TrendWatching | MakeShift

Edition #34 | Your bi-weekly inspiration fix • 25 April – 9 May 2024

INSIGHT

Kid-walking service brings focus to the 'Blurry Generation'

Nearsightedness in kids is skyrocketing and expected to affect half the global population in 2050. Although myopia can be managed with glasses or contacts, it heightens the risk of severe visual impairments like glaucoma and macular degeneration. In a stunt that initially outraged some parents and pundits, optical retailer Multiópticas recently launched a 'kid walking' service. The business purportedly employed people to take children outside for walks, highlighting the alarming reality that… read more

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INNOVATION

🇧🇩 Bakery chain uses AI to help Bangladeshis estimate their actual date of birth

Bangladeshi bakery chain Tasty Treat has created Best Birthday Gift, an AI service that helps citizens figure out when they were born. Around 20 million Bangladeshis use January 1st as a default date… read more

INNOVATION

🇺🇸 eBay’s AI-powered Shop the Look

Using AI, eBay creates curated carousels of outfits for individual users based on their shopping history — in theory, narrowing down the vast array of apparel on eBay to items that will complement their existing wardrobe.

INNOVATION

🇰🇷 Heineken hosts Champions League watch parties at South Korean laundromats

Soccer fans in Asia face a perennial pain point: they have to stay up late (or wake up early) to catch European matches. Recognizing that tension, Heineken transformed 24-hour WashEnjoy laundromats into all-night sports bars.

TREND

Brands are reimagining faith and culture for younger consumers. Case in point? This perfume maker and Qing Ming

Marking Qing Ming, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, Chinese fragrance label Documents partnered with funeral products brand Greatroam for a sleek new incense burner. Made of white porcelain in the shape of a conch shell — one of Buddhism’s eight auspicious symbols and signifying ‘the sound from beyond’ — the object represents communications with departed loved ones during Qing Ming.

Despite the day's popularity, most brands skip Qing Ming activations to avoid associations with the topic of death. But Documents and Greatroam recognize that attitudes towards death are shifting among younger generations. Their incense burner reimagines Qing Ming for design-savvy consumers eager for a change from typical red candles and yellow joss paper. After all, who says you can’t honor your ancestors in style?

Brands have a powerful opportunity to help rethink age-old traditions, ensuring culture and religion aren’t taken to the grave with previous generations, but can evolve in harmony with changing sensibilities and lifestyles. Other recent examples? Shrinking family shrines for smaller homes, blocking online food pics during Ramadan, and protecting pilgrims with hand-sanitizing prayer beads.

Explore more FAITHFACTURING insights and innovations

INSIGHT

Logitech launches AI prompt builder as free update for existing keyboards and mice

Logitech has rolled out an add-on that transforms ordinary keyboards and mice into efficient AI assistants. The Logi AI Prompt Builder integrates with ChatGPT to streamline prompt creation. It comes preloaded with recipes for common queries like rephrasing and summarizing text, and also allows users to build custom recipes tailored to their specific use cases.

While many tech companies are pushing new hardware to make gen AI more accessible, Logitech is enhancing products customers already own. The prompt builder update allows anyone with a compatible mouse or keyboard to seamlessly integrate AI capabilities into their existing workflows — at no additional cost.

It's a prime example of EMPATHY ENSURANCE — brands building loyalty through post-purchase support. Brand loyalty has taken hit after hit: inflation, shrinkflation, infinite choice, anti-corporate sentiments... To regain some degree of allegiance, companies need to show up for customers now more than ever, particularly beyond the point of sale.

Find out how Mastercard, Heinz and Nintendo practice EMPATHY ENSURANCE

THOUGHT-STARTER

Lidl shoppers increase vegan spend by 30%

In October 2023, German supermarket Lidl introduced price parity for vegan products, matching animal-based equivalents. It paid off. This month, the retailer announced its price cuts increased sales of vegan items by 30%.

INSIGHT

By staying hush on social issues, brands risk losing sales

Recent findings from GlobalData emphasize the consequences of not proactively engaging with social and ethical issues: consumers are noticing. One example? Since Israeli attacks on Gaza started, Unilever saw a 15% drop in sales in Muslim-majority Indonesia. McDonald’s halted expansion in the Middle East following strong consumer backlash. South-East Asia represents a substantial market due to its population growth, as does the Middle East thanks to its spending power.

To maintain consumer trust and avoid financial losses, businesses must transparently communicate their commitment to ethical and social responsibilities. And if taking a stand isn’t an option, they still need to engage with customers through platforms that allow for feedback and dialogue, ensuring people’s voices are heard and considered. As consumer loyalty hinges on corporate ethics, how will your brand evolve its strategies to ensure it not only meets but exceeds the ethical expectations of today’s informed and values-driven consumers?

TREND

Frida takes an uncensored approach to LIFE LITERACY for new and expecting moms

Defying societal taboos around women's bodies, parenting care brand Frida has launched Frida Uncensored — an online video library providing unfiltered instructional content showing real people using the company's conception, pregnancy and postpartum products. The demonstrations, filmed on all-female sets, provide candid views of acts like at-home insemination and prenatal perineal massage.

Frida’s how-to videos address a startling lack of comprehensive, accurate resources available to educate women on their bodies and health needs during transformative life stages. By hosting everything on its own age-gated website, the brand circumvents restrictive social media policies while tapping into a growing consumer demand for relatable, no-holds-barred learning.

With its unfiltered and candid guidance, Frida Uncensored provides valuable support and normalizes women's health. How can your brand offer empowerment through education, helping your audience thrive? Could you deliver practical, skill-building content that isn't available elsewhere? Bonus points if your lesson plan tackles a stubborn stigma ;)

Get schooled with more hands-on examples of LIFE LITERACY

INNOVATION

🇨🇳 Alibaba's first AI worker took the Myers-Briggs

Available to human staff as a plugin, AI-powered coding assistant Tongyi Lima has an employee ID (AI001), lanyard and personality type (INTJ). Anthropomorphism easing the AI transition….?

INNOVATION

🇳🇱 Coffee brand recruits Board of Little Directors

De Koffiejongens built its business on offering a sustainable, biodegradable alternative to Nespresso's coffee pods. Now, connecting its focus on the planet's future to… read more

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