NATIVE VML’s latest Trends Report takes a look at ground-breaking innovations in marketing, storytelling and digital culture locally and abroad.
On the retail front, many brands and retailers are still adjusting to the way people consume content on their phones. With Google already looking at advancing smaller screen devices, the likes of its Project Jacquard, which aims to add the functionality of smartphone screens to everyday fabrics making the body its own self-contained interface control, will take the retail industry into a whole new era.
For many, bionic technology blurs the boundary between man and machine. Thought-controlled prosthetic limbs feature in this edition where, using a neuro-prosthetic device implanted in the brain, scientists have been able to decode cerebral intentions of a quadriplegic patient.
Moving onto the music industry in the digital age, the proliferation of digital music has now completely disrupted the music industry. And while artists, record labels and streaming services may not see eye-to-eye, it can be agreed that the future of the music industry requires diverse and far more equitable business models. We take a look at Spotify, the biggest brand in music streaming, and its recently announced innovations.
There are a growing number of unique apps and digital initiatives that aim to make life easier by providing assistance to those who need it most. CNA Language School’s innovative Hello Pizza campaign is a great example featured in the report. It intercepts calls from customers in the U.S. and asks them to spend a few minutes speaking to Brazilian students in English, in exchange for a discount on their pizza.
Onto beehives – citizen science projects that use the efforts of volunteers to help scientists collect valuable data are becoming increasingly popular. Open Source Beehives is a platform that combines natural beekeeping, open source hardware and smart devices to combat Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). We look into how citizen scientists, hobbyist beekeepers, and data scientists are sharing important data to prevent the CCD phenomenon.
Bringing out the kid in all of us, Kidult describes the phenomenon of adults acting like kids and embracing entertainment, food and fashion that are typically geared towards children. There’s a growing trend among marketers encouraging adults to indulge in analogue activities that awaken their inner child. Take a look at the rise of adult colouring books: Johanna Basford‘s Secret Garden .
Ever heard of Beauty Fatigue? It describes dissatisfaction with the unrealistic representations of women and is gaining momentum among audiences. Fitness apparel brand, Under Amour, partnered with model, Gisele Bündchen, tackle this notion in its most expansive women’s campaign to date, I WILL WHAT I WANT. The campaign was revealed in an interactive web experience that filmed Gisele in a workout, working up a sweat as she responded to both positive and negative real-time social commentary streaming in from all over the web.
For the full report and more interesting trends click here: http://www.slideshare.net/NATIVEagency/native-vml-june-trends-report