LSN : Big Ideas

Big Ideas

What to watch

Russia – Zeen gives the tv guide a digital makeover to help consumers cut through the noise of ubiquitous entertainment.

Big Ideas

Beauty hotline

Global – Beauty brand Birchbox has introduced a Snapchat customer service offer that emphasises human connection.

Birchbox : Revelation Brands : Personal Appsistants

Big Ideas

Emotional experience

London – Virtual Futures: Electronic Empathy explored the promise, limitations and ethical implications of using virtual reality to trigger emotions.

Virtual Futures : Empathy : Cyberculture

Big Ideas

Mixed messages

US – Despite global brand recognition, research has revealed that Twitter’s slowing growth is linked to confusion about what the service does.

Twitter : Social Media : Brand Identity

Big Ideas

You’ve got mail

London/New York – Producer Oscar Powell has revealed a set of mysterious, minimal billboards on both sides of the Atlantic.

Oscar Powell : Backlash Brands : Opt In

Big Ideas

A biosynthetic vintage

US – Ava winery has no grapes, vineyard or oak cask barrels. Instead, its wine is made solely in a lab.

GMOs : Wine : San Francisco

Big Ideas

Blockchain copyright

US – Blockai is helping artists, photographers and other creators to copyright their work through the blockchain.

Blockai : Copyright : Blockchain

Big Ideas

Fresh Focus

Los Angeles – Ford’s Fusion Labs workshop is a vehicle for the car-maker to branch into new sectors.

Ford : The Immortal Brand : Fusion Labs

Big Ideas

The state of AI

US – A new report predicts that 62% of US enterprises will be using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by 2018.

AI : Enterprise : Big Data

Big Ideas

Fashionable drinking

Europe – Garmence Wine Studio is a new wine e-tailer that creates seasonal collections of wines.

Garmence Wine Studio : Food & Drink : Online Curation

Big Ideas

Ideation ground

New York – IBM’s consultancy and accelerator reflects the company’s growing investment in education.

IBM : Education : New York

Big Ideas

Run for it

London – Virgin Active is tapping into the popularity of Pokémon Go with a fun run that takes in local Pokéstops and Pokégyms.

Pokémon Go : Geo Quests : Virgin Active

Big Ideas

Transferrable targets

UK – Even in the digital age the importance of physical stores cannot be underestimated, according to new research.

Retail : Bricks-and-mortar : Total Retail

Big Ideas

Cross-border luxury

Global – A new study by Contactlab and Exane BNP Paribas shows that some consumers spend more on luxury goods when they travel than at home.

Luxury : Luxury Retail : Travel

Big Ideas

New Designers 2016: Top five

This year New Designers showed a notable shift towards more conceptually driven projects that veered away from the typically commercial work of p...

New Designers : Product Design : The E-motional Economy

Big Ideas

Knowledge is power

Brisbane – CitySmart is showing how gamification can help young renters to save on their energy bills.

CitySmart : Whole-system Thinking : Reduce Your Juice

Big Ideas

Live-stream retail

China – E-commerce site Tmall has hosted live streams of American stores to teach Chinese consumers about their products.

Tmall : New Bricolage Living : Transpierences

Big Ideas

Life-long learning

Nordic countries – A new report presented to the Nordic Council recommends mandatory adult education to address the region’s widening skills gap....

Nordic Council : Education : Lifelong Learning

Big Ideas

Up in the air

Europe – Surf Air is a new flat fee subscription airline service aimed at regular business travellers.

Surf Air : The Sharing Economy : Luxury Travel

Big Ideas

AI advertising

Global – IBM is to introduce artificial intelligence-powered digital adverts.

IBM Watson : Awakening Tech : Artificial Intelligence

Big Ideas

The ideas and innovations that hint at the future of the consumer landscape