JWT, the largest advertising agency in the US and the fourth-largest in the world, is marking the New Year with a list of 70 "in" products, services and trends that will help to define 2007. "Trends are illustrated by the products and services that exemplify them," says leading trendspotter Marian Salzman, EVP, chief marketing officer of JWT Worldwide and co-author (with Ira Matathia) of the new book Next Now, a travelogue into the near future. "By examining what resonates with consumers, we can identify the larger patterns that will shape our lives in the years to come," she said. "As globalization continues to make our world seem smaller, localization will come to a head in 2007. 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," said Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT. Without further ado, here is your guide to trends in 2007.
The List
1. Skype/VoIP
2. Wii and the next-generation gaming systems
3. The business of social networking
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
41. Inconspicuous consumption
42. X-Factor's Leona Lewis
43. Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson
44. Environmental causes
45. Companies going green
46. Barack Obama
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
55. The rebirth of raves
56. Energy-saving lightbulbs
57. 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 (the movie)
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)
Source: JWT, "About Next Now: Trends for the Future" (Palgrave Macmillan)
