Need to Know
18 : 08 : 21

London – The activewear giant is shifting the spotlight towards its shopfloor staff in a bid to stimulate footfall across its bricks-and-mortar retail spaces. Through its Ask Our Athletes campaign, Nike focuses on the talent and expertise of seven Nike employees from across the brand’s London branches. Shown through a series of short films, each staff member showcases the ways they bring their athletic experiences into their work.

Here, Nike is promoting its workforce's expertise to inspire physical shopping after a period of digital-only transactions. ‘Nike stores aren’t staffed by your average retail worker, they’re staffed by athletes – people who love sport and love the brand, and have extensive knowledge of both,’ says Matt Lever, chief creative officer from BMB, the agency behind the campaign. ‘We wanted to showcase how their passion influences and informs the experience for every customer.’

At a time when the future of bricks-and-mortar retail remains uncertain, the decision to highlight employee expertise is likely to encourage more customers to re-embrace in-person shopping. For more, we examine why retail staff are the new influencers, in particular for fashion, food and luxury brands.

UK – Non-profit branding and advertising agency Among Equals is aiming to broaden support for the UK’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (CEE Bill), through a campaign inspired by 1940s propaganda. The Zero Hour! campaign eschews conventional environmental design cues to instead use graphics and phrases that work across the political spectrum.

Among Equals worked with a cross-party alliance to identify themes that would best engage audiences. ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re hard left or hard right, people like British nature,’ explains Emily Jeffrey-Barrett, co-founder of Among Equals. ‘The second theme is World War II – a huge moment of challenge on one hand, but on the other a time for nostalgic national pride, particularly for the centre and the right.’

By referencing such emotionally stirring themes, the campaign recognises the need to appeal to groups with contrasting ideologies and backgrounds. Elsewhere, we’ve been tracking how designers are applying techniques from dynamic fonts to haptic materials as a way of addressing the climate crisis.

According to research by Mintel, Indian consumers are seeking emotional comfort through snacking moments – a behaviour that has become particularly prominent throughout the pandemic as a way to de-stress and relax.

The study reveals that a majority of Indian consumers snack to relieve boredom (77%) and stress (76%). Since the start of the country’s first lockdown, nearly two in five consumers (39%) say they have increased their snack consumption.

According to Mintel, with nine in 10 Indians saying they have suffered some form of stress during the pandemic, some 38% are showing interest in food with added functional benefits to ease stress. Rushikesh Aravkar, associate director of food and drink at Mintel, says: ‘Brands can appeal to consumers by highlighting emotional wellbeing through notions of comfort, nostalgia and familiarity by way of marketing and brand communications.’

While the healthy snacking market continues to thrive, Mintel's findings show there is growing demand for mood-boosting foods or those that support holistic wellbeing – an idea we examine in Total Tastes.