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16 : 04 : 19

Portland – The start-up is reinventing death care as a digital-only direct service that offers online cremation and funeral planning.

As a death care resource, Solace melds online convenience with concierge-style customer service, providing a simple and modern solution to consumers in Oregon and Washington. Customers pay a flat fee of £895 ($1,175, €1,040), which includes 24-hour access to Solace’s support team, assistance with paperwork, transportation of the deceased, cremation, return of remains and all necessary permits and fees.

With an increasing number of people choosing cremation services over funerals, Solace’s online-only offering aims to appeal to digital-first consumers. ‘Solace is born out of our own experience with the funeral industry, and the discovery that – unlike almost every other industry – it has not evolved to match market preferences for a modern, straightforward digital-based experience,’ says Keith Crawford, the company’s co-founder and CEO.

In The New Death Market, we explore how the death industry is changing. For more, keep an eye out for our updated death market, launching soon on LS:N.

US – The fast food chain is mocking the likes of Lil Miquela and Shudu by turning founder Colonel Sanders into an avatar.

Created in partnership with Wieden & Kennedy, the campaign sees Colonel Sanders reborn as a virtual influencer, taking over the company’s social media accounts. Alongside posing with other computer-generated models, the Colonel Sanders influencer taps into the trend for long-worded, inspirational Instagram captions that include hashtags such as #humble.

The fast food chain has also created a media kit offering other brands the chance to hire Sanders for their own campaigns to drive ‘disruptive business deals’ and ‘authentic Gen Z engagement’. According to KFC, Dr Pepper has already secured a sponsorship deal.

In typical Backlash Brands style, KFC is mocking the rise of avatar marketing – in which brands pay huge sums of money to sponsor the Instagram posts of avatars such as Lil Miquela – and questioning whether this is a bubble that is about to burst.

New York – Sex advice service Juicebox has launched a chatbot informed by the expertise of sex educators and erotic fiction writers.

Slutbot is a free SMS service that allows users to practice sexting in a safe environment, providing education and advice on issues such as consent, while also offering erotic stimulus. The service offers users the choice of interacting with a female, male or non-binary bot.

‘Sex is so much more than a physical act. People want their minds stimulated as well as their bodies, and dirty talk is one great way to do that,’ says Brianna Rader, Juicebox CEO and founder. ‘Studies, such as one from McAfee, have shown that 49% of all people sext and 70% of 18 to 24-year-olds sext.’

With many members of Generation Z engaging in sexting, there is an opportunity for brands to create safe spaces that allow these young people to explore sexuality in the digital age. For more, look out for our upcoming microtrend on Social Media Sex-ed.

America’s craft beer scene continues to grow year-on-year, according to new figures by the Brewers Association from the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver.

The growth of these smaller, specialist craft brewers comes at a time when America’s beer industry as a whole is experiencing difficulty. While the market for craft beer has seen 4% growth, the country’s total beer market is down 1% on 2017.

However, as the craft beer sector expands, the risk of oversaturation increases. Therefore, beer producers are looking to territories such as China and the allure of new flavour profiles to continue driving growth. For more, read our Craft Beer Market.