Need to Know
18 : 02 : 19

Paris – The luxury spirits brand has released a cinematic campaign set in seven sci-fi worlds.

The film, The Seven Worlds, uses a surreal, dystopian narrative to explore the seven flavour profiles of Hennessy XO cognac: Sweet Notes, Rising Heat, Spicy Edge, Flowing Flame, Chocolate Lull, Wood Crunches and Infinite Echo. The director, who is known for his cult sci-fi films, interprets each taste as a separate world in the four-minute cinematic spot. The film is a visual metaphor for the tagline ‘each drop of Hennessy XO is an odyssey’.

‘I was attracted to this project because I was inspired by the potential for art and entertainment to bring this story to life,’ said Scott in a statement. In 2018, Kenzo experimented with cinema and advertising with its 30-minute campaign The Everything.

Through the film, Hennessy is exploring how Visual ASMR can be used to portray complex flavour patterns in alcoholic drinks.

New York – The new personal care brand reconsiders single-use packaging.

By Humankind’s line includes a natural deodorant packaged in a refillable plastic container, a solid shampoo bar wrapped in paper and mouthwash tablets that dissolve in water. Deodorant refills are supplied in a paper pod that fits into the original packaging, which is guaranteed for life. In this way, the company aims to be plastic-neutral, rather than entirely plastic-free.

US consumers discard more than 3bn single-use plastic personal care items every year, according to the brand. By considering the lifecycle of its packaging and helping consumers to reduce their plastic footprint at source, By Humankind’s model acknowledges that recycling alone is not enough to address the environmental concerns of plastic consumption. These efforts are complemented by the brand’s minimal aesthetic, premium feel and clean formulations.

We explore how beauty and personal care brands are upgrading the eco-friendly element of re-usable packaging in our Refined Refillables microtrend.

Global – Work in Progress is a place for Dropbox to communicate not just its company news, but its perspective on culture and technology.

The blog content includes a news vertical, which includes information like the company’s quarterly earnings; work culture, which features advice-led articles such as ‘what happens when we stop looking at careers through the lens of age?’ as well as featured creative work by Dropbox customers. Work in Progress is characterised by bold graphic design, putting a new spin on the mundane corporate blog.

According to the brand’s global head of content Alex Moore, Dropbox’s unique point of view on productivity hacks will help encourage ‘a paradigm shift where both the culture of work and the tools we work with help us focus deeply on meaningful work, rather than simply keeping us busy’.

As we explored in our Workplays design direction, designers are challenging the typically sober workplace by injecting it with humour, wit and playful graphics.

Consumers increasingly expect the same level of personalisation in-store as they receive when shopping online. According to a recent survey conducted by Boston Retail Partners, customers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of retailers identifying them in-store via mobile phone. More than three quarters of shoppers surveyed said personalised service from a sales associate significantly affects where they decide to shop.

Despite this, only 37% of retailers are able to identify their customers before checkout, and 20% can’t identify customers until after checkout, or not at all. Many retailers are therefore missing a critical engagement opportunity.

To learn about future-facing brands using consumer data profiles to personalise bricks-and-mortar shopping, read our Data ID Stores microtrend.