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Apple’s Mac for Students campaign showcases university creativity and content creation

Mac for Students by Apple, Japan

Japan – Apple’s latest campaign, Mac for Students, highlights the creativity and innovation of Japan’s university extracurricular groups, known as ‘circles’.

Developed by TBWAMedia Arts Lab Tokyo and produced by AOI Pro, the campaign follows four university circles as they push boundaries in hybrid rocket engineering, stop-motion animation, game development and sports analytics – all powered by Macs. Each film is told from the students’ perspective to further demonstrate how Macs enable them to bring their most ambitious ideas to life.

One standout film focuses on a university lacrosse circle, highlighting the rise of women’s sports, female fandom and user-generated content. The spot captures how student athletes use Macs to analyse performance, create engaging content and build a passionate community around the sport.

Explore our Game-Changers: The Future of Sports Fandom report to discover how new technologies, emerging markets and evolving audiences are transforming sports and fandom.

Strategic opportunity

How can your business tap into the rise of female fandom? Consider developing tools, platforms or funding initiatives that empower young female creators to produce user-generated content (UGC), build communities and shape the future of women’s sports broadcasting and engagement

New insurance product shields celebrities from cancel culture fallout

UK – A new insurance policy is offering high-profile individuals protection against the reputational and financial risks of cancel culture. Developed by Samphire Risk, a Lloyd’s of London-backed underwriting agency, in partnership with crisis PR firm Borkowski, the policy provides crisis management services tailored to mitigate social media backlash.

‘Sharing or liking a tweet can bring the whole world down on you,’ Mark Borkowski, a veteran PR boss who drew up the terms of the policy with the services’ risk partner RepuTitan, told The Financial Times. ‘There are a lot of anxious people. The cancel button is the new guillotine [and] one mistake is your epitaph. It’s too easy to take a position on things… without being thoughtful.’

The policy, named Preempt, includes 24/7 crisis support, monitoring, and a 60-day communications strategy to manage public scrutiny. Borkowski emphasised that the policy is not designed for individuals who have committed crimes but for those caught in social media storms.

With cancel culture remaining a divisive issue, this insurance could appeal to executives, celebrities and influencers navigating an increasingly volatile digital landscape. In The New Creatorverse report, we analysed how some influencers are aiming for longevity, with new ventures slowly moving them away from the centre of attention.

Photography by Shingi Rice, UK

Strategic opportunity

Rather than placing a brand’s reputation in the hands of a single mainstream influencer, focus on building and empowering communities by investing time and energy in superfans and user-generated content (UGC). This reduces reliance on high-risk individuals and fosters organic, resilient brand loyalty

Stat: Chinese consumers are prioritising spending on health and travel

Photography by Sunny Ng, China

China – Despite China’s economic slowdown, spending in key sectors is poised to grow, according to AlixPartners’ survey of 3,000 Chinese consumers.

Health tops the agenda, with 41% of respondents planning to increase spending –particularly affluent seniors in smaller cities who are focusing their spending on preventative healthcare.

Travel is also on the rise, with more than 40% of young consumers (and 60% of high-income Gen Z in Tier 1 cities) planning to spend more on travel in 2025.

‘This shift towards experiential spending mirrors trends seen in other maturing Asian economies,’ said Lisa Hu, partner and managing director at AlixPartners.

Consumers remain cautious on luxury spending, but quality and sustainability are key motivators, signalling a shift from impulse to strategic purchasing. Meanwhile, 49% of middle-income urbanites in Tier 1 and 2 cities plan to increase expenditure on clothing.

In our Guochao Wellness report, we analysed the boom in Chinese luxury wellness, as the sector embraces the national trend of Guochao, offering authentic cultural experiences and C-beauty products.

Strategic opportunity

Integrate relaxing wellness activations and moments of other-worldly awe into your stores to make your retail spaces feel like a destination or portal into another world, appealing to Chinese consumers’ shifting priorities for spending.