Daily Signals 03.12.2021

Signals

A Bleisure hotel in Helsinki, digital art focused on Black femme futures and Japanese consumers test beauty products by buying second-hand.

A sustainable hotel that doubles as an office

Valo Hotel & Work, Finland
Valo Hotel & Work, Finland
WASO by Shiseido and Wieden + Kennedy, Japan. Photography by Viviane Sassen

Helsinki – Adapting to the inter-Covid travel landscape, the VALO Hotel & Work is a destination built on the principles of Bleisure – the merging of business with pleasure. Located on the outskirts of the Finnish capital of Helsinki, the hotel specialises in hybrid interior spaces that can be altered to guests' demands and lifestyles.

Catering for digital nomads and Untethered Luxurians, the hotel has a host of amenities for remote workers. Hotel rooms are flexible and multi-purpose, for example, with mechanised beds and desks that fold down from the walls, operated by an app.

By accommodating several workers in one room, and combining lifestyle and business activities, the hotel is positioning itself as a more sustainable alternative to a regular office. ‘Hotel buildings have a utilisation rate of approximately 40%, while offices have a staggeringly low one of 8%, when considering their entire lifecycles,’ the company states.

Although many hotels have been retroactively fitted with office amenities, VALO Hotel & Work is a good example of inter-Covid hospitality, which takes Bleisure as its founding premise.

Strategic opportunity

To attract digital nomads, hospitality companies should create multi-purpose – sometimes shared – hotel rooms that combine work with play and networking

Black Beyond centres Black femmes in the digital art space

Vitória Cribb: Still Prompt de Comando, 2019 for Black Beyond _origins, US Vitória Cribb: Still Prompt de Comando, 2019 for Black Beyond _origins, US
Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Mputu: Control, 2019 for Black Beyond _origins, US Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Mputu: Control, 2019 for Black Beyond _origins, US

New York – Making its debut on virtual art space New Art City, the first show from art collective Black Beyond exhibits new media art including cross-reality (XR) experiences and recorded performances by 12 original artists.

Known as _origins, the show re-imagines Black femme futures in the world of digital art. The exhibition showcases community-based art by Black femmes, women and gender non-conforming people, exploring themes of Black femme paradise and survival as they play out at the intersection of critical race theory and digital technology. Taking cues from science fiction, many works depict imagined landscapes or realities to reflect the artists’ lived experiences and speculative futures.

The collective centres Black femmes in the space of digital art – often dominated by traditional institutions or white creators – with a focus on increasing accessibility and expanding artistic expression. Black Beyond is one of a group of emerging artists, groups and innovators using digital technology to destabilise the art world’s elitism and endorse young, diverse talent.

Strategic opportunity

Artistic depictions of imagined futures are valuable across sectors. Future-facing companies should consider collaborating with cutting edge digital artists to explore such potential futures through the lens' of the Black lived experience

Voice prompts help Hinge daters to connect

New York – Known for its tag line, 'Designed to be deleted’, dating app Hinge is ramping up its efforts to help online daters connect with a new feature, Voice Prompts. Tapping into the rise of Connective Audio, this new tool allows daters to add a sample of their voice to their profiles.

Providing users with playful prompts, such as ‘Proof I have musical talent’ or ‘My best celebrity impression', the app is aiming to capture moments that are better spoken than written on a profile. In doing so, the company hopes to offer users a glimpse into what a first date might be like. ‘Hinge wants to help people get to know you as soon as they see your profile. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, imagine how many your voice is worth,’ explains Michelle Parsons, chief product officer at Hinge.

Younger, digitally native daters are redefining the traditional parameters of dating apps, seeking more intimate and invigorating connections. As a result, their hyper-connected lifestyles are rebooting dating, pushing companies such as Hinge to integrate audio or more creative features into their apps.

Hinge, UK

Strategic opportunity

Dating apps of the future will be creative and fun, without the gloss of filters. Consider the humorous or real-life moments that technology can capture to enhance user connections

Stat: Japanese consumers are buying used beauty products

WASO by Shiseido and Wieden + Kennedy, Japan. Photography by Viviane Sassen WASO by Shiseido and Wieden + Kennedy, Japan. Photography by Viviane Sassen

Japan – According to a new study by consumer research firm istyle and Mercari, a Japanese app for buying and selling second-hand goods, Japanese consumers are seeking second-hand beauty products to sample them before they buy.

The study follows Mercari’s finding that beauty transactions on its own platform have increased more 12 times their value compared to seven years ago. The web survey of nearly 14,000 Japanese women also reveals that almost 57% of shoppers buy second-hand beauty products as a method of trying them before buying new. Respondents cited the ease of online ordering as well as reducing pressure to buy as primary reasons for buying second-hand cosmetics. Some 74.5% of this group have gone on to buy a new product from a primary retailer after sampling it second-hand.

The Japanese beauty market's focus on simplicity and quality underlines the need to sample products before buying, which is driving consumers to turn to second-hand testing options.

Strategic opportunity

The opportunity to test beauty products is essential to consumers. Beauty brands need to update sampling techniques to suit digital-first shoppers. Consider offering samples with online checkout or affordable miniatures

Previous Daily Signals Articles
Rosewood leans into modern luxury with refreshed brand identity

Daily Signals

Rosewood leans into modern luxury with refreshed brand identity

Luxury hotel group Rosewood is repositioning itself as a lifestyle and cultural leader, with a focus on storytelling and experiential travel.
Luxury : Hospitality : Rosewood
Foresight Friday: Olivia Houghton, insights and engagement director

Daily Signals

Foresight Friday: Olivia Houghton, insights and engagement director

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, insights and engagement d...
Culture : Beauty : Fashion
Stat: Study shows decline in social media use among younger adults

Daily Signals

Stat: Study shows decline in social media use among younger adults

Adults are spending less time on social media, following a peak three years ago. By the end of 2024, those aged 16 or older were spending an averag...
Media : Technology : Statistic
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
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