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New ‘living font’ raises awareness of the sixth mass extinction

The Endangered Typeface by Bar Ogilvy Portugal for ANP/WWF in partnership with Lisbon Zoo, Portugal

Lisbon – Bar Ogilvy Portugal has created The Endangered Typeface campaign for Nature Portugal Association (ANP) and WWF, in partnership with Lisbon Zoo, to create dialogue about the sixth mass extinction.

The project is centred around a new typeface in which each letter represents a different endangered animal, with data taken from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. As the population of a species falls, the corresponding letter disappears by the same proportion. With its motto, ‘A living font, born to protect all animal life’, the campaign aims to create awareness about the progressive loss of biodiversity on the planet and its adverse impact on wildlife.

According to the IUCN, there are more than 42,000 endangered species. The Endangered Typeface aligns with our Graphic Activism design direction, which explores how creatives are using design as a tool for education and to share radical thinking. The campaign calls for people to download the font, make a donation and spread the word.

Strategic opportunity

Design-led activism can be hugely impactful when considering its social media reach. As it leads with visuals and aesthetics it is appealing to share, like and tag

Loewe Parfums introduces itinerant Victorian greenhouse

Loewe, Spain

Spain – LVMH-owned brand Loewe recently invited customers into its garden with the Loewe Greenhouse, an itinerant Victorian greenhouse that travelled between Madrid, Seville, Malaga and Barcelona in April and May 2023. The pop-up store was inspired by the brand’s Botanical Rainbow line and Loewe Home Scents, both based on combinations of scents found in nature.

Inside the greenhouse, customers experienced Loewe’s perfumes, candles and scented objects surrounded by vegetation. The retail space also featured hangout spots adorned with flowers and plants to elevate the shopping experience.

In Hyperphysical Stores, we looked at similar initiatives from retailers aiming to make bricks-and-mortar stores more engaging and sensorial. Temporary pop-ups have no choice but to cut through the noise with unique experiences that meet clients’ higher retail standards.

Strategic opportunity

Consider how to create enriching, emotional, ethereal and exclusive experiences for your customers to help re-ignite their senses in-store

Lululemon hosts first dupe swap to enhance brand engagement

US – Athletic apparel company Lululemon has tackled dupe culture and cheaper alternatives to its Align Leggings from competitors by hosting its first dupe swap at Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles for two days in May 2023.

The rise in interest in dupes, short for duplicates, among Gen Z consumers is all over TikTok, where the hashtag #lululemondupes had more than 152m views at the time of writing while #dupes have attracted over 2.3bn views.

To retain its clients and prevent them from going for alternatives highly inspired by the Align Leggings, Lululemon invited customers to bring in their knock-off trousers to trade in for the original. ‘We’re so confident of our quality not being matched that we thought it would be a really fun exercise to play into the cultural context of dupes,’ Nikki Neuburger, chief brand officer of Lululemon, told WWD. ‘We want people to bring in their pair and try on ours, and we’re confident they will try on the Align pants and love them and leave their dupe behind.’

In Elastic Brands, we previously highlighted how businesses must show how seamlessly they can adapt to all situations, including finding creative ways to tackle competitors and earn customers’ trust at the same time.

Get Into It by Lululemon Align, US

Strategic opportunity

As the dupe and counterfeit markets grow, consider how to amplify the storytelling around original products. Show your customers why pale imitations aren’t worth it in the long term due to a lack of quality, craftsmanship and years of experience in research and development

Stat: Gen Z are rewriting the rules of dating

Tinder, US

Global – Conducted by Tinder, the Future of Dating report 2023 reveals that Gen Z, aged 18–25 and of prime dating age, are leading a dating renaissance, challenging norms and prioritising authenticity and mental wellbeing.

In true Gen Z fashion, they are approaching dating culture on their own terms. In practice this means a shift towards more spontaneity and simplicity. Gen Z show up to dates as their true selves and ditch mind games; 77% respond to a match within 30 minutes and 40% respond within five minutes on Tinder, rather than playing hard to get. Eighteen-to-25-year-olds are also 32% less likely to ghost someone than Millennials, preferring honest communication. Conversely, 73% of 33–38-year-olds say that dating games, such as playing hard to get or giving mixed signals, were widely considered to be normal when they were aged between 18 and 25.

At LS:N Global, we are tracking how Generation Z are rebooting dating for themselves, but also how this is affecting consumer attitudes in other age groups.

Strategic opportunity

The blueprint for socialising the Generation Z way goes beyond the dating sphere. Young people also favour an authentic, spontaneous and unfiltered communication style from their favourite brands