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The Palladium Hotel Group reframes luxury as logging off in new holiday campaign

The Meaningful Average by Palladium Hotel Group

Global – The Palladium Hotel Group is positioning digital disconnection as a modern luxury in its latest in-house campaign.

Using screen time-style graphics, the campaign overlays sun-soaked images of guests with statistics showing that, on average, visitors spend less than five minutes a day on social media during a one-week stay. The concept is simple: highlight what holidaymakers aren’t doing – doomscrolling on social media.

The campaign smartly taps into the familiar screen time reports we obsessively check, as a reminder that in an always-on world, uninterrupted time has become a rare and sought-after commodity.

With the rise in social media dependency and phone addiction so closely linked with poor mental wellbeing, we’ve been tracking the rise of Digital Detox Destinations in the travel and hospitality sector. From offline cabins in the British countryside to digital detox ranches in the US and phone-free group adventures in Costa Rica, consumers are swapping their screens for bucolic scenes, seeking reconnection with nature, mental clarity and presence.

Strategic opportunity

Turn disconnection into a signature experience. Develop screen-free rituals, digital detox packages and marketing campaigns that frame low screen time as the new travel status symbol for modern guests

Lululemon taps into civic fandom with Lewis Hamilton partnership

Global – Lululemon has unveiled Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton as its latest global brand ambassador, marking a strategic evolution in the brand’s approach to performance innovation and social impact.

More than a traditional endorsement, Hamilton’s role reflects a deep creative collaboration – working directly with Lululemon’s design, development and R&D teams to help shape the next generation of athletic wear.

The partnership also reaches into values-led territory. Through joint initiatives with Lululemon’s Centre for Social Impact and his own foundation, Mission 44, Hamilton is championing inclusivity and youth empowerment across sport and culture.

As explored in Game-Changers: The Future of Sports Fandom, audiences are moving beyond passive viewership into a phase of civic fandom – where the line between sport, brand and belief begins to blur. Hamilton’s alignment with Lululemon signals this shift, offering fans a model of engagement rooted not just in athletic excellence, but also in purpose and progress.

Lewis Hamilton for Lululemon

Strategic opportunity

Move beyond surface-level sports sponsorships and partner with purpose-led athletes as creative collaborators, using their cultural capital to shape products, campaigns and social initiatives that reflect the values of civic fandom

Stat: Vibe-based budgeting is shaping young consumers’ spending habits

Photography by KRM Graphics, Kenya

US – Amid economic uncertainty, Gen Z and Millennials are turning to vibe-based budgeting – adjusting spending based on how the economy feels rather than what’s in their bank accounts. According to Intuit Credit Karma, 44% of Americans engage in vibe-based budgeting, rising to 56% of Gen Z and 57% of Millennials.

After surveying a small sample of 1,058 US adults aged 18 and over in June 2025, Intuit Credit Karma found that just over a quarter (26%) said their personal financial situation had the greatest influence on how they perceive the state of the economy. Some 16% cited news outlets as the main factor shaping their economic outlook, while social media also played a role (15%), particularly among Gen Z respondents (29%).

But this trend isn’t just about fear – it reflects a growing desire for control, with young people using news and social media to guide how they manage their money. As explored in our Cultural Capital report, Gen Z’s financial decisions are driven by emotion, identity and community – challenging traditional financial systems.

Fintech brands are responding with tools that meet these evolving needs. From Klarna’s flexible payment plans to TikTok’s loud budgeting trend, the focus is shifting to financial tools that are emotionally intuitive and socially informed.

Strategic opportunity

As consumers increasingly budget based on emotion and perception, brands can build loyalty by designing tools that blend emotional awareness with practical financial guidance – such as mood-based visual budgeting, sentiment analysis or peer-driven financial advice on social media platforms