Tom and Brooke, Bush Sr. and
Clinton)
69. Europeans getting fatter
70. Age shuffling (40 is the new 20, for example)
JWT's heritage of brand-building excellence extends back to 1864, making it the world's oldest advertising agency brand. In 1939, JWT pioneered the first national consumer research panel. In 1988, they created the first research study of consumer lifestyles, "Life Stages." The agency says it believes 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.
