LSN : Daily Signals : CES 2022: Picoo is a games console for the great outdoors

TurboTax seizes a new reality of gig work

You Do Your Thing by TurboTax in partnership with Wieden+Kennedy, US

US – With Tax Day looming on the horizon, financial service TurboTax is appealing to a new generation of gig workers with its You Do Your Thing campaign. Capitalising on the rise of self-employed workers in 2021, the playful campaign highlights the unconventional professions that have gained ground during the pandemic.

Shedding light on the shifting nature of self-employment, the campaign includes a crypto-investor, gamer, musician and influencer. By catering for professions that aren’t normally associated with – but are not exempt from – tax filing, the campaign is aiming to capture the 16% of Americans that have earned money for a ride-hailing app or delivering groceries during 2021. With 31% of current or recent gig workers relying on independent employment as their main source of income over the past 12 months, self-employment is becoming a more prominent feature of the American economic landscape.

By appealing to freelance workers that might need help navigating the complicated process of tax filing without the support of a traditional employer, TurboTax is aligning itself with the rise of Accredited Influencers.

Strategic opportunity

The nature of the gig economy is changing. Consider the different services that might be needed by this new wave of self-employed workers

CES 2022: Picoo is a games console for the great outdoors

Picoo, Las Vegas

Las Vegas – The device, which is being launched in the US market at the 2022 edition of CES, combines children’s love of video gaming with exposure to nature. Created as a set of hand-held devices that mirror the design of typical gaming controllers, Picoo uses coloured lights, haptics and sounds to bring outdoor games to life without the need for a screen.

To use Picoo, kids scan a card associated with a specific game – including Hide-and-seek, Zombierun and Spy Hunt – before the device springs to life. The concept, according to its founders, is to get kids off their screens and rediscovering the joys of playing outside and making social connections, albeit in a more interactive way than traditional schoolyard games. Originally launched in The Netherlands and now expanding into the US, it’s aimed at both at parents and schools.

Next-gen toys such as Picoo represent the need for brands to take inspiration from the gaming world and apply this interactivity to physical play. Find out more about how Gen Alpha are pioneering Edu-play-tion in our microtrend.

Strategic opportunity

Millennial and Generation Z parents will want their children to experience life with a balance digital connectivity and physical, nature-led exploration. What are the ways that nature can be integrated into your brand offering or services?

A platform helping newcomers enter the NFT space

US – Billing itself as a ‘passport for the metaverse’, Islands is a new platform by Tiffany Zhong and Nikhil Srinivasan that aims to help initiate newcomers into the world of NFT art, crypto-assets and communities.

With the backing of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, whose venture capital firm led a £2.6m ($3.5m, €2.9m) seed round in the company, Islands is aiming to drive new users into the realm of Web3 by centralising and aggregating its participants. As it stands, the non-fungible token (NFT) community is dispersed over various social media platforms such as Discord and Twitter, without a platform dedicated entirely to its own users. As a result, communication can be lost among different channels, and joining an NFT community can appear counter-intuitive as an outsider. ‘We wake up to Discord and NFT Twitter very anxious, with a ton of unread messages, and that can’t be the best way,’ explains Ohanian.

By helping onboard new users and catering for beginners as well as established players, Islands is aiming to persuade people from a variety of backgrounds to join a Crypto-clique. ‘Our goal is to help get more people into Web3, because clearly it’s so nascent and early,’ explains Tiffany Zhong, co-founder of Islands.

Islands

Strategic opportunity

While many companies launch NFTs, the general public still needs more resources to understand the phenomenon. Consider a project or campaign that can provide a relatable introduction

Stat: British workers see upskilling as necessary

PHYD and Il Prisma

According to research from Natwest, British employees increasingly recognise the need to adapt in order to remain relevant. A majority (94%) of Britons agree that workers are likely to need a more diverse skillset in the businesses of the future.

Meanwhile, almost two thirds (64%) said their jobs would need to adapt within the next 10–15 years to keep up with new developments, but only 4% said that they thought their job would become totally obsolete. Interestingly, more than half of those polled (52%) said they would like to work with robots in 2036.

While global employees have previously shown reticence about automation and robotics in workplaces, these figures indicate people’s changing mindsets. To prepare for the changing needs of work environments, platforms such as The Internet of Skills are democratising work – and enabling remote collaboration – through 5G.

Strategic opportunity

When hiring new talent, you can attract more diverse groups by offering training and development for technologically enhanced operations. Be transparent about any plans to embrace robotics, and involve your employees from the start