LSN : Daily Signals : 06 : 05 : 26

Chivas Regal and Charles Leclerc launch whisky board game in entertainment-first partnership

Chivas Regal 16 in collaboration with Charles Leclerc

Global – In a partnership that moves beyond traditional sports sponsorship, whisky brand Chivas Regal and creative company Baby Teeth have launched an entertainment-first campaign introducing Chivas Regal 16, a limited-edition whisky co-created with Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc.

The collaboration is designed to be embedded within fan culture through shared creative ownership, storytelling and interactive experiences rather than logo placement or one-off activations.

At the centre of the campaign is SE!ZE, an original board game co-created with British designer James Wallis and Leclerc, built around his number 16 and designed as a social ritual to be played alongside Chivas Regal 16. The whisky itself is a co-creation between Leclerc and Chivas Regal master blender Sandy Hyslop, blending 16 whiskies aged at least 16 years, marking the brand’s first 16-year-old expression.

A hero film directed by Tom Hardiman and produced by Somesuch extends the world, supported by behind-the-scenes content from Leclerc’s studio SideQuest. The campaign reflects a wider shift in brand strategy, where entertainment, participation and cultural intellectual property are becoming central to building lasting fan engagement.

Read more in our Game-Changers: The Future of Sports Fandom on the growing cultural relevance of sport and our Future Forecast 2025: Sports, Health & Wellness report, where we highlight the rise of Sporting Superstars: major brands using the influence of sports stars to create more emotionally driven and authentic marketing campaigns.

Strategic opportunity

Move from traditional sponsorships and athletes as endorsements to athletes as co-creators, using world-building marketing strategies, creating lifestyle products and using storytelling within entertainment ecosystems

Why Studio Pilates is building its own competition league

Global – Studio Pilates International is introducing The Pilates Games, a competitive reformer format rolling out across its 130-plus studios worldwide.

The concept centres on a 100-minute workout – more than double the brand’s standard 40-minute class – in which participants earn points based on technique, control and execution rather than speed or output alone. Exercises are scored on a six-point scale, with higher spring resistance yielding more points, making movement quality the primary performance metric.

Founded by former Olympic athlete Jade Winter and business partner Tanya Winter, Studio Pilates International has built a global franchise on precision-led reformer training. The Pilates Games extends that positioning into structured competition, offering both rankings for competitive clients and personal benchmarking for those focused on progress. The inaugural event follows a six-week training challenge and is set to conclude across locations in late June 2026.

The launch reflects a broader shift in boutique fitness, where brands are moving beyond passive participation to create owned competitive formats. As explored in The Future Laboratory’s Micro-victories report, fitness brands are increasingly designing their own events and scoring systems to build retention through internal measurable progress rather than external sponsorship or spectator sport.

Studio Pilates International, Global

Strategic opportunity

Develop tiered competitive programming within existing studio formats to deepen client commitment and create recurring landmark moments that drive retention beyond the class schedule.

Stat: India’s affluent consumers prioritise travel over traditional luxury

Kartik Research, India

India – There’s a notable shift in India’s premium consumption, with experience-led spending overtaking traditional luxury, according to new data from Visa Consulting and Analytics’ India’s Affluent Economy 2025–2026 white paper.

Among ultra-elite consumers, travel accounts for 58% of discretionary spending, compared to 28% across retail and luxury combined, signalling a strong tilt towards experiences.

Individuals earning more than £7,760 (INR10 lakh/INR1m, $10,505, €8,985) have nearly doubled from 6.9m to 13m, signalling a fast-growing base of consumers with discretionary spending power in India’s premium segments. Nearly four in five affluent Indians visit premium establishments at least three times a year, while one in four dine at luxury venues more than five times annually. Technology is also emerging as a lifestyle category, while ultra-elite consumers are eight times more likely to visit spas and show five times higher engagement with cosmetics stores, signalling the routinisation of wellness.

The findings point to a broader shift in how affluence is expressed, with consumers prioritising access, convenience and curated experiences over ownership. The report echoes insights from The Future Laboratory’s State of Luxury: India and Recalibrating Indian Luxury reports, which unpack the ongoing evolution of the region as a key luxury market.

Strategic opportunity

Design for India’s experience-led luxury consumers by building access-based ecosystems across travel, dining, tech and wellness, where value is defined by curated experiences, cross-border fluency and everyday premiumisation