Marian Salzman predicts the Rise of the Red Coats in 2008

‘Leading Trendspotter’ Marian Salzman, and Ann Mack, the ‘Director of Trendspotting’ at JWT, have issued a press release with their predictions for the world in 2008. The ‘trends’ described for the coming year are nothing surprising, or particularly new, but seem to be more about the mainstream acceptance of many of the things that have been talked about during 2007 including the rise of personal genetic profiling, tech-enabled clothing, and the changing nature of free time.

Most interesting is their forecast for ‘Radical Transparency’ as ‘The new generation gap, a divide between those who relish privacy and those who want to show and tell all. For younger generations, ‘nothing to hide’ will be the new norm’; a similar theory to the one Piers proposed in his Red Coat Black Coat article last year.

The JWT 2008 predictions:

• Babymoons / Procreation holidays – hotels will aggressively market ‘babymoons’ to couples seeking some tranquility before entering parenthood and for couples looking to get pregnant there are now ‘procreation breaks’ complete with age-old fertility treatments, massage and candlelit dinners

• Slum Tourism – more selfless and socially responsible holidays. The appeal of Brazilian favelas, Mexican junkyards and South African shanty towns will rise as people are keen to learn about social conditions around the world

• High-tech health – customised work-out based on one’s DNA. Fitness fanatics will check out services from genetic-profiling companies which perform DNA analysis to determine the type of exercise routine a person is most suited to

• Blue is the new green – blue will replace green as the environmental movement’s colour du jour. Climate change has quickly become the driver of environmentalism 2.0 and people worldwide understand that climate is all about the seas and the sky – both blue. Watch for green to become a subset of blue which is coming to denote the much larger emerging spirit of good-citizen ethics

• Radical Transparency – it’s the new generation gap, a divide between those who relish privacy and those who want to show and tell all. For younger generations, ‘nothing to hide’ will be the new norm. But look for radical transparency to temper (at least temporarily) as online exhibitionists enter higher education and the workforce.

• Staycations – more people will opt to split their holiday time in to long weekends, eschewing long leisurely trips to distant locales

• Couch surfing – already 300,000 people have signed up to the couch surfing project whose members are willing to offer a couch to travelers and show visitors around their city

• Genetic testing goes mainstream - as the price of DNA testing technology falls.
There has always been an incestuous relationship between healthy and beauty, but the ties are getting closer, as the field of medi-beauty takes off. Watch out for genetic testing TV commercials

• E-ddiction – internet addiction rises and it’s not just porn, chat rooms or gambling, role-playing games become the biggest new e-ddiction

• iTerrorism – the rise of Islamic jihadi media (blogs and videos offering militant views. Internet jihadists are increasingly reaching out to disenchanted youth through English language websites

• Techs-tiles – clothes that can monitor your health or double-up as a GPS system will become more mainstream