The ‘A-Word’ describes 2023 and how we all need to approach Marketing

Artificial Intelligence? Accountability? Artistry? What word would you use to encapsulate this past year in music? Nope.

by Fred Jacobs, President & Founder of broadcast consultancy Jacobs Media

One of the more stressful parts of the last few years may not be precisely about what has happened, but just how predictable it may seem.  Clearly, set patterns have been replaced by chaos and something new always lurking around the corner.

Given our unstable times, is it even possible to sum up the essence of an entire year in just a word or three?

That’s the daunting task facing the team at Merriam-Webster – yes, the dictionary folks – each November in their quest to designate the “word of the year.”  So, how did they find their answer for 2023, a year that defied logic and precedent in so many ways?

Well, they clearly lean on the data, as you might suspect.  What is the frequency with which people are looking up particular words?  For accuracy’s sake (no, the word for 2023 is not “accurate”), they factor out common words people look up to solve games like “Wordle.”  But in the end, it seems like the Merriam-Webster picks use a combination of data (i.e., search) and their own judgment call about what actually works – sort of how you might hope PDs would program radio stations.

For perspective, take a look at their selections going back over the last decade or so.

2022      |       gaslighting

2021      |       vaccine

2020      |       pandemic

2019      |       they

2018      |       justice

2017      |       feminism

2016      |       surreal

2015      |       ism

2014      |       culture

The tradition of selecting a word to represent a year has been going on for a long time – Merriam-Webster was established nearly 200 years ago.

But 2023 was a particular challenge, especially because the chosen word did not enjoy big spikes in searches.  But Peter Sokolowski, M-W’s editor-at-large, said his team responded to a collective need they sensed.

So, here’s another clue for you all.  The word for 2023 begins with the letter “A” – no surprise to me because we’ve been talking about it nonstop pretty much since the ball dropped on Times Square last New Year’s Eve.

In fact, I remember telling my session at the Country Radio Seminar in March – after playing a deepfake Taylor Swift greeting – that it would likely end up being the “word of the year.”

“Artificial intelligence” seemed like a slam dunk – to me.  In radio circles, and beyond it’s been all about A.I.  And it sure felt like this time, the Merriam-Webster word team had a walk in the park.

But no.

Even though “AI” might have been the obvious pick, they went in a different direction.

Their “A word?”

Authenticity

As Sokolowski told Marisa Sullivan, reporter for People, “We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity.  What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it more.”

And in fact, we might even say that in a world of so-called influencers, fake news, and voicetracking, our ability to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not has become blurred.

Smithsonian magazine’s Teresa Nowakowski notes that as “technology’s ability to manipulate reality improves, we’re all searching for the truth.”

Whether it’s a term paper, a new memoir, a political campaign, a photo, or the resume submitted by a job applicant, we struggle to know what is real – authentic – and what’s been faked.

Nowakowski refers to it as “a crisis of authenticity.”  As Taylor Swift aspires to let her “true self shine,” we as a society struggle to “get real.”

On the radio airwaves, authenticity has long been a goal – and an elusive one.  Fans would say that’s precisely the quality that propelled personalities like Steve Dahl, Howard Stern, and perhaps a handful of others who at least managed to sound authentic.

Authenticity is difficult to exude, and even harder to prove.  Since taking over Twitter (and ultimately renaming it X), Nowakowski reminds us Elon Musk has failed to establish his social platform as “the most authentic.”  In fact, the debacle over those blue checkmarks only served to confuse the issue.

As Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously defined pornography – “I’ll know it when I see it” – so goes the quest to get our arms and heads behind authenticity.

Luke Combs says it’s as simple as “being comfortable in your own skin.”

Famous designer, Coco Chanel made the definition contemporary for us:

“Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.”

True but as we learned in 2023, they often make truth, reality, and authenticity even harder to come by.

Maybe old Will Shakespeare nailed it when he wrote in Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 3):

“To thine own self be true.”

Authenticity on the radio in 2023?  Who has it?

When you hear it, will you let me know?

Fred Jacobs founded Jacobs Media in 1983, and quickly became known for the creation of the Classic Rock radio format.  Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys. In 2008, jacapps was launched – a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created – a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the “connected car” and its impact. Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media’s commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment. Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.