LSN : Daily Signals : Stat: African youth are curious to discover their continent

Chilly’s forecasts a future without single-use plastics

A Reusable Way of Living by Chilly's, UK

UK – The latest campaign from re-usable bottle and container company Chilly's spotlights a future of daily routines devoid of single-use plastics. Glancing ahead to 2025, the brand’s A Reusable Way of Living ad proposes moments where party-goers drink cocktails from re-usable cups and people collect takeaways using their own containers.

Filmed across northwest England, the campaign takes prosaic moments linked to British identity as its starting point, with scenes depicting a lively football match and a hen party where re-usable bottles are rife. By taking a hyper-local approach and aligning Chilly’s re-usable products with such everyday experiences, the campaign proposes that using such bottles and containers will become second nature for all.

Countering the narrative that sustainability is a luxury privilege, the campaign advocates the widespread adoption of re-usable products. ‘Cafes, pubs, food delivery services, you name it. It’s time for us all to take responsibility and work together to eliminate single-use plastics for good,’ explains Chilly’s co-founder James Butterfield.

Strategic opportunity

Consider how your company's products can support or sit within the everyday moments or experiences of citizens, beyond those of your typical target audience

Burberry’s luxe take on eco-urban mobility

Concept-E RS Burberry edition by DAB Motors, France

UK and France – Targeting sartorial city-dwellers, the Concept-E RS Burberry edition is a near-silent electric bike that seeks to reposition motorcycles as a fashion accessory. A collaboration between luxury label Burberry and French motorcycle manufacturer DAB Motors, the bike features bespoke logo bodywork, a hand-stitched Burberry monogram saddle and customisable handlebars.

To grab the attention of modern urbanites, DAB is promoting the bike's eco-credentials. The limited-edition bike has a motor that leaves no smell or emissions in the air. It is also built using localised production, meaning the vehicle generates less waste and has a lower carbon footprint than traditional motorcycle manufacturing.

While luxury brands have long experimented with activations outside of their conventional product offerings, the electric vehicle sector brings fresh opportunities. The Concept-E RS Burberry motorcycle also reflects a growing interest in motorcycles among younger, lifestyle-driven audiences. ‘I wanted to present the motorcycle as a true fashionable device capable of generating desire and expressing identity,’ says Simon Dabadie, CEO and founder of DAB Motors.

Strategic opportunity

How can your brand generate interest by collaborating with brands from other sectors? Reflect on other opportunities to premiumise public services or those in other lifestyle categories

Asda’s vintage Gucci hunt counters Black Friday

UK – Value-orientated supermarket group Asda has become an unlikely seller of vintage Gucci in a bid to highlight the potential – and positive impact – of selling pre-owned fashion amid the Black Friday frenzy.

Coinciding with the launch of new Ridley Scott film House of Gucci, as well as Black Friday sales, the George at Asda fashion team are working with vintage clothing wholesaler PreLoved to sell archival items from the Italian luxury brand in select stores across the country. Customers who find the vintage Gucci pieces will be able to buy them for as little as £12 ($16, €14).

Framed as a sustainable alternative to Black Friday sales, 30 vintage pieces will be hidden on clothing rails at Asda supermarkets across the UK. The initiative aligns with the supermarket's George for Good partnership with PreLoved, which has brought vintage clothing to 50 supermarkets across the UK, including London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Brighton.

‘Our partnership with George at Asda is one that we are extremely proud of, so we’re delighted to be able to offer their customers the chance to pick up something they have always dreamed of owning in their local supermarket,' explains Steve Lynam, managing director of PreLoved.

Embedding luxury moments into budget brands, this unexpected collaboration shows how Anti-authenticity attitudes can help replace contrived marketing strategies to render brands more interactive, relatable and sustainable.

Asda, UK

Strategic opportunity

High street retailers should consider introducing resale into their offering through such inventive initiatives. Consider how this can be linked to a cultural event or highlight a particular cause

Stat: African youth are curious to discover their continent

Youth of Africa by Vlisco&co, Eindhoven

A report by Africa No Filter, which polled 4,500 young people across nine African countries, found that a majority (68%) are keen to travel more within the continent. The majority of respondents also felt positive about being identified as African and expressed appreciation of their home region.

Breaking the results down nationally, more than half of South Africans (56%) said they had travelled to at least one country in the continent, followed by East Africans (35%), West Africans (33%) and North Africans (22%.) ‘Youth in Africa are interested in knowing more about other African countries through travel and the main barrier is their perception that travel is expensive. Safety and being unwelcome are of less concern,’ says the report.

As we explore in our Black Travel Market, travel among the African diaspora has been on the rise in recent months as Black communities seek to examine their selfhood. Now, this behaviour is also being displayed in African countries.

Strategic opportunity

Travel and hospitality companies can engage young Africans through discovery-led travel experiences that reveal the facets of different cultural traditions within the African continent