Havas PR Launches Annual Trends Report; Unease Tops The List As The Ubertrend

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Havas PR today releases its yearly forecast of trends for the new year. Most notably: Three years ago, the agency predicted an ubertrend of the rise in "co-" words (co-create, co-parent, copreneur), and last year it noted that things were starting to move inward as society was becoming more turbulent, with "self-" as the overriding idea. For 2016, a sense of unease (and fear) is the ubertrend: It pervades much of life, giving everyone a lingering feeling that things aren't as they should be.

Technology is central to that ubertrend and serves as a running theme through the rest of Havas PR's trends, from renewables chic and the rise in apps and everything smart, to bigger audiences for virtual events than real ones.

"This year, we have seen an incredible rise in what our agency calls localism, a focus on all things local but with a backdrop of 24/7 global awareness thanks to worldwide connectivity," said Marian Salzman, CEO of Havas PR North America and an award-winning trendspotter, who leads the report. "But that is just one way we're all trying to manage and control a totally chaotic world. We'll continue to see localism at the heart of everyday life, but at the same time we'll also become more fearful and uneasy about looming threats, whether that's keeping children out of harm's way, tech addiction, climate change or any of hundreds of other worries."

Here is a preview of Havas PR's report:

1. The Ubertrend: Uneasy Street. The pervading sense of fear and unease means we're all engaged in a constant struggle between staying in or bailing out. Here's the constant question raised by this anxiety ubertrend: How can I make my present and my future more secure?
2. Tech Addict, Control Thyself. The Amish might be right: Tech can draw people apart. Expect to see programs of cyber self-control becoming as common as diets and exercise programs.
3. The Golden Age of B.S. The Internet and social media are democratizing free speech, but facts and truth matter increasingly less in what is being said. It turns out that most people are satisfied with some form of truthiness.
4. What's Renewable Will Be New Again. Many Americans aren't sure how worried to be about climate change, but they'll be inspired to act with consumer-oriented renewable technologies. Look for new areas of tech lust to open up.
5. Out: Overprotective Parenting. The world keeps getting much more treacherous, but kids who are too protected from the dangers are more vulnerable adults. New activities will toughen them up but with a reassuring margin of safety.
6. Mind the App. The millions of apps already created are just the beginning of a self-reinforcing loop of appification. Expect non-techie DIYers to invent apps in a massive wave of crowdsourced problem solving.
7. Getting Smart. "Smart" as a product descriptor will become as overused and meaningless as "premium" and "advanced." Expect any item with a chip built into it—from watches and fabrics to diapers and cups—to get described as smart.
8. The Roar of the Cloud. As more activities move into the cloud and more needs are served there, people will increasingly find no functional, operational value for many activities requiring a physical presence, so they won't bother.
9. Livin' Large No More? Cost and space pressures in the world's great cities are creating incentives for the smartest people to move on—or to bypass them altogether. Second- and even third-tier regional cities are becoming new magnets.
10. Experience Is the New Classroom. Organizations will understand that robust experiential education has to be key to their business model, and older workers will increasingly use it (and internships) as an option for retooling.
11. Cooking, R.I.P. Preparing meals from fresh raw ingredients will seem as old-fashioned and unnecessary as killing a chicken for dinner seems today. At every level, the market for easy-cook and no-cook ingredients will keep rising.          

As one of the world's leading trendspotters, Salzman has presented an annual trends report for two decades. Each report curates insights regarding changing attitudes, beliefs, values and media preferences, as well as the broader geopolitical shifts that together are transforming the landscape for brands, business, newscrafting and newsmaking.

The full "11 Trends for 2016" report is available for download at us.havaspr.com, under the Brainfood tab. Go there also to download previous trends reports, other agency white papers and a trends FAQ with Salzman.

About Havas PR North America
Our call to action is "Connected," and our commitment is to the Future First. As the North American earned-media and buzz agency within French holding company Havas, we're part of the Havas PR Global Collective. Headquartered in New York City with offices in the three P's—Pittsburgh, Phoenix and Providence—Havas PR North America is one of the most awarded agencies of our size in the U.S. For more information, go to us.havaspr.com.

Twitter: @HavasPRWW 

Contact:
Cindy Tanenbaum
Havas PR North America
917-538-1259
[email protected]

SOURCE Havas PR North America

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