LSN : News : Need to know 21 : 08 : 17

1. Versace collaborates on Bruno Mars’s track

Versace on the Floor music video by Bruno Mars

US – Versace features heavily in Bruno Mars’s new track, Versace on the Floor, helping the luxury fashion house to achieve greater awareness among a younger pop-loving audience. In addition to the title of the song, Versace is heavily referenced in the lyrics in which Mars sings about his co-star Zendaya’s Versace dress, and in the song’s video, in which the pop star wears custom-made Versace garments.

The song has already proved popular and has amassed more than 15m views on YouTube since it was published on 13 August. Although the name-dropping of brands by music artists is not new, until now it has usually been initiated by the performer and often left unacknowledged by the brand. This shift marks a new era of symbiotic marketing in which brands such as Calvin Klein and Versace work with artists such as the XX and Bruno Mars to the benefit of both.

2. Sephora launches members-only social platform

Beauty Insider Community by Sephora

San Francisco – Designed to appeal to its growing mobile-first client base, Sephora’s new Beauty Insider Community is a digital social space that enables members to ask questions and get real-time recommendations from fellow beauty enthusiasts.

Tapping into the tendency of beauty aficionados to share tips within their community, Sephora allows what it calls ‘real talk’ to be uninterrupted by advertising in its unsponsored space.

To join the platform, customers must sign up to the brand’s free loyalty scheme, Beauty Insider, which also provides access to additional benefits and rewards. Beauty Insider Community amalgamates Sephora’s existing forums into one space, ensuring ease of use and strengthening consumers post-purchase engagement with the brand. Similarly, in 2015 Net-A-Porter launched The Net Set, a social media network designed to offer shopping inspiration.

3. Hellblade video game re-enacts the psychosis experience

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice by Ninja Theory, UK

UK – A collaboration between Ninja Theory and the Wellcome Trust, the new video game Hellblade uses binaural sound and a first-person viewpoint to recreate how it feels to live with psychosis. ‘Rather than being a didactic game teaching us about psychosis, Hellblade allows us to explore it through the creation of a compelling and complex character, and the world that she inhabits,’ says Iain Dodgeon, broadcast, games and film manager at Wellcome.

To portray a psychotic episode realistically, the narrative for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was informed by Wellcome, people with personal experience of psychosis, and mental health experts. Technology advances are enabling brands to create new experiences for consumers to help them experience the world from a different perspective and to improve empathy with other people’s points of view. For more, see our Virtual Empathy microtrend.

4. Climate change is making food less nutritious

Global – New research suggests that climate change is reducing the nutritional value of staple crops such as wheat and rice. Published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the research demonstrates that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are blighting the amount of protein found in these foodstuffs.

If greenhouse gas levels continue to increase at the current rate, 18 countries will lose 5% of their dietary protein by 2050, according to the study by Harvard University. With 76% of the world’s population consuming most of its daily protein through plant-based foods, the impact on future consumer health could be significant. Meanwhile, scientists in Finland have developed a method to extract protein from air pollution to help prevent future food crises. For more, see our Briefing report.

Cayman Islands collection on Chef'd, Los Angeles

5. More toxins in beauty products for women of colour

According to researchers, beauty products targeted at women of colour contain higher levels of toxins such as mercury, steroids and hormone-disrupting chemicals than other products on the market. The research by George Washington University and Occidental College also indicates that black, Asian-American and Latina women in America spend more on beauty products than the national average, suggesting that these beauty consumers could be increasing their risk. For more on Inclusive Beauty, read our market report here.

6. Thought-starter: Can banks help sustainable consumption?

Consumers now expect brands to be fully transparent about not only their products, but also their overarching company values and ethics. Visual trends researcher Rachael Stott investigates how a new wave of digital tools is helping shoppers assess where they spend their money.

A recent survey by Weber Shandwick found that 39% of consumers did not purchase a product, even if they might have preferred it, because they disagreed with the company’s values. With this is mind, several financial services are creating tools that rate businesses on their eco-credentials, and inform customers accordingly when they buy from a brand.

By understanding the environmental and social impact of spending with specific retailers, these seamless services are designed to motivate consumers to make positive changes in their behaviour and where they choose to shop. Is this a call to action for businesses to shake up their CSR plans and to investigate how their values directly affect their sales and consumer loyalty?

For more on sustainable spending, read our latest microtrend here.