Branding the Pope
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] I’m writing this just after the conclave of cardinals announced the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who last month became the first modern-day pontiff to abdicate the throne. They charted some new ground, choosing 76-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first non-European to fill the role in more than 1,200 [...]
Economies Go Alternative
[Originally posted on the Huffington Post.] This is the fourth in a series of 14 posts expanding on Salzman’s forecasts for 2013 in her annual trends report, a program of global communications group Havas Worldwide. This year’s book, What’s Next? What to Expect in 2013, will be published on 12/12/12 and available at 120MBooks.com. Salzman [...]
2013 Living: Austerity with Double-Dip Frugality
[Originally posted on the Huffington Post.] This is the third in a series of 14 posts expanding on Salzman’s forecasts for 2013 in her annual trends report, a program of global communications group Havas Worldwide. This year’s book, What’s Next? What to Expect in 2013, will be published on 12/12/12 and available at 120MBooks.com. Salzman [...]
Trendspotting: Hunky Hires
It’s no secret that a pretty face can give job seekers a leg up during the hiring process, but new studies suggest that attractive men have the greatest advantage of all. Possibly that’s because HR departments are staffed predominantly by women, who want to filter out potential competition, but even when it’s men making the [...]
Trendspotting: The Great Vaccine Debate
Measles wreaked havoc in Europe this year with 26,000 cases and nine deaths. A public health official there says she blames the epidemic on ever-lower vaccination rates as more parents grow skeptical about the rumored side effects of some immunizations. Last year in California, 10 infants died in a pertussis outbreak (only one of the [...]
Who’s in Control?
This is the tenth in a series of 12 posts expounding on the 2011 forecasts in the annual trends report from Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR and an internationally respected trendspotter. Remember “The Gong Show,” where there was the loud bonnnnnng to save contestants from catastrophe’s bottomless pit? Hello, Central Casting…. Has anybody [...]
Yes, We Can…Reinvent Ourselves
This is the sixth in a series of 12 posts expounding on the 2011 forecasts in the annual trends report from Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR and an internationally respected trendspotter. We hear the word “reinventing” applied to systems all the time: reinventing capitalism, reinventing credit options. Reinventing health care, politics, journalism, food, [...]
Bad News from Europe
The European financial headlines have been nothing but bleak: defaults, a $1 trillion bailout, speculation that the euro might disappear, and discontent and strife in countries from Greece to Germany. The news is definitely not good, but the tone of the media messaging might be making it seem even worse. SmartMoney warned investors that “market [...]
How Young People Are Changing the World
Originally posted on the Huffington Post. The opinions of young adults—which today have solidified into values—are not to be ignored. Not only are people in their 20s powerful voices within their communities, but they’re also consumers. These first adults of the millennial generation (roughly, the people born between 1981 and 2000) are bellwethers for a [...]
Copenhagen: A Missed Opportunity for the Planet
Copenhagen was a failure. Despite going into it with fairly measured expectations, the agreement, or lack of it, is a massive disappointment and a costly missed opportunity for the planet. What we needed from the Copenhagen summit was a global, binding and fair climate agreement, and we came out of it with none of those [...]
Dusting Off My Crystal Ball
It’s trend season again, and I’ve been working on compiling my top trends for 2010. In doing that, I looked back at my predictions from five, 10 and 15 years ago, and I’ve been struck by all I saw coming (if I do say so myself). Stay tuned for what to expect in 2010. In [...]
Women in Business: A New Model
I’ve been inspired by the new book How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life by McKinsey consultants Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston. The fruit of five years’ proprietary research, the book establishes links between happiness and distinctive performance, positing a new model of Centered Leadership that combines meaning, framing, connecting, engaging [...]
How Cyberspace Changed My Life
Thirteen years ago, Fast Company included me in a story called “Job Titles We’d Like to Have.” My job, as director of the Department of the Future at TBWA Chiat\Day, was a great one, and I was excited to be part of the article. But looking back now, in late 2009, I can’t help but [...]
Thinking Campaigns
Why do people, places and things bubble up and sizzle and sell? It’s a question that has engaged marketers as long as the discipline has existed. Although the answers have changed, several truths remain constant: A successful campaign harnesses the power of one person, one vote; it flows through channels; it captures people’s imagination with memorable [...]
The King of Pop Rules the News
If you were near a TV or newsstand this past summer, you know that consumers have an insatiable appetite for celebrities and human-interest stories. Coverage of the controversial Iranian elections and protests had begun to die down until the murder of a pretty 20-something woman, Neda, was caught on camera and broadcast worldwide, putting a [...]
Are You Familiar with One Young World?
Are you familiar with One Young World? Here is my Twitter transcript of the press conference Euro RSCG Worldwide held for One Young World last week in London. I’m sharing it for three reasons: to show how a press event gets logged via Twitter; to be sure you’re familiar with One Young World, an all-important [...]
