News 06.11.2019

Need to Know

Spotify launches a new audio-visual experience, Cocoon offers skincare insights to brands and consumers, and online retailers tap into sustainable buzzwords.

Spotify’s new video loops bring classic albums to life

Canvas Records by Spotify
Canvas Records by Spotify
Canvas Records by Spotify

Austin – At the world’s first audio-visual listening bar, Spotify has unveiled a new way of interacting with music.

Canvas is a new format by the Swedish streaming giant that allows artists to upload 8-second looping visuals that play with every track, allowing listeners to communicate with music in new ways. The campaign, Your Art Has the Power to Move, was celebrated with the opening of the world’s first audio-visual listening bar, which took place during music festival Austin City Limits.

At the Canvas Records listening bar, visitors could browse hundreds of custom-created frames replicating classic vinyl record sleeves, which displayed dynamic video art by musicians such as Billie Eilish, Bon Iver and John Mayer. ‘The second we imagined how amazing it would be to walk into a record store where every single album cover was alive, we knew we had to figure out a way to make it a reality,’ says Spencer LaVallee and Evan Schultz, creative directors at FIG, the agency behind the activation.

As social media becomes a central part of our listening habits, visual content has the potential to transform the two-dimensional streaming experience.

Facebook introduces new company branding

Facebook branding Facebook branding
Facebook branding Facebook branding

Global – The social media company has designed new branding to distinguish the Facebook company from the Facebook app.

The company branding is designed to represent the diversity of Facebook’s suite of products and services, which include Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. To create a visual distinction between the company and app, the branding uses customised typography and capitalisation. Over the coming weeks, it will be rolled out across Facebook products and marketing materials, as well as a new company website.

A recent survey from Pew Research Center found that just 29% of US respondents know that Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp. In response, the company began including ‘from Facebook’ in all of its apps in June. Now, the change of branding is a way to further communicate its ownership structure to those who use its services, says Facebook.

As such, Facebook is recognising the need for greater transparency in the technology sector – something we explore in our Morality Recoded macrotrend.

Web Summit 2019: Cocoon is using data to elevate skincare innovation

Lisbon – This new beauty insights platform hopes to better connect consumers with brands and the wider skincare community, while driving product innovation based on individuals’ skincare experiences.

New York-based Cocoon has a dual purpose. Its B2C app lets consumers share their experience of skincare brands, as well as daily changes to their skin. In return, they are given instant, personal product recommendations and democratised access to information around efficacy and cross-category product usage to help them improve their skin and routines.

In addition, Cocoon operates a B2B platform, amalgamating its users’ data to provide brands with audience, competitor and category insights. Tapping into this insight, it hopes to help skincare and beauty R&D teams transform product offers, from ingredients and scents to hyper-local skincare issues, packaging and branding.

In the age of Algorithmic Beauty, Cocoon is demonstrating how community and trust can be built through customer experience and access to cross-brand information, while providing real-time insights to drive innovation.

Cocoon

Stat: Recycled fashion items are booming online

Sustainable buzzwords are surging on e-commerce sites, according to Edited’s Sustainability Edit 2019 report.

The study found that the number of fashion items on sale online in the UK and the US with the description ‘sustainable’ increased by 125% since 2017. While the term ‘sustainable’ is increasingly considered a buzzword, as it is unregulated and freely misused, online retailers are also using the term ‘recycled products’, which has increased by 173% online.

In addition, brands are capitalising on the plant-based qualities of their products, with a 70% rise in products labelled ‘vegan’. ‘Retail products described using these key buzzwords have seen a marked increase as retailers and brands take it upon themselves to educate consumers about their sustainable options,’ says the report.

As Daniel Freitag argues, the sustainability discussion in the fashion industry can be highly flawed as well as too moralistic. For more, read our recent Q&A.

Previous News Articles
Key takeaways from Live Retail Week and The Grocer 2025

News

Key takeaways from Live Retail Week and The Grocer 2025

At Ocado, the three key principles driving its double-digit growth ambitions are clarity, culture and collaboration, according to Amit Chitnis, chi...
Retail : Food & Drink : Events
Equinox and Stripes Beauty launch luxury menopause spa experience

News

Equinox and Stripes Beauty launch luxury menopause spa experience

The Spa by Equinox Hotels has partnered with pro-ageing beauty and wellness brand Stripes Beauty to introduce a high-tech, luxury wellness spa circ...
Health & Wellness : Luxury : Travel & Hospitality
Stat: Teens say Victoria’s Secret Pink is one of North America’s coolest brands

News

Stat: Teens say Victoria’s Secret Pink is one of North America’s coolest brands

According to YPulse’s annual Cool Brands Report, released in early 2025, 71% of North American teenagers say it is important that the brands they p...
Fashion : Youth : Society
The Ordinary’s new platform shatters skincare myths

News

The Ordinary’s new platform shatters skincare myths

The Ordinary is dispelling skincare myths with its new platform, TheTruthShouldBeOrdinary.com.
Advertising & Branding : Beauty : Health & Wellness
Stat: Super Bowl smashes viewership records

News

Stat: Super Bowl smashes viewership records

Fox’s broadcast of the 2025 Super Bowl LIX drew a record-breaking 126m viewers across platforms, cementing its place as the most-watched Super Bowl...
Sports & Leisure : Advertising & Branding : Pop-culture & Media
Harrison Ford brings Hollywood charm to Glenmorangie whisky

News

Harrison Ford brings Hollywood charm to Glenmorangie whisky

Scotch whisky distillery Glenmorangie has unveiled actor Harrison Ford as its new global ambassador.
Advertising & Branding : Food & Drink : Pop-culture & Media
Hims & Hers takes on obesity crisis in provocative Super Bowl ad

News

Hims & Hers takes on obesity crisis in provocative Super Bowl ad

Telehealth brand Hims & Hers made a bold debut at the Super Bowl with a provocative 60-second ad addressing the US obesity epidemic.
Health & Wellness : Society : Advertising & Branding
Women less confident in Bank of England amid inflation pressures

News

Women less confident in Bank of England amid inflation pressures

New research from the University of Oxford reveals that women trust the Bank of England (BoE) less than men and feel more financially squeezed by i...
Finance : Society : Identities
Stat: US wellness economy surpasses £1.6 trillion milestone

News

Stat: US wellness economy surpasses £1.6 trillion milestone

The US wellness economy has officially surpassed £1.6 trillion ($2 trillion, €1.9 trillion) for the first time, according to a new report from the ...
Finance : Health & Wellness : Society
LS:N Global Just Got Smarter

News

LS:N Global Just Got Smarter

Meet our new AI tool, Ember.
The Future Laboratory
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN