Daily Signals 14.07.2020

Signals

Burberry’s video game for phygital fashion, Farfetch taps Chinese influencers to celebrate British design and Australian youth face inter-Covid unemployment.

B Surf is Burberry’s latest gaming experiment

B Surf by Burberry, global

Global – Burberry has unveiled a video game, B Surf, to promote the launch of its monogram summer collection.

The game lets players dress up their characters in the brand’s outfits before challenging friends to a surfboarding race around a track. Burberry’s in-house development team created B Surf as the brand’s first multiplayer game. Available on the brand’s website, Farfetch and in WeChat, the game is available for all Burberry fans to engage with.

Players even have the opportunity to win real-life prizes through the game, including a limited-edition monogrammed surfboard and Burberry bucket hats. Within the game, users can win digital prizes such as face filters and AR-themed characters.

The worlds of fashion and gaming continue to collide, with brands and retailers seizing the opportunity to use games as an alternative storefront for physical goods.

Blueland re-invents sustainable dishwashing

Blueland, US Blueland, US
Blueland, US Blueland, US

US – Sustainable cleaning brand Blueland has launched two new dishwashing products, including a powdered dish soap for hand-washing and a tablet for the dishwasher.

The powdered dish soap comes with a refillable, silicone shaker and is also available in a refill pack that comes in compostable packaging. For the dishwasher tablets, starter kits are available with a sleek, re-usable steel tin, and the tablets are plastic-free.

‘From the moment we launched, the number one product our customers have asked us for is dish soap and dishwasher tablets,’ said Sarah Paiji Yoo, co-founder and CEO of Blueland, in a press release. ‘We worked hard to develop a tablet that wasn’t wrapped in a plastic PVA film to ensure we weren’t putting more plastic into our waterways.’

With consumers becoming more concerned about the environmental impact of their everyday products, they’re seeking re-usable packaging solutions that minimise plastic waste.

East meets west for Farfetch’s influencer strategy

China – Farfetch is pairing British designers with Chinese influencers as a way of boosting sales in the region.

The concept was launched as part of London Fashion Week’s digital showcase, with popular Weibo influencers promoting the collections of British designers including Roksanda Ilinčić and Erdem Moralıoğlu. As part of the digital showcase, the influencers – including Sunni, Dipsy and Anny Fan – took part in a series of four interviews.

Farfetch sales show that British designers already perform well with Chinese youth, and the partnership marks an opportunity for increased brand awareness across the country. The initiative also follows the brand’s unveiling of its Chinese name, Fafaqi, and the launch of a tailor-made mobile app which uses payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat.

As Chinese consumers continue to embrace online shopping, brands are launching initiatives to better engage customers with international designers. For more, explore our China E-commerce Market.

Farfetch, UK

Stat: Australia’s youth feel the fallout from Covid-19

Plenaire Plenaire

Research into the economic impact of Covid-19 in Australia shows that Generation Z are bearing the economic brunt of the crisis.

Despite a £141bn (A$260bn, US$178bn, €158bn) injection of financial and economic support, unemployment amid the pandemic has risen to 16%, compared to about 5.5% for those over 25. Many young people in Australia are also ineligible for the government’s wage subsidy package, with most on casual contracts or having been employed for less than 12 months.

Jordan Steele-John, 25-year-old Greens senator, and Australia’s youngest sitting member of parliament, said: ‘The narrative is that we don’t work as hard as our parents, we complain more than they ever did and that we waste our money on silly things.’

Our Emerging Youth: Australia market considers how the country's youth are turning to digital platforms to amplify their values.

Previous Daily Signals Articles
Hot Bodies explores how design can help us survive a warmer world

Daily Signals

Hot Bodies explores how design can help us survive a warmer world

Hot Bodies is a new exhibition examining how apparel and wearable design can help humans adapt to global heat.
Design : Fashion : Climate
Vow launches lab-grown exosomes for skin repair

Daily Signals

Vow launches lab-grown exosomes for skin repair

Sydney-based biotech company Vow is expanding beyond cultured meat into functional beauty with the launch of cultured exosomes designed to regenera...
Beauty : Functional Beauty : Biotechnology
Stat: US businesses report real returns as generative AI adoption matures

Daily Signals

Stat: US businesses report real returns as generative AI adoption matures

A new study from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania challenges months of pessimism about generative AI’s business value
Technology : Artificial Intelligence : Business
JD Sports hands the camera to its community

Daily Signals

JD Sports hands the camera to its community

JD Sports has flipped the creative script for its seasonal campaign ‘Where Are You Going?’ by putting cameras in the hands of its audience.
Sports : Culture : Youth
MrBeast to open immersive theme park in Riyadh

Daily Signals

MrBeast to open immersive theme park in Riyadh

Content creator MrBeast, known for his viral YouTube challenges, is turning his virtual universe into a real-world destination as he prepares to op...
Entertainment : Content Creator : Theme Park
Stat: Dupes become luxury’s unexpected growth driver

Daily Signals

Stat: Dupes become luxury’s unexpected growth driver

Dupes are now reshaping how affluent consumers engage with luxury, according to research by Havas Media, which surveyed people in the UK,...
Luxury : Retail : Authenticity
A daily recap from Web Summit 2025: Turning authenticity into action

Daily Signals

A daily recap from Web Summit 2025: Turning authenticity into action

Authenticity was the buzzword on day three of Web Summit 2025, as leaders from Loop, Fizz and OnlyFans revealed how community-led models are reshap...
Technology : Global Events : Web Summit 2025
Foresight Friday: Maria Blanco, project manager

Daily Signals

Foresight Friday: Maria Blanco, project manager

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, ...
Technology : Music : Culture
Stat: China’s push reconfigures the global EV manufacturing map

Daily Signals

Stat: China’s push reconfigures the global EV manufacturing map

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturers invested more than £109bn ($143bn, €123bn) globally between 2014 and 2025 as they work to s...
Mobility : Technology : Infrastructure
A daily recap from Web Summit 2025: Resistance rising

Daily Signals

A daily recap from Web Summit 2025: Resistance rising

Day two of Web Summit 2025 was all about resistance and challenging the status quo.
Technology : Global Events : Resistance
You have 0 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN