Agencies as Buzzword Generators

You may have seen Friday’s post “7 More Ridiculous Job Titles,” but one that isn’t on that list is the agency trendspotter.

Now, what on earth qualifies someone to be a trendspotter? I’m not sure. But one thing is certain: They like to coin dumb names for stuff to make it into a shareable, marketable, buzzwordy trend thing.

Take advertising and PR exec Marian Salzman who may or may not have coined the terms “metrosexual” and “wigger.” Agencies themselves like to invent personas with corny names. They’re most likely to blame for unfortunate non-words like “tradigital,” ‘phygital” and “SoLoMo.” Now there’s this gem from McCann: the “triathamom.” The term is used in reference to Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s new CEO and expectant mother. McCann’s Laura Simpson describes the “triathamom”:

Today’s Triathamoms are finding more freedom to define the racecourse. By using all the tools at their disposal and by selecting the best strategies from the different domains of their lives, moms can follow their own philosophy and feel good about it.

So there you have it, everyone. Looks like 2013 could be the year of the triathamom.

 

https://digiday.com/?p=17787

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