News 17.07.2018

Need to Know

Nightlife and co-working cross paths at The Ministry, a new game where players stay in bed, Bacardi’s branded music video hits IGTV.

Ministry of Sound opens a members’ club

The Ministry, London
The Ministry, London
The Ministry, London

London – The Ministry is a new members’ club and co-working space opened by the iconic British nightclub.

The club, situated in London’s Southwark, features a 70ft-long bar, recording studio, a table service restaurant, serviced meeting rooms and a 40-seater cinema. With a focus on creative professionals who would have once frequented its nearby nightclub, membership to The Ministry will be exclusively available to those working in the music, film and TV, PR, technology and fashion industries.

Following the launch of its fitness space in 2017, the Ministry of Sound has been working to both protect and develop its brand amid the reported demise of London’s club culture. According to BBC Newsbeat, nearly half of all nightclubs in the city have closed in the last 10 years. However, as these spaces disappear, members’ clubs that combine co-working with leisure, performance and social activities are growing in popularity.

A game to promote self-care

Selfcare Game, Montreal Selfcare Game, Montreal
Selfcare Game, Montreal Selfcare Game, Montreal

Montreal – #SelfCare is a new game created as an antidote to the aggressive plotlines of many of today’s gaming titles.

Created by Canadian magazine editor Eve Thomas in collaboration with games studio Tru Luv – a company that strives to create ‘experimental games focused on care and characters’ – #SelfCare will launch later this year as a smartphone game, with a narrative that revolves around spending a day in bed.

While video games often focus on stressful, violent or competitive situations, the character in this game practices the ultimate act of self-care by lying in bed all day surrounded by their favourite things, such as crystals, candles and a glass of water. Rather than following a narrative, players take part in short tasks, including Tarot card readings and breathing exercises. ‘As you take care of the character in #SelfCare, perhaps you can take care of yourself a little bit too,’ reads a statement from Tru Luv.

As the number of people diagnosed with depression and anxiety rises, new types of Intelligent Games are addressing these mental health issues by providing tools for self-care.

Accenture launches a tool to fight AI bias

London – At CogX 2018, Accenture revealed a first-of-its-kind AI Fairness Tool, which allows companies and governments to check whether their AI systems treat customers fairly.

The tool explores aspects such as data assessment – where the data that feeds into the AI is checked for its potential impact on consumers – to determine whether a company’s application of AI is appropriate and unbiased. For example, if a bank is looking to integrate an AI application as a way to decide whether people qualify for a loan, they could use the Fairness Tool to ensure no customers are discriminated against because of their age, race, gender or residence.

As explored in our macrotrend Morality Recoded, the flaws of AI must be addressed by brands and businesses to ensure the data use and outputs created are not tailored to a particular gender, age range or lifestyle.

Workbays Village by ECAL and Vitra, Switzerland

Bacardi creates an interactive music video for IGTV

Live Moves, Bacardi

US – Following the launch of Instagram’s new long-form video platform IGTV, Bacardi is using co-creation to determine the type of content its followers want.

The result is a new branded music video from the rum brand, debuted on IGTV and featuring dancers Les Twins. Using the Instagram Stories polling platform, Bacardi and Les Twins asked their followers to vote on elements of the video, including its choreography, camera angles, lighting and length. Using the results of the polls, the final version of the music video was posted on Bacardi’s IGTV account.

‘We’re encouraging fans to actually choose what moves them, instead of just delivering ready-made content,’ says Laila Mignoni, director of creative excellence at Bacardi. ‘It’s a much deeper, more meaningful level of engagement that pushes fans to really think about what moves them and take control of the narrative.’

Bacardi’s use of IGTV as a tool for creating branded video content taps into a new era of marketing that goes Beyond Product Placement.

Teenagers are quickly losing interest in Facebook

According to a new survey by Pew Research Center focused on social media use among 13-to-17-year-olds in the US, the number of teenagers who use Facebook has significantly decreased in the last three years.

Driving this decline is the growth of Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, which have become the top three social platforms among teens. They also highlight Gen Z’s preference for visual-first platforms.

As we explored in the Brand Redemption microtrend, Facebook is trying to counteract negative associations by repositioning itself as a force for good in society. This follows the launch of its Messenger app for kids, which was created to build positive brand recognition among younger generations.

Thought-starter: What do consumers see in clear drinks?

Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University examines whether a lack of colour can bring success in the overcrowded drinks market.

Given the seemingly exponential growth of new beverage brands in the marketplace in recent years, drinks marketers have increasingly been turning to the unusual use of colour to make their product stand out and catch the consumer’s wandering eye.

The marketing angle certainly helps to explain the emergence of blue-hued prosecco and wine brands in recent years, such as Blumond and GïK. Other brands have started colouring vodka and gin in tones of blue and pink for much the same reason.

Some, though, have been moving in the opposite direction, bringing out clear versions of erstwhile colourful drinks: think of Clear Coffee, clear (non-alcoholic) beer, and clear Coca-Cola to name but three. Just as in the beauty aisle, such colourless products seem to be associated with purity, perhaps also with notions of being natural and, by implication, healthy.

But before brands jump on the clear drinks bandwagon, it is important to bear in mind some of the previous failures in this space – and the reasons behind them.

For more, read the full op-ed here.

Clear Coffee, UK
Previous News Articles
Tencent’s AI model generates virtual worlds from a single text prompt

News

Tencent’s AI model generates virtual worlds from a single text prompt

Tencent has launched an open-source AI model, Hunyuan3D World Model 1.0, that allows users to generate complex 3D environments from a single text p...
VR : AI : Technology
Rare Beauty launches debut fragrance and customisable layering balms

News

Rare Beauty launches debut fragrance and customisable layering balms

Rare Beauty has entered the fragrance market with a debut scent that reflects its feel-good ethos.
Beauty : Fragrance : Rare Beauty
Stat: Luxury and online retail fuel men’s skincare boom

News

Stat: Luxury and online retail fuel men’s skincare boom

The men’s skincare market is projected to be worth £21.05bn ($27.99bn, €24.20bn) by 2031, according to a report by Research and Mark...
Beauty : Mens Grooming : Skincare
Sporty & Rich re-imagines wellness hospitality with first residency

News

Sporty & Rich re-imagines wellness hospitality with first residency

Popular lifestyle brand Sporty & Rich is launching its first hotel residency, in partnership with The Pridwin Hotel & Cottages on New York’...
Fashion : Travel & Hospitality : Luxury
Dubai Mallathon re-imagines shopping centres as climate-controlled fitness spaces

News

Dubai Mallathon re-imagines shopping centres as climate-controlled fitness spaces

A new Dubai Mallathon initiative will see seven malls being used as indoor walking and running tracks throughout August 2025 under the patronage of...
Dubai : Dubai Malls : Mallathon
Stat: Shoplifting soars to record high in England and Wales amid retail crime surge

News

Stat: Shoplifting soars to record high in England and Wales amid retail crime surge

Shoplifting offences in England and Wales have hit their highest level in more than two decades, with recorded incidents rising by 20% to 530,643, ...
Retail : Stat : Statistic
Cash App taps Timothée Chalamet for youth-friendly money talk

News

Cash App taps Timothée Chalamet for youth-friendly money talk

Cash App has launched an integrated brand campaign featuring Academy Award-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet which aims to foster intergenerational...
Finance : Gen Z : Youth
Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst

News

Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, ...
Beauty : The Synthocene Era : Virtual Beauty
Stat: Southeast Asia is TikTok’s largest advertising audience

News

Stat: Southeast Asia is TikTok’s largest advertising audience

Southeast Asia now accounts for nearly a quarter of TikTok’s global advertising audience, according to the Digital 2025: July Statshot report.
Statistic : Stat : Southeast Asia
Spktrl’s AI diamond ring aims to cut screen time

News

Spktrl’s AI diamond ring aims to cut screen time

Parisian start-up Spktrl is reimagining wearable technology with the launch of its AI-powered Light Ring, a piece of high jewellery designed to cur...
Wellness : Augmented Human : The Synthocene Era
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN