In the fast-paced world of marketing, standing still is the same as going backwards. Innovation is a necessity, not a choice.
On 9th February 2016, in partnership with SpredFast, we held Curiosity Stop: Innovate or Die at our London HQ. We gave the audience practical advice on how to innovate, and guest speakers from BBC Match of the Day, London College of Fashion and Shazam, along with some of We Are Social’s team, spoke about their perspective on innovation.
If you missed the event, fear not. Here are a few of the evening’s highlights.
We peered into the year ahead to bring you our light-hearted predictions for marketing, tech, pop culture and more in 2017!
We've also included the success rate of our 2016 predictions to prove our prognostication credentials.
Follow us for more updates
Cannes Lions 2014 Predictions. What's going to win and why? It’s in no way an exhaustive list, simply an educated guess as to what might win at Cannes this year. We’ve tried to identify the emerging themes we may see coming out of the Festival.
The first presentation I wrote on the subject.
We seek to create not just work that earns pay, but meaning in what we do. Somewhere down the line, we realize that this is what advertising and brands should be about, too. Creating meaning, enabling people do things in life, making people aspire to the highest goals and showing them how to achieve it.
I hope you enjoy this 101 guide to getting started with foursquare for business. And while our stories are primarily examples from our success using the tools in the restaurant business, I think you'll find many applications. Please feel free to share as much as you'd like.
We are in an era of chaos. Understanding how to harness the opportunities and bring delight to your consumer will be imperative to your brand's survival.
Leo Burnett London’s in-house experts and partners present “Predictions: 2017,” a collection of the hottest trends to look forward to this year. Read on to learn more about consumer behavior, brand sponsorships and retail technology.
Bringing brands & stories to life through transmedia creativityErica Hargreave
Transmedia can take many different forms and can require highly varying budgets, some of which are unattainable to smaller brands and many creative projects. In this session, we will be exploring some grassroots transmedia initiatives for brand and storytelling properties, what we have learnt from them and what has made them successful. Our goal is to explore how we can all build digital and transmedia elements into our properties, no matter the budget that we are working with, by looking for creative solutions, learning to recognize the pitfalls, identifying which areas to place value, and understanding how to find and build audience. We will explore questions like, where to start, what to consider, and what makes one project successful in the digital / transmedia space where another fails (no matter the budget)?
Cannes Lions 2015 - communication trends spotted among this year winners. Among trends: comeback of an old good ambient, virtual reality, make tech human, empowering women, perfect imperfections and others.
By 2017 the Internet of Things market will be bigger than the PC, tablet and phone market combined. This report explains what the Internet of Things actually is and the impact it will have on social.
This companion report to We Are Social's comprehensive new Digital in 2016 report presents headline internet, social and mobile data for 232 countries around the world. Each country snapshot is presented as its own infographic, ready to be copy-pasted direct into your own presentations or web content. For a more insightful analysis of the numbers in this report, please visit http://bit.ly/DSM2016ES.
In the fast-paced world of marketing, standing still is the same as going backwards. Innovation is a necessity, not a choice.
On 9th February 2016, in partnership with SpredFast, we held Curiosity Stop: Innovate or Die at our London HQ. We gave the audience practical advice on how to innovate, and guest speakers from BBC Match of the Day, London College of Fashion and Shazam, along with some of We Are Social’s team, spoke about their perspective on innovation.
If you missed the event, fear not. Here are a few of the evening’s highlights.
We peered into the year ahead to bring you our light-hearted predictions for marketing, tech, pop culture and more in 2017!
We've also included the success rate of our 2016 predictions to prove our prognostication credentials.
Follow us for more updates
Cannes Lions 2014 Predictions. What's going to win and why? It’s in no way an exhaustive list, simply an educated guess as to what might win at Cannes this year. We’ve tried to identify the emerging themes we may see coming out of the Festival.
The first presentation I wrote on the subject.
We seek to create not just work that earns pay, but meaning in what we do. Somewhere down the line, we realize that this is what advertising and brands should be about, too. Creating meaning, enabling people do things in life, making people aspire to the highest goals and showing them how to achieve it.
I hope you enjoy this 101 guide to getting started with foursquare for business. And while our stories are primarily examples from our success using the tools in the restaurant business, I think you'll find many applications. Please feel free to share as much as you'd like.
We are in an era of chaos. Understanding how to harness the opportunities and bring delight to your consumer will be imperative to your brand's survival.
Leo Burnett London’s in-house experts and partners present “Predictions: 2017,” a collection of the hottest trends to look forward to this year. Read on to learn more about consumer behavior, brand sponsorships and retail technology.
Bringing brands & stories to life through transmedia creativityErica Hargreave
Transmedia can take many different forms and can require highly varying budgets, some of which are unattainable to smaller brands and many creative projects. In this session, we will be exploring some grassroots transmedia initiatives for brand and storytelling properties, what we have learnt from them and what has made them successful. Our goal is to explore how we can all build digital and transmedia elements into our properties, no matter the budget that we are working with, by looking for creative solutions, learning to recognize the pitfalls, identifying which areas to place value, and understanding how to find and build audience. We will explore questions like, where to start, what to consider, and what makes one project successful in the digital / transmedia space where another fails (no matter the budget)?
Cannes Lions 2015 - communication trends spotted among this year winners. Among trends: comeback of an old good ambient, virtual reality, make tech human, empowering women, perfect imperfections and others.
By 2017 the Internet of Things market will be bigger than the PC, tablet and phone market combined. This report explains what the Internet of Things actually is and the impact it will have on social.
This companion report to We Are Social's comprehensive new Digital in 2016 report presents headline internet, social and mobile data for 232 countries around the world. Each country snapshot is presented as its own infographic, ready to be copy-pasted direct into your own presentations or web content. For a more insightful analysis of the numbers in this report, please visit http://bit.ly/DSM2016ES.
We Are Social's comprehensive new report covers internet, social media and mobile usage statistics from all over the world. It contains more than 350 infographics, including global snapshots, regional overviews, and in-depth profiles of 30 of the world's largest economies. For a more insightful analysis of these numbers, please visit http://bit.ly/SDMW2015
We Are Social's comprehensive new Digital in 2016 report presents internet, social media, and mobile usage statistics and trends from all over the world. It contains more than 500 infographics, including global data snapshots, regional overviews, and in-depth profiles of the digital landscapes in 30 of the world's key economies. For a more insightful analysis of the numbers contained in this report, please visit http://bit.ly/DSM2016ES.
Brands need to stop building disconnected 'social media strategies', and build comprehensive brand strategies that are optimised for today's connected, social world. This presentation offers guidance and advice on the factors that should inform a Connected Strategy, together with
Singapore Tourism Board recently commissioned We Are Social to explore the key social media trends impacting brands in the travel industry. This presentation shares our key findings, including a look at how social media can add value at each stage of an 8-step consumer journey. For more information, visit wearesocial.com
All the stats, data, and trends you need to understand the state of the internet, social media, and mobile in Southeast Asia in 2017. This report is part of a suite of reports brought to you by We Are Social and Hootsuite - read all the other reports for free at http://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/presentations
A look at the top digital trends from the latter part of 2011. From personalized products and m-commerce to luxury brands pulling back the curtain, these are things to keep on the radar in 2012.
In this presentation, prepared by Altavia Dekatlon, you will find lifelike campaigns throughout the month of August, innovative work in the retail sector, consumer behavior, technology and trends from the digital world.
Here’s a recap of our Trendspotters’ 10 favorite finds of the past year that reflect emerging cultural currents.
Stops include: Ad Age Next, Line Friends Store, Impossible Burger, and more.
Got 5 mins to kill and want to understand where you should be focussing your social media marketing skills?
LOOK NO FURTHER!
Get the kettle on, get your feet up on the desk and impress your colleagues when you recite 2015's biggest social media marketing related trends.
Enjoy. Love from us!
Social Media & Digital Marketing: A ReflectionNew Mediators
A Pecha Kucha (20x20) to reflect on the modern digital and social media consumer. How has it come about that we depend on technology as much as it depends on us? And what can we make of that?
This discussion was designed for a one-hour meeting of Fashion & Branding lecturers at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute in October 2015.
Snapchat rolled out the first edition of its ‘Lens on the Year’, an annual celebration of the Lenses that revolutionized the way Snapchatters created, explored, learned, and played in 2021.
The special edition of Leo Burnett London's Frisk is here. Frisk: Predictions 2015 aims to be different from the plethora of other prediction newsletters you may see circulating. We promise.
On Wednesday 3rd March 2021, Chief Strategy Officer Mobbie Nazir and Global Head of Research & Insight Paul Greenwood took attendees through the Digital 2021 report.
To read the full report, head over to wearesocial.com/digital-2021
Watch the webinar recording here: https://youtu.be/l9g2KOZ0kjg
To learn more about how to apply the takeaways from this presentation to your brand, get in touch with enquiries@wearesocial.net.
Unprecedented? - How is Covid-19 changing the way we behave online?We Are Social
Unprecedented? is a three-part webinar series produced by We Are Social's global network which explores how Covid-19 is changing the way we stay connected, entertained and informed.
We Are Social - Creating in a crisis - Influencer-Marketing in DeutschlandWe Are Social
Influencer und Creator haben in dieser Zeit einen besonderen Stellenwert - nicht nur für Marketingkanäle, sondern auch, um im engen Kontakt mit ihren Followern zu bleiben. Ihnen zuzuhören und gleichzeitig diese auch über das Weltgeschehen aus ihrer Perspektive zu informieren und für das Thema zu sensibilisieren. Trotzdem berichten viele, dass sie derzeit finanzielle Einbußungen machen. We Are Social sprach mit drei in Deutschland lebenden Influencern aus verschiedenen Industrien, um herauszufinden, inwiefern sich ihre Arbeit verändert hat. Inwiefern die Krise Einfluss auf ihre Content Erstellung nimmt und wie Marken bestmöglich auch in ihrer Zusammenarbeit mit den Creators auf diese Veränderungen eingehen können.
We Are Social | Do The Right Thing: The role of social in COVID-19We Are Social
As we navigate this new situation in real time, people are reaching out through social media for guidance, ideas, distraction and comfort.
We have been monitoring the impact of COVID-19, and the role social media can play across the world, across our Global network. From our offices in China and Italy, markets who are further ahead in the pandemic, we are given a glimpse at how consumers needs are changing and what to expect next.
Social has a significant role to play in helping brands to stay relevant and present in the life of their consumers. Now is a time to act, but also to plan ahead.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
First Things First: Building and Effective Marketing Strategy
Too many companies (and marketers) jump straight into activation planning without formalizing a marketing strategy. It may seem tedious, but analyzing the mindset of your targeted audiences and identifying the messaging points most likely to resonate with them is time well spent. That process is also a great opportunity for marketers to collaborate with sales leaders and account managers on a galvanized go-to-market approach. I’ll walk you through the methods and tools we use with our clients to ensure campaign success.
Key Takeaways:
-Recognize the critical role of strategy in marketing
-Learn our approach for building an actionable, effective marketing strategy
-Receive templates and guides for developing a marketing strategy
Financial curveballs sent many American families reeling in 2023. Household budgets were squeezed by rising interest rates, surging prices on everyday goods, and a stagnating housing market. Consumers were feeling strapped. That sentiment, however, appears to be waning. The question is, to what extent?
To take the pulse of consumers’ feelings about their financial well-being ahead of a highly anticipated election, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey. The survey highlights consumers’ hopes and anxieties as we move into 2024. Let's unpack the key findings to gain insights about where we stand.
Digital Commerce Lecture for Advanced Digital & Social Media Strategy at UCLA...Valters Lauzums
E-commerce in 2024 is characterized by a dynamic blend of opportunities and significant challenges. Supply chain disruptions and inventory shortages are critical issues, leading to increased shipping delays and rising costs, which impact timely delivery and squeeze profit margins. Efficient logistics management is essential, yet it is often hampered by these external factors. Payment processing, while needing to ensure security and user convenience, grapples with preventing fraud and integrating diverse payment methods, adding another layer of complexity. Furthermore, fulfillment operations require a streamlined approach to handle volume spikes and maintain accuracy in order picking, packing, and shipping, all while meeting customers' heightened expectations for faster delivery times.
Amid these operational challenges, customer data has emerged as an important strategy. By focusing on personalization and enhancing customer experience from historical behavior, businesses can deliver improved website and brand experienced, better product recommendations, optimal promotions, and content to meet individual preferences. Better data analytics can also help in effectively creating marketing campaigns, improving customer retention, and driving product development and inventory management.
Innovative formats such as social commerce and live shopping are beginning to impact the digital commerce landscape, offering new ways to engage with customers and drive sales, and may provide opportunity for brands that have been priced out or seen a downturn with post-pandemic shopping behavior. Social commerce integrates shopping experiences directly into social media platforms, tapping into the massive user bases of these networks to increase reach and engagement. Live shopping, on the other hand, combines entertainment and real-time interaction, providing a dynamic platform for showcasing products and encouraging immediate purchases. These innovations not only enhance customer engagement but also provide valuable data for businesses to refine their strategies and deliver superior shopping experiences.
The e-commerce sector is evolving rapidly, and businesses that effectively manage operational challenges and implement innovative strategies are best positioned for long-term success.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
5 big bets to drive growth in 2024 without one additional marketing dollar AND how to adapt to the biggest shifting eCommerce trend- AI.
1) Romance Your Customers - Retention
2) ‘Alternative’ Lead Gen - Advocacy
3) The Beautiful Basics - Conversion Rate Optimization
4) Land that Bottom Line - Profitability
5) Roll the Dice - New Business Models
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
Core Web Vitals SEO Workshop - improve your performance [pdf]Peter Mead
Core Web Vitals to improve your website performance for better SEO results with CWV.
CWV Topics include:
- Understanding the latest Core Web Vitals including the significance of LCP, INP and CLS + their impact on SEO
- Optimisation techniques from our experts on how to improve your CWV on platforms like WordPress and WP Engine
- The impact of user experience and SEO
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
Everyone knows the power of stories, but when asked to come up with them, we struggle. Either we second guess ourselves as to the story's relevance, or we just come up blank and can't think of any. Unlocking Everyday Narratives: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing will teach you how to recognize stories in the moment and to recall forgotten moments that your audience needs to hear.
Key Takeaways:
Understand Why Personal Stories Connect Better
How To Remember Forgotten Stories
How To Use Customer Experiences As Stories For Your Brand
The Forgotten Secret Weapon of Digital Marketing: Email
Digital marketing is a rapidly changing, ever evolving industry--Influencers, Threads, X, AI, etc. But one of the most effective digital marketing tools is also one of the oldest: Email. Find out from two Houston-based digital experts how to maximize your results from email.
Key Takeaways:
Email has the best ROI of any digital tactic
It can be used at any stage of the customer journey
It is increasingly important as the cookie-less future gets closer and closer
2. WE ARE SOCIAL
We Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents
(Antarctica is a little too chilly for our liking).
We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our
clients include adidas, Google, and Netflix.
As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at
the centre of marketing.
3. Curiosity Stop >
Introduction
Before brands did social, social was social. Platforms were
handy new ways for people to flock together over mutual
interests, like knitting, or kittens, or complaining.
There is still a simple truth in this. The way we interact on social
media mirrors the way we interact in real life. We talk about
stuff we love and stuff we hate. We rally around passions and
injustices. We like cats.
An understanding of social behaviours, online and offline, is at
the heart of the work we do at We Are Social. It helps us to find
and to tell stories we know people will want to pass on. We look
for insights to learn about how and why people communicate.
We call it social thinking.
This report is a compilation of exciting social thinking that has
peaked our curiosity this month. Read on!
Charlie Cottrell - Head of Editorial
4. 1. Shopping 3. Life Hacks
4. Food
5. Relationships
6. Dating
7. Fashion
8. Art
9. Gaming
10. Travel
11. Money
12. Community
CONTENTS
Stop
Curiosity
2. Sports
5. .@Topshop won the style stakes at
Fashion Month with their showstopper,
Pinterest Palette, unveiled off the
runway.
Shopping >
Pinterest Palette
What’s it all about?
For SS16, Topshop teamed with Pinterest to create a
piece of tech which scans your Pinterest board, then
reveals your unique colour DNA. Mine was all black
everything, just FYI.
Using this palette, Topshop offers up matching items
from their website. Great for the brand, not so great
for my bank account.
The bigger picture
We’ve seen Unilever’s All Things Hair use big “social”
data to create real-time content. Agile brands will
start to create services and products which react, in
real-time, to the content being shared on social.
6. Fans can capture and share the
intensity of live sport, by filming their
commentary with @FanCred.
Altogether now: GOAL!
Sports >
Fancred
What’s it all about?
Fancred reckons any sports fan could be a secret Sue
Barker or Gary Lineker, which is why they’re
streaming user-generated, Periscope-style footage on
a social platform designed specifically for the
sporting world.
The next time you tune into the match, why not share
your moments of agony and/or joy with thousands of
other fans?
The bigger picture
Live streaming is still a way away from having its
Instagram moment, where everyone goes nuts and
starts spamming each other. Live streaming can win
by sneaking up behind closed doors, and high-ticket
sporting events are ripe for this.
7. Meet the love-child of GroupOn and
Tinder. Input your travel details and
pair up with other travellers for
discounts.
Life Hacks >
Paystobesocial
What’s it all about?
Paystobesocial is an app which pairs you up with
people making the same train journey, so you can
nab a group discount. However, it’s not just about
clubbing together to game the system and save
money.
Since you have to travel with your new pals, you
might make a friend and/or mate for life. Unless they
bring egg sandwiches along. Then you should
pretend you don’t know them.
The bigger picture
This is a great example of a wider trend that we call
“Community Commerce”. We’ve seen several
examples of strangers using their collective social
might to gain a financial advantage. If you work for a
brand that can be hacked through this kind of social
thinking - you can guarantee it will be.
8. Know what your fast-food meal is
missing? No, not extra-large fries. A
chicken bucket which prints your
photos! Enter, KFC.
Food >
Memories Bucket
What’s it all about?
KFC is the innovator of the fast-food world, and it’s
done it again with the Memories Bucket.
Snap some photos of your mates goofing around
with chicken wings, then connect to the printer via
Bluetooth and hit print! Like a polaroid camera, only
more social.
The bigger picture
KFC are in the Curiosity Stop yet again. with another
cheeky drumstick of social thinking. This is a needless
and throwaway piece of innovation, but at least they
are looking at what happens socially when their
customers are in their restaurants.
9. Thanks to @TheRingCam, you can relive
that special moment over and over
again. Unless she says no, of course.
Relationships >
The Ring Cam
What’s it all about?
The Ring Cam is a ring box fitted with a tiny camera,
designed to capture the look of
surprise/joy/bewilderment on your partner’s face
when you propose.
The footage can be edited into an emotional video
(set to Michael Bublé, obviously) and shared with
friends, family… anyone who’ll watch, really.
The bigger picture
Voyeurism 2.0 is another of our key trends for 2016.
Ring Cam ties right into the crazy Mukbang craze of
watching other people eat (look it up, seriously) or
The Guardian’s brilliant Watch Me Date.
10. Sisters are doin’ it for themselves!
@Bumble_app is a dating site with a
twist - only women can make the first
move.
Dating >
Bumble
What’s it all about?
In the world of online dating, men can turn hostile
when rejected. Don’t believe me? Check out ‘Bye
Felipe’ on Instagram.
Bumble is tackling this problem head on. If a woman
doesn’t say anything to a new connection after 24
hours, then the connection is lost forever. It’s your
call, ladies.
The bigger picture
Tinder has revolutionised online dating in the same
way iPhones revolutionised smartphones, and now
every man and his dog are after a piece of the action.
Brands should learn that applying a social thinking
insight like ‘men can turn hostile when rejected’ can,
with a little creativity, produce a strong challenger
product.
11. If you wanted an exclusive peek at
@Burberry’s SS16 collection, there was
only one place to be. Snapchat.
Fashion >
Burberry on Snapchat
What’s it all about?
Forget waiting for a fashion collection to leaked out,
piece-by-piece, by power-hungry journalists. Luxury
brand Burberry showed off their new kit at
Generation Z’s favourite home on the internet,
Snapchat.
While this meant anyone could get a glimpse of the
new line, the content disappeared after 24 hours.
The bigger picture
The normalisation of Snapchat continues. There’s still
plenty of time to be an early mover on Snapchat,
when you can get away with unimaginative
executions. But before too long it’ll be as noisy as
Facebook and Twitter, and you’ll be paying through
the nose to watch your adverts disappear in front of
your very eyes. Can’t wait.
12. Artist Natalie Czech speaks the
language of flowers, and her bouquets
are actually 400-word reviews.
Art >
Critic’s Bouquets
What’s it all about?
Back in the day, hidden messages were sent using
bouquets. No, there weren’t X-rated notes hidden
between the stems - different flowers conveyed
different emotions and gestures.
Natalie Czech has brought this into the 21st century,
by translating authors’ 400-word art exhibition
reviews into bouquets of flowers. She provided the
authors with a key of flowers which represent
emotions, and they matched each sentence up with a
chosen bloom.
The bigger picture
Want my advice? Brands must start creating
marketing messages using flowers, it’s the new social
media! Not really. This example does show that
innovation can come from looking back, as much as it
can from looking forward.
13. Remember when laser tag was cool?
No? Well it was, promise. And now it’s
back, this time with virtual reality.
Gaming >
Zero Latency
What’s it all about?
The problem with laser tag was that you were all too
aware that you were playing in some dingy room at
your local leisure centre.
Zero Latency is laser tag with virtual reality brought
into the mix, so you really believe you are saving
society from the brink of destruction. Now, who’s for
a (virtual) slush puppy?
The bigger picture
VR is currently an experience where you put a box on
your head to pretend that you haven’t got a box on
your head.
We are seeing regular examples of social executions
of VR experiences. How is your brand going to be
relevant to a social VR experience? Has your
competitor started working this out already?
14. Guys! Gareth Thomas has invited you
round for the rugby. Don’t thank us,
thank @Airbnb. And Gareth, obviously.
Travel >
Rugby World Cup x Airbnb
What’s it all about?
Rugby players like Gareth Thomas and Lewis Moody
put their homes on Airbnb during the Rugby World
Cup, to raise money for charity.
The players offered guided tours as well as rugby
pointers, with house rules including “Compulsory
singing of ‘God Save The Queen’ at 8am every
morning.”
The bigger picture
Online “Conscious Communities” are forming, using
social to connect to causes they care about. Smart
brands like Airbnb should be making it easy for their
customers to care via their platform.
15. This one’s for that mate who’s owed
you a tenner for the last three years.
Just send them @paypal’s way.
Money >
Paypal.me
What’s it all about?
Let’s face it, constantly badgering someone for that
note you lent them ages ago is never going to work -
who keeps cash on them these days?
Paypal has set up a social way to transfer money,
whereby you send your friend a personalised URL
stating the exact amount they owe you. All they have
to do is press a few buttons, and you’re in the money!
The bigger picture
You can buy a mortgage on WeChat in China. This
shows that the company has managed to make a
chat app a trusted and secure platform - no mean
feat. This trend is making its way out west, and
Paypal.me is paving the way.
16. London’s answer to cigarette litter?
Vote With Your Butt. No, really.
Community >
Vote With Your Butt
What’s it all about?
London’s streets aren’t paved with gold, they’re lined
with cigarette butts. For Hubbub’s latest project, it’s
set up an ashtray box outside Embankment station,
with two possible slots to choose from.
Each week, smokers are given a different question to
vote on, for example: Who is the best football player
in the world? Your butt decides who wins.
The bigger picture
If someone can make binning cigarette butts
innovative and fun, then I don’t want to hear any
moans that your brand isn’t as cool or high-budget as
Red Bull. No ifs, no butts.