Last updated on
Language is constantly changing and being updated as new words and expressions become incorporated into our everyday speech. For over a billion people, ‘like’ is inextricably linked with Facebook usage and ‘tweet’ no longer refers simply to the noise a bird makes . There are a host of new great words that are emerging from the world of marketing and consumerism – they may not yet have chalked up sufficient citations to merit access to the English speaking world’s dictionaries but keep your eyes peeled and you will be seeing these terms in common use more and more.
Appscription: this refers to the use of health and fitness apps to assess and improve health and to monitor results. It is derived from ‘application’ plus ‘prescription’.
Citysumers: consumers from the city. They tend to have more disposable income, be more chic and refined, and demand much more than non city dwellers. In part this is due to the fact that a teaming metropolis has so much to offer – the more choices, the more choosy the citysumer.
Curiosity Quotient: just how curious are people about your brand? This term was created by journalist Thomas Friedman in 2007, who stated that Curiosity Quotient + Passion Quotient > Intelligence Quotient. Simply put, consumers who are curious and passionate about your brand will react more strongly to it than based on rational thought alone.
Custowners: enthusiastic and wealthy customers who long to be owners. They are looking to invest in their preferred brands.
Gamification: the application of game design philosophy to other applications to make them a more enjoyable and fun experience for the user. Foursquare has harnessed this nicely by offering games which customers can play to receive rewards – which are used to entice the customers to return again and again.
Goodvertising: advertising gone good. Author Thomas Kolster created this term in 2012 for his book by the same name, which preaches creative advertising that cares and is based on key principles such as generosity, insight, transparency and full commitment.
Meta-luxury: really, REALLY luxurious. In fact a luxury which surpasses all other levels of luxury. This term was created by the branding company Interbrand, who believes that the term ‘luxury’ is so overused, it no longer has the capacity to differentiate between the slightly indulgent and goods or services which are completely out of this world.
Pin: no longer just a small, pointy piece of slender metal to fasten things. With the phenomenal rise of Pinterest, ‘to pin’ is now synonymous with posting a picture to a virtual Pinterest board.
Presumers: consumers who are there in the ‘pre’ stages of a company before it is up and running. They want to help fund, drive and promote the company and its products and services before they have even been created.
S-commerce: social media at its most powerful. A term which encapsulates e-commerce sales generated via social media websites such as Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
These are just a selection of the newly emerging words which reflect our culture of consumerism and social media and the associated marketing opportunities. Their use is likely to become more widespread, and there is no doubt that there are plenty of new words following hot on their heels.
