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Tripadvisor rebranding elevates travellers’ voices

Tripadvisor, US

Global – Tripadvisor has unveiled a major rebranding led by creative studio Koto, marking its evolution from a pioneering travel guide into a global booking and planning platform.

With more than one billion user reviews to date, the refreshed brand puts real travellers front and centre – a strategic counterpoint to today’s AI-powered, influencer-saturated travel sector.

We explored how alternative hospitality networks are prioritising care over profit in our Humanity Hospitality report. Arthur Foliard, executive creative director at Koto, echoed this idea by saying ‘the brand had to meet the moment’.

Koto’s design strategy centres on users’ voices – integrating humorous review quotes into copy, reworking Tripadvisor’s owl mascot Ollie to follow traveller content and using community photography enhanced by tonal presets for cohesion.

A new customised typeface, Trip Sans, developed with Mother Design and Colophon Foundry, is a nod to the platform’s bubble ratings, while a warmer palette and dynamic tone of voice convey clarity and trust.

At a time when AI-generated recommendations and paid influencers dominate digital travel, Tripadvisor is doubling down on real human experience as its USP.

Strategic opportunity

Differentiate your platform or service by spotlighting real user experiences and peer insight, countering growing scepticism about AI-curated content

Atlanta’s first women’s sports bar Jolene Jolene redefines the game

Photography by Isabella Mendes

US – Jolene Jolene, Atlanta’s first-ever women’s sports bar, is proof that interest in women’s sports is reshaping the traditionally male-dominated sports bar. Founded by Chelsea Fishman and located in Pullman Yards, the venue is leading a new era of sports culture, one designed with women fans at the centre, in response to growing demand for inclusive, community-first spaces.

Created to give women sports fans a place to gather, celebrate and connect, the bar opened to long queues and immediate local buzz. ‘There’s not a place for women’s sports fans to celebrate, strategise and dream,’ Fishman told local media. For many, especially those who’ve never had access to safe or welcoming viewing spaces, it’s a game-changer. As one attendee put it: ‘Community is everything. I grew up in rural South Georgia; there’s nothing like this there.’

Jolene Jolene’s launch reflects a wider shift identified in our Future Forecast 2025: Sports, Health & Wellness report, in which we highlight the initiatives across the globe championing empowerment, inclusivity and greater representation of women’s sports. Our Game-Changers: The Future of Sports Fandom report also spotlights how fan engagement is being re-imagined – from digital communities to physical third spaces like Jolene Jolene.

Strategic opportunity

Women’s sports are no longer niche – they’re a growing commercial force with loyal fan bases and cultural impact. From merchandise to media and hospitality, brands have a clear opportunity to tap into this underserved market and unlock new revenue through inclusive, experience-led offerings

Stat: Gen Z aren’t quitting alcohol after all

Photography by Polina

Global – New research challenges the narrative that Gen Z are the sober generation. According to IWSR’s March 2025 Bevtrac survey, 73% of Gen Z adults (over the legal drinking age) globally said they had consumed alcohol in the previous six months – up from 66% in 2023.

In key markets, the increase is even more pronounced: in the US, drinking rates rose from 46% to 70%, while in the UK rates were up from 66% to 76%, and in Australia from 61% to 83%.

Although moderation remains a strong global trend, Gen Z’s drinking habits are aligning more closely with older cohorts as their disposable incomes rise. Yet, Gen Z are still more likely to have periods of sobriety than other age groups.

‘According to this evidence, much of the recent decline is cyclical, not structural – and is definitely not the ‘fault’ of Gen Z,’ said Richard Halstead, chief operating officer of consumer insights at IWSR.

The food and beverage industry must strike a balance between providing consumers with spaces for Sober Bars for a Sober Social Fix and exploring new formats and flavours that appeal to those who want to drink.

Strategic opportunity

Businesses operating in the beverage and hospitality industry should design innovative venues, menus and formats that cater for both abstainers and mindful drinkers, reflecting Gen Z’s fluid, occasion-driven approach to alcohol