What's Hot?

Unlike a lot of people that I know, I am not ashamed to admit that I'm looking forward to watching VH1’s Big in 2004. It’s ok because 1) I’m a slave to all things pop culture and 2) I can justify how it is essential viewing for anyone making a living in the field I do.

About a month ago I attended an Ad Club forum entitled Trends: A-Z. The seminar, presented by Topic 101, was a forecast of the trends that marketers and communicators are envisioning for the ensuing years. A little background info: Topic 101 is a market research company that focuses on students and their opinions on a variety of products and entertainment issues. Topic 101 claims that, unlike MTV, they do not chase (create) culture, but merely want to understand it. Marketers value this information because the 18-25 year old demographic is the holy grail of branding, assuming that product adoption at age 20 will lead to 60 years of brand loyalty.


Trends: A-Z:
A= Atari
B= Blogs
C= Celebrity
D= Dinosaur
E= Environment
F= Fat
G= Gaming
H= Hand-Crafted
I= Individualize
J= Jet Plane
K= Killers
L= La-Z-Boy
M= Male Magazines
N= Nesting
O= Obsolete
P= Plastic Surgery
Q= Queer
R= Retail
S= Safety
T= Toyota
U= Unknown
V= Vote
W= World
X= X-Rated
Y= Youth
Z= Zen


Quite an interesting list. And like most lists of this nature, I am sure much debate will ensue. Personally I feel that the trend with the most long-term impact is the call to Individualize. From Apple’s iPod to the Toyota Scion. From the way that Blogs have changed the media to the popularity of the home improvement channel DIY. From the way people have adapted religion to suit their own lifestyle to the advancements of cell phone technology, due to the desire for instantaneous pornography.

America is becoming an on-demand society and those companies that can meet this call, or more likely give the appearance of meeting this call, will thrive. Maybe Burger King had it right all along. “Have it your way” indeed.