LSN : Daily Signals : Need to know 23 : 10 : 17

1. Bodyform addresses continuing stigma surrounding periods

Blood Normal by Bodyform and Dessù, UK. Photography by Elodie Daguin

UK – Female personal hygiene brand Bodyform has launched a new campaign featuring red ‘menstrual blood’ for the first time, rather than the sterile blue liquid that is typically shown in ads for tampons and sanitary products.

With the tagline ‘Periods are normal. Showing them should be too’, the Blood Normal campaign features the reality of periods, from a woman in the shower shown with blood running down her leg to a man buying sanitary pads in a local store.

The advert is a response to the brand’s recent online survey, which found that, of more than 10,000 male and female participants in the UK study, 74% wanted to see more realistic representation of periods in marketing.

See our microtrend The Vagina Reconsidered to read more about the brands that are helping to destigmatise feminine hygiene.

2. Marije Vogelzang brings to life a future food system

Future Farming Recipe Generator by Chloé Rutzerveld for The Future of Food, Looking Back to Now

Volumes by Marije Vogelzang for The Future of Food, Looking Back to Now

Human Hyena by Paul Gong for The Future of Food, Looking Back to Now

The Future Sausage by Carolien Niebling for The Future of Food, Looking Back to Now

Eindhoven – For Dutch Design Week, food designer Marije Vogelzang has curated the participatory exhibition The Future of Food, Looking Back to Now, which offers a glimpse of the food landscape in the near future.

Visitors are guided around the space with a speculative audio tour, which can be experienced from the point of view of a future consumer or a future food manufacturer. Participants are asked to rate the individual projects and vote for the ones they would like to see implemented.

‘Most people don’t feel as if they are connected to what will happen in the future. They imagine it will be determined by higher powers: government, politicians or corporations,’ explains Vogelzang. ‘But our culinary culture is actively created every day and shaped by people like you and me.’

Among the projects on display is the Future Farming Recipe Generator by Chloé Rutzerveld, who imagines that by 2030 every kitchen will be equipped with a high-tech vertical farming unit, allowing us to download growth recipes and create vegetables with bespoke flavour and nutritional profiles.

3. Airbnb property better facilitates short-term letting

Florida – Airbnb has joined forces with property developer Newgard Development Group to provide its own branded apartments from next year. The apartment building in Kissimmee, Florida, will consist of 300 homes, where occupiers will live in on a permanent basis but which can be rented out through Airbnb when they are away.

With keyless doors and secure storage, the apartment building has been tailored to optimise Airbnb lettings, and hosts can download an app to manage their guests’ stay and apply for services such as changing bed linen. A master host will also be on-site at all times to assist guests, and cleaning services will be mandatory to ensure a high standard of accommodation.

Airbnb is expanding in the housing eco-system and helping to better facilitate peer-to-peer sharing through placemaking. For more, see our Placemaking Market report.

Airbnb, US

4. Marks & Spencer introduces premium low-calorie wine

Sumika wine by Marks & Spencer, UK

UK – Retailer Marks & Spencer has launched a new range of low-calorie wine, notable for having a higher alcohol content than other low-calorie versions. The trio of Sumika Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and rosé contain about 50 calories per 100ml as opposed to the typical 100 calories.

Low-calorie wines are usually made using a cheap base wine that is passed through a spinning machine to remove its alcohol content. Sugar is then added to improve the taste. While the Sumika wines are made using the same spinning technology, they are made from a blend of high-quality wines with added non-fermented grape juice.

Increasingly aware of the negative effects of sugar on health, consumers are looking for healthy alternative sweeteners. To find out more about changing tastes in food and drink, email us to book an in-house presentation.

5. Definitions of culture are evolving dramatically

Traditional markers of high culture, such as going to the opera or the ballet, are nowadays seen as culturally inferior to more sociable activities such as visiting street fairs and music festivals, according to Culture Track 2017. See our Museums Market report for more on how innovative museums are looking to update their offering to better engage the public, as we move towards the future Experience 2020.

6. Thought-starter: Is cryptocurrency the new brand loyalty?

As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, journalist Josh Walker explores how brands are using them as a means to tap into the £243bn ($320bn, €272bn) rewards and incentives market.

Between 2013 and 2017, the market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency token sector increased by 1,050%, according to CoinMarketCap. With crypocurrencies becoming more accepted, and countries such as Japan and the UAE making moves to make them legal tender, brands are looking to their potential as a loyalty scheme.

In Russia, fast food chain Burger King launched the Whoppercoin, a new cryptocurrency billed as a ‘blockchain loyalty programme’. Consumers are given one Whoppercoin for every rouble they spend with the brand, which can then be used to buy other Burger King products and, like all cryptocurrencies, can be traded freely online.

Gatcoin is a company that enables brands to launch and then distribute their own digital currencies. In doing so, brands can better represent a diverse range of incentives and, as a result, have complete control over how they are used.

For more, read the full Crypto-loyalty microtrend here.