LSN : Daily Signals : A refugee camp challenging Western notions of heritage

RumChata transforms book clubs into rum ragers

Book Clubbers by Preacher for RumChata, US

US – With its Have Your Unusual advertising campaign, alcohol brand RumChata is showcasing how its rum drinks can suit any occasion – from the night club to the book club. Aiming to attract new audiences, the humorous campaign depicts a homely book club transforming into a house party, with revellers playing table tennis as they drink and discuss their book's themes or talk about their own literary endeavours.

Made with creative agency Preacher, the ad aligns RumChata’s liqueurs with unexpected events, illustrating how its range of products can suit, if not enhance, a variety of occasions. It also shows how alcohol brands can target drinkers entertaining or socialising at home around shared interests – the homebody economy continuing inter-Covid – rather than at a bar or club.

As revellers in the advert pontificate on their book's plot development, the campaign also aligns itself with the Kindred Diners movement, which promotes convivial, pleasurable yet thoughtful eating experiences that unite like-minded strangers.

Strategic opportunity

As consumer dining and drinking behaviours shift in response to the pandemic and personal feelings about socialising, alcohol brands can consider campaigns that reach more niche communal events

Sabus is a mobile Japanese spa experience

Sabus by Reverse Co, Japan

Japan – A disused Japanese bus is being given a second life as a mobile sauna. Called Sabus, the bus interior includes a resting space, a sauna room with wooden stoves and a small front-of-house welcome area. Many elements of the bus’s original interior have been retained, such as a functioning stop button that activates cooling water sprinklers when pressed.

The first project of its kind, this bus will begin service in early 2022. Its creators suggest there are opportunities for the Sabus to take up residency in car parks or at companies with outdoor facilities. By doing this, the concept cleverly reframes the vehicle’s intended purpose and presents an adaptable health and wellness environment that can be easily moved to meet different communities' needs.

Indeed, as people return to offices and health and wellness spaces, experiential and novel activities like the Sabus can help to provide a welcome and accessible break. In particular, Generation Z are driving this trend, embracing neo-rituals through alternative hangout spaces.

Strategic opportunity

Rather than creating new spaces, there is room to transform unused or overlooked public facilities. Take inspiration from this project and reflect on second-life use cases of existing infrastructures

A refugee camp challenging Western notions of heritage

London – Eschewing dominant Western notions of heritage, the Stateless Heritage exhibition at London's Mosaic Rooms is promoting a refugee camp in Palestine as a contender for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Showcasing the vitality, culture and agency that is common to refugee camps but often denied by mainstream narratives and media, Stateless Heritage wants to subvert traditional approaches to places and architecture considered worthy of protection and celebration.

Situated near Bethlehem, the Dheisheh site is one of the world’s oldest refugee camps, with a history dating back to 1949. Photographs in the gallery present the everyday experience of life living in the camp. ‘Refugee camps are established with the intention of being demolished… Yet the camp is also a place rich with stories, narrated through its urban fabric,' explains the Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR) collective, the exhibitions creator.

As globalisation continues to threaten concepts like nationality and identity, resistance movements are challenging prevailing depictions of certain cultures and communities. In line with the principles of New Bricolage Living, this exhibition expands our understanding of refugee camps, their residents and functions.

Stateless Heritage at The Mosaic Rooms, UK

Strategic opportunity

Many contemporary cultures and the people within them no longer identify with traditional identity binaries. In this vein, consider how you can celebrate and cater for identities or locations that are in flux or ever-changing

Stat: Beauty is no longer defined by physical appearance

Routinely, The Netherlands

Fresh research by Euromonitor reveals that global mindsets are changing around beauty codes and ideals. In a study across markets including France, Germany, the UAE and South Korea, most respondents said beauty was no longer defined by physical appearance.

Almost half (44%) said beauty was about 'feeling comfortable in your own skin'. Meanwhile, more than 50% of those surveyed defined beauty as looking healthy, while just under 50% said it was about hygiene and cleanliness.

As consumers continue to develop more diverse definitions of beauty – and prioritise traits such as cleanliness – brands have an opportunity to explore new product offerings with hygiene-touting benefits. We explore this idea further in our Synchronised Care macrotrend.

Strategic opportunity

Brands in the beauty, health and wellness sectors must shift communications away from aesthetic considerations. Instead, prioritise how your products and services can make people feel in their own skin