Need to Know
23 : 01 : 18

US – MTV has commissioned design agency Builders Club to help create a new visual language that focuses on emotion. The project, entitled Moodswing, explores feelings of love, sadness and happiness through Visual ASMR to create a playfully evocative campaign. While the content has not been formalised into a single campaign, MTV will use the ideas throughout its regional teams to repurpose as they see fit.

The BBC similarly explored the idea of mood-driven media, looking at the emotional connection that many viewers have with television, through its Make Me microsite. In line with The E-motional Economy, consumers are increasingly obsessed by how they feel and are looking for brands that can deftly tap into their specific emotions.

Global – As the hype around female streetwear gathers pace, Nike is helping to drive the conversation with its 1 Reimagined project. The streetwear brand has created an internal team of 14 women, including colourists, material specialists and male and female footwear designers who will be rethinking two of Nike's most iconic styles, the Nike Air Force 1 and the Air Jordan 1 within a two-week period.

‘The genesis of creativity is diversity,’ says footwear director Andy Caine. ‘From a design point of view, each of the designers has a unique background and personality. Our theory is that when you mix diverse creative talents you realise some magic.’

US – Just over a year after its announcement in December 2016, Amazon is opening its technology-enabled grocery store to the public for the first time. In addition to salads, sandwiches, ready meals and beverages, the brand has earmarked a section for Whole Foods Market’s 365 Everyday Value Products.

The store, which was due to open in early 2017, has been trialled by Amazon members of staff to ensure that the cameras and shelf sensors are functioning to their best capacity. The store allows shoppers to simply grab an item and go, with the product charged to their Amazon account. While the technology has proved successful, it remains to be seen how it will cope with issues such as a crowded shop floor or items being removed from their original shelf and placed on another.

'We [originally] felt that we needed to open it up to the public early enough in order to get the traffic that we needed,' he said. ‘Traffic is necessary to train our algorithms to be able to learn things about the assortment and customer behaviour.’

Brands are experimenting with new ways of creating a seamless purchasing experiences, a topic that will be explored in depth at our forthcoming Trend Briefing. To attend the event, buy your tickets here.

Despite the scandals that have rocked the technology sector in recent times, trust among consumers is still high. The report found that companies based in Canada (68%), Switzerland (66%) and Sweden (65%) are seen as the most trustworthy, while trust in brand US fell by five points to 50%. Read our opinion, which examines morality in the age of technology and asks whether we place too much trust in our devices.