LSN : News : Need to know 11 : 12 : 17

1. Gucci’s holiday campaign serves up a high art aesthetic

Gift Giving campaign by Igansi Monreal for Gucci

Italy – The Italian fashion house has collaborated with Spanish artist Ignasi Monreal to create an engaging digital store front for the Christmas period. The campaign, entitled Gift Giving, is inspired by the Greek legend of the fall of Icharus, incorporating products from the Gift Giving collection into Monreal's surrealist paintings, diverging from the typical Christmas aesthetic. For example, in one painting a UFO is shown flying in front of Florence's Duomo to showcase the collection's shoulder bags. In another, a cat-design t-shirt bounces on a trampoline within a classical style piazza.

The digitally driven campaign will also see Gucci app users able to add filters to their photographs and send personalised digital greetings cards to better engage consumers with their anti-authenticity marketing approach.

2. Beauty brand Julep helps women battle societal pressures

Throw Anything at Me by Julep, US

US – Julep’s new interactive campaign, Throw Anything At Me, takes a stand against stereotypes aimed against women. The two-part campaign takes the form of a video and online game, addressing issues like sexual harassment, reductive definitions of domesticity and prescriptive beauty ideals. ‘Pretty isn’t something we define for you, it’s whatever you choose to show us,’ explained the brand in a statement.

The campaign was informed by research conducted by creative agency, Joan Creative, which found that for many women make-up offers them the confidence to help combat these obstacles. As explored in our The Make-up Movement microtrend, conceptions of make-up are changing as consumers increasingly turn to cosmetics as a form of self-expression, with forward-thinking beauty brands creating campaigns that support this idea.

3. Teen Vogue hopes to inspire the next generation of activists

Los Angeles – The teen magazine, which recently announced it would discontinue its print version as part of a brand wide restructuring, has indicated its commitment to real life experiences with the launch of the first Teen Vogue Summit.

The politically-minded two-day event featured mentoring sessions and workshops, on topics such as negotiating a pay rise. ‘We need to build our own financial ecosystem because the white male one isn’t working for us,’ explained Cindy Gallop, a British advertising consultant. The roster of speakers included presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and GirlBoss founder Sophia Amoruso, among others, to inspire the next generation of politically-engaged consumer.

Teen Vogue Summit, Los Angeles

4. MOIA by Volkswagen launches electric ride-share vehicle

MOIA by VW Group, Berlin

Germany – A new electric car by MOIA, which is scheduled to launch next year, offers a design specifically optimised for ride-sharing. The six-seater vehicle is the first car to be brought to market by the mobility brand, which was announced by Volkswagen last year. The entire ethos of the company is to encourage car-sharing and reduce the number of cars on the road.

Designed to offer passengers a greater sense of personal space than regular vehicles, there are individual seats rather than bench seating and a luggage compartment at the front of the car beside the driver to allow for more legroom. As the idea of mobility evolves beyond personal vehicles, brands are increasingly embracing the lucrative nature of the Ride-share Market.

5. Voice assistants fuel sales of everyday products

A new study shows that voice assistants like Amazon Alexa are having a positive effect on sales of everyday items like diapers, as consumers turn to these home assistants to help with regular shops. The figures suggest that brands operating within this space could benefit from creating apps that prompt timely reorders or suggest new products based on previous orders. 'This study indicates that voice search has a positive impact on sales of standardised products,' explains James Lee, an analyst at Mizuho Securities.

6. Thought-starter: Is the sharing economy integral to the future of luxury mobility?

With 34% of consumers believing that ride-sharing apps are more convenient than car ownership, senior journalist Peter Maxwell explores how luxury automotive brands are adjusting their business models in response.

High-end car marques are entering what Skift’s Samantha Shankman describes as the ‘third wave of connectivity’, adding new layers of digitisation to their offer. One of the key ways this is manifesting is through a new range of subscription-based services that look to increase the convenience of being a luxury car driver.

These services, managed through propriety branded apps, let consumers select from a broad range of models based on their current needs. Vehicles are delivered, maintained and collected at the customer’s convenience, significantly reducing the operational burden of running a car.

While some brands, such as Bentley, are using the opportunity to access a fleet of their cars on demand to essentially enhance the traditional car-owning experience, others, such as new VW-owned marque Polestar, are banking on subscription-only models being key to attracting the next generation of performance car buyers.

Read the full microtrend here.