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Away luggage focuses on pet travel

Pet Carrier by Away, US

US – The DTC luggage brand's latest campaign promotes its travel pet carriers directly to our furry friends.

Away has introduced its latest out-of-home advertising in places frequented by pets, such as dog parks and city streets. Vintage-style travel posters have been placed near to the ground – at eye level for pets – and are painted with a scented coating to attract animals as they pass by. In addition, Away has partnered with pet influencers on Instagram to trial the range of pet carriers.

According to the luggage brand, the campaign was inspired by the rise in pet ownership as well as the deepening of human-to-pet relationships during lockdown. Consequently, Away has launched the range and campaign to target people seeking pet carriers so they can take their pets with them on post-lockdown adventures.

At a time when consumers are placing greater value on their homes – as well as the family members and animals within them – we can expect further growth in the High-end Pets Market.

Hygienic cinema seating for inter-Covid screenings

Sequel Seat by Layer, US

London – Sequel Seat is a premium cinema seat design that promotes and supports hygiene measures for movie-goers.

It incorporates a number of innovative design features such as anti-bacterial copper threads in the seat's textiles, built-in UV lights for sterilisation and protective screens to maintain social distancing. Empowering people to return safely to cinemas, the innovative seating model was developed by design agency Layer some 14 months before the pandemic outbreak, but has been repositioned for the post-lockdown period.

Created initially for a US cinema seating company that went into receivership during lockdown, Layer has now made the Sequel Seat available for licensing by other cinema chains. ‘We believe that a product like Sequel Seat will play a key role in encouraging people to come back to the cinema,’ explains Benjamin Hubert, founder of Layer.

As explored in our recent design direction Positive Barriers, creatives are reframing the visual language of social distancing, using familiar materials and colour to encourage safer navigation of our built environments.

Ford vans that automatically cut urban pollution

Transit Custom Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) by Ford, Germany

Cologne – The car brand is using geofencing to automatically switch Ford vans into emission-free electric vehicles in certain areas.

As awareness increases of how cities’ air quality can affect public health, Ford is rolling out the technology to take responsibly for its environmental impact. The geofencing technology ensures its new breed of plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles operate in zero-emission electric drive mode in pollution-sensitive areas.

Using live location data, the vans will automatically switch to electric mode when entering areas such as congestion and low-emission zones, in an effort to keep air clean in cities. Vehicle operators can also create customised green zones to encourage low-emission driving close to locations such as schools and playgrounds.

As poor urban health and wellbeing becomes increasingly linked to air pollution, Ford is working to drive a new era of Health-conscious Cars.

Stat: Co-viewing bolsters advertising receptivity

Anxy magazine

A new US study reveals how streaming services not only increase co-viewing but also bolster people’s receptivity to advertising.

The research from video-on-demand platform Vevo in partnership with Magna and IPG Media Lab segmented viewers streaming content by ethnic group, such as Asian, black and African-American, Hispanic/Latino and white people.

While there were notable differences in the tv genre that each ethnic group prefers, the study also found the greatest receptivity of advertising to be among black and African-American viewers, with an average 58% receptive to advertisements while streaming, compared with 55% of Hispanic/Latinos and 49% of Asian viewers.

In particular, the study found that while black African-American viewers generally watch for longer periods, younger audiences are watching in short sessions while multitasking on mobile devices too. As marketers seek to understand the viewing habits and preferences of particular groups, technology is becoming ever-more central to the home, facilitating new types of Neo-kinship.