THE TRENDS REPORT

Proudly brought to you by NATIVE VML

A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF TRENDS IN MARKETING, STORYTELLING AND DIGITAL

CULTURE LOCALLY AND ABROAD.

 

Digital convergence is fast becoming the norm where technology allows a shift from one-to-one to

one-to-many quick, easy and affordable services. We look at how smart devices are changing how

we relate to illness and disease  and how in-home devices can automate convenience with a click of

a button.

Social Media has reinforced consumer power that demands a level of honesty and transparency

from brands. Disclosing product information is not new or without controversy. Brands and content

producers need to consider legal and ethical implications of product promotion if they seek to be

authentic and credible to their audience.

Lastly we look at branded content that stops speaking to people as consumers and demographics

but as human beings. A great brand should not be self-serving. A brand’s real value lies in creating

engagement around the solutions that their products present. 

AUGMENTATION

The bio-future of fashion. Advances in biological research are

redefining the concept of sustainable

consumer products. Smart biomaterials with

less impact on the environment are giving

fashion a new edge.

Designing clothes to be grown in a

lab.

Dubbed the future of fashion, bio-fashion

uses living cultures of micro-organisms such

as yeast, fungi and algae to produce fabric.

Eco-leather, a bio-based leather that turns

chicken feathers, natural fibres and plant oil

resins into shoe soles, has already captured

the attention of large retailers like PUMA and

Nike.

READ MORE

Self-regulating shoes.

Perhaps a glimpse far into the future, The

Protocells trainer is created with a fibre that

will fit to a user's foot like a second skin. The

3D-printed Protocells are molecules that can

create artificial living systems, capable of

being responsive to pressure, light and heat

felt by a foot. The cells of the shoes

essentially responds in real-time during a run,

then are able to rejuvenate themselves after.

READ MORE

Smarter medicine.

Medical researchers are constantly looking for

ways to administer treatments to patients in

less painful and inconvenient ways. Smart

devices and wearables are changing the

relationship patients have with illness.

On-body injectors for post chemotherapy medicine.

The Neulasta Delivery kit is an on-body injector device that administers post-chemotherapy medicine.

Clinicians fill and activate the syringe with the correct dosage and patients can receive their medication within

the comfort of their own homes. READ MORE

A smartwatch that prevents seizures.

The Embrace smartwatch uses data to detect potentially life-threatening epileptic seizures. Parents and care-

givers can use a companion device to be alerted as well. Over time the device learns to pre-empt possible

seizures and sends haptic messages for a user to adjust behaviour accordingly.

READ MORE

INNOVATION

Technological innovations are changing the

way art is made, consumed and sold.

Museums are increasingly becoming

experience-driven. The use of location and

personalisation technologies help deliver

large-scale ad campaigns that inform,

educate and invite participation with the

gallery. It is all about a real-time or

personalised focus.

Smart Art.

Art experiences for the blind.

The Touching the Prado exhibit in Madrid is

designed to give the blind (or those with

limited visibility) an opportunity to create a

mental image of artwork through touch.

Elaborate 3-D replicas of famous artwork

were created using textures and contours.

The exhibit also included a braille text guide,

audio guides and opaque glasses to create

a truly enhanced experience.

READ MORE

Preserving and democratising street art through digital tech.

The Google Art project’s Street Art Collection has partnered with several art organisations and collectives in

34 countries. The collection has over 10,000 photographs, that users can observe and interact with online.

Companies like Amazon, Uber and Airbnb are

offering services via on-demand platforms.

Digital convenience is increasingly becoming

non-negotiable, where consumers demand

goods and services that are just a click away.

The on-demand economy meets the

internet of things.

Making in-home purchases with a click

of a button.

Amazon Dash are branded Wi-Fi enabled

buttons created by Amazon. Attached to

household appliances, they let consumers

reorder common household products

through their phones and Amazon Fresh

account. Over time, the buttons will connect

to multiple smart devices in the home,

allowing Amazon Dash to predict and

automate purchases.

READ MORE

The coffee maker that orders its own

coffee beans.

Poppy-Pour-Over is a smart coffee-maker.

It uses sensors that can detect low levels of

coffee beans, and then automatically orders

using the Amazon Dash Replenishment

Service.

READ MORE

MOBILE, DATA AND SOCIAL

The impact of big data continues to be felt

across various industries. Humanitarian data

is becoming an essential tool to identify

people who are in danger and what resources

are needed to save them.

Utilising digital for humanitarian

efforts.

Using Big Data for the greater good.

The Tactical Technology Collective aims to raise awareness of online security risks. It actively develops methods and tools to

counter injustice. For example, services such as Me and My Shadow helps users to explore and minimise the online

information they leave behind each time they use the internet.

Mapping Xenophobia.

Closer to home, iAfrikan and Ushahidi have launched Report Xenophobia. It is a real-time tool for users to

report and alert others of Xenophobic incidents in their area. Communication is sent out via SMS, email,

Twitter, the Ushahidi app and the website.

Research suggests that 32% of marketers are

not exploring the opportunities presented by

geo-targeting technology for delivering

location-based notifications. Popular mobile

geolocation-centered campaigns continue to

drive customer loyalty; the space is ripe for

innovative and experimental ideas.

Geo specific marketing.

Reviving one of digital advertising’s oldest formats to find lost pets.

Pedigree and Google launched the Found app that allows dog owners to pre-register their dog. When a dog

is reported as missing, a banner ad featuring their dog is created and instantly served across the Google

Display Network.

MARKETING AT THE SPEED OF CULTURE

Consumers and fans hungry for new and

novel experiences are digitally empowered to

take control. On social platforms, engagement

is driven by consumers, placing the fans at

the centre, with the brand as facilitators of

communities only. With personal reach as a

valued currency, it becomes increasingly

important to not only encourage but recognise

and reward fan engagement as well.

Community first strategies.

Authentic brand connections with fans through humour.

A seemingly innocent tongue-in-cheek social media post promoting a plastic shell that protects bananas led to one of

Groupon’s most successful Facebook posts. The Groupon Banana Bunker gathered 11,000+ comments, 46,000 shares

and over 19,000 likes, providing fans with unique and personal interactions with the brand.

Crowdsourced live action marketing.

Amazon gaming platform, Twitch and Old Spice launched the The Old Spice Nature Adventure, which merged

elements of gaming, live video and a participatory experience. The campaign followed a man into the woods, his

actions guided by commands crowdsourced from the chat room.

Influencer marketing is one of the most

powerful tools in social media marketing.

Research suggests that when exposed to a

positive endorsement of a product on social

networks, 16% of people will actually

purchase that product. The strategy blurs the

line between personal and business and there

is a fine balance influencers need to strike

between both sponsored and regular content

to remain authentic and credible to their

audience.

Disclosure in social media.

Disclosure, important for both brand

and content partner.

In November 2014, five YouTube

videos featuring vloggers “Dan and Phil,” were

banned by the Advertising Standards Authority

in the U.K. for not being clearly labelled as Oreo

advertising.

More recently, Lord & Taylor asked 50 bloggers

to style a dress from its new line, garnering

enough likes to infiltrate Instagram feeds and

sell out the dress in store. However, the

campaign lacked transparency with neither

brand nor content partner alerting followers to

the deal.

 

STORYTELLING

Getting content to work for a brand is not

easy; it requires strong ideas and execution,

content that serves to simply push product will

struggle to compete with all the other noise on

the market. Real brand value lies in creating

conversations and engagement around the

issues for which a brand’s products offer

solutions.

Branded solutions not products.

Branded content sparks a national

conversation about spending and saving.

The One Rand Man social experiment followed an

ordinary South African who for a month made all

day-to-day payments in R1 coins, in an attempt to

understand the relationship we have with our

money.

The month-long campaign, broken into five

webisodes, received over 900 000 views, and at

the end, 80% of comments across social media

spoke of how people were actively making changes

in their lives.

The documentary is currently available on YouTube

and includes expert advice and insights, as well as

learning material for schools and financial advisers.

Toothpaste brand gives a lion back his bite.

Oral brand, Fixodent released an online video chronicling the story of Aslan, a 9-year old rare white lion who had lost two

of his canine teeth and struggled to survive in the wild. Gathering over 1.4 million YouTube views in just 36 hours, the

short film may be an unusual departure from traditional oral care marketing, but the story is authentically rooted in the

brand’s values.

Digital games represent a new type of

storytelling. Instead of passively listening to or

watching a story, in games players are

actively part of the narrative, their actions

impacting how the story unfolds.

Telling stories through Gaming.

Indigenous storytelling use digital

gaming for interactive narratives.

Never Alone, is a puzzle-platformer game

aimed at preserving the Inuit folklore and

culture. Developed by Upper One Games in

conjunction with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council,

the game provides an opportunity to pass on

these stories to a new local generation, and

share them with the rest of the world. The

development process sought input of Alaska

Natives, from the creation, design and

narrative to marketing and distribution.

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