It’s Time To Do Good 

Too Good To Go’s 2022 Impact Report stated that they, and their community, saved 79 million meals in 2022, avoiding nearly 200,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions – that’s the same as 200,000 round-trips from Paris to New York. 

If there’s one thing that Too Good To Go’s success shows us, it’s that people are actively looking for more ways to do good in some tangible way. Being able to pick up food to eat that otherwise would have gone in the bin, sometimes lucking out with a full Pizza Express pizza or fifteen cold Pret sandwiches, is a very substantial reward for many. We’ve seen this success replicated with other apps that provide options for consumers to make more sustainable choices – the sustainable fashion market is valued at $177 billion, dwarfing fast fashion’s $106 billion.

For brands, it should be clear that people are looking for ways to make personal changes to their lives in service to the environment and the community, without any small print. As opposed to other operations, which are rife with greenwashing and brands not taking accountability for their climate impact, the work done by Too Good To Go is quantifiably good for the environment. How can your brand offer more honest and true opportunities for people to change their impact on the world around them? 

Building Healthy Habits

Consumers are stressed – very stressed. 1 in 3 adults worldwide feel stressed weekly, and 8 out of 10 of those adults stated that doing something creative and manual helps them manage that stress. LEGO is presenting a new opportunity for them to relax and enter a low-stakes flow state. 

LEGO has even tapped Lo-Fi Girl, an iconic online radio station popular with Millennials that people play when they want to relax, highlighting indie tunes that are easy to tune out and zone out to. By partnering with Lo-Fi Girl, and repositioning their product as something for burnt-out workers, LEGO is demonstrating that they clearly understand what it is that their consumers want. Trapped in arrested development in the aftermath of a Peter Pan-demic, many people feel ill equipped to deal with university, work, and more; and find themselves retreating into a more idyllic childhood. The toy industry agrees, projecting that GBP 1.2BN will be spent this year on toys for adults. 

Our take? Brands shouldn’t be afraid to have a bit of fun with it, because consumers absolutely need a bit more lightheartedness in their lives. Grappling with a cost of living crisis, work, university, inflation, housing rates – your brand should give them a chance to sit down, relax, and just do something that makes them feel good. 

The Places To Be
(And Pics To Prove It)

The Drum recently interviewed Ken Gordon, from EPAM Continuum, about his thoughts around the experiential space and why luxury is pivoting there. It’s been clear through trends over the past few years that luxury brands are branching out to provide more OOH experiences to consumers, rather than just shopping. 

From Ralph Lauren’s Ralph’s coffee bar popping up all around the world, to the Prada caffe, to the actual breakfast you can have at Tiffany’s, some people are asking why these brands are pivoting from haute couture to hospitality. 

It all makes sense when you consider that, in the age of social media, content is king. A handbag can be easily replicated through dupes and fakes, but an experience like taking tea in the Gucci Garden or getting sweaty at an Hermes workout class, is something that can only happen to those in the know. Being able to share this exclusive experience online also brings that person cultural capital, and a feeling of intimacy with the brand. 

Our take? People want to feel things. Experiences, both going to them IRL and watching them on the feed, are what people are hungry for now. There are just so many opportunities for brands to play in – revenge travel! Interactive shows! Live theatre walkthroughs, or museum exhibits, or a cup of tea and cake. It all goes a long way for the culture-hungry clientele.