LHBS INSPIRATION-SNAPSHOTMAY 2015

This presentation includes some of the most inspiring signs in the area of marketing, product and service innovation.

All signs are out of our Inspiration-Hub, a digital platform that tracks changes in people, markets and technology to bring customized insights and inspiration to your organization.

LHBS Inspiration-Snapshot

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MARKETING INNOVATION

 

Lego Tells Young Girls How To Look Pretty

 Should toy brands be allowed to give girls aged 5 beauty advice? 

Lego Club magazine is an official magazine for Lego that features Lego products, comics, games and building challenges. Much criticism has been directed already at the brand that strongly divides their toys according to the gender of the child— space rockets are for boys, while pink princesses are for girls. Now, the newest issue of the US magazine includes beauty tips for its young readers. The promotional page for Lego Friends, which is aimed at girls aged 5 to 12, features the character Emma advising how to get the right hair cut. “You, yes YOU are beautiful, but if you’re ready to change up your look, read on for some tips and tricks on how to get the best haircut for the shape of your face,” it says. The page also includes tips for the next hair salon trip and how to properly blow dry hair on your own at home—advice that many parents believe should not be directed towards girls this age, and even more so, not by toy company. 

*  Source:  Lego  Magazine  

 

Feet Mag

 For the launch of its new footcare products, Hansaplast has released "Feet Mag," a magazine designed to be "the first magazine you read with your feet."

Feet Mag, unsurprisingly, is all about feet. From foot fashion to foot health, the magazine covers everything foot-related imaginable (even unimaginable topics such as "foot society" and "foot art" and "foot horoscope"). The magazine was designed especially to be read from far away, with large print and heavier, texturized paper that is easier to be turned with the toes. 

*  Source:  Hansaplast  Magazine  

 

Dutch Designers for KLM

 Airlines are tapping into their local heritage to enrich customers' experience.

In order to move from generic in-flight experiences and add a storytelling layer, airlines are increasingly partnering with established designers. Embracing the mix of modern and classical Dutch design, KLM is collaborating with well-known local designers like Victor&Rolf (to design amenity bags), Marcel Wanders (tableware) and Hella Jongerius (seat & interior design). On long-haul flights in Economy class, KLM is introducing the ‘Tasty Blue’— a new catering experience, which will be based on a ‘set table’ concept. The packaging will be improved to look more appealing, with different colors, textures and hidden proverbs decorating the tableware. KLM will also set the table for their fliers. In addition, the airline will start providing Economy passengers with ‘amenity kits’, with a bottle of water, nuts, eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush and a cold towel designed by Voctor&Rolf.

*  Source:  Designers  for  KLM  

 

Heineken GPS-Bottles

 Heineken's "Bottles with a Mission" campaign uses GPS-integrated bottles to lure people through Amsterdam back where the bottles came from: the Heineken Experience brewery.

The bottles were placed randomly around to city. The bottles activated once they were picked up, as the cap lit up and the bottles vibrated and the cap flashed a red light to let those who found them realize that the bottles were trying to lead them somewhere. The destination turned out to be the Heineken Experience brewery, where a party was waiting. The campaign was designed to activate the Amsterdam residents, as well as tourists, who are not yet part of the one million visitors per year that the famed brewery receives. The navigation capabilities were made possible thanks to technology commonly found in smartphones, such as an accelerometer, GPS, and a vibration motor– not to mention a flashing, rotating cap that led the way.

*  Source:  The  Bo<le  With  A  Mission  

 

Benefit's Bold is Beautiful Project

 Benefit Cosmetics has launched its first global philanthropy program, pledging to donate profits to charities for cancer patients and victims of abuse.

Benefit will be donating 100 percent of its future profits from its brow wax services to a cancer charity, Look Good Feel Better, and Refuge, which supports women and children who are the victims of domestic violence. The launch comes with a campaign to raise awareness for the initiative through TV and radio presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford. The campaign will begin with a fundraising walk in Central London, where participants will be given beauty 'touch-ups' courtesy of Benefit.

*  Source:  Benefit  Blog  

 

Acne Brand Releases Mini Series on Instagram

 Benzac, an acne brand, is releasing a teen drama series ‘The Benzacs’ on Instagram. 

The ongoing mini-video series is a salute to high-school classics such as Mean Girls or Pretty in Pink. It unfolds on Instagram with new episodes added every day over a 3-week period and supported with series of images. The plot line focuses on four teens that are not in the cool kids club- but really want to be. The first episode of The Benzacs was introduced on YouTube a month before the campaign and garnered 1 million views. 

*  Source:  The  Benzacs  on  Instagram  

 

Nike Food Truck

 For the Nike Women's 10km Run, the brand is launching a food truck campaign encouraging fans to eat the healthiest foods, and asking them to run for them instead of paying with money.

The food truck will be parked in some of Berlin's best places for street food, but people who wish to eat there will have to pay not with money but with kilometers. Those who wish to eat will have to show their smartphones with how much they have recently run, as measured by their fitness trackers, in order to get served from Nike's ultra-healthy selection of raw food: smoothies, granola, chia pudding, wraps, and more. A menu board will be displayed at each market labeling the "prices" in kilometers. 

*  Source:  Nike  Food  Truck  

 

Amazon First Editorial Content

 Amazon started testing third-party editorial content on its homepage with travel gear reviews aiming to prove a deeper level of recommendations for the products they sell. 

The partnership was announced on Twitter, where Amazon said that it is experimenting with running editorial content on their website and Wirecutter would be the first test to explore the possibilities. Wirecutter is an independent review site to help people decide what to buy. Their thorough process starts with reading everything they can about the product, from Amazon to formal reviews by professionals in the field, and is followed by applying research from their own team of experts. The Wirecutter editorial on Amazon includes an exhaustive list of items that are necessary for travel- all the recommendations come from Wirecutter research rather than Amazon suggestion. Both sides said that there are possibilities for further cooperation although it is unclear whether it will be a full-scale and long-term partnership. 

*  Source:  Amazon  &  The  Wirecu<er    

PRODUCT INNOVATION

 

Pulse-responsive Smart Playlist

 HeartbeatsMUSIC, a new app concept for the Apple Watch, links the watch's pulse sensor and embedded microphone to Beats Music service to automatically create playlists based on the user's pulse. 

With the new concept for Apple Watch and Beats Music, the sensors inside the Apple Watch will measure various metrics from a user's workout and relay the information to the app. The app keeps track of the user's pulse-rate, and notices when there is a change. When the pulse rapidly increases, the app activates the Apple Watch's built-in microphone and if music is playing nearby, it will detect the song, in a similar way to music discovery services like Shazam. After time, the app is able to guess the user's preferences and add relevant songs to the list. So when the user is next working out, the app will aggregate these songs into a playlist fit for the occasion. 

 

Ben & Jerry's Launching Beer

 The ice cream company is partnering with New Belgium Brewery to release a beer in the autumn of 2015. 

The first beer (it is unsure whether there will be more) will be called ‘Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale” and will contain 6.3 percent alcohol. Ben & Jerry’s also partnered with organisation called “Protect Our Winters” which helps to fight the effects of climate change on mountains and part of the profit from beer sales will be donated to the organisation. 

*  Source:  New  Belgium  Brewery  

 

G-Star Turns Plastic Ocean Waste Into Denim

 Raw for the Oceans is a new collaborative project from G-Star that retrieves plastic from oceans and transforms it into denim. 

The amount of plastic waste in the ocean is reaching a tipping point with some saying that we are entering "the plastic age." G-Star is aiming to start a positive movement and help the environment by recycling what they find in the ocean into their new collection. The Raw collection is designed by the musician Pharrell Williams (in partnership with Bionic Yarn, for which Williams serves as Creative Director). The launch is supported with "The Plastic Age"— a documentary produced by I-D magazine that shows the dangers of the plastic in our oceans and demonstrates the process of turning waste into yarn and clothes. 

*  Source:  Raw  For  the  Oceans  CollecLon  

 

SnowShoe Stamps Unlock Mobile Content

 A startup called SnowShoe has developed technology that allows smartphone users to touch a piece of plastic embedded with information onto their phones in order to unlock content. 

The SnowShoe stamp was originally developed as a way to authenticate digital coupons outside the store's point-of-sale system. SnowShoe realized this technology could do much more. With a 3D-printed piece of plastic that is a mix of conductive and non-conductive materials. The connectivity of a SnowShoe stamp works without a battery, power, circuitry, NFC, antenna, or Bluetooth. Instead, it connects via the unique shape of the conductive plastic that communicates to a phone's screen. The SnowShoe is something like a physical QR code, with the difference that the stamp communicates through the touch sensor rather than through the camera– enabling the phone to access information through the web browser without a native app installed. In a word, SnowShoe will let webpages themselves interact with physical objects.

*  Source:  SnowShoe  Stamp  

 

Nikon Gives Its Blessing To Selfie Sticks

 Nikon has become the first major traditional camera manufacturer to acknowledge the selfie stick, as it releases its own, the N-MP001. 

Nikon's new selfie stick has been designed to work with its latest line of Coolpix point-and-shoot digital cameras, giving selfie-takers Nikon's high quality engineering (and of course, branding) to the trendy new accessory. When collapsed, the Nikon stick is 7.28 inches in length, and when fully extended, it is 28.54 inches in length, weighing less than half a pound. 

*  Source:  Nikon  N-­‐MP001  

 

Joe Boxer's Inactivity Tracker

 Amid the activity tracker craze, Kmart's Joe Boxer has launched an activity tracker suitable for the pajama brand: one that tracks (and rewards) inactivity.

Like FitBit and the other activity trackers on the market, the Joe Boxer Inactivity tracker connects to the user's smartphone. But this one rewards the user for his or her laziness, what the app calls "Chill Time," allowing the user to reach levels such as "Couch Commander," "Cryogenic," and "You Rock!" The limited edition device is given out as a free gift with purchase of Joe Boxer products at New York's Astor Place Kmart. The device also is being promoted with the hashtag #chillhard. Kmart has produced a #chillhard video the 2015 Joe Boxer Lounger Games, a spoof on a sporting match where 2 men sit in recliners dressed in Joe Boxer and do very little, while a parodic commentator narrates their (in)activity for 60 minutes. 

*  Source:  Kmart  Joe  Boxer  InacLvity  Tracker  

SERVICE INNOVATION

 

The Monocle Travel Guide Series

 Monocle has partnered with German publisher Gestalten to launch a travel guide series, beginning with New York and London. 

Monocle differs from other travel guides as it is focusing exclusively on print– ignoring digital– which means that the books are intended to be visually-rich objects, with full color pages that each contain multiple images from the magazine's network of photographers and illustrators. The books are slim, coming in at 148 pages, and are organized by interest, such as restaurants, shops, and cultural attractions, rather than neighborhoods.  They will also contain essays about the cities which will span beyond the normal walking tour to cover architecture and design. While the series premieres with editions for London and New York, other cities are forthcoming: Hong Kong and Tokyo will follow in July.

*  Source:  Monocle  Travel  Guides  

 

Vodafone Sends Portable Network to Nepal

 Following the earthquake in April, Vodafone assists Nepal in relief efforts by sending a portable network device. 

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on 25 April has devastated large part of the country. Killing over 8,000 people and damaging many more households, it has also wrecked the local infrastructure like communications networks thus harming the progress of aid relief. To enable civilians to contact their relatives and aid workers to speed up processes, the network carrier’ philanthropic organization Vodafone Foundation has dispatched a team of volunteers equipped with ‘network in a backpack’. Instant Network Mini is a 11kg portable system that can connect 5 mobiles within a 100 meters radius to local telecom networks and send text messages with emergency information to people in more remote areas. Vodafone will also assist local networks operators in re-establishing their communications.

*  Source:  Vodafone  FoundaLon  team  deployed  to  Nepal    

 

Supermarket Powered Only With Own Food Waste

 Sainsbury’s becomes the first UK supermarket that is entirely powered with energy created from its own food waste.

The superstore in Staffordshire is connected with a 1.5km cable with the nearby anaerobic digestion facility that provides a constant supply of renewable electricity. Food that has not been sold and is still edible is given to charities, some is turned into animal feed and the rest is sent to the facility to be converted into energy in a fairly straightforward process. When the food waste arrives at Biffa, it is first broken down into bio-methane gas, which is then used to generate electricity. The by-product of the process is sent to farmers to be used as a fertilizer making the process even more sustainable. 

*  Source:  Sainsbury's  &  Biffa  Partnership  

 

Flight Search Engine For Long-Distance Couples

 Seeusoon is a destination matcher for people planning trips from different cities of departures: long-distance couples, expats or groups of friends living in another countries. 

After entering the desired travel group (couple, group or solo) and the origin cities of travelers, the website will display different destinations, sorted by price. The recommended destinations will vary: single, group and couple travellers will receive different locations relevant to their interests. Seeusoon has partnered with Skyscanner, making the booking process easy and fast. 

*  Source:  h<p://www.seeusoon.io/  

 

Iceland's Human Search Engine

 Iceland's new human search engine–"Ask Guðmundur"– provides a personable way of educating tourists about the island's hidden secrets.

Seven Icelanders named Guðmundur (male) or Guðmunda (female)– one of the most popular names in the small nation– have volunteered across the country to help tourists looking for an authentic Icelandic experience. Representing each of Iceland's seven regions, the human search engines will offer their knowledge of local treasures via Inspired by Iceland's social media accounts. 

*  Source:  Inspired  by  Iceland  (Facebook)  

 

Travel Butler App

 Travel Butler is an app that can plan the entire trip for you: from restaurants you should visit, packing list for the current weather, sightseeing and car booking. 

Ideal for those who leave planning their trips to the last minute, it is a very useful all-in-one travel app. It lets you personalise your packing by setting the default items for future travels. The packing list includes several categories: clothing, documents, electronics, essentials and sports. The recommendations for restaurants are powered by foursquare- adding an established value to the app. 

*  Source:  Travel  Butler  

•  How your organization can track relevant business and innovation

opportunities?

•  How other industries and companies affect your customer needs?

•  How insights & inspiration be can easily accessed and shared

within your organization to fuel innovation?

Please feel free to visit inspiration-hub.com or get in touch with

Fabiola Lewandowska at fl@lhbs.com.

If you would like to learn more about:  

THANK YOU!

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