CURIOSITY STOPSeptember 2015

WE ARE SOCIALWe Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents

(Antarctica is a little too chilly for our liking).

We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our clients include adidas, Google, and Netflix.

As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at the centre of marketing.

SOCIAL THINKINGSocial Thinking is understanding how and why people communicate.

Our goal is to put Social Thinking at the centre of our clients’ marketing. Rather than making grand assumptions about people,

we want to create all our content using insights from real conversations.

It’s easy to explain, harder to do.

Across ten offices, our 500+ staff are on the lookout for the best examples of Social Thinking. This report is the result.

Go ahead - use these slides to impress that special someone (client/boss/prospective partner). We won’t tell anyone it was us. Promise.

1. Fitness

2. Life Hacks

4Shopping

3. Protecting The Planet

5Food and

Drink

6Family

7Transport

8Working

9Marketing

10Relationships

11. Tomorrow’s World

12IT/ Infrastructure

13. Art and

Fashion

14. Craft & Making

15.Gaming

16Health and Wellbeing

18Money

17Travel

CONTENTS

1

FITNESS

1

Name: PumpUp

In a tweet:

Love selfies? Love getting your sweat on (outside of the bedroom)? Boy, have we got an app for you! PumpUp is Instagram for the fitness-mad.

Why so social?

Search for hashtags like #fitfam on Instagram, and you’ll find millions of selfies from fitness-hungry individuals. Brush past the comments from trolls and pervs, and you’ll stumble upon thousands of earnest conversations. Members of the fitness community are earnestly sharing recipes, tips and motivation with each other.

PumpUp has given this fitness ‘family’ their own niche home on the internet. That doesn’t mean there’ll be less gym selfies on Instagram, though. Sorry.

The bigger picture

Every time you get a Like or a RT, you get a hit of Oxytocin - also known as the ‘cuddle’ hormone.

Pumpup is playing with our emotions on a deep social level. That wily minx.

12

LIFE HACKS

2

Name: The Ultimate Comper

In a tweet:

Meet the comper who wrote a Twitter bot which automatically entered competitions. It won four times more than the average human. Probably.

Why so social?

For some of us, retweeting brand competitions is just a part of the way we communicate online. Some people (also known as ‘compers’) dedicate entire social feeds to the pursuit of competition glory. Others hesitantly retweet-to-win using their regular profiles, then hastily delete it when they’re unlucky (definitely not writing from experience there).

Coder, Hunter Scott, wrote a script which entered 165,000 competitions. He won 1000 prizes, including a collection of warped plastic storage. Lucky guy/bot.

The bigger picture

Social ‘hacks’ have been around as long as social has, and every week we see a new manipulation of the major social networks.

This is an extreme example of a social insight reaping huge rewards.

33

PROTECTING THE PLANET

Name: My Shower is a Green Warrior

In a tweet:

Got a shower-hog for a housemate? Piss them off AND save the planet with this spiky shower curtain, which inflates after just four minutes.

Why so social?

While this inflatable curtain is an art installation rather than a marketable product, the message is still the same. Being an eco-warrior in 2015 isn’t just about changing your own habits, it’s about encouraging others to do the same - and nothing suggests it’s time to turn off the water like a smack in the face from something green and spiky.

The barbs on artist Elisabeth Deucher’s shower curtain are a wonderfully passive aggressive way to encourage your loved ones to be as conscientious as your green self. They’ll see the funny side, eventually.

The bigger picture

Us westerners are developing a nagging guilt reserved for buying and using products that damage the environment.

This example is part of a wider trend of people getting together to make the world a better place. Just in time, too.

44

SHOPPING

Name: Facebook M

In a tweet:

Watch out Siri and Cortana, there's a new virtual PA in town - and she belongs to Mark Zuckerberg. Meet M, who lives in Facebook Messenger.

Why so social?

From inside Messenger, M is able to buy items at your request. It can help you decide on a present for your other half, and even get it delivered. M probably won’t want to romance with you itself though, unless of course your name is Joaquin Phoenix.

As the system behind the digital assistant learns, it will become more and and more automated. For now, M’s more like a call centre - one where the supervisor knows you really, really well.

The bigger picture

Is Facebook’s long-term plan to take on Google? Can Facebook deliver a service that is better than Search? Amazon Prime recently launched its one-hour service in London. Like Google, Amazon and Facebook are trying to own ‘now’.

What's Apple going to do? Build an iDrone that delivers the pizza you want, based on the biometric data on your Apple Watch? Bring it on.

55

FOOD & DRINK

Name: KFC SoundBite

In a tweet:

If you feel like your Zinger lacks rhythm, head to KFC Willows. Their tables have been transformed into touch-screen jukeboxes.

Why so social?

Think the future involves sitting alone in a fast-food restaurant with headphones on, eating your way into a super-sized grave? Think again.

Multiple customers can sit around a SoundBite table and listen to local music via Bone Technology. All you need to do to listen is place your elbows on the table (sorry Mum, KFC told me to).

Bond with a loved-one or stranger over a new tune from an up-and-coming artist, all while tucking into a tasty burger. Sounds good to me!

The bigger picture

We’re hardwired to thrive on novelty. Our brains get a small dopamine hit each time we give them a new task (it’s better than doing tax returns, anyway).

KFC is a serial innovator with a record for providing this novel satisfaction.

66

FAMILY

Name: Mr Gabriel

In a tweet:

Meet your pocket-sized guardian angel. In danger? Just tap your smartwatch - a text with your location is sent to pre-selected loved-ones.

Why so social?

We may reserve ‘x’ amount of hours each week for me-time (no, not THAT kind), but when it comes to personal safety we like to feel constantly connected. Apps like Mr Gabriel are one of the positive outcomes of our slightly bonkers, always-on world.

By sending a message to your loved-ones, if it picks up abnormal signals, Mr Gabriel promises to take care of you when travelling solo, at university, or just out on a run.

The bigger picture

We spotted the convergence of wearables and social a while back, and this is a great example of how smartwatches are defining how people communicate.

7

TRANSPORT

7

Name: MotorMood

In a tweet:

Turn that road rage upside down with an LED unit affixed to your rear window. Press a button to send a smile to the courteous driver behind.

Why so social?

Road-trips, long commutes and even popping to the shop are synonymous with road rage. At some point, the Highway Code is going to go out the window. Even the cosiest, fluffiest grandma can be reduced to flipping a middle finger by poor driving etiquette.

MotorMood is here to turn that behaviour on its head, by allowing us to easily communicate with others on the road - in a way that involves zero fingers. Can MotorMood turn us all into nicer drivers? Only time (and friendly smiles) will tell...

The bigger picture

Innovators are trying to solve collective problems. MotorMood is a reflection of our will to act together to create products and partnerships that benefit everyone.

9

WORKING

9

Name: Netflix Parental Leave

In a tweet:

Netflix give their employees ‘unlimited’ parental leave during their baby’s first year. One question, Netflix: Do food-babies count?

Why so social?

Netflix is the latest in a stream of companies offering up millennial-friendly benefits. The idea is employees are given the responsibility of managing their own workload.

With burnout syndrome quickly becoming an all-too-real illness, workers are attracted to workplaces which seem to understand the importance of a work-life balance.

However, critics argue that given too much freedom, people will actually take off less time than they usually would. As long as they have a Netflix subscription, we can’t see that happening.

The bigger picture

Technology has blurred the lines between home and work already. If companies like Netflix continue in this vein, will our homes become official work spaces too?

11

MARKETING

11

Name: Facebook Remote Place Tips

In a tweet:

Can’t make it to a festival? Peruse live content captured at all your favourite events from the comfort of your sofa/bed/toilet.

Why so social?

Since the dawn of social media, the world has been getting smaller - we think nothing of instant chatting with someone on the other side of the world.

Facebook’s move to remote real-time coverage is a step in that same direction. It allows users to experience live events through the eyes of their lucky friend, the general public, or even a celebrity on stage.

The bigger picture

Facebook is playing catch-up with Twitter and Snapchat, who are doing a much better job of capturing ‘now’ for their users.

RELATIONSHIPS

12

Name: 7heaven

In a tweet:

Fed up of ancient Tinder dates tricking you with their profile pic from ten years ago? Selfies on 7heaven must be less than six hours old.

Why so social?

We’ve all heard the modern fairy tale of Tinderella finding love online, but for every Prince Charming it seems like there are ten Big Bad Wolves in disguise.

7heaven is making online dating easier, by serving up more recent (and realistic) portraits of prospective matches.

The bigger picture

Authenticity is so hot right now.

Millennials can spot marketing a mile off, no matter how many emoji in your press release. They won’t take it from brands, and now they won’t even take it from each other.

1213

TOMORROW’S WORLD

Name: The Arm That Listens

In a tweet:

A man is ‘growing’ a mic’d up ear on his arm, so he can live-stream his life. I’m just glad he went with ear as his chosen body part...

Why so social?

Australian artist, Stelarc, plans to have a tiny microphone inserted in his arm-ear, which will connect to the internet. You’ll be able to tune in to a live stream of Stelarc’s life from anywhere in the world, hearing what he does from the comfort of your sofa.

Think of it like getting to rummage through his underwear drawer, only more tempting. And only slightly less weird.

The bigger picture

The integration of social and wearables is a full-blown trend. An ear in your arm might be taking things a bit far, but it does make paying for the train with your smartwatch seem less niche.

14

ART & FASHION

Name: Flesh Love

In a tweet:

Remember ‘Strangers Making Out’? Meet the 2.0 version: ‘Strangers Shrink-Wrapped While Embracing Each Other Tenderly’. Modern art, eh?

Why so social?

When artist, Photographer Hal shrink-wrapped strangers in pairs, some of whom were completely naked, his message was about the timelessness of relationships - like two dusty cans of soup on a supermarket shelf. N’awww.

Others, however, thought it conveyed the claustrophobia and suffocation of an intense relationship.

For me, it was a physical representation of my Mum’s favourite adage: ‘NEVER put a plastic bag on your head, you will die.’

The bigger picture

We’ve long been fixated on the intimate details of others’ lives.

When a publisher shows us a new way of satisfying this voyeuristic tendency, we will lap it up. And share it, naturally.

CRAFT & MAKING

15

Name: Minecraft Underwater Wonderland

In a tweet:

For Planet Minecraft’s latest Project Contest, builders around the world got together (virtually, of course) to build beautiful underwater worlds.

Why so social?

The gaming generation has long been classified as antisocial and insular, but Project Contest is a true work of social collaboration and art. The game was set to ‘creative mode’ and an editor let users float around building their masterpieces, without fear of death.

The winning ‘world’ was a masterpiece created by a group of nine builders from the team BlockWorks, formed on the web.

The bigger picture

This may just be a collaboration of blocks under the virtual sea, but how long before we collaborate on a physical product or a movie?

Social technology like Minecraft is blurring the lines between practitioner and publisher.

GAMING

15

Name: The Flock

In a tweet:

The Flock started with a gaming population of 215,358,979. Once that number hits zero, the game is up. Play at your own (and others') peril.

Why so social?

Remember the pointless Reddit button that would self-destruct if no-one pressed it within 60 seconds? It got more than a million clicks before finally hitting zero. The Flock comes with a similar format.

Its community of gamers need to work together to avoid deaths, which would end the game forever. The irony is, the more popular and successful The Flock is, the quicker it will burn out and die. Awkward.

The bigger picture

(This comment deleted itself)

116

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Name: The Public Workforce

In a tweet:

Britain's RSPH has suggested that cleaners and postal workers unite as a ‘wider public health force’, spreading the healthy living word.

Why so social?

Think about the millions of people who miss out on regular health checkups and tests. Are they hanging out outside the doctor's, begging to be seen? No, they’re at the hairdressers, or the pub - going about their normal lives. Which is the thinking behind using public figures such as bar staff or teachers to help educate others on living healthily.

The Royal Society for Public Health is suggesting a collaborative public workforce of more than 15 million workers - about a quarter of the UK’s population. Move aside, Ghostbusters.

The bigger picture

People naturally want to help others to succeed. When you help someone, you get a boost of social status and a hit of satisfaction. This establishes your position of importance, and reaffirms your connection to your tribe.

TRAVEL

17

Name: Flickr Patterns

In a tweet:

Using your old Flickr snaps, scientists can work out where you'll be heading next - before you've even decided yourself. Scary.

Why so social?

If you’re the type to upload photographs to Flickr, then you may be following a human pattern of mobility.

Scientists at The Royal Society have been able to take advantage of the way we share our images with others online. They’ve used this big data to correctly (well, 92% of the time, anyway) predict where a Flickr user will be headed next.

The bigger picture

The content we publicly share online is just waiting to be used by your brand. If we can use photos to predict behaviour, what other useful data is out there? Better ask the scientists.

MONEY

18

Name: FinTech 101

In a tweet:

You can now study FinTech at the Open University. Modules include virtual currencies and big data. I’ll be using Apple Pay to sign up, naturally.

Why so social?

There was a time when I was laughed at for studying Harry Potter at university. Well Snitches are out, and bitcoins are in. The Open University has recognised the emergence of FinTech, much of which lives on social, and is educating others. Tomorrow’s workers may be paid in bitcoin, so they might as well learn about it.

The bigger picture

Innovative FinTech is fast becoming mainstream. Even Citibank is experimenting with its own cryptocurrency called Citicoin. What was once the dark web is now out in the open.

COMMUNITY

18

Name: The Face Of Litter

In a tweet:

We dare you to drop an empty crisp packet in Hong Kong. An environmental cleanup group is using litterers' DNA to publicly shame them.

Why so social?

The Hong Kong Cleanup Initiative is capitalising on our fear of being humiliated in front of strangers. Fines haven’t deterred litterers in the past, but public embarrassment is a heftier and more personal price to pay than money.

The experiment was designed to show the world that dropping rubbish is not an anonymous crime - people leave a little part of themselves behind every time they litter.

The bigger picture

The social web is powered by the need to develop our personal statuses. The content we share is a reflection of how we want others to see us - hence the gym selfies. This is not a trend, but fact, and one too often forgotten when we’re talking social.

FITNESSPumpUp

LIFE HACKSThe Ultimate Comper

PROTECTING THE PLANETMy Shower Is A Green Warrior

SHOPPINGFacebook M

FOOD & DRINKKFC SoundBite

FAMILYMr Gabriel

TRANSPORTMotorMood

WORKINGNetflix Parental Leave

MARKETINGFacebook Remote Place Tips

RELATIONSHIPS7heaven

TOMORROW’S WORLDThe Arm That Listens

ART & FASHIONFlesh Love

CRAFT & MAKINGMinecraft Underwater Wonderland

GAMINGThe Flock

HEALTH & WELLBEINGThe Public Workforce

TRAVELFlickr Patterns

MONEYFinTech 101

COMMUNITYThe Face Of Litter

talktous@wearesocial.net