The movie Ready Player One, live events hosted by Fortnite, and Facebook’s recent name change to “Meta” are all harbingers of a coming advance in technology that will be a game-changer: the metaverse. Just how far away we are from the vision Mark Zuckerberg laid out in his infamous video is a subject of great […]
Future-Proofing for the Metaverse Read More »
2021 was not the year many had hoped for. The pandemic, natural disasters, inflation, supply chain issues and a persistently polarized planet has put humanity’s resilience to the test. Yet, with the new year’s arrival, there is renewed hope that conditions will stabilize and provide retailers with a clearer look ahead. As a future-focused strategic
What Will 2022 Look Like for Retail Brands? Read More »
As we look back on 2021, it would be nice to be able to view COVID-19 in the rearview mirror with a sigh of relief. But to quote Michael Corleone, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” This must be the way a lot of brands are feeling right now,
The Best Brand Pivots of COVID-19 Read More »
Since the pandemic began, retail has been in a state of near-constant crisis and change. For those who have made it this far in solid shape, a new challenge is arising that poses a longer-term threat: staffing. As headlines across the continent state loud and clear, there is a shortage of workers especially in frontline
Five Trends Influencing Retail’s Labour Shortage Read More »
Though the popularity of online shopping was trending upwards even before COVID-19, the past year and a half has seen a dramatic increase in online sales across a wide range of industries. While expected categories like household supplies, food delivery and personal care products saw significant growth, one of the largest jumps has been in
How CPG Brands Can Elevate Their Social Media Presence Read More »
About half of Gen Z are now over 18 and are making adult financial decisions. As banks and other financial institutions look to the future, what does this diverse young generation want? In this blog, we explore emerging trends in banking preference and behavior, the driving forces behind these changes, and what banks can do
5 Things Banks Need to Know About Gen Z Read More »
No industry or brand has been immune to the disruption of the past decade. From technological advances and start-ups to a global pandemic, change has become the only constant. The health and wellness industries are no exception – and as patient/consumer demand pushes the sector down a new path, brands must reassess their business models
How Disruption is Driving Business Model Reinvention in Healthcare Read More »
Personalization in the beauty category is well known to be on the rise. Star brands like Atolla are topping industry innovation lists and everyone is racing to introduce quizzes and collect consumer data to deliver a more targeted offering. While personalization is most certainly a key driver of growth in the category, there are some
How Beauty Brands Can Personalize the Customer Experience Read More »
The need for banks to drive greater efficiencies and reduce the cost of delivering financial products and services has resulted in the introduction of various micro-branch formats around the globe. Our recent study, Physi-Digital: Humanizing Your Bank’s Digital Transformation, noted that most banks are putting great importance on their digital and physical customer experiences as
5 Pitfalls Banks Must Avoid When Launching a Micro-Branch Read More »
CPG brands are trying their hand at direct-to-consumer e-commerce with mixed success. In our 2021 E-Commerce for CPG Brands consumer study, one of the takeaways was that respondents would consider going to a CPG site for a better price. While brands like Unilever have offered bundled subscriptions with a deep enough discount to achieve some
How CPG Brands Can Succeed With Direct-to-Consumer Platforms Read More »
As we hit the halfway point of 2021, one trend that we have been particularly interested in at SLD is the continued rise of fake news and misinformation. While our recent DeepReal research elevated the conversation around real versus fake, the publishing of Facebook’s State of Influence Operations 2017-2020 Threat Report has helped validate our own findings and further
What Facebook’s Threat Report Means for Brands Read More »
The inability to tell fact from fiction is being driven by a number of factors and is challenging the way that consumers perceive and engage with brands. To help gain a better understanding of how consumers discern information and make their purchase decisions, SLD conducted a study among 2000 respondents in January, 2021. As part
DeepReal Part 2: The Blurring Line Between Fact and Fiction Read More »
The inability to tell fact from fiction is being driven by a number of factors and is challenging the way that consumers perceive and engage with brands. To help gain a better understanding of how consumers discern information and make their purchase decisions, SLD conducted a study among 2000 respondents in January, 2021. As part
DeepReal Part 1: Gaining Trust in a Post-Truth World Read More »
So, you have a great brand, exciting product, and are eager to share it with the world. You run advertisements and in-store campaigns, partner with influencers, and make sure that your product is available to be purchased online. However, without one crucial component, finding success may prove to be a challenge. Whether online or in-store,
The Art and Science Behind Good Packaging Design Read More »
The Ins and Outs of Robot Greeters How Can Robot Greeters Improve Your Customer Experience? These electronic greeters are available 24/7, multilingual, responsive, always smiling and capable to handle an almost infinite amount of information. Their strength also lies in the fact that they can be “emotional” and “non-emotional.” Their “emotions” powered by
How Robot Greeters Are Changing the Service Sector Read More »
The wellness industry is booming. From yoga-mats and home gyms to the ever-growing organic aisle of the supermarket, consumers are seeking out products that encourage and nurture their wellbeing. As the industry grows, so does the need for a cohesive brand image that promotes wellness values. As always, product packaging speaks volumes- and for brands
The Importance of Sustainability for CPG Brands Read More »
Generation Z is poised to overtake Millennials as the main demographic brands want to target and understand. However, it’s problematic to lump an entire generation together simply based on their birth date. There is a tendency for media and marketers to make sweeping statements that often don’t go very deep. While trends can help point
Micro Markets and How to Engage Gen Z Consumers Read More »
There are many lessons to be taken from COVID-19 and how consumers have changed their shopping habits. From online versus in-store to big box versus mom and pops, some shifts may have longer-term ramifications than others. One interesting (if not surprising) result of the current pandemic is that brand loyalty is often replaced in favor
The Four Characteristics that Define Indie Brands Read More »
After a tumultuous 2020, the banking industry is transforming itself from being the root of the issue in the last financial crisis (2008) to being part of the solution in this one. Not surprisingly though, different banks are at different stages of transformation. In this article, we look at some of the best practices from
What Does Smart Banking Look Like in 2021? Read More »
It is no secret that COVID-19 has led to the reallocation of resources into pandemic-related operations/causes, with corporate giants like PepsiCo, Facebook and many others putting millions into their COVID-19 response. In the latest news, Budweiser announced that for the first time in 37 years, it will not be running an in-game Super Bowl ad.
Philanthropic Marketing and How to Stay Authentic Read More »
