Top Topics for 2009

So, public relations is a different monster than traditional advertising, but it's definitely a large piece of the branding puzzle.

Yesterday, MyEdcals, a top source for editorial calendars and story topics, released a list of what they believe will be the top story focuses of 2009, based on the over 100,000 opportunities they have in their database.

They are as follows:

1. Green…green anything!
From green technology to green construction, green is everywhere

2. Travel
Although “Green Travel” is part of travel, other travel subjects like domestic travel, family travel and luxury travel round out this ever popular group

3. Personal Finance
From 401(k)’s to how to save money on your heating bills, publications will be focused on personal finance as the economy slumps

4. Gift Guides
Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Holiday Gift guides- what to get someone who has everything or the techie looking for the next best gadget

5. Fitness
With each year we can be assured there will be thousands of story opportunities from dieting to the newest and greatest fitness trends

No earth-shattering surprises here, other than maybe gift guides. But to be honest, I hope that is accurate because every year around the holidays I search for gift ideas and I'm usually met with a lot of junk. I guess you could say travel is a bit surprising in the top 5, since everyone seems to be pitching the idea of "staycations" lately (in fact, did you know this week is ABC's declared "National Stay at Home Week," to tie in with thier fall premieres?).

Remember, this list is based on MyEdcal's available stories - so there is a good chance that it's somewhat skewed, but still interesting. Top marketers will be looking for creative ways to tie their offerings back to next year's hot topics. These ideas are going to be at the top of consumer conciousness and the themes can be applied to traditional marketing efforts as well as PR pitches.