Leo Burnett Chicago (one of the top 10 ad agencies in the world) released their annual list of 8 trends from their "futures" division this past week. One "future" prediction caught my eye (of course):
"…Gender Reversal. Men's increasing role within the family and more women at the office will change the advertising context. Expect to see more campaigns aimed at women at work and men in the home…"
There it was; right up there with all of the "social media" stuff. Of course, ad agencies are known to put out a lot of "predictions". It's their business. But this one is backed up by tons of research that is hard to refute. I have the feeling that this prediction evloved from Burnett's Man Study, published (way) back in 2005.
I believe Michael Silverstein (Boston Consulting Group) said it best in a landmark piece from the New York Times by Mickey Meece (way) back in late 06 when he stated:
"…We are perhaps on the first step to a matriarchal society; women will earn more money than men if current trends continue by 2028. The trend has been escalating in the past 10 years as there has been a gradual, slow erosion of the power balance in the family, a psychic rebalancing..."
Silverstein's description of this "gender shift" remains the best observation of what has and will happen with respect to this subject. If you read between the lines of Burnett's Man Study you will notice that, at the very least, our culture is undergoing a dramatic evolution to a more "feminine" culture (especially with the X/Y generations). That should have dramatic consequences for the "financial services" industry.
Think about it…what do you think?
