LSN : Daily Signals : Mulberry and The Slow Grind are decelerating creativity

HP facilitates the freedom of remote work

Work Anywhere by HP, Germany

Berlin – With many office-based employees now operating in a hybrid model of working, computer hardware brand HP is highlighting the benefits of work-from-anywhere lifestyles to market its devices. In its humorous film, Work Anywhere, an office worker pulls out a HP laptop that transports him to far-off locations around the world.

Shown working in a hair salon, in the back of a farmer’s truck and on the top of a mountain, the ad posits HP laptops as ideal hardware for a free-spirited approach to work. Created by advertising agency AKQA Berlin, this follows on from the brand’s 2020 campaign, Work Better. By aligning itself with the conversation about remote working, HP sets an example for other technology brands on how to support the growing number of Wandering Workers.

With global lockdown periods having drastically affected many people’s experiences of work – and their employer expectations – there is an ongoing opportunity for technology brands to redesign and re-market their devices for flexible working.

Strategic opportunity

For many office workers, being able to work flexibly is essential. Both hardware and software brands can take inspiration from this campaign and similarly promote the usefulness of their products in enabling nomadic lifestyles

Mulberry and The Slow Grind are decelerating creativity

The Slow Grind: Finding Our Way Back to Creative Balance by Georgina Johnson

UK – Following a sell-out edition in 2020, the creative, environmental and social anthology The Slow Grind is teaming up with luxury fashion brand Mulberry to launch a second print run. The new print run will include an insert and poster foldout of Mulberry’s sustainability manifesto, Made to Last, and will be available in Mulberry stores including an in-store launch event in October 2021.

Bringing a regenerative approach to its publication, the anthology’s print run will be carbon offset through afforestation in Rio Kama, Nicaragua, in collaboration with carbon neutrality organisation Climate Partnership. Alongside its sustainability efforts, founder Georgina Johnson will be continuing her work on The Black Futures Pledge, an initiative that donates copies of the anthology to schools and initiatives that centre Black communities and people of colour. Already, companies including The Future Laboratory, Burberry, Fashion Revolution and SHOWstudio have made the pledge.

'The goal is that more brands come on board,' Johnson tells LS:N Global. 'Because ultimately this is something easy that allows them to gain an esoteric set of tools that are not often located in the corporate milieu, encouraging them to become socially engaged strategists and culturally aware contributors.'

Through this project, both The Slow Grind and Mulberry are demonstrating how brands can engage with de-growth and begin to shift their efforts to prioritise radical community-first models – a central tenet to protecting the future of creative industries.

Strategic opportunity

Industries including fashion and luxury have a responsibility to support underserved communities and protect the environment. Consider how your brand can redirect marketing budgets and company initiatives to focus on de-growth over corporate acceleration

Cross-brand recycling comes to bricks-and-mortar retail

UK – Recycling company TerraCycle is partnering with major brands to make re-usable consumer packaged goods (CPG) more widely accessible to shoppers. With just 9% of plastic waste being recycled today, according to TerraCycle, its circular system Loop gives single-use plastic a second life.

To make recycling more convenient, Loop is coming to UK bricks-and-mortar retailers, teaming up with brands including P&G, Unilever and Nestlé to allow people to recycle without brand exclusivity. Customers will be able to deposit used packaging from Tesco at their nearest McDonald’s, for example,fulfilling demand for Eco-venience Retail.

As well as reducing the amount of plastic waste in the CPG market, TerraCycle’s approach presents a financial opportunity – according to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, converting 20% of the world’s plastic into a re-usable system could create a £7.3bn ($10bn, €8.7bn) business opportunity. ‘You’re going to get to a place in the next few years where finding a branded package, whether it’s in a river, or on your streets, will have a very negative association… Companies will have to take ownership.’ explains Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle.

Loop by Terracycle, UK

Strategic opportunity

To support eco-conscious consumers on their journey towards total sustainability, seek cooperation from other companies to help implement new systems and work together to create positive change

Stat: Indian youth focus on wealth over relationships

The New Order by Selfridges

In India, Generation Z are shifting their lifestyle priorities to focus on earning a lot of cash. According to a survey by MTV Youth Insights, many young people are even striving for wealth over personal relationships.

Some 46% of respondents in the study said money was the most important thing in life – and admitted they would rather earn big than live a meaningful life. A majority of respondents (70%) felt that they could earn more by juggling multiple gigs, with sidelines such as stock trading or becoming a social media influencer seen as the way forward. About three-quarters also said that the DIY projects they started during the pandemic have now turned into regular hobbies.

These insights point to a future when India’s emerging youth will shun a one-dimensional lifestyle to embrace varied and non-linear career paths that give them access to multiple sources of income.

Strategic opportunity

Media brands have an opportunity to target Indian Gen Z through entrepreneurial mentoring services, as many court the idea of becoming professional content creators, challenging the country's workplace traditions