LSN : Daily Signals : Foresight Friday: Fiona Harkin, director of foresight

Nissan unveils futuristic Hyper Force EV concept

Nissan Hyper Force, Japan

Japan – Nissan has unveiled the Hyper Force EV concept during the Japan Mobility Show 2023, turning heads with its striking design blending elements from the Nissan GT-R and Tesla's Cybertruck. This fusion results in a futuristic exterior reminiscent of a sci-fi racing movie.

To create the driving interface and interior of the Hyper Force, Nissan partnered with Polyphony Digital, the developers of the popular Gran Turismo racing game known for its photorealistic car recreations. The unique interior featured colour-changing light panels and various settings. In R mode, for example, the dashboard panels move closer and multiple screens display vital vehicle data, while GT mode offers a more traditional cabin setting for longer journeys.

Showcasing the possibilities of Auto Entertainment, Nissan envisions a future where drivers can use the Hyper Force as a racing simulator when parked, donning a virtual-reality helmet to race on real-world tracks. The Hyper Force is part of Nissan's conceptual EV series, which includes models tailored to different demographics, aligning with the brand's future vision.

Strategic opportunity

Nissan’s Hyper Force hints at the many yet-to-be unlocked opportunities within the gaming and automobile worlds. How can you integrate elements of gaming into your services to offer customers the ultimate immersive experience?

Cédric Grolet crafts a caviar-based pastry for beauty brand La Prairie

La Prairie and Cédric Grolet, France

France – Luxury beauty brand La Prairie has teamed up with celebrity pastry chef Cédric Grolet to reinterpret its Skin Caviar range through the lens of culinary arts.

La Prairie is debuting a remastered version of the iconic Caviar Luxe Skin Cream, a top-of-the-range firming cream formulated with a unique blend of the brand's Caviar Micro-nutrients and Caviar Premier product. To celebrate the launch, La Prairie asked Cédric Grolet to craft a savoury pastry incorporating the cream’s star ingredient. The result is an egg-shaped golden savoury pastry with a comté parmesan mousse, a runny egg yolk centre and at the core – caviar. The pastry is packaged in a custom-made cobalt blue box and retails at £15 ($18, €17).

This clever brand activation is sure to create conversations about the product – it leverages Cédric Grolet's fame while aligning with La Prairie's luxury positioning. ‘La Prairie’s pursuit of excellence and attention to detail reflect my own approach to craftsmanship,’ commented Cédric Grolet, who is known for his trompe-l’oeil pastries and hyped croissants.

This launch echoes haute hospitality, or as we call it Haute-spitality, explore in out Luxury Recrafted macrotrend.

Strategic opporutnity

Like La Prairie, can your business leverage cross-skill collaboration to playfully combine your craft with expertise from a different field?

Foresight Friday: Fiona Harkin, director of foresight

Victoria Ling for The Future Laboratory

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, director of foresight Fiona Harkin discusses the disappearance of dedicated women’s media content.

What's happened to the ‘women’s pages’ in the mainstream media? The Washington Post has closed The Lily, dedicated to gender coverage; the New York Times has closed its In Her Words newsletter; and in the UK, the only women’s correspondent remaining in mainstream print is Maya Oppenheim at The Independent. Some say these column inches ended up becoming less ‘newsy’ or – my favourite – a bit ‘frivolous’. Give over. We’re talking about the words that shone a light on Roe vs Wade and on other vital issues over multiple decades.

The From Outrage to Opportunity report revealed that 0.02% of global online news content addresses the main gaps that put women at a disadvantage to men: pay, power, safety, authority, confidence, health and ageism. That light is needed now more than ever as institutional misogyny creeps forward, not retreating as many shrill headlines about the apparent progression of women's rights may have us believe.

Just look at the recent story by digital news outlet The Tortoise – which is dedicated to addressing such media power gaps – highlighting how UK police are increasingly testing women for abortion drugs while requesting menstruation app data. That’s a chilling move, right? So why isn’t it garnering headlines?

If ever there was an engagement opportunity staring responsible businesses in the face, it's this one.

Quote of the Week

‘It matters how these stories are told — and by whom, and where. We need an abundance of platforms like The Lily, serving as a complement to reporting on gender woven through every section: news, opinion, technology, health, politics, business, the arts. In the interim, wherever outlets place their gender coverage, one thing is clear: we need more of it, not less’

- Cecile Richards and Lauren Peterson for CNN.

Stat: Teens and young adults want to see more friendships and less sex on screen

Photography by Koolshooters, UK and Poland

US - A recent report published by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers (CSS) at the University of California, shows that teens and young adults in the US think there's too much sex and romance in television shows and films.

In August 2023, CSS surveyed 1,500 young people aged 10 to 24 as part of its annual Teens and Screens report. This revealed that almost half (47.5%) of 13–24 year olds believe sex and sexual content isn't needed for the plot of most TV shows and movies, while the majority of young people surveyed (51.5%) said they want to see content more focused on friendships.

Post-pandemic loneliness is indicated as a key driver of this shift in on-screen interests. Young people are romanticising friendships and want ‘feel-good characters’ in their TV shows, over sex and relationships.

In our Pop Culture & Media sector, we’re tracking the latest trends in popular and digital culture, and pinpointing relevant commercial opportunities.

Strategic opportunity

When it comes to Gen Z, friendship sells. Consider how your product or services can foster connection – centring the narrative around community bonds will resonate more with young audiences than portraying romance.