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The Wall Street Journal promotes the value of print media

Read Yourself Better campaign, Wall Street Journal

New York – In a new advertising campaign, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) highlights the overwhelming nature of modern media in the age of misinformation.

Addressing the role of the media in the rise of post-truth politics, the Read Yourself Better campaign uses print and billboard ads to encourage readers to engage with the news in order to draw their own conclusions. In addition to tv, online video and out-of-home imprints, the WSJ campaign is far-reaching, with a full range of digital and offline elements including social, print and display ads.

‘The idea behind Read Yourself Better is to highlight how hard it is for consumers to navigate our overloaded media landscape and to figure out who to trust and what’s worth reading,’ says Justin Ruben, executive creative director at The&Partnership, which led the campaign. ‘Creatively, we wanted to bring the online and offline world to life in a new and unexpected way, and create a visual world that also broke through the clutter.’

As media brands look to distinguish themselves as purveyors of the truth, The Wall Street Journal is positioning its content as clear and objective.

A free co-working space invigorates this Thai mall

Samyan Co-op, Bangkok

Bangkok – Open day and night, the Samyan Co-op is a non-profit co-working space housed within a commercial mall.

Located on the second floor of the Samyan Mirtown mall, the flexible space boasts 500 seats, which can be booked and used free of charge, 24 hours a day. Thai architectural firm Onion conceived Samyan Co-op as a library without books, aiming to foster a sense of community in a typically commercial setting. Visitors are invited to circulate throughout as their working day evolves.

To begin the project, Onion studied existing places with similar characteristics to Samyan Co-op, such as libraries, co-working spaces, learning centres, cafés and public areas in university buildings. Drawing on these insights, the resulting space comprises five separate zones – including a focus zone and an open reading zone – to cater for different working habits and needs. Alongside a café next to the entrance, it also houses a space for events.

Free to use and with multiple levels and use cases, the Samyan Co-op is evidence of how malls must deploy new strategies to keep shoppers engaged.

Web Summit 2019: Music streaming gets personal

Lisbon – Show4Me is a burgeoning streaming platform that lets music artists connect directly with their fans.

Created to elevate both monetisation for artists and the fan experience for music lovers, it’s positioned as a one-stop music interaction network. Using digital patronage, it allows artists to create an artists club, where they share new music directly with fans and garner pledges to help fund new records and shows. It promises 300 times higher streaming profits than other platforms, alongside data relating to fans’ personas and geography for hyper-targeted engagement.

For music lovers, a £0.78 ($1, €0.90) annual fan membership fee per artist provides closer access to each artist, from streaming of all their music to the ability to send them direct messages, get early access to tickets and crowdfund local concerts or private events.

As explored in our interview with Escapex, a new generation of platforms are breaking down the barriers between entertainers and their fans, allowing followers to fund the artists they love in exchange for more intimate interactions.

Show4Me streaming platform

Stat: Millennials’ physical and mental health is declining

As they age, Millennials’ health is declining fasting than the previous generation, a new report published by Blue Cross Blue Shield finds. This includes both physical health conditions, such as hypertension and high cholesterol, and behavioural health conditions, such as depression and hyperactivity.

In the years to come, this decline could result in greater demand for treatment, higher healthcare costs and wider economic consequences. The research suggests that, in the most adverse scenario, healthcare costs for Millennials could be 33% higher than Generation X experienced at the same age. Poor health could also cost Millennials more than £3,800 ($4,500, €4,000) per year in income.

Serving as a call to action for policymakers and healthcare providers, this signals the need for new models of healthcare and a new framework for healthy living.