Brand Moves 20 - Interbrand
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
July 13 2020
Brand Moves 20
Twenty weeks ago, when the gravity of the situation became clear, we
started regular reporting on how brands were dealing with the COVID-19
crisis. What’s now becoming clear is that the current climate is one of near-
perpetual disruption. So we made the decision to keep on telling the stories
of inspiring brand leadership and strategy amid the latest crises in an anxious
world. Our goal remains the same: to provide an up-to-the-minute source
of information, inspiration and insight on brand moves as they happen
Technology & Social Media
Booming video call service Zoom has announced the launch of Zoom Hardware as a Service (HaaS). Zoom
HaaS will make Zoom Rooms and Zoom Phone more accessible by minimizing friction around hardware
procurement; customers can choose from a variety of solutions from hardware manufacturers DTEN, Neat,
Poly, and Yealink and choose from a variety of subscription options for phone and meeting room hardware.
Zoom customers can scale video conference rooms and phones with hardware options and technology
upgrades at a fixed monthly price. All Zoom HaaS solutions will be supported through Zoom. IT teams will
also have the option to be able to add professional and managed services for installation and enhanced end-
to-end management. Zoom will expand its implementation of ServiceNow’s Customer Service Management
to provide HaaS customer support. “Amazing hardware partnerships are a key part of Zoom’s ecosystem,”
said Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering at Zoom. “With many people globally
coping with today’s unique challenges, easy access to hardware is critical for offices, distance learning,
telehealth, and more. Zoom Hardware as a Service will help users adapt to new work-from-anywhere
environments by making it easier than ever before to get access to the latest and greatest hardware for Zoom
Rooms and Zoom Phone. “
After India banned 59 apps and services developed by Chinese firms citing privacy and security concerns,
including popular short-form video app TikTok, Instagram has said that it is rolling out Reels – a feature that
allows users to create short-form videos (up to 15 seconds long) set to music or other audio – to a “broad”
user base in India. The Facebook-owned service first began testing Reels, which has been widely referred as
a “TikTok clone”, in select markets late last year. “Videos make up over a third of all posts in India,” said Ajit
Mohan, the head of Facebook India. And in general, about 45% of all videos posted on Instagram are of 15
seconds or shorter, said Vishal Shah, VP of Product at Facebook. TikTok identified India as its biggest market
outside of China, saying that it had amassed over 200 million users in the country, and the firm was looking to
expand that figure to at least 300 million this year. In TikTok’s absence, a number of startups including Twitter-
backed Sharechat, Chingari, InMobi Group’s Roposo, and Mitron have ramped up their efforts and have
claimed to court tens of millions of users. Sharechat said it had doubled its daily active users in a matter
of days to more than 25 million. Gaana, a music streaming service owned by Indian conglomerate Times
Internet, rolled out HotShots on Tuesday, which curates user-generated videos. Gaana had more than 150
million monthly active users as of earlier this year.
Google, Facebook and Twitter have said that they will temporarily stop processing Hong Kong government
requests for user data as the companies reviewed a sweeping national security law that has chilled political
expression in the city. The companies said they were still assessing the law, which has already been used to
arrest people who have called for Hong Kong independence. Facebook said its review would include human
rights considerations. The surprising consensus from the rival American internet giants, which each used
similar language in each statement, was a rare public questioning of Chinese policy. TikTok went even further
than the American companies, saying it would withdraw its app from stores in Hong Kong and make the app
inoperable to users there within a few days. The video app is owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance but
is not available in mainland China.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Amid increased pressure from advertisers and campaign groups to quell the volume of hate speech on its
platform, Facebook has committed to undergo an audit by the Media Rating Council to assess its brand
safety controls and its partner and content monetization policies. In a blog post last week, Facebook said
this, plus earlier announced changes, such as its intention to label “newsworthy content” it would otherwise
take down for violating its policies, was a “direct result of feedback from the civil rights community collected
through our civil rights audit.” Facebook said it also expects the audit to cover its partner monetization
policies and content monetization policies – the rules publishers and creators must abide if they want to make
money from their Facebook content through ad revenue – and how it enforces them. David Gunzerath, MRC
svp and associate director said the MRC would also like Instagram to be included in the audit. “We think it’s
important that our audit be full scope, with as broad a level of coverage as is possible of the various platforms
on which Facebook sells advertising,” Gunzerath said. MRC’s audits are carried out by external accounting
firms, primarily Ernst & Young. The company being audited picks up the tab and the cost, which depends on
the scope of the audit and how many consultant hours are required, can range from hundreds of thousands of
dollars to over a million dollars. It’s unclear as to how long the audit might take. Audits are also not one-time
events. “We don’t go away once we audit and accredit,” said Gunzerath. “We audit again the next year. If we
need to update the criteria, we will update the criteria.”
As Uber’s business HAS evolved amid the challenges of the pandemic, its app needed a refresh to reflect
the company’s direction. Now, the first thing you see when you open the Uber app is the introduction of
food delivery as an equal theme in the design, something Uber has been experimenting with since last year.
But the pandemic has pushed the company to fully commit to making the Uber app about more than just
rides. When you first open the app, you’ll see a group of buttons representing various services, including two
large buttons that lead to Uber’s two main services, Eats and Rides. Below those you’ll find a row of four
smaller shortcuts that will link to newer Uber services, some of which are based on the Uber Eats model.
The company’s services now focus on two basic scenarios – one where Uber helps you go somewhere (via
an Uber driver’s car, a scooter, or a bike), and another where you get something (such as a meal from a local
restaurant). On the “go” side, Uber plans to offer the service of a driver and car for increments of time, instead
of single trips. But most of the new services focus on “get” scenarios that leverage the Uber Eats model and
where Uber drivers act as couriers. For example, you can order up an Uber courier to pick up something and
deliver it to a friend across town using the Connect service. Uber plans to increasingly deliver things to you
from local businesses, such as pharmacy products, home goods, or flowers, via its Direct service. And you’ll
see Uber competing with Amazon and Instacart in grocery delivery, where Uber contractors pick out and
deliver your groceries. “Over a period of time, we think that we can shift behavior from one mode of behavior
into multiple modes of behavior,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says of the new app experience. “And just as
Amazon went from books to overall retail and opened up their marketplaces to third parties, we think we can
really extend the definition of movement from moving you from point A to B, to moving… anything you want
to have delivered to you.”
Travel & Hospitality
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line are teaming up to create a health and safety panel aimed
at helping the cruising industry recover and set new cleanliness standards as it looks to resume voyages
following the industrywide pause that began in March. “We compete for the vacationing consumer’s business
every day, but we never compete on health and safety standards,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which also operates Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
“While the cruise industry has always had rigorous health standards, the unique challenges posed by
Covid-19 provide an opportunity to raise the bar even higher.” The Healthy Sail Panel will be co-chaired by
former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb and former Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt,
who also served as the US secretary of Health and Human Services from 2005 to 2009. The panel has already
been convening for a month and is expected to deliver its recommendations by the end of August. “We’re on
a problem-solving mission to help the cruise industry figure out how to adapt to a new risk environment we
have never seen before,” said Leavitt.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Starbucks has announced that it will require all customers to wear facial coverings while visiting any of its
9,000 locations across the United States. The rule will go into effect on July 15. The order may supersede
local ordinances in states and cities that do not require mask wearing in public. In those locations, customers
who do not want to wear masks will still be allowed to use Starbucks drive-throughs or use curbside pickup
and delivery services. “The company is committed to playing a constructive role in supporting health and
government officials as they work to mitigate the spread of Covid-19,” Starbucks said
Cruise operator Carnival Corporation – which owns Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Holland
America – has said incentives such as flexible booking and low cabin prices have led to an “encouraging”
amount of bookings or rebookings for 2021. While the U.S. cruise industry has agreed to a no-sail order
through September, investors are looking to signs of a healthy business next year as the broader travel
industry continues to weather the Covid-19 pandemic. After the pandemic, said President and CEO Arnold
Donald in a call with investors,“we expect demand to be more than adequate to fill ships in a staggered
restart. We’re very encouraged by the booking numbers we see.” A statement from the company filled in more
facts: “Despite substantially reduced marketing and selling spend, the company continues to see demand
from new bookings for 2021. For the most recent booking period, the first three weeks in June 2020, almost
60% of 2021 bookings were new bookings. The remaining 2021 booking volumes resulted from guests
applying their [credit] to specific future cruises.” Carnival had earlier announced a return to waters by Aug.
1, but that has since been moved to Sept. 30. Carnival’s Aida cruise line, which operates in Germany, will
resume cruising in August with social distancing guidelines on board.
McDonald’s in the Netherlands has teamed up with oil company Neste and logistics firm HAVI to turn its
used french fry oil into renewable diesel fuel. Launched this quarter, the circular economy partnership sees
Neste convert the oil, which is then used in the HAVI trucks that deliver supplies to McDonald’s. The Neste
MY Renewable Diesel emits up to 90% fewer greenhouse gases into the environment, as compared to diesel
from fossil fuels. All 252 McDonald’s restaurants in the Netherlands will participate in the scheme, and Neste
and HAVI are seeking to convert other restaurants’ cooking oil into renewable fuel.
Impossible Foods has partnered with activist-athlete Colin Kaepernick for a multi-city program that will
feed residents in underserved communities. Through the former NFL quarterback’s nonprofit group, Know
Your Rights Camp, the brand will hand out packages with its plant-based products to local families and
serve cooked meatless burgers via on-site food trucks in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and other
cities through the end of the year. Impossible, one of the major players in the faux-meat category, has
pledged to donate at least 1 million meals this year, with 100,000 pounds of its products already going to
food banks and more than 750,000 front-line medical workers, first responders and others since the start of
the pandemic. “There’s a stigma around food insecurity that shouldn’t be there,” said Jessica Appelgren, vp
of communications for Silicon Valley-based Impossible. “It’s the new normal of how a lot of people are living
right now, and it’s disproportionately impacting communities of color.” The problem already existed, but the
onslaught of the coronavirus has accelerated the need, she said. By the end of April, more than one in five
households in the U.S. and two in five households with children under 12 were food insecure, according
to the Brookings Institute. The partnership comes on the heels of a first-look development deal between
Kaepernick and Disney and another high-profile TV project with director and producer Ava DuVernay.
Meanwhile, Kaepernick’s group and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights have each committed $1 million for
bail funds for those arrested during recent protests.
Travel industry intelligence website Skift has become the latest publisher to put membership at the forefront
of their business. CEO and founder Rafat Ali announced the launch of Skift Pro on Twitter, saying that “Skift is
now officially a Subscription-First business information company.” Skift joins a growing number of publishers
turning to reader revenue as a way to diversify revenue streams and mitigate the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic on other aspects of the business, like events and advertising. Skift’s other major revenue streams
are from its content studio, which works with travel brands to develop bespoke content for them, and its
events. Both have suffered as a result of coronavirus, making reader revenue a more urgent consideration.
But the travel industry as a whole is also under immense pressure, with many furloughed or laid off. Skift’s
decision to launch a membership product marks an important shift in the publisher’s relationship with its
readers. Rather than simply adding another revenue stream into the mix, Skift Pro is intended to help build
business resilience and audience engagement. “The reality of business is that direct from consumer revenue
is vital to just about any media business,” said co-founder and Chief Product Officer Jason Clampet. “We
also know that the people who are still at companies in Europe and Asia, which is waking up again, need
actual information to do their jobs better and make smarter decisions. We’re still here providing that, so in that
sense, it is a good time [to launch].”
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Drinks maker Pernod Ricard has announced a plan to create a crowdsourcing app that gives consumers
and those affected by hate speech on social media the power to identify and report content they find
objectionable directly to brands and companies. Brands can then leverage their influence with social media
platforms to help ensure the content is reviewed and removed, if warranted. The app will be an additional
resource for individuals, brands and social media platforms to use in the fight to stop hate speech online.
“The world is waking up to the reality that we all have a role to play in stopping the spread of hate speech,
racism and misinformation on social media platforms,” said Pernod Ricard USA CEO Ann Mukherjee. “There
is a long way to go. Movements like #StopHateForProfit are demonstrating that brands and consumers want
them to take more urgent action. This is important, and it is why we are joining the movement for the next 30
days across all paid social media platforms, not just Facebook. But this is not sufficient. The big question is:
What happens August 1st? We need more action and more people within the industry to find more solutions.
Companies like ours can and should play a bigger role in problem-solving than just withholding advertising
dollars. We can create tools that make it easier for consumers’ voices to be heard when they see hate speech
spreading online. And that’s what we are doing. This is our initial step. And we want it to be a collective one.
As a member of many major US and Global industry organizations, which include other advertisers, as well
as media and social platform companies, we want to work collaboratively with each towards this solution. At
the same time, we invite all brands, big and small, to join us. Our hope is that all brands are inspired to take
action on this issue in ways that make sense for them and align with their values.”
Sports & Entertainment
Japan has been among the first countries in the pandemic era to restart large-scale sporting events with
spectators. Five baseball games went ahead on Friday evening in five different cities across the country,
taking in spectators for the first time this season, as the Japanese government pushed on with its plan to re-
open the economy. From Friday, events with as many as 5,000 people are allowed. Major League Baseball
teams are paying close attention to procedures that Japan and Korea are putting into place for the return
of spectators. Ticket sales account for the bulk of revenues for the teams, which are racking up big losses
on player salaries. Japan’s baseball season kicked off on June 19 after a three-month delay, initially without
any fans watching. Baseball in Taiwan, which has reported 451 Covid-19 cases, has included fans since
May and recently stopped requiring people to wear masks. In Japan, fans attending Friday’s games were
met with a slew of new rules: no loud yelling, no high-fives, no towel twirling and no shouting through hands
cupped like a “megaphone.” Beyond the risk of gathering thousands of people together in crowds, research
shows that yelling and singing are particularly dangerous because of the tiny respiratory particles emitted.
League officials encouraged fans to use electronic whistles and devices to play pre-recorded cheers, instead.
Masks were mandatory and entry into the stadium was barred for anyone showing cold symptoms or whose
temperature was above 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
The Disney Plus premiere showing of hit musical Hamilton over the July 4th weekend was hugely successful,
according to just-released figures. From Friday through Sunday, the Disney+ app was downloaded 752,451
times globally, including 458,796 times in the U.S., according to analytics firm Apptopia. That means that
in the U.S., total Disney Plus downloads were 74% higher than the average of the four weekends in June
2020 over comparable time periods (Friday through Sunday). Worldwide, app downloads were 46.6% higher
this past weekend than the average of the four prior Friday-Sunday totals. Disney had moved up the release
by more than a year as the pandemic left viewers with fewer viewing options – major American sports are
still paused and new movie and TV show production has ground to a standstill. Hamilton joined ESPN’s
The Last Dance documentary series about the 1990s Chicago Bulls in accelerating their release dates to
capture audience demand. However, Google Trends data indicates that interest in downloading ESPN+
when “The Last Dance” was released April came nowhere close to the Disney+ surge this weekend. In terms
of net subscriber gains, the Hamilton bump for Disney Plus was certainly higher than the mobile app data
reflects, given that people could sign up for the service online and through smart TVs (and may not have also
downloaded it on mobile), noted Apptopia’s Adam Blacker, VP of insights and global alliances. As of early
May, Disney Plus had signed up 54.5 million subscribers worldwide just six months after its launch. In the
U.S., it costs $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. The Hamilton movie, featuring the original cast, is a “live”
recording of the musical captured via six cameras as it appeared on stage in New York. Amid the COVID-19
crisis, Disney shifted the film to a direct-to-streaming release about a year before it was originally scheduled
to play in theaters.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
With the live music industry still shut down for the foreseeable future, UK music electronics company
Hamstead Soundworks decided to create something that would give back to guitar techs – the professionals
that keep top bands sounding great on stage but who have, in the face of the ongoing pandemic, had to
pause their livelihoods. The company’s Ascent: Amplitude Controller is a guitar boost pedal hand-soldered
by select pro techs, giving paid work to these out-of-work craftspeople. In addition, 10% of the company’s
profits from the pedal will be donated to Help Musicians UK to benefit other struggling workers in the live-
music industry. The team that Hamstead has compiled includes Simon Murton (AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses),
Gert Marckx (Iggy Pop, Nile Rogers), Matt Randall (Queen, Mumford & Sons, Ben Howard, Royal Blood,
Bloc Party), Dave White (Biffy Clyro, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Kasabian, Jeff Lynne’s ELO), and
many more. Each tech will sign and date every pedal they hand-solder, making each pedal a unique piece.
Hamstead explains: “A key part of the concept is to give techs who are suddenly out of work a project to be
creative and a distraction from the sad state of the industry that we all know and love. The Ascent project is
not just a quick fix, but designed to offer both financial and mental health support to people that make live
music happen.”
Each Saturday for the next seven weeks, Italian art museum the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence, will release a new
video exploring representations of overlooked African figures, both real and imagined, in its Renaissance-era
collections. “The event will focus on a series of artworks in which ‘black’ people play a major role, embodying
a pivotal character in the dynamic of the painting,” said the Uffizi. Justin Randolph Thompson, co-founder
and director of Black History Month Florence, is set to lead the museum’s virtual discussions. The initiative
– dubbed “Black Presence” – is an extension of the gallery’s “On Being Present: Recovering Blackness
in the Uffizi Galleries” exhibition, which debuted online earlier this year. The show encourages visitors to
explore 11 Renaissance paintings featuring African servants, kings and nobility.
Japan’s theme parks are urging patrons not to yell on roller coasters to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
In a recent video, top executives from one of the country’s parks rode a roller coaster in total silence. The
video, which was released by Fuji-Q Highland Park, ends with the message: “Please scream inside your
heart.” The no-yelling recommendation was included in a set of reopening guidelines released in late May by
the East and West Japan Theme Park Associations, which comprises dozens of major park operators. The
rules have been adopted by most of Japan’s theme parks, but people weren’t sold that riding roller coasters
without screaming would be possible, so Fuji-Q decided to prove it to them. “We received complaints that the
theme park association’s request to not make loud noises was impossible and too strict,” a Fuji-Q spokesman
said. “That’s why we decided to release the video.” The theme park association’s guidelines also suggest
more standard safety protocols that have been widely adopted by businesses around the world, such as face-
mask requirements, temperature checks, reduced capacities, and an emphasis on social distancing.
E-scooters have been increasingly popular as public transport has become less of an option for many, and
now a brand new Electric Scooter Championship has been announced; the eSC will be the world’s first-
ever international electric race scooter series, pitting riders against each other on special two-wheeled
scooters that can go up to 60 miles per hour. The eSC, also called the eSkootr Championship, will start
racing in 2021 in major city centres around the world. The eSC was co-founded by a group led by motorsport
entrepreneur Hrag Sarkissian, who will take the reins as eSC’s CEO, and Formula 1 broadcaster and former
A1 GP driver Khalil Beschir, who will act as COO. Formula E racer Lucas di Grassi, and former F1 driver Alex
Wurz will also collaborate with the eSC to promote the mission. Wurz, the eSC’s safety ambassador, said
that the new series is well-suited for the world’s current challenges. “The world is changing, and everything
in our society reflects that dynamic change – whether it is anticipated or unexpected,” he said. “[With eSC,
we’re] creating a series that can operate from a tiny footprint yet still work as an accelerant for meaningful
change within the world’s leading cities, As a racer, I want to create a series that has all the thrill and intensity
of the motorsport series we all grew up with, but with the costs and responsibility that make it accessible and
appealing to everyone.”
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Fashion & Retail
Backpack maker JanSport has launched a new campaign called “Lighten the Load” focused on connecting
young people with the tools they need to unpack the mental health crisis. While the campaign has been in
the works since January, new social issues have continued to arise that have put a further strain on Gen Z’s
mental health, making it even more relevant. “Our purpose is to be a true and trusted ally to young people,
no matter what they’re going through, so we really looked at this campaign through the lens of that purpose,”
JanSport’s senior director of marketing, Monica Rigali, said. Every Wednesday in May – Mental Health
Awareness Month – JanSport hosted a live online conversation with a mental health expert touching on
topics like isolation, compassion fatigue, uncertainty and family relationships. JanSport plans to continue
the campaign through July and into August with four additional live sessions. “There have been so many
changes both from a media perspective and a cultural perspective that we’re looking at it week by week and
adapting,” said Rigali. “We want this generation to know that we’re going to be there for them, we’re not
going to be tone-deaf, and we’re going to serve up content and opportunities to speak with them in a way
that’s relevant to them.”
The coronavirus crisis has forced fashion labels to move from physical events to online showcases, and
Chanel’s contribution to the first digital couture fashion week was a one-minute-22-second film on its website
with models Rianne van Rompaey and Adut Akech wearing 30 outfits from the house’s most elite collection.
This video was showcasing creative director Virginie Viard’s designs to the couture customers who might
be tuning in. It contrasted with other brands’ take on going digital, such as Schiaparelli’s film of designer
Daniel Roseberry sketching his collection or Christian Dior’s narrative of mythical creatures being coaxed
into couture dresses. The Chanel collection was inspired by the life of the late Karl Lagerfeld, with whom
Viard worked for over 30 years at Chanel, before becoming creative director after his death in 2019. This is
the second video Chanel has released since the pandemic. The first, for the “cruise collection”, was released
on 8 June. The seven minutes of models standing in front of imagined seascapes and on elegant balconies
was criticised as not reading the room while the news cycle focused on the emerging protests around George
Floyd’s death and cities emerging from lockdown. However, the engagement rate – a measure of how much
consumers are interacting with content online – has risen from 7.2% for last year’s physical cruise show to
8.5% for this year’s digital one, perhaps demonstrating that consumers appreciate a straightforward approach
to fashion presentations.
Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe presented its Spring/Summer 2021 menswear collection not at Paris
Fashion Week, but in a box. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt daily life, Loewe and its
creative director Jonathan Anderson looked to tell a story by other means, developing a storyline and
providing something real that “showgoers” could still interact with, even if the collection was not being
presented on a runway. Instead, Loewe offered a tactile experience with its box, starting with a letter from
Anderson and following with an inspiration booklet. Inside the large linen-covered box file was a pop-up show
set, a flip-book of photos of the clothes on mannequins, a paper-pattern of one of the garments, print-outs of
sunglasses to try on, textile samples, a set of paper pineapple bags and looks to stick together to make your
own 3D ‘models,’ and a pamphlet listing Anderson’s art history inspirations. Alongside the box was a 24-hour
Anderson-curated worldwide live summer festival of arts, crafts, and conversations on Loewe’s Instagram
page and website. “My whole thing is to do something in each time zone,” he said. The program rolled from
Beijing time onwards, connecting with (amongst others) crafts-collaborators Kayo Ando, who showed the
art of Shibori, paper artist Shin Tanaka from Japan and the basketweave artist Idoia Cuesta in Galicia, Spain,
with music curated by Adam Bainbridge (aka Kindness), who showcased calming ‘medley’ versions of Finnish
musician Pekka Pohjola’s Madness Subsides, performed by Park Jiha in Korea, performer and producer
Starchild, French-Malagasy pianist and bandleader Mathis Picard, and American harpist Ahya Simone.
Holding it all together in the digital space is turning out to mean more sharing of the glory and less behind-
closed-doors mystique, Anderson said. “I think that fashion now has to get rid of all the layers and just say,
‘This is what this brand does, and we’re going to do it with conviction.’ It has to be real.”
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Home decor brand West Elm has become the third retailer to partner with the 15 Percent Pledge campaign,
promising to stock at least 15% Black-owned brands in its stores. The first major retailer to take the pledge in
June was Sephora, followed by Rent the Runway later that month. West Elm has laid out a three-point plan
to diversify not just its supply chain, but also the company itself. The chain of home goods stores promised
to “increase West Elm’s design” collaborations with Black designers, artists and Black-owned brands to
a minimum of 15% of total” and also increase the number of Black creatives partnering with its West Elm
Local platform to 15%. The Brooklyn-based retailer also pledged to “ncrease the share of Black employees
within West Elm’s corporate workforce to a minimum of 15%, as well as strengthening the retail-to-corporate
pipeline. “We are determined to use our purchasing power to create economic empowerment for Black-
owned businesses, artists and designers,” said West Elm president Alex Bellos. “We look forward to working
with the 15 Percent Pledge to ensure our commitments make an immediate and sustained impact.”
Walmart plans to launch a new Amazon Prime-type subscription service later this month called Walmart+.
Costing $98 a year. It will include perks like same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise,
discounts on fuel at Walmart gas stations, and early access to product deals. Walmart originally planned
to unveil Walmart+ in late March or April, but the retailer pushed back the launch date after the Covid-19
pandemic began sweeping across the US. While Covid-19 panic-buying helped boost Walmart sales to
record highs earlier this year, its US e-commerce presence is still only around an eighth the size of Amazon’s.
Today, Amazon is valued at $1.5 trillion, while Walmart is worth $337 billion. And while Walmart’s overall
grocery business is larger than Amazon’s, one fear at the Bentonville, Arkansas, retailer is that top Walmart
customers could eventually turn to Amazon for groceries as well, as they get sucked further into the Prime
suite of perks. When Walmart+ launches, the annual membership is expected to include unlimited same-
day delivery of groceries and other goods from Walmart Supercenters, reserved delivery slots and open-
slot notifications, as well as some access to Walmart’s new Express two-hour delivery offering, though not
unlimited usage. During the pandemic, customers have run into issues securing grocery delivery slots in
some parts of the country as companies like Walmart and Amazon struggled to handle drastic increases in
demand for online grocery services. Walmart+ perks are also expected to include a Scan & Go service that
would allow shoppers to check out in Walmart stores without waiting in line – a tool Walmart briefly tested
but discontinued nearly two years ago. A Walmart+-branded credit card will also be introduced at some point
after launch. Walmart also has plans to add video entertainment components to the program, though the
details remain unclear. This week, Walmart is unveiling an online family entertainment program called CAMP
by Walmart, in partnership with the retail startup CAMP and the online video technology firm Eko. This video
content, featuring celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris, Drew Barrymore, and LeBron James, will be free to all
Walmart app users this summer. But the program could point to a future where similar programming is gated
off for Walmart+ members.
Total back-to-school spending in the U.S. is expected to amount to $28.1 billion, or $529 per student,
according to a Deloitte report, which would be close to what families spent in 2019. But Deloitte’s forecast
predicts spending on clothing will drop this year compared to the last three years. Meanwhile, spending on
electronics might almost double what we spent in 2017. It makes sense that laptop sales might increase if
students are going to be working online. It also makes sense that clothing sales might not be as hot as usual
if students expect to stay home more. The Deloitte forecast notably includes “a 28% increase in technology
spending for K-12 students, now an $8.6 billion market.” Meanwhile, more than half (51%) of parents plan
to increase their spend on virtual learning tools. In fact, 40% of parents plan to subscribe their children to
a supplementary e-learning platform. Parents also plan to allocate budget for personal health products,
spending an average of $46 per student on supplies like sanitizer and wipes. And children have an even
greater influence over purchasing decisions, with 69% exerting a moderate-to-high influence over computer
and hardware purchases this year, up from 54% last year.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Brazil-based fashion brand Amaro is engaging customers in video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons to
help create its next collection. Amaro created a virtual influencer, Mara, to model clothing amidst restrictions
on in-person photo shoots, and then created an avatar for Mara in Animal Crossing. Players can visit Mara’s
‘island’ to interact with her and show off their own avatars’ unique outfits. Amaro’s designers are analyzing
players’ outfits and picking their favorites, which will be produced and sold in real life as part of Amaro’s next
collection: The Cross Collection. Gamers will be rewarded with vouchers if their designs are chosen. As of
this month, at least 13 styles are in production. The Cross Collection will be released later in 2020. For many
consumers spending less time out in the real world, the ‘real world’ is increasingly in-game environments
like Animal Crossing. Thanks to COVID-19, the number of gamers globally is expected to jump to 2.7 billion
in 2020, up 135 million from last year. Brands, observing this, are meeting those customers where they’re
at. Beauty brand MAC, for example, is letting fans of The Sims create customizable makeup looks for their
characters, while Warner Bros just held a movie night within Fortnite. Amaro’s initiative also reflects another
popular COVID-era engagement strategy, especially for those brands considered less ‘essential’ during the
outbreak: calling on consumers to unleash their creativity – and promising fame (at least, social media fame)
to the most imaginative among them. Alexander McQueen is spotlighting ‘McQueen Creators’, whom it
challenged to create art based on select images, on its Instagram while The Getty Museum tweeted its
followers’ hilarious renditions of classic paintings.
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has teamed up with intelligent
mobility robotics company Ava Robotics and the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) to create a robot that
can clean 4,000-square-foot spaces to CDC standards in as little as 30 minutes. The researchers involved
believe the CSAIL robot may be the future of keeping shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, airplanes
and living spaces – basically anywhere with heavy foot traffic – safe from Covid-19. A representative for CSAIL
said that the technology was created to “powerfully disinfect surfaces and neutralize aerosolized forms of the
coronavirus.” The researchers combined UV-C light, typically used to disinfect hospitals, and Ava Robotics’
mobile robot model, and tested out the resulting machine in GBFB’s warehouse. They found that it killed 90%
of coronavirus particles, and the dosage could be increased to kill even more. The robot model is designed
specifically to deep clean surfaces and eradicate airborne Covid-19 particles. By mapping out the layout of
the space it is cleaning, it can operate autonomously and be trusted to sterilize every corner. The initial rollout
of the trial robot took just four weeks. Next steps are focused on finding optimal UV-C dosages, adapting the
machine to different environments and allowing robots to work together to clean larger spaces. This comes at
a time when consumers care specifically about the cleanliness practices of the stores, restaurants and public
spaces they visit. A survey by McKinsey & Company showed that “consumers are actively looking for safety
measures when deciding where to shop in-store, such as enhanced cleaning, masks and barriers.” Hilton,
Marriott and Airbnb have all improved their cleaning protocols recently.
In the age of Covid-19, the move to contactless payments has accelerated drastically. Between March 2019
and March 2020, they grew in the U.S. by 150% according to Visa. Now Venmo, an app typically used for
transactions between friends and family, is launching a new feature for sole proprietors, side hustlers and
sellers to launch a Business Profile on the app. Through this new profile, businesses will be able to utilize
touch-free transactions with an individualized QR code. They’ll also be able to market their businesses by
attaching their sites and descriptions to their pages. Venmo said it understands this time is especially hard for
individuals to “connect, market and grow their businesses, relying solely on traditional methods like word of
mouth without access to big marketing budgets.” Other major players are exploring advances in contactless
payments as well. Amazon was rumored earlier this year to be testing pay-by-hand scanner payments,
which link credit and debit cards to the handprints of consumers, while Walmart responded to the need for
contactless pickup and delivery throughout the pandemic with a mobile app that stores payment information.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
Health & Education
City, University of London has announced that its Business School will no longer be known as Cass
Business School. The decision was taken by City’s Council on 3rd July, following a broad consultation about
the fact that some of Sir John Cass’ wealth was obtained through his links to the slave trade and taking
account of the views expressed by a wide range of stakeholders. The decision, which was unanimous, was
taken on the basis that continued use of the Cass name was incompatible with City’s values of diversity
and inclusion. The Business School was renamed the Sir John Cass Business School eighteen years ago,
following a donation from the Sir John Cass Foundation. The Foundation was established in 1748 and is
named after Sir John Cass, whose wealth was used posthumously to create the educational charity. For now,
the School will be referred to as City’s Business School while consultations about a new name are set in
motion. Making the announcement, Julia Palca, Chair of City’s Council, said: “We acknowledge the great pain
and hurt caused to members of our City and Business School community and to many Black people by the
association of the School’s name with the slave trade. Continued use of Sir John Cass’ name would be seen
as condoning someone whose wealth in part derived from the exploitation of slavery. This is incompatible with
our values of diversity and inclusivity. We have therefore taken the decision to remove the name”.
Wearable tech company Fitbit have launched a COVID-19 study seeking to build an algorithm to detect
COVID-19 before symptoms start, according to Shelten Yuen, VP, Research. “There is a significant
acceleration of the potential for wearables when it comes to early disease detection,” he said. “Not only do
wearables enable scientists on the forefront of COVID-19 research to reach more people and gather more
data quickly, they also track key health indicators like resting heart rate and heart rate variability, which could
be important in identifying COVID-19 before individuals show symptoms. We’re on track to hit 100,000
participants within just two months of launch. We’ve seen signals such as subtle changes in breathing rate
or heart rate variability one to two days before symptoms are reported by the user. These indicators may
help provide earlier insight into changes in someone’s health. This is important because the CDC recently
estimated that 40% of coronavirus transmission is occurring before the onset of symptoms.”
London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, which specialises in children’s care, has built the entire hospital
within Minecraft to break down the fear that can overcome children who will be receiving treatment on-site.
Now children and parents can tour the hospital virtually, exploring the wards and the different departments
they may have to attend. This sounds at first like another story of a vast DIY building project within the
Mojang game, but in this case the hospital struck a partnership with Minecraft owner Microsoft to ensure
high-quality work and parity with the building. “The project took around two months to complete,” said
Lee Stott, senior software engineer for Microsoft UK. “As you’d expect, lots of research went into building
Great Ormond Street Hospital in Minecraft.” Microsoft and a crew from professional Minecraft build team
Shapescape were provided with hundreds of images and video clips and, crucially, were able to study floor
plans which have been constantly updated since before the turn of the 20th century. “Throughout the project,
we worked with Shapescape, a company steeped in heritage amongst Minecraft Content Creators, who
have previously recreated places such as Trafalgar Square, Chicago and Florence. We trusted them to build
the most realistic experience possible using their team of more than 30 people from 11 different countries,”
explains Stott. The project will allow children to explore the hospital on computers and soon also in VR.
No section of the hospital is off limits, from Paediatric Intensive Care to the café or the golden chapel. The
possibilities this generates are seemingly endless; community staff on-site could set challenges for the kids
within the game, or use it as a tool for them to meet others their age in similar situations. Naomi Owen, PR
for the hospital’s charity, explained: “We see this as a big project and one that can be explored with other
hospitals across the world and bring new ways to interact.”
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
The COVID-19 outbreak has put the idea of mortality squarely into focus for many people. Farewill, a UK
startup that’s building out a suite of services related to that, has announced a £20 million ($25 million) round
of funding on the back of a boost of growth in business. It provides a platform for people to write online wills,
organise probate services (such as sorting out death duties and taxes on a person’s property) and order
cremations. “We want to help by destigmatising death,” said CEO Dan Garrett. “We all have to face death.
It lives inside everyone. But for most of us, we are psychologically hardwired not to think about it, and as a
process people have been largely at the behest of an industry that doesn’t think about its customers.” Farewill
is currently only live in the UK but longer term has plans to expand to more. In its home market, Garrett says
that in the five years that Farewill has been operational, it’s become the biggest will writer in the country
in what is a highly fragmented market: the startup accounts for one out of every 10 wills written, or a 10%
market share. In the US – itself home to a number of startups focusing on death-related services – will-writing
companies have seen huge spikes in their business in the last several months. And even with the economic
slowdown much of the globe is now seeing as a result of COVID-19, death care services (which don’t include
will writing but everything after death), is projected to be a $102 billion industry this year.
Marketing & Media
According to Gartner’s Annual CMO Spend Survey 2020, “CMOs dismiss economic pessimism, as 73%
expect COVID-19’s near-term negative impacts to be short-lived.” Based on a survey of 432 marketing
executives in North America, the UK, France and Germany at companies with $500 million to $20 billion or
more annual revenue, the general consensus among CMOs is a positive outlook for business performance
in the next 18-24 months, and they expect to increase investments across major channels and resource
areas in 2021. According to the report, “As unprecedented as the events of 2020 have been so far, previous
points of crisis such as the Great Recession of 2008 have revealed a pattern of business behaviors: initial
response, recovery and renewal.” So while budgets will take a cut in 2020, CMOs remain upbeat, expecting
them to bounce back in 2021. In fact, the majority of CMOs responding to this year’s survey believe the
post-COVID-19 economic curve will be V-shaped. More than half (57%) of CMOs expect a return to business-
as-usual performance in the next 18 to 24 months, and 38% actually expect a significant positive impact
going forward, making it a surprising 95% consensus on a positive outcome. Travel and hospitality, one of
the most impacted industries, has a total 94% positive expectation. Media and High tech CMOs are the
most confident, with both having a 98% positive outlook (either business as usual, or a significant positive
impact). “For many industries, the immediacy of the COVID-19 crisis meant that in the respond phase, budget
cuts were focused on freeing up cash flow,” the report notes. “As we progress to the recover and renew
phases, CFOs will turn their attention to how functions support profitability.” Nevertheless, despite their
positive outlooks, almost half of CMOs (44%) are facing midyear budget cuts in 2020 as a direct result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. To reconcile their economic optimism with their budget limitations, CMOs continue to
pursue relatively conservative growth strategies, with a sudden spike of interest in branding. 33% of CMOs
now cite brand strategy as their most vital strategic capability, surpassing analytics in importance. Brand
strategy has leap-frogged to the top of strategic priorities, from its lowly position near the bottom of the list
in 2019, and this is the first time brand has surpassed other capabilities like analytics, personalization and
marketing technology.
Time Out Group and Instagram have announced a joint partnership to further support small businesses
in London and New York. The partnership includes two-day virtual festivals via Instagram Live – one in
New York, Experience:NYC, and one in London, Experience:LDN. Each city festival will be livestreamed
exclusively on Time Out New York and Time Out London’s Instagram. The two-day event will showcase
a variety of independent BIPOC, female and LGBTQ+ owned small businesses that have uplifted their
communities throughout the last several months. During the festival, viewers will be encouraged to support
small and independent businesses through gift card purchases, food orders and donations on Instagram,
which will go towards charities Robin Hood in NYC and Hospitality Action in the UK. The partnership with
Instagram is part of a wider Time Out Love Local campaign, an initiative to support local businesses during
this difficult time. Time Out Group CMO Sumindi Peiris said: “For over 50 years we have been seeking out the
best of city life. We believe that local, independent businesses are what makes our cities so unique and help
create memorable cultural experiences. We are thrilled to collaborate with Instagram, another consumer-loved
brand that connects people with what they are passionate about to support our Love Local campaign.”
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 20
In a new report, The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) paints a picture of what a
resilient agency looks like within this climate. Aside from practical advice for financial and operational focus,
it offers recommendations as to where agencies should invest, or at least not cut too deeply. The capabilities
and skills that are in current demand ideally support strong margins and likely will remain in demand due to
societal changes taking place, says the report. This includes strategic planning, data and analytics, digital
development, creative technology and innovation, customer experience, voice and social. “This is the time to
invest and make sure you’re doubling down on what’s next, what’s new and to take whatever money you’ve
saved and not just put it into the bottom line. Invest for the future,” says 4As president and chief executive
Marla Kaplowitz. “That’s what the agencies that grew after the recession did. They took the hit in other areas
but said we’ve got to invest in new capabilities.” As the “distance economy” continues, the digital habits
being formed in terms of personal interactions and purchase behaviors will continue, says the report. This
makes customer experience and customer-journey analyses and strategic skills vitally important to marketing
success. In fact, the report says, fluency in effective social media strategies, user experience design, and
creative digital-content marketing are table stakes. Today, organic growth should be the focus. “Always be
pitching… your current clients” and “love the one you’re with” are two mantras the report espouses. “People
are promiscuous,” says Kaplowitz. “You need to be focusing on your current clients, and not just always be
focusing new business, especially during a time like this.” New business efforts need to be more strategic.
The report reads: “Think of your client roster as an investment portfolio to safeguard against declines in
certain sectors…While every client being a creative showpiece helps you clean up at awards shows, they
don’t always translate to stable income, strong cash flow and margin.” When it comes to marketing, agencies
should stick with the same advice they are preaching to their clients – strive to maintain share of voice and
share of mind with clients and prospects, says the report.
UK media brand Dennis Publishing’s Cycling division has launched a new UK title, Cycling Electric, a new
brand for e-bikes and e-mobility. The launch comes at a time when public interest in cycling has soared, both
in terms of people eager to get fit again post-lockdown as well as looking to replace public transport for fear
of contracting COVID-19 in confined spaces. Launching as a magazine, and supported by a dedicated e-bike
online channel within cyclist.co.uk and social channels, Cycling Electric has been established to capture the
growth in interest in e-bikes and e-scooters. The new title’s umbrella website, cyclist.co.uk, which launched
in 2015, currently has 900,000 unique users a month. Whilst Cycling Electric was planned before the onset
of the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch nevertheless represents a huge achievement by an editorial and
production team working under lockdown conditions from their homes. Dennis Publishing said that the title
has also garnered a high level of industry support with commercial backing from a number of brands.
Finance & Politics
A group of 83 of the world’s richest people have called on governments to permanently increase taxes on
them and other members of the wealthy elite to help pay for the economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
The super-rich members, including Ben and Jerry’s ice cream co-founder Jerry Greenfield and Disney
heir Abigail Disney, called on “our governments to raise taxes on people like us. Immediately. Substantially.
Permanently”. In its letter, the group said “As Covid-19 strikes the world, millionaires like us have a critical
role to play in healing our world. No, we are not the ones caring for the sick in intensive care wards. We are
not driving the ambulances that will bring the ill to hospitals. We are not restocking grocery store shelves or
delivering food door to door. But we do have money, lots of it. Money that is desperately needed now and will
continue to be needed in the years ahead, as our world recovers from this crisis.” The group warned that the
economic impact of coronavirus crisis will “last for decades” and could “push half a billion more people into
poverty”. Among those adding their names to the letter are Sir Stephen Tindall, the founder of the Warehouse
Group and New Zealand’s second richest man with a $475m (£370m) fortune; British screenwriter and
director Richard Curtis; and Irish venture capitalist John O’Farrell, who made millions investing in Silicon
Valley tech companies. “The problems caused by, and revealed by, Covid-19 can’t be solved with charity,
no matter how generous. Government leaders must take the responsibility for raising the funds we need and
spending them fairly,” the letter says. “We owe a huge debt to the people working on the frontlines of this
global battle. Most essential workers are grossly underpaid for the burden they carry.” The group released
the letter ahead of this weekend’s G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting. The letter was
organised by the Patriotic Millionaires, Oxfam, Human Act, Tax Justice UK, Club of Rome, Resource
Justice, and Bridging Ventures.
/ends
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comYou can also read
