1. TRENDS 2013
Marian Salzman
Havas PR North America
2. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
SOME THINGS I’M MONITORING FOR THE NEXT
Cloning to create the perfect child, partner, pet ... Countries being acquired by for-profit entities or large,
wealthy universities ... End of higher education at 18—and the beginning of life apprenticeships that take people
from 19 to 29 to complete and prepare them for lifelong reinvention ... Domestic partnerships forged to secure
healthcare and tax benefits ... Flexible spaces that allow for all living under one roof ... Homeschooling by
Internet and SoMe ... Prestigious costly “passports” clearing an elite few for global citizenship ... Rebooting
absolutely everything ... Type talking replacing voice as the new small talk—and all talk being reduced to 140
characters of vibe and information ... Our new love affair with small houses
2
4. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
YOU + ME = CO
Life is a co-production, and collaboration is the hottest concept at work and home (especially there,
as multiple generations gather in the communal nest). All the “co-” words (co-creation, co-parenting,
commingle, coincide, copreneurs, even coincidence) take on bigger meaning because “you + me” is
somehow armor and protection against the wild world, and also brainfood to ensure that all the “i”
stuff (isolation is the worst, though infection sounds fairly vile …) doesn’t happen.
4
5. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
YOU + ME = CO
The co- trend is actually two trends commingled: There’s the trend toward people deliberately
combining their efforts at work, at home and online; and there’s the related trend of pointing it out in
the words that are used. The same people who used to be colleagues are now co-workers; they used to
collaborate, but now they co-create.
5
6. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
MAKE SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBLEMS
Politicians always say they have the solution, otherwise they get taken down. Negativity has never won
friends except when it’s dissing the other side. Take the subprime crisis: Nobody took notice of Nouriel
Roubini and others who were causing “problems” with their contrarian views of impending trouble.
6
7. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
MAKE SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBLEMS
If negativity is bad, why is it so popular? There’s growing evidence that our interest in negativity isn’t
just a nasty habit created by sensationalist media and manipulative politicians; it’s the way our brains
work. Bad experiences create stronger impressions than good ones. Being sensitive to negative events
helps us beware of potential dangers, while expecting positive events in the future motivates us to
keep on keeping on.
7
8. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
AUSTERITY LIVING WITH DOUBLE-DIP FRUGALITY
Consumerism will be replaced by collaborative consumption and an eye on less being more through
micro-ownership (1/12 of a car, 1/4 of a dog, 1/365 of a vacation home, etc.). It felt awkward when
we started buying only essentials, then the economy bit us a second time as the EU began to break
apart. Now, expect the global consumer class to reduce and reuse far ahead of shopping till they drop.
8
9. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
AUSTERITY LIVING WITH DOUBLE-DIP FRUGALITY
As the economic crisis drags on, the shop-till-you-drop exuberance that drove the long boom has given way
to caution. For many people, big-ticket spending is out of style and not only because they don’t have the
money. It started with digital content: Why bother buying physical books, magazines, newspapers, CDs and
DVDs that take up space if you can get them in virtual formats when you need them?
9
10. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIES
New is now old. Old is next. Cashless economy fits in. But we find new marketplaces for trading
recyclables, experiments with local currencies—everything from the storage biz to Dumpster diving to
old houses and more.
10
11. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIES
Barter trading is one quick and easy solution for people and small businesses with skills, goods and
time but limited cash. Bartering has a new lease on life because of the Internet, which can match
buyers and sellers and keep track of their trades.
11
12. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
RETHINKING IMPERFECTIONS
Photoshop can clean up all kinds of imperfections, cosmetic dentistry can repair someone’s smile and
the SAT tutor can prep the average student for test success. So how do we embrace and celebrate the
less-than-perfect people, places and things we revere as authentic? The yin (quest for perfection) and
yang (search for authenticity) lead to quite a juggle.
12
13. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
RETHINKING IMPERFECTIONS
Witness the perfection of the unforgettable opening of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Four years
later, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics included sick children bouncing on hospital
beds, comedian Rowan Atkinson cheating in a running race and a solo by a choir boy whose left arm
ended at the elbow. London sought to reflect a big shift in attitudes toward perfection and imperfection.
13
14. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
DADS AS THE NEW MOMS
In a post-mancession economy, dads are hunkering down, minding the kids and carving out new
traditions and mores for raising the family. They are also becoming a new stereotype; if ladies of the
house were the target consumers in the 1970s, daddy bloggers will be the men to watch by 2015,
setting the international shopping lists.
14
15. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
DADS AS THE NEW MOMS
A lot of the gender-shifting trend is being driven by economic trends. The macho muscle-power jobs of
the 20th century are giving way to gender-neutral work that requires education and social skills,
tipping the balance toward women. Rather than being diminished by the rise of women, the growing
ranks of devoted and capable dads are likely to find their new role liberating.
15
16. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
CONSTANT SCHOOLING
Tomorrow, school will be continuous and only a clickstream away, and most industrious people will
look at education as a lifelong commitment to personal relevance: their own. College might cost
megabucks, but top-drawer instruction is now available for free online—and so it’s log in or lose out.
16
17. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
CONSTANT SCHOOLING
Worldwide, wherever possible, young people are spending longer in education. Even so, just leaving
college with a good degree is no longer enough. We are expected to be adept at using online resources
to find things out; being digitally literate is now the equivalent of being able to read and write a
century ago. Educators and employers expect people to be proactive, self-directed, lifelong learners.
17
18. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
NOT TIRED OF FATIGUE
Fatigue is übertrendy, in almost every format. There are all kinds of trendy diagnoses raging, but
none as talked-about as chronic fatigue syndrome. And even medical journals have reported on fad
diagnoses including adrenal fatigue. When we write history for 2013, it might be the year fatigue
set in and we all migrated back to a binary approach to living, with no outlets for overload because
everything is survival or reboot.
18
19. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
NOT TIRED OF FATIGUE
All this fatigue—chronic fatigue, decision fatigue, donor fatigue, compassion fatigue, adrenal fatigue—
is mentally and emotionally draining, but it might also have deeper physical effects. It’s a response to
the stresses and strains of modern living. And either way, watch for the relentless spread of fatigue—
and tips to combat it.
19
20. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
QUALITY OF LIFE
Slowing down the pace is a dream scenario for most, especially anyone who has benefited from
(and/or been injured by) the fast lane and the pace of change. More emphasis will be placed on slow
cooking and eating, on slowing down aging and courtships. We’ll chase homey vibes (slow colors,
scents, sensorial experiences) to offset the pace of mobile everything.
20
21. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
QUALITY OF LIFE
Even before the crash, some people were already experiencing stress regarding the increasing speed
and complexity of life, fears about climate change, feelings of consumer overwhelm. Now that normal
life packs every moment with calls on attention, distraction and fast-paced entertainment, the quest
in 2013 and beyond is for unstressed, unpressured, uncluttered space and time. To relax. And breathe.
21
22. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
PLACEMAKING
SXSW made Austin the Texas capital of cool. Savannah benefited from Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Evil to become a home to young artists and young-at-heart retirees. Pittsburgh reinjected itself
with digitivity and is now thriving with modernity and energy (not of the steel kind). Solutions and
local placemakers believed that these places could.
22
23. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
PLACEMAKING
There’s nothing new in the need for places to grow their appeal and maintain it. Throughout history,
attractive locations have acted as a magnet for people, economic activity and cultural life, which all
boosted their power and attractiveness. What has changed is that globalization has increased the
speed, geographical range and intensity of competition among locations.
23
24. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
NATIVE
This is becoming a trigger word in fashion and style, and the source of “ground zero reality” in
everyday life. After a spell of rooting for what feels real and authentic, native is becoming the
ultimate proof point. The native essence—knowing where something or someone is really from—will
become an obsession in this increasingly virtual world.
24
25. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
NATIVE
As modern life accelerates into a future that gets more virtual with each passing year, consumers are
increasingly experiencing a sense of rootlessness. We listen for clues of rootedness; we feel the
attraction of people, places and things that seem connected with the authenticity of a disappearing
past. The call of more authentic native worlds returns in cycles, often heard most keenly by creative
types and pioneering thinkers.
25
26. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
THE RISE OF AFRICA
For decades, we wrote off Africa as the slow cousin of the modern world, but today we’re beginning to
see signs that this land of 1 billion people might become the new Asia. If African commodities continue
to boom, watch the continent take center stage in the next global economy.
26
27. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
THE RISE OF AFRICA
From 2001 to 2010, six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies were in Africa; the IMF predicts
that seven of the top 10 will be by 2015. Its middle class has grown from about 126 million people
(27 percent of the population) in 1980 to almost 350 million (34 percent) in 2010. It’s been estimated
that by 2040, Africa will be home to 20 percent of the globe’s young people and a working population
of 1.1 billion people overall, overtaking China’s or India’s labor force.
27
28. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
BIG, BIG CITIES
New supercities are emerging, and the biggest cities will grow even bigger, with more than 15 million
in residence. New big problems will also emerge (from pollution to terrorism), but so will the potential
for new solutions. Most of these hot capitals will be in emerging markets.
28
29. THE BIGGEST NEXTS
BIG, BIG CITIES
Around 5 billion of the world’s inhabitants will be urban by 2030—that’s around 60 percent of the
projected 8.3 billion population, compared with just 3 percent in 1800. Big cities aren’t an option that
we can take or leave; they’re inevitable. Megacities create megaproblems, but by offering buzz and
many opportunities for minds to meet, they also spur people to figure out megasolutions.
29
30. FROM MACRO (WORLDVIEW) TO MICRO (THE HOME FRONT) …
IT ALL HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
30
31. STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE
For a deeper dive on these trends—and dozens more—download What's Next? What to Expect in 2013 now.
(If the hyperlink doesn’t work, copy and paste http://120mbooks.com/?page_id=1764 into your browser window).
What’s Next? What to Expect in 2013 is the debut publication from 120M Books, the publishing adventure
of Havas PR. We traffic in the future-forward and quick-hit read (nothing more than 120 minutes).
31
