-McKinsey Quarterly charts how innovation in China is evolving and offers an overview of the automotive, semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors. -Black in Brazil: The Economist examines “the veiled quality of Brazilian racism” and “why racial stratification has been ignored for so long.” -The New York Times looks at the myriad ways American teens are becoming [...]
Across the globe, a majority of consumers now consider themselves to be overweight. A Nielsen survey of more than 25,000 people in 56 countries, published last week, revealed that 53% of consumers think they are very, somewhat or a little overweight, up from 50% three years ago. North Americans were most likely to say this [...]
-From the Arab Spring to capitalism, Time brings us five hot topics from this week’s Davos conference. -With food security on the agenda at Davos, The Financial Times takes a look at how governments, industry and other organizations are scrambling to address an increasingly urgent issue. -Two executives attending Davos report in for The Guardian: [...]
-With the Western version of liberal capitalism flapping about, The Economist‘s January special report focuses on the rise of a new form of state capitalism in emerging markets. -According to the Global Risks 2012 report, world leaders are pessimistic about the likelihood of global catastrophes in the next decade, thanks to income inequality, fiscal woes, [...]
-Fast Company has predictions from around the web for 2012; The Economist goes around the world to do the same thing. Here at JWTIntelligence, we released our annual 100 Things to Watch list, while The Wall Street Journal consolidates predictions from ad land. -The Guardian publishes its technology trends for the year ahead. -McKinsey Quarterly [...]
As demographic and cultural changes, along with medical advances, help to shift attitudes, people are redefining when “old age” occurs and what the term means—with people of all ages taking a more positive view of growing older. We’re calling this trend Celebrating Aging (it’s among the 10 we spotlighted for 2012), and our year-end trend [...]
The debunking of the notion that the Mayans predicted the world would end in 2012 isn’t going to get in the way of marketing. Mexico, home to part of the Mayan civilization, and its hospitality operators have been using the doomsday story to draw tourists. Axe has been having fun with the idea for a [...]
Facial Recognition Fury, Fat Taxes, Remaking “Made in China”—just a few items from our annual list of 100 Things to Watch for the year ahead. It’s a wide-ranging compilation that in part reflects broader economic, environmental, technological and social developments we’ve been tracking. As always, technology has a prominent presence: Among other things, the list [...]
-Three professors examine the rising soft power of the emerging world in The Financial Times. -Indian techies are disgruntled about Internet censorship plans, reports NPR. -The New York Times looks at the advances India’s “Untouchables” are making in an era of rapid growth and change. -Brazilian tourists are boosting America’s economy: The Wall Street Journal [...]
-Foreign Policy unveils its annual list of 100 global thinkers. -Ghana is one of the world’s fastest expanding economies, reports The Financial Times. -The Economist looks at demographic forecasts for Africa, and reports on an obesity epidemic in South Africa. -U.S. Census data shows that nearly 1 in 2 Americans are now considered to be [...]
In a post last October, we looked at innovative ideas for crowdfunding movies. The new film Iron Sky, a sci-fi comedy involving Nazis on the moon, was financed both by traditional crowdfunding (from some 10,000 contributors) and crowd-investing (around 200 people are shareholders and stand to benefit from any profits, according to Wired.co.uk). And Finnish writer-director Timo Vuorensola, who amassed fans with a low-budget Star Trek spoof, also involved the crowd in the creative process—e.g., to help with historical research, props and visual effects. This had the added benefit of creating evangelists, he told The West Australian: “When people are contributing to a film, they take ownership of it and spread the word.” Iron Sky is playing around Europe, in Australia and a few other markets, and has a North American distributor lined up. —Marian Berelowitz
More flat surfaces are becoming screens, and more screens are becoming interactive, as we note in our 10 Trends for 2012 report. In one recent manifestation of this trend, the upscale Hong Kong Jockey Club installed several 10-by-4-foot touch-screen tables, where members can view videos and see updated race results, as well as gamble, using RFID-enabled smart cards to place bets. The tables, which each accommodate eight players, can also interact with members’ digital devices.
The Club is looking to install the tables at other tracks around the world, according to Possible, the WPP agency that created them. “Designed to resonate with the always-on tablet and smartphone generation,” screens such as these will increasingly replace formerly static flat surfaces. —Will Palley
While some are questioning how much potential remains in the Facebook gaming market, a batch of celebrities are turning out their own apps for the social network. Oprah’s Thank You Game, which aims to “help spread gratitude around the world,” was designed by game maven Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter Labs. Jay-Z’s new Empire is based around his rise to fame, with players creating a Sims-like avatar before running empires of their own. Another famous rapper is behind 50 Cent’s Blackjack, basically a version of the casino game. And Jersey Shore’s Snooki beat them all to the punch with Match Game in February. —Will Palley
Brands are increasingly using Twitter in innovative ways—e.g., via “micro-affiliates” or for e-commerce. To help manage demand for sought-after new sneaker editions, Nike recently debuted a Twitter RSVP process that allows customers to reserve a shoe at any of a dozen U.S. stores, avoiding long lines and mayhem. Sneaker fans must follow the Twitter account of their local store, which sends a tweet at a random time on the designated day. Consumers must then direct-message the store within 60 minutes, including the product-specific hashtag, their name and shoe size. Shoes are awarded on a “first respond, first serve” basis and can be picked up on the launch day. —Will Palley
Launched in late 2011, BackBid.com is a booking site that pits hotel against hotel to gain a client’s business—in the end helping the consumer to win out above all. Here’s how it works: Users book a room and post the details to BackBid.com. From there, other hotels in the area can outbid the current booking, offering lower rates or room upgrades and more amenities. Users can then accept one of the offers and rebook at the competing hotel. The model offers hotels an opportunity to fill empty beds without resorting to heavy discounting—which could ultimately cheapen the brand’s image. Instead, hotels can make savvy travelers feel like VIPs by offering a seemingly personalized discount package. But it’s a potential catch-22, since those beds might be empty due to would-be guests defecting to competitors with better bids. —Jessica Vaughn
It’s one thing for a brand to have millions of followers on Twitter; it’s another to have that army doing some work for you. American Express recently started offering a credit to customers who tweet an Amex-related promotion (e.g., #AmexWholeFoods, to receive $25 off a $75 purchase at Whole Foods). U.K.-based Park Resorts, similarly, is offering savings and credits to brand followers who share promotional links.
“It’s simple and frictionless,” as Ed Gilligan of American Express told The New York Times. The ease of getting consumers to send a brand’s message certainly saves on media costs, and the message is more likely to be noted (Nielsen reports that 92% of consumers around the world trust recommendations from friends and word-of-mouth more than any other form of messaging). “Micro-affiliates,” as these consumer participants are sometimes termed, is an idea that fits well in a post-Groupon world, where deal-loving consumers respond to offers to save money they may not have spent otherwise. —Aaron Barr
With businesses like TOMS Shoes and Warby Parker, we’ve seen the rise of the “Buy One, Give One Away” business model—a strategy we highlighted in our 2011 100 Things to Watch List. Now, we’re seeing more brands linking customer purchases to tangible do-good initiatives. Apparel maker United by Blue, a certified B Corp, says it has “one hand in the apparel industry and the other hand in waste management.” That’s because UBB vows to remove a pound of trash from oceans and waterways for each item sold (since launching in 2010, they’ve removed some 83,000 pounds of junk). The company proudly “does its own dirty work,” as the UBB website lays out, and the brand-organized cleanup events serve as organic community-building experiences for the volunteers, typically local residents. With more cause-minded products and CSR activities launched every day, socially focused efforts will increasingly need to promise tangible results so that customers associate each purchase with a measurable benefit. —Jessica Vaughn
TV networks aren’t the only ones experimenting with complementary mobile apps. Big-screen producers are seeing potential in the second screen, with movie apps that go beyond the outtakes and commentary of classic DVD extras. A $4.99 iPad app that debuted along with the Blu-ray edition of Monty Python and the Holy Grail yields the screenplay, Michael Palin’s diary and more. And if synced with a Blu-ray player, the app doubles as a remote control and surfaces pertinent extras at key points. Kids flicks are a particularly good fit: Warner Bros.’ free Happy Feet Two app, for instance, helps viewers “sing, dance, and play along” in sync with the Blu-ray. Disney offers free second screen apps for Bambi, The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp that include extras like stills, storyboards and flipbooks along with Blu-ray syncing. These apps provide a window into a future where viewers access augmented content across synced screens. —Deanna Zammit
Formerly known as Miss Bank$, 20-year-old rapper Azealia Banks has been garnering significant attention since she released her debut single, “212,” in December. She topped NME’s 2011 cool list and came third in the BBC’s Sound of 2012 countdown. The New Yorker’s first EPis set to launch April 17, and she’s working on a full-length album, Broke With Expensive Taste, while collaborating with Kanye West and Lana Del Rey. —Will Palley
Hang on to your popcorn. Another “dimension” is being added to the theatrical experience: physical effects. In some cases, theaters are installing seats that shift, rumble and otherwise move in sync with the action. “We are trying to reflect everything you would feel in real life without crossing that line of being like a theme park ride,” Guy Marcoux of high-tech seat manufacturer D-BOX told The Guardian. Around 3,000 D-BOX seats have been installed in theaters across North America, Japan, Germany, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Other 4D experiences incorporate “in-theater special effects,” like Broadway 4D, a permanent musical theater attraction planned for a long-vacant historic Times Square theater.
It seems the entertainment industry is working ever harder to create experiences that manage to entice viewers away from the big screens and high definition they already have at home. —Deanna Zammit
