Mike's Industry View - Issue #138
AI / Creativity
Conversion rates triple when L’Oréal uses AR tech to showcase products — www.thedrum.com L’Oréal is launching one project every day with augmented reality (AR) beauty company Modiface – and it’s seeing the returns just as quickly.
New Balance's Latest Shoes Come With 3D-Printed Soles. — www.wired.com
Two years ago, running shoe giant New Balance teamed up with Somerville, Massachusetts–based 3D-printing company Formlabs to develop a new type of sole. Now the duo are debuting TripleCell.
Business/Marketing/Adv
LaCroix slashed prices to stop its sales slump. Now it faces a new problem — www.cnn.com LaCroix, once the "it" brand in flavored seltzer, is in trouble. To stop losing ground to lower-priced competitors, it started offering heavy discounts. Now those price cuts are putting immense pressure on its profit margins.
Top of Depop: How this social commerce app is changing the way Gen Z shops — www.standard.co.uk
You overhear a lot in queues, particularly the five-hour one I was in for the train to leave Glastonbury last weekend. Aside from the complaints about said interminable line, the main topic of conversation of the group next to me was all about the things they had scored on Depop. From Nike trainers to Comme des Garçons jackets — even four Casio watches for about £12.
Interestingness
These data scientists are disrupting Disney World's long wait times — www.popsci.com A team of scientists meticulously track Disney data to cut down on wasted vacation time.
'Influencers pay double': Fed-up ice cream truck owner goes viral — www.ctvnews.ca The owner of an L.A.-based ice cream truck business is so fed up with social media influencers, he’s charging them double.
Wellness
This small European country has been ranked the world's best place to live and work — www.cnbc.com Switzerland has been ranked the best place in the world to live and work, stealing the crown from Singapore which was at the top for five consecutive years.
Millennial booze startup Haus wants you to ditch the Aperol Spritz — www.fastcompany.com A new alcoholic beverage called Haus thinks it can tap into younger consumers’ desire for wellness even in their booze—and introduce a new type of drink to the U.S.
Platform News
Social platforms are for brand awareness, not traffic, say publishers — digiday.com Platforms are turning into an awareness play, rather than a way to grow traffic.
The History and Evolution of Brands on Twitter — www.vulture.com A history of “Brand Twitter,” from companies’ earliest attempts to be funny and go viral on social media to their experiments with humanization, and both the success and criticism their presence on Twitter has inspired.