LSN : News : Port of Leith unveils vertical distillery on Edinburgh’s seafront

Ikea’s Life is not a Catalogue campaign is keeping it real

Ikea, Norway

Norway – Ikea is showing life without a filter in a brutally honest series of commercials that aim to prove that good design can live outside of staged showrooms and flawless catalogues.

Created by Try Oslo, the campaign includes three videos, starting with a pristine shot of a room before things get messy. One clip shows a dog entering the bedroom and peeing on the carpet. In another – the camera travels from a kid to her sick mum vomiting on the sofa, as the tagline reads ‘Life is not an Ikea catalogue’.

By deliberately showing borderline gross scenes, Ikea acknowledges that its products are designed to withstand the good, the bad and the ugly. ‘Sure, it’s a bit rough to see our products on tv covered in vomit and dog pee,’ says Annika Mørch Asté, head of marketing communications at Ikea Norway. ‘But life isn’t always neat and tidy, so we think it’s great that the campaign can reflect just that.’

At LS:N Global, we have been monitoring how beauty started leaning into anti-aspirational aesthetics. Is interior design next?

Strategic opportunity

Businesses that usually rely on glossy, pitch-perfect visuals could consider adding a human touch to their branding. More genuine and gritty campaigns will make your brand more relatable and friendly, earning consumers’ trust and loyalty

Port of Leith unveils vertical distillery on Edinburgh’s seafront

Port of Leith Distillery, UK

Scotland – Port of Leith whisky has marked its entry into the world of spirits with a distinctive twist – a vertical distillery spanning nine storeys that overlooks Edinburgh’s seafront. The brand, founded by friends Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, both with a passion for whisky, celebrated the opening of its headquarters in the first week of October 2023.

Designed by Glasgow-based architects ThreeSixty, the building’s unique shape and size were driven by the limited site availability. Inside, visitors can explore the distillation process, including whisky stills, and enjoy drinks in the top-floor mezzanine bar boasting panoramic 360-degree views of the city and the sea.

The Port of Leith distillery is set to open to guests on 11 October 2023. As well as distillery tours, visitors can savour a tasting menu at the bar. Stirling and Fletcher’s vision is to bring innovation and excitement to Scotch whisky, offering a unique whisky experience to enthusiasts from around the world. The distillery is also a great example of a whisky-maker challenging the sector’s heritage, as revealed in Five Brands Rejuvenating Whisky.

Strategic opportunity

Competing with legacy brands, especially in traditional sectors like whisky, can be challenging, so it is imperative that brands invest in building entertainment and awe-inducing experiences that will attract new, and younger, audiences

Louis Vuitton launches a Discord server

Via Treasure Trunks by Louis Vuitton

Global – Louis Vuitton is expanding its Web3 strategy and opening a Discord server. The luxury brand hopes its presence on Discord will help forge a stronger connection with online communities and non-fungible token (NFT) holders.

The Discord channel will showcase the brand’s evolving expertise, educate the community on new innovations, provide exclusive access to unseen content and create a place for members to share their views.

Some of the conversations will be token-gated and require ownership of an NFT from Louis Vuitton’s Via NFT project for access. Those able to join the exclusive thread will be invited to participate in the development of new ideas for the experience.

Louis Vuitton lags behind Gucci, Prada, Adidas and Diesel, all of which jumped on the Discord hype over a year ago. But Discord offers an interesting opportunity for exclusivity, a necessity when Targeting Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals on Social Media.

By launching a Discord server, Louis Vuitton is creating a space to push its NFT Via project, tap into the lucrative e-sports and gaming market, and ensure it remains relevant to next-gen luxury consumers.

Strategic opportunity

Use Web3 platforms like Discord to foster conversational spaces where your brand can engage with your most loyal customers, facilitating a valuable two-way learning experience and boosting affinity with your brand

Stat: US sales to drive significant growth in the legal cannabis market

Houseplant by Seth Rogen rebranded by MA-MA and Pràctica, US

US – The cannabis industry is poised for remarkable growth, according to BDSA’s latest forecast report released in September 2023. The leading provider of market intelligence for the cannabis industry predicts that global legal cannabis sales will reach £45.3bn ($55.3bn, €52bn) by 2027, driven predominantly by adult use.

The US market is driving most of this growth, as BDSA forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 11% from 2022 to 2027, resulting in a £35.4bn ($43bn, €41bn) legal US cannabis market in 2027.

In Canada, the market is projected to increase at a CAGR of 5% from 2022 to 2027. But BDSA notes that medical use is gradually declining while adult use remains strong. International markets beyond North America are set to expand by 29% between 2022 and 2027 to reach £5.2bn ($6.3bn, €6bn) in sales by 2027.

As adult consumption grows, we previously analysed in our Cannabis Market report how new adjacent ventures, such as beverages, are emerging in this sector in response to growing demand.

Strategic opportunity

Consider expanding product lines to cater for the increasing demand for adult-use cannabis products. As legislation evolves and opens new legal markets, could you develop innovative cannabis-infused beverages, edibles or wellness products?