Ten Trends That Will Shape Our World in 2007

I read a press release today announcing ten trends taken from Next Now: Trends for the Future, the latest book from Trendspotters Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia.  For entire list, follow the link above or click on the “More” link below.  I’ve cherry-picked the few trends that relate most directly to our industry. 

The trend most getting my attention is:  “Single Minded Ethics.”  Why?  Well, any trend related to our industry is fairly historic, important, and implicative.  I trust that anyone (high-profile celeb or not) choosing to “pursue change vigorously” will do so in ways that accomplish our long-term fundraising objectives.  Thoughtful fundraising marketing efforts strive to more fully engage donors, create long lasting relationships, and foster deep ties to organizational mission.

Trends for 2007 (abridged version):

SHADES OF GREEN: As environmental responsibility becomes a prerequisite for corporations, companies will battle to become the greenest in their respective categories. Think BP or Toyota, whose hybrid vehicles have given the company gold-star status. Some companies will seek to stand out by promoting a particular cause or natural resource. Bonus points will go to businesses that help consumers understand environmental issues and offer smart, easy ways to make a difference. At gepower.com, for instance, GE explains its energy-saving initiatives. For those companies that don’t act, 2007 will see newly concerned consumers speaking out and taking action.

LOCAL LOYALTY: Globalization is giving us not only a new perspective on the world but also a greater loyalty to our own communities. Remember American Idol Ruben Studdard’s custom-made shirts emblazoned with the area code of his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama? More people will feel compelled to support local businesses, producers, artists and community initiatives. The local-food movement is leading the trend: In Manhattan, for example, high-profile chefs such as Danny Meyer have helped to make the Union Square farmers market a must for locally minded shoppers. Just as globalization has made the world seem smaller, localization allows us to make our hometowns feel bigger and more important.

Single-Minded Ethics: Bono has AIDS, Angelina Jolie has orphans, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue change 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.

This Tube Is MyTube: More of us will start creating entertainment using formats such as blogs or publicly posted video clips as today’s technology makes it easy for amateurs to express themselves at minimal expense or risk. And it’s not just for fun or, sometimes, profit: Because they cannot be easily reined in, these forms of online media are becoming increasingly vital forums in countries where free speech is repressed.

Click here for the entire list.

Ten Trends for 2007:

THE PRICE IS RIGHTEOUS: Despite the bad press generated by the indiscretions of religious leaders such as evangelical minister Ted Haggard and myriad Catholic priests, expect the business of religion to boom in 2007. For corporations, churches will become just one more distribution channel, with worshippers serving as word-of-mouth promoters for everything from approved books and movies, such as the holiday season’s The Nativity Story, to almost any goods and services. Just take a look at Mach 4 Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, Washington, which counts Hewlett-Packard, Burger King and Gillette among its sponsors.

NEW TIES THAT BIND: Watch as our definition of family continues to broaden and evolve while dating takes a turn toward the traditional. Today, the family circle may include a child born from donor insemination and his/her half- siblings scattered across the country, found through online registries. As more singles become too time-pressed and discouraged to find suitable mates, they will turn to extended family for help, as well as Web sites that take cues from the way modern-day matches are arranged in India. Watch too as more people seek family in community, clustering in niche, like-minded towns such as Ave Maria in Florida, a development that will be based on strict Catholic values.

THE ART OF EATING WELL: A trip to the supermarket will become more complicated and complex than ever. Look for more information to appear on food packaging, a response to our growing interest in knowing more about what we eat. That includes knowing where food comes from-2007 will see leading-edge consumers turn their attention from organics, now mainstream, to local sourcing. Food safety will become a higher-profile issue, especially as the specter of agricultural terrorism hovers over national breadbaskets. Good news for gourmands: As tastes in global gastronomy evolve, once-exotic edibles like Mexican jicama and Portuguese peri-peri sauces will be front and center in upscale groceries.

MIDDLING AMERICA: The midterm election that turned Congress over to the Democrats was seen not as a wholesale rejection of Republican ideals but as a desperate plea for a more thoughtful, moderate path. In 2007 we will see the middle ground taking hold beyond Washington, permeating other facets of culture, such as media and entertainment. In the retailing world, “masstige,” the marriage of mass and prestige a la Viktor & Rolf for H&M, will gain more momentum. And department stores-that middle ground between Wal-Mart and niche shops-are waging a comeback by heightening the customer experience and touting the convenience of supersized but specialized.

SHADES OF GREEN: As environmental responsibility becomes a prerequisite for corporations, companies will battle to become the greenest in their respective categories. Think BP or Toyota, whose hybrid vehicles have given the company gold-star status. Some companies will seek to stand out by promoting a particular cause or natural resource. Bonus points will go to businesses that help consumers understand environmental issues and offer smart, easy ways to make a difference. At gepower.com, for instance, GE explains its energy-saving initiatives. For those companies that don’t act, 2007 will see newly concerned consumers speaking out and taking action.

WORK ON, WORK OFF: As technology makes jobs more portable and demands that we be always on, we’ll struggle to compartmentalize our lives and learn how to master constant connectivity. Work will saturate our homes, blurring the line between on and off time, and the notion of “work hours” and the way in which we work will change dramatically. Coffee bars, for example, have become the de facto office for many mobile workers and a venue for meetings. Celebrity- centric blogger Perez Hilton famously writes at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Angeles, where the likes of Diane Warren, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie stop by his “office” for a quick hello and photo op while grabbing their nonfat lattes. The counter-trend: As our working lives speed up, people are making a conscious effort to slow down. Turning off a cell phone during lunch will become a resounding statement that this is “me time.”

LOCAL LOYALTY: Globalization is giving us not only a new perspective on the world but also a greater loyalty to our own communities. Remember American Idol Ruben Studdard’s custom-made shirts emblazoned with the area code of his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama? More people will feel compelled to support local businesses, producers, artists and community initiatives. The local-food movement is leading the trend: In Manhattan, for example, high-profile chefs such as Danny Meyer have helped to make the Union Square farmers market a must for locally minded shoppers. Just as globalization has made the world seem smaller, localization allows us to make our hometowns feel bigger and more important.

Single-Minded Ethics: Bono has AIDS, Angelina Jolie has orphans, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue change 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.

Unstrategic Alliances: It all began with those most awkward of best buddies: 41 and 42, namely, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. And we’re seeing more odd couples and couplings every day: Brooke Shields blessing Tom Cruise, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham. “Unstrategic” may be something of a misnomer, however: In the age of Brand Me, there’s little that garners more press attention than an unlikely and inexplicable partnership.

This Tube Is MyTube: More of us will start creating entertainment using formats such as blogs or publicly posted video clips as today’s technology makes it easy for amateurs to express themselves at minimal expense or risk. And it’s not just for fun or, sometimes, profit: Because they cannot be easily reined in, these forms of online media are becoming increasingly vital forums in countries where free speech is repressed.

Tags: Blog, Communications, Nonprofit, Trends