Euro RSCG Worldwide PR Issues Trends Forecast for 2011

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, and industry-renowned trendspotter, today issued her list of top trends for 2011. With her background in PR, marketing and sociology—and personal interest in cultural monitoring—Salzman creates her annual list by digging deep to look for social patterns, then applying everything to where the future is headed, in cultural, political and economic matters.

Over the past 15 years, Salzman has forecast companies making money on the Internet, the graying of issues important to baby boomers, and the ideas that we now know as corporate social responsibility, the iPad and Facebook, among many others.

"This year, we've seen some broadening in different directions of my hyperpolarization trend from last year, which said we'd see more voluntary segregation by religious affiliation, party affiliation, nuance of opinion," said Salzman. "The midterm campaigns and elections proved that more people are leaning toward political extremes than ever, and anger will continue to grow based on that sphere and others. But we've also seen many people react to this anger, segregation, and perceived or real loss of control by doing a 180 and becoming even more interested in relationships than possessions and learning how to be more self-sufficient."

Salzman's 2011 list provides an in-depth forecast of the following trends (because social media is a key driver in much of what is happening today and in the future, these are tweet-version summaries of each):

• Mad as Hell—and Only Getting Madder. Always many reasons 4 anger (but 2010 upped the ante); today's 24/7 news & blogosphere amplifies the hottest people & topics, adding fuel.
• Talk to the Hands. As world reboots, people reassess worth of selves & things. Feeling loss of control & desire 4 simple life, they yearn 2 B practical DIYers.
• Net Gain. Americans losing trust in institutions are gaining faith in tech & looking more to digital and social media networks to meet their needs.
• Public Mycasting System. Broadcast news: dead. Mycasting emerges. People curate interactive content, expressing their worldview in images, shared links, tweets.
• Booting Up. Watch out for the return of skin-thickening boot camps to toughen up kids and employees for the rigors of the 21st century.
• Yes, We Can…Reinvent Ourselves. "Change": Slogan no more, it's becoming a way of life 4 many. Volunteering or forced into it, boomers+ are tapping the U.S. can-do spirit.
• Reinvention, Part II. Even with loads of anger, as regular Joes reinvent, they'll allow egregious stars & corporations to do the same. (Dare we say even BP?)
• Separated at Worth. Pay & compensation are now confused & big $$ smells rotten. Emo (emotional) bling—friends going the extra 10 miles—will replace cash wealth.
• Gender Bender. Masters of all they survey no more, men will have 2 adjust 2 treatment women have long endured: shown as sex objects or selfless homemakers.
• Who's in Control? Demand for greater control unites Americans; what will soon divide them & raise passions is what should be controlled, how and by whom.  
• Tapping Minitrends. On our radar: the rise of African consumers, small-scale solar energy, cellular money-transfer services & a smarter way to read on mobile.

Salzman doesn't stop at her main trends in this year's report; she also lists two dozen "Future Byte" insights in a variety of areas—short hits about what to expect in everything from luxury brands and parenting to travel, science and alternative energy.

To view a virtual report card of Salzman's past forecasts (a bonus with her 2010 trends report last year) and read further into her predictions for 2011, visit www.eurorscgpr.com or look for her blog series on the Huffington Post. To request interviews and images, please contact Lisa Gruber at 212-886-2018 or [email protected].

About Euro RSCG Worldwide PR

Euro RSCG Worldwide PR is the public relations arm of Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency with 233 offices in 75 countries. Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Chicago and Pittsburgh. It is part of Adweek's first-ever Healthcare Agency of the Year (2010) and Medical Marketing & Media's 2010 All-Star Network of the Year. The agency provides communications services, social brand momentum and thought leadership, among other services, in core areas ranging from CSR and health care to content creation and social media. Clients include Bayer Corp., Purina, sanofi-aventis, Toyota Motorsports, Transitions Optical and Yele Haiti. Euro RSCG Worldwide is the largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications (Euronext: HAV.PA) (Paris: HAV.PA).

SOURCE Euro RSCG Worldwide PR