Fresh from the coiner of metrosexual is a list of ten phrases or terms which may get, and generate, buzz during the year ahead. It is of the utmost importance for those in the communications business to be ahead of the curve when it comes to language usage issues, and it's even more important, whenever possible, to be ahead of the curve on the cultural trends underpinning the evolution of the language. Here then, are the 10, from Marian Salzman, EVP and chief marketing officer at advertising agency JWT: Adultescence, Bangalore Envy, Brand Sluts, Churchonomics, Cougars, Gastroporn, Microgeneration, She-E-Os, Truth Lite, and Unilanthropy. The list comes from Salzman's "Next Now: Trends for the Future," written with Ira Matathia. Does the list have you scratching your head? Are you wondering what they're talking about but don't want to wait for the book?
Find the definitions here
* Adultescence: Many young people are settling at the crossroads between autonomous living and relying on the 'rents. It's happened quietly, and it's here to stay, says David Morrison of Twentysomething Inc., who identified this growing demographic, also sometimes termed "kidults."
* Bangalore Envy: Much of the world's smart money is going where many of the world's smart people are. A new Silicon Valley is rising in India as future-forward companies like Google set up shop in Bangalore and beyond. At home, anxiety will be a rising emotion as people get scared -- for their jobs and for their futures.
* Brand Sluts: A term first heard in the blogosphere to mean an obsession with consumerism but adapted and popularized by Marian as a way to define consumers who flit from one brand to the next with no sense of fidelity to any one of them. While the connotation is negative, brand sluts are in fact savvy consumers.
* Churchonomics: The business of religion. Popular X-Factor losers G4 just completed a sold-out series at cathedrals throughout the U.K. Watch for more marketers to follow the example of Chrysler, which sponsored Patti LaBelle's 14-city U.S. tour of mega-churches. And watch for corporations to secure grand-scale sponsorship deals with churches, because worshippers serve as word-of-mouth promoters and a built-in distribution channel.
* Cougars: Sadie Frost and Demi Moore are both with men 16 years younger than them. From Tinseltown to your town, experienced and independent "cougars" will redefine the May-December romance, showing their male equivalents they're not the only ones who may trend younger in their relationships. For men, the attraction will lie in the emotional and financial maturity of older women.
* Gastroporn: Preparing, cooking, tasting and eating food have become voyeuristic pleasures separated from physical reality and carried out by experts who go through the moves with practiced ease.
* Microgeneration: Believers in personal sustainability are generating their own energy, by way of solar panels and miniature wind turbines installed in the home. Another aspect of the sustainability movement involves growing one's own produce, a trend that's particularly popular among the U.K.'s middle class, with long waiting lists for mini-allotments in urban areas.
* She-E-Os: She's carrying two BlackBerries, or a mobile phone and a PDA, so she can manage her personal life with the same attention to detail with which she manages her work life. She has a personal trainer and an executive mentor, along with a house cleaner and a pet sitter. They're the "friends and family" who ensure that her career stays in tip-top shape (firm body, sharp mind, savvy people skills).
* Truth Lite: It's the shoulder-shrugging way people shrink from accountability, cloud the truth and dance around the facts. Living in a culture of rampant lies and half-truths creates uncertainty, anxiety and cynicism. Greater demand for the whole truth will see accusations of "truth lite" leveled at politicians, the media and brands.
* Unilanthropy: Angelina Jolie has orphans, Bono has AIDS, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue it 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.
Source: "Next Now: Trends for the Future"
by Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia
JWT
