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First Direct is championing #MoneyWellness

#Moneywellness, First Direct by The Brooklyn Brothers

UK – First Direct, the UK’s original challenger bank, has launched a new campaign to highlight the anxiety some people feel when it comes to finance.

The #moneywellness campaign and brand platform aims to normalise the conversation about money and its links to wellbeing. Created by The Brooklyn Brothers, it demonstrates how to tackle customers’ financial concerns, such as the culture of comparisons with friends or where their parents were with money at the same age. ‘Let’s stop comparing ourselves to others and start understanding our own relationship with money better. After all, there is no right way to money,’ reads its microsite.

As part of the campaign, First Direct teamed up with YouGov to conduct a survey of 4,000 UK consumers, with results revealing people to believe money is more important to their overall wellbeing than other more traditional areas of wellness, such as diet and exercise.

Around the world, finance brands are recognising that mental and physical health can be improved through money advice and services focused on wellbeing. For more, read our Financial Wellness microtrend.

Blindlee wants you to video call potential dates

Blindlee

UK – The Blindlee dating app is positioning video calling as a way to break the ice – while cutting through swipe fatigue.

Designed to stand out from competitors such as Bumble and Hinge, the app randomly matches singles with other users who match their search criteria, age or location. Blindlee initially suggests chat topics, such as ‘Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?’, as a way to prompt conversation. Once users have matched, they are connected by a video call that is initially blurred – created as a safety function for female users – with the option for both users to unblur the screen if they feel comfortable.

Sacha Nasan, the app’s co-founder, says: ‘Blindee makes for a fun three-minute blurred video experience with a random person matching your criteria. It’s kind of like a short, pre-date ice-breaker before you potentially match and decide to meet in real life.’

As we explore in our opinion piece on modern dating, brands are having to innovate to make dating both safer and more appealing, with solutions that go beyond the Tinder swipe model.

Booking.com taps into customers’ 2020 resolutions

New York – Travel site Booking.com’s latest campaign is designed to help people achieve their new year’s resolutions.

The #BookYourResolution series of travel experiences has been created to match the 20 most common resolutions, such as ‘be more active’, ‘meet new people’ or ‘volunteer’.

Booking.com is encouraging customers to book a resolution-orientated trip to kick-start their 2020 goals, tapping into its findings that 72% of Americans are interested in taking a trip to help them with their resolutions. Arjan Dijk, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer at Booking.com, notes: ‘Whether your resolution is to spend more time with family and friends, to be more adventurous, learn to salsa dance and everything in between, Booking.com seamlessly connects travellers to memorable experiences and incredible places to stay.’

As we explore in our Baby Boomer Travel market, companies like Black Tomato have already spotted the potential for goal-orientated, boundary-pushing trips. Its recent Bring it Back concept encourages discovery and inspiration based on travellers’ personal ambitions.

2020 New Year's Resolutions by Booking.com

Stat: South Korea holds allure for alcohol brands

A report published by Fitch Solutions reveals South Korea to be the most attractive market in Asia for alcohol producers, based on the potential risks and rewards for brands.

South Korea’s high ranking also means it is the only Asian market to reach the top 10 in Fitch Solutions’ global ranking, attributed to it being a high-reward nation and low-risk area. While South Korea has overtaken China as an attractive market for alcohol brands – China was ranked second in Asia in the report – the Chinese drinks market is expected to improve due to its burgeoning ‘mass affluent class’. Cambodia, meanwhile, has been considered as one to watch in Asia owing to rising consumption levels.

While alcohol and luxury brands have long focused on market growth in Japan and China, new opportunities are emerging elsewhere in Asia. For more, look out for our State of Luxury: Korea market, to be published next week.