Havas unveils 10 trends for 2015 including bugs, food regulation, portability, self-everything + more

Havas is providing a preview of its forecast for the new year, “10 Trends for 2015,” which debuts today. Most notably, while the report two years ago noted the coming rise in “co-” words (co-create, co-parent, copreneur), for 2015 Havas is calling out “self-” as the overriding idea.

Says Marian Salzman (left), CEO of Havas PR North America and an award-winning trendspotter, who authors the report: “We can’t take much more turbulence, and maybe that’s why despite craving the co-, we’re all trying to save our individual selves. In a world of massive everything moving at warp speed, where individuals can easily feel overwhelmed and lost, focusing on what’s small and local is a great strategy for finding a sense of self.

“The most fundamental truth of what’s next (besides death and taxes) is unprecedented change. Those who stay ahead of or on top of these changes, who can surf them and communicate them to a broader group, will be the winners within their industries and the world at large.”

Here is a sneak peek at the Havas report:

1. Self-Everything: The Ubertrend. The prefix self- expresses the zeitgeist, starting with the fact that creating a positive self-image is recognised as a vital task for everyone. Included in this all-encompassing trend is self-tracking of our health, self-improvement through nonstop education, and monitoring others’ wrongs (digitally), because we can’t count on anyone else to do it.
2. Middle Class Redefined: Vanishing in developed nations but growing strong elsewhere worldwide, this new purchasing segment will challenge marketers’ thinking.
3. Internet Upping the Look-at-Me Ante: For people who want to get noticed and be memorable online, the temptation to go even more extreme is greater (and more graphic) than ever.
4. Bugged About Bugs: Natural biological bugs are the bigger threat to emerging countries, but cyberattacks with deliberately engineered digital bugs will worry developed countries.
5. Safe Eating: What’s Left? Sugar, soybeans, gluten, salt … Big Food will see its tobacco moment, with greater regulation of and higher taxes on suspect foods and drinks.
6. Friend/Enemy Confusion: Who are our friends, enemies and frenemies? Answers in politics, technology and other areas are getting more complicated.
7. Women Prevail: Gender equality is growing, and so will awareness of sexism as globalised social media relay stories of gender relevance and make them local everywhere.
8. The Call of What’s Wild: The rise of urbanisation has led to a craving for “wild” things, from book themes to vacations in rugged spots to the reintroduction of predators in their natural ecosystems. For debt-laden millennials, though, mobile devices (and Occupy?) might need to satisfy those impulses.
9. Small (Business) Is the New Big: Technology, culture and mindset–plus the security of being your own boss–are enabling the trend toward small businesses globally.
10. Home Is Where Everything Is: As life’s essentials become more portable, “local” will be everywhere, anywhere and nowhere, all at once.

Havas also launched its “What’s Now” and “What’s Next” lists on PRWeek.com. Here are some highlights of the conversation in 2014: Seat-squeeze rage, mindfulness, accessible luxury, sharing economy, 1 percent fatigue, distrust of politicians, cash-only, leaning in, feminism for females, normcore, smart fabrics, androgyny, Rio, Portland (Ore.), Munich, Kyoto, social tourism, protecting the cloud, pop-up restaurants, apple cider remedies, paleo, food porn, Hillary Clinton and Karl Ove Knausgaard.

And here are some of the words and phrases we’ll hear a lot more about in 2015: (more) affordable private jets, disgust for athletes,cash-free, profiting from personal data, spiritual values, stepping out, rise of male feminists, empathic accessories, next-level eco-chic, blurred shopping experiences, masstige retail, outer space, Portland (Maine), Colombia, Copenhagen, Palawan Island, unplugged respites, fast casual, chef swaps, breakfast ramen, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hillary Clinton (still).

As one of the world’s leading trendspotters, Salzman has presented an annual trends report for 19 consecutive years. 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 report will be available for download at prosumer-report.com. For past forecasts, go to the Brainfood tab at us.havaspr.com.