The Latest Trends

Data-powered people (more info)

Health data, financial data and lifestyle data provide us all with insight into our lives. It’s only now though that people are gaining access to data that is central to their lives. In 2012 we saw companies tap into the Big Data trend to gain insight on customers. Now people are set to become more empowered by exploiting data about their own life and health.

Smart device fits onto bottles to encourage more water drinking

Keeping up with the recommended amount of water to drink daily can be tough, a new smart device aims to make it automated.

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BlockAvenue empowers residents with hyperlocal data

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Kickstarter project aims to remunerate people for their data

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Frictionless commerce (more info)

The way people transact is changing and technologies such as social media and mobile are not only making it easier to transact, with the proliferation of technology such as contactless payments and virtual wallets, but they are also creating new customer experiences around the transaction process. Key strands to frictionless commerce includes dynamic pricing, f-commerce, NFC and mobile payments, all of which are completely changing the real-world shopping experience, bringing measurable online sales techniques into the high-street.

Mobile phone usage soars in Brazil

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Target and Isobar return to tricky task of f-commerce

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AR overlays glasses on 3D image of your face

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Media reinvented (more info)

Lots of marketers still spend the majority of their ad budgets on mass reach through traditional media buys. But a minority are experimenting with useful tools and services that augment people’s lives and create great affinity for their brand. Digital technology is the catalyst for this shift from making people want things to making things people want.

Specsavers campaign integrates Skype directly into ad units

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YouTube introduces paid-for channel trial

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Nissan iPad ad disrupts tablet readers

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Multi-screen (more info)

People's content experiences have changed massively in a few short years to the extent that it's common to utilise multiple screens simultaneously. Heavy use of tablets, smartphones and laptops is providing brands with new ways to take advantage of this trend, escpecially when used with the TV. The living room experience is changing, providing huge opportunities for brands.

Twitter has released lots of data

Twitter’s continued expansion into a multi-media service

The end of a busy week from Twitter sees it branching out to be considered as a more established and far-reaching multi-media service. 

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Mini gets multi-screen interaction with the help of Shazam

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ABC News creates second screen app based on social sounds

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Natural interfaces (more info)

Kinect, Project Glass and Siri are leading the revolution in interfaces. As voice and motion control become ubiquitous, marketing opportunities are opening up as technology and media merge like never before.

Motion control gets mainstream exposure with HP and Leap Motion deal

Beyond Microsoft Kinect motion control is a thing of sci-fi films or wealthier tech consumers but a deal with HP and Leap Motion could propel it into the mainstream.

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Sensors in app determine why babies cry

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Gesture-control armband MYO takes $4m in pre-orders

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Smart creativity (more info)

Lots of marketers still spend the majority of their ad budgets on mass reach through traditional media buys. But a minority are experimenting with useful tools and services that augment people’s lives and create great affinity for their brand. Digital technology is the catalyst for this shift from making people want things to making things people want.

Specsavers campaign integrates Skype directly into ad units

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Kickstarter project aims to remunerate people for their data

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Facebook and its big data plan

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Social re-engineering (more info)

Few companies think about social from the bottom-up but more and more are starting to re-engineer their structures and approach for the social era. Openness, sharing, people participation and extreme transparency are key pillars of a business that is truly social.

How to promote an album, Twitter style

Here's the story of how Demi Lovato used Twitter to get her album to number one in several countries before its scheduled release date

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Brands need to deliver needs and values to be involved in online communities

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Brazilians most engaged with brands on social networks

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The new customer journey (more info)

Few companies think about social from the bottom-up but more and more are starting to re-engineer their structures and approach for the social era. Openness, sharing, people participation and extreme transparency are key pillars of a business that is truly social.

JCDecaux and Pricerite launch shoppable billboards in Hong Kong

FMCG retailer Pricerite has partnered with outdoor ad specialists JCDecaux to create a shoppable outdoor campaign in a Hong Kong MTR Station.

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Connected shopping cart increases sales by nearly 70%

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Mobile phone usage soars in Brazil

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The Singularity (more info)

Lots of marketers still spend the majority of their ad budgets on mass reach through traditional media buys. But a minority are experimenting with useful tools and services that augment people’s lives and create great affinity for their brand. Digital technology is the catalyst for this shift from making people want things to making things people want.

Wearable technology: looking beyond Google Glass

Google's dominance in the search arena is unrivaled, and its Android platform has allowed cheaper smartphone accessibility the world over. With the release of its pricey Glass product this year, we look at two rival products to shake Google's hold.

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Connected shopping cart increases sales by nearly 70%

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Berg parters with Benetton Group's Fabrica to launch connected services program

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Useful brands (more info)

Lots of marketers still spend the majority of their ad budgets on mass reach through traditional media buys. But a minority are experimenting with useful tools and services that augment people’s lives and create great affinity for their brand. Digital technology is the catalyst for this shift from making people want things to making things people want.

Brands need to deliver needs and values to be involved in online communities

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Brazilian agency Mandalah explains its socially-driven ‘bottom-up’ approach

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BlueBee launches tracker system which uses community to find lost items

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Always on (more info)

Pressure is on brands to create and implement a quick-response marketing strategy responding to people on their terms, while also impressing people with pro-active marketing. Social monitoring tools, constantly-updated data streams and creating live events for long-lasting appeal are central tenets to Always on marketing.

Personalised Burberry garments go smart for London Fashion Week

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Exclusive essential trends webinar

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Essential trends webinar video

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Beyond apps (more info)

Since Apple launched the App Store in July 2008, brands have been obsessing about creating apps, whether worth it or not. The development of HTML5 means that brands now have the capability to create app-like functionality in a browser-friendly form as they look to transcend the problem of creating multiple apps for a variety of app stores.

Exponential growth in mobile in Brazil fuels multi-screen and frictionless commerce

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Mobile wallet is most desired new mobile technology for consumers

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GQ relaunches in UK with responsive HTML5 website

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Hyper-relevance (more info)

Location is one of the most important factors in anyone’s lives. Brands are increasingly realising this, offering products, services and media related to your whereabouts, whether it’s where you live or work or where you are at a precise moment in time. Personalisation is also a central pillar in the hyper-relevance trend. Products and advertising tailored to individuals is an area of huge research and development.

Google interactive glasses arrive in earnest, real world pales in comparison

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Guide turns social news into personalised TV news show

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Internet of things will return $14.4 trillion to businesses in next ten years

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Life+ (more info)

Life+ involves digital technology and data augmenting people’s lives by adding to experiences such as travel, navigation and shopping. Gamification is the most established thread of Life+ but other areas are emerging fast as companies realise the potential of technology to add to real-life experiences.

Intraix smart system uses social to make energy management fun

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Join us for an exclusive webinar on 'The Year Ahead in Creative Technology'

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Google interactive glasses arrive in earnest, real world pales in comparison

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Nudge marketing (more info)

Nudge marketing involves communications that attempt to influence people by carefully selecting the options available to them. By curating options into a carefully-selected choice architecture, brands and public sector bodies are attempting to help people make better decisions.

Pledgeit platform turns charity fundraising on its head

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Turkish university uses Facebook's timeline to gamify the future

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Hellmann’s Mayonnaise recommends recipes based on your shopping items

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