Daily Signals 30.11.2018

Signals

Cool Men tackles infertile men, WeChat enters the world of hospitality and what sexiness means for the modern luxury market.

Prior is redefining the luxury travel agent

PRIOR, branding by Made Thought
PRIOR, branding by Made Thought
PRIOR, branding by Made Thought

New York – Prior is a new breed of luxury travel agency that is billed as a modern-day Explorers Club.

Those who hope to join Prior must submit an application and are chosen based on a personality test, before paying an annual fee of £1,956 ($2,500, €2,199) to gain access to limitless travel planning services and members-only events.

Launched by a former Condé Nast Traveler editor, Prior’s events are described as ‘nomadic clubhouses’, in which the brand takes over a building, from a Barcelona art gallery to an East Asian Buddhist monastery. Prior’s first excursion, which took place in October, was held at a Georgian mansion in the English countryside, and included hikes, baking classes and dinners by one of the world’s up-and-coming chefs.

Rather than relying on the destination imagery that travel companies typically use, Made Thought has designed branding for Prior that offers a more nostalgic perspective on travel, using colourful collages to reference the golden age of the 1920s and 1930s.

The travel agent and the members’ club are merging, as luxury consumers seek ultra-exclusive experiences around the world.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2018: Cool Men delivers a device for male infertility

Cool Men, Poland Cool Men, Poland
Cool Men, Poland Cool Men, Poland

Berlin – One stand-out start-up exhibiting at this year’s Tech Crunch Disrupt, Cool Men, addresses the pervasive but often overlooked issue of male infertility.

The brand, which presented its testicular cooling device at the show, serves the 7% of men globally that have problems with their fertility. Dorota Partyka, project manager for the brand, explained that about 60% of these cases can be attributed to testicular overheating, a topic that has so far not featured prominently in the mainstream fertility narrative. ‘We will educate people how heat influences semen quality,’ explains Partyka.

The device, which is now in beta testing, is worn under clothing to restore the natural process of sperm production and will be sold exclusively online for discretion. The device is priced at £235 ($300, €263), which Partyka points out is significantly cheaper than alternative solutions like surgery. The brand is also applying for medical certification so that it can be accessed on prescription in the future.

As the conversation about men’s health problems continues, brands are helping to shift the focus around infertility away from a woman-only problem to include both sexes.

WeChat opens its own smart hotel in China

Shanghai – InterContinental Hotels has joined forces with the country’s biggest app to open a smart hotel that uses WeChat’s digital technology.

The hotel, which enables guests to use their phone to book rooms, remotely check in and access their room, also employs facial recognition technology to verify travellers’ identity on arrival. The hotel is also 88 feet underground, but still manages to provide quick internet services, according to WeChat.

Additional uses of WeChat in the hotel include ordering room service and personalising elements of the room, including air conditioning and lighting. Those who booked an executive suite can also access a 24-hour butler service through the app.

With Chinese consumers so familiar with the WeChat user experience, the app makes an ideal partner for hospitality brands hoping to integrate technology. In-room voice assistants are also being deployed in hotels, with the aim of making the guest experience more efficient and convenient.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, China

The Big Issue refresh embraces local culture

The Big Issue redesign, 2018 The Big Issue redesign, 2018

UK – The weekly print publication distributed by homeless or vulnerably housed street vendors has a new design and an aim to refocus content on culture and city life.

The redesign is a bid to demonstrate the magazine’s breadth and to attract new readers. Editorially, the title, which prints four regional versions of each issue, is increasingly creating more localised content in London, Scotland, the Southwest of England and Wales. One new section, the Vendor City Guide, is a new travel feature told from the point of view of The Big Issue vendors.

To that end, the redesign aims to challenge preconceptions about the title and its vendors. ‘A big part of this redesign was changing perceptions and showing that this is not just a magazine about the homeless,’ art director Ross Lesley-Bayne told Design Week.

Businesses are taking more steps to empower underserved sections of society. Earlier this year, challenger bank Monzo launched an initiative to enable refugees to set up bank accounts.

Stat: Sexiness is still in fashion for luxury consumers

Sexiness is now one of the key markers of luxury for consumers, according to Ernst & Young’s Luxury and Cosmetics Financial Factbook 2018. Although material quality (44.3%), exclusivity (30.8%) and craftsmanship (29.4%) are valued above sexiness, it is now considered more representative of luxury than elements such as timelessness and heritage.

However, according to the report, the concept of sexiness in relation to the luxury sector has changed over the years. Rather than relying on traditional representations of female sexiness that have guided brands like Versace for decades, brands must now express a new type of sensuality that is ‘imaginative, intimate and delicate, that may sometimes be provocative, and is able to capture the imagination of consumers’.

To understand the meaning of luxury in 2019, book an in-house presentation with one of our experts here.

Thought-starter: Are avatars the employees of the future?

With technology enabling hyper-realistic avatar design, the future workplace could be one where employees exist both as digital avatars and physical workers.

As the adage goes, it’s impossible to be in two places at once. But does that still hold true? Driven by the needs of a globalised, 24-hour business and media cycle, innovators are creating AI-enabled avatar counterparts of key personalities, enabling them to work longer while also being in several locations simultaneously.

For top executives with heavy, insight-hungry client lists, such systems are becoming essential. But it won’t only be wealthy investors who experience these doubles at first hand. One New Zealand-based technology company, for example, has replicated several of its own employees to sell as automated customer representatives to other brands.

Such continuity is also appealing to news organisations. But while text does a good job of hiding whether the speaker is man or machine, live video reporting has been a greater challenge – until now.

To learn more about how brands are beginning to employ digital copies of real people, read our new microtrend Avatar Employees.

UBS Companion Daniel Kalt by UBS
Previous Daily Signals Articles
Ulta Beauty opens UB Marketplace to 100 emerging brands

Daily Signals

Ulta Beauty opens UB Marketplace to 100 emerging brands

Ulta Beauty has launched UB Marketplace, a new online platform introducing more than 100 emerging beauty and wellness brands to its website and app...
Beauty : Retail : Ecommerce
Travel platform Curated Spaces is powered by trusted tastemakers

Daily Signals

Travel platform Curated Spaces is powered by trusted tastemakers

Travel start-up Curated Spaces has launched a booking platform that puts personal style, trusted recommendations and curated experiences at the hea...
Travel : Hospitality : Digital
Stat: Gen Z women are shaping a new liberal majority in the US

Daily Signals

Stat: Gen Z women are shaping a new liberal majority in the US

New polling highlights a sharp political gender gap within Gen Z, positioning young women as the most liberal demographic in the US, according to a...
Youth : Politics : Gen Z
Heineken transforms Seoul’s rooftops into social sanctuaries

Daily Signals

Heineken transforms Seoul’s rooftops into social sanctuaries

Heineken is transforming Seoul’s empty rooftops into vibrant social spaces as part of a new campaign combatting urban loneliness and removing barri...
Culture : Drink : Loneliness
Feeling introduces transdermal energy patch to combat daily fatigue

Daily Signals

Feeling introduces transdermal energy patch to combat daily fatigue

Manchester-based wellness brand Feeling has launched a transdermal energy patch designed to address persistent fatigue in individuals who maintain ...
Health : Wellness : Supplements
Stat: Gift cards become inflation-era solution for festive shoppers

Daily Signals

Stat: Gift cards become inflation-era solution for festive shoppers

As inflation continues to put pressure on spending, gift cards are set to dominate this year’s festive period in the US. According to Blackhaw...
Retail : Consumer Spending : Inflation
Yōjō harnesses vagus nerve technology for everyday wellbeing

Daily Signals

Yōjō harnesses vagus nerve technology for everyday wellbeing

Yōjō is a new wellness eco-system using non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS), biofeedback and human coaching to help people calm their bodie...
Health : Wellness : Technology
OpenAI launches agentic AI shopping system

Daily Signals

OpenAI launches agentic AI shopping system

ChatGPT users in America can now shop directly within conversations through OpenAI’s new Instant Checkout feature, available to Pro, Plus and Free ...
Technology : Retail : Agentic AI
Stat: The running boom is powering New York’s economy

Daily Signals

Stat: The running boom is powering New York’s economy

Running is proving to be big business for New York, according to the latest Economic Impact Study from New York Road Runners (NYRR).
Sport : Health : Running
Vacheron Constantin’s La Quête du Temps stars in Louvre exhibition

Daily Signals

Vacheron Constantin’s La Quête du Temps stars in Louvre exhibition

Luxury Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin has unveiled La Quête du Temps at the Louvre, a monumental automaton clock to celebrate the brand’s 270...
Luxury : Watches : Retail
You have 1 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN