olinnek somerled brookelyna
Amit Bolds
LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Learn more in our Cookie Policy.
I have always loved words. My mother says I would sit transfixed when the kids' show The Electric Company came on, waiting for my favorite segment - the part where the shadow face silhouette of Morgan Freeman would pronounce "SCARE" while the word floated onto the screen from the left, while the silhouette of Rita Moreno (of recent Netflix "One Day At a Time" fame) would pronounce "CROW" while the word floated in from the right, and then together they would say "SCARECROW". For a small child the concept of a THIRD WORD that came out of nowhere from two completely different words was fascinating and opened up the amazing world of language. Hey, you guys, thanks.
Today, I marvel at the creativity and perfectness of certain newer brands that have chosen JUST THE RIGHT WORD for their company - Glossier. Lyft. Chairish. SpaceX. Swoonery. Resy. Whether they paid a branding genius $250K to come up with the name, or doodled it on a napkin at Starbucks during a Sunday latte, it just works.
There have always been great brand names and words that were evocative of a time or place... it is a more recent phenomenon, perhaps in the last 25 years or so, that "mashable words" have become part of the zeitgeist. The aforementioned "Glamping" is a combination of 'Glamorous' and 'Camping'. It's for people who like the IDEA of traditional camping, but want to make sure they're comfortable and have access to a little luxury. For example, although a Glamper may be sleeping in a tent, they may also have access to amenities such as fresh bed linens every night, en suite washrooms, and food service - check out the fun photo above, as an example.
"Brangelina" used to be on every magazine cover and mentioned in every entertainment publication article - it was, of course, the former couple consisting of celebrities Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. "Eatertainment" is the combining of a dining experience with entertainment elements, such as a gameroom connected to the dining room. In this gameroom, one might find ping pong and air hockey tables, a vintage Ms. PacMan machine, and a regulation-sized Bocce court. Count me in! "Bleisure" is one of the more newly-coined words, and refers to the combining of business and leisure travel. This growing trend in the travel industry is an opportunity for professionals to extend their business trip by a few days to relax and enjoy some of the local sights, often joined by a spouse or friend. The airfare, as well as a part of the hotel and meals, has already been paid for by the traveler's company. Opportunities abound for both hospitality providers to creatively cater to this segment, as well as for the corporations to provide an extra benefit to their employees.
What I'm particularly looking forward to is "what's next"? Here follows some of the words or themes that are popular or part of a growing awareness that I predict will be mashed-up with other words in the future to make something new. The list includes 5 categories, to start - there are others, as well, which will be outlined in a future article. The line below each theme is what I call the "Canary" (referring to the phenomenon of canary birds detecting odorless gas in mines before humans are able to) - an example of an early harbinger of a larger future trend.
PRONOUNS: Us, They, Me, You, She, He, We Canaries: The TV show "This is Us"; Glossier's new fragrance "Glossier You"; White House Black Market's new advertising campaign "The Beauty of Us"; the entire company WeWork
SPACE: Star, Time, Constellation, Eclipse, Moon, Asteroid, Evolution Canaries: Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch; the growing awareness and viewing participation in eclipses and "specialty" moons; Star Wars movies; new Star Trek: Discover TV show on CBS
TECHNOLOGY vs. HUMANITY: Robot, Avatar, Evolution, Social, Privacy Canaries: HBO series Westworld; Netflix series Black Mirror; "Woke" awareness movement; Robotics Processing Automation; 'bots' e- and m-commerce assistance
Some of the segments overlap or crossover to each other, and these may be especially interesting or fruitful for mashed-up words... for example, the Space and Technology categories, and the Pronouns and Custom categories.
So, does any of this matter? Aside from the light-hearted fun associated with hearing or reading about these, we can find opportunity in the evolution of popular-culture words and language. The next time you hear a mashed-up combination word, or see two or more themes operating together, think about what this might mean for your company, your customer, your employees. Is this a 3-month fad, a 5-year trend, or a permanent part of the fabric of our future? Will you build out a program for Bleisure travelers including upgraded hotel rooms for accompanying spouses, or Wine Country tasting room discounts, or will you let your competitors do it?
c01484d022