Where people go, brands will follow.

The future, that temporary space to which we arrive every second of the day that passes. We live permanently moving into the future. Some people create the future, others simply live it, and there are also people who have no choice. And it is in this future that people arrive before any brand, that brands want to reach.

People evolve in the future. And the future with people evolves.

The future has many names, but one last name: innovation

What this new world shows us is that embracing innovation is no longer a luxury for the few. The companies that will prosper today, and tomorrow, are those that are willing to evolve or transform to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving world.

In the prestigious medium The Economist it can be read that the end of the cholera pandemic in France in the 1830s caused an economic reactivation, with the Gallic country following Great Britain in an industrial revolution. But as anyone who has read “Les Miserables” knows, the pandemic also contributed to another kind of revolution. The poor of the city, those most affected by the disease, struck down the rich, who had fled to their country houses to avoid contagion. France saw political instability for years.

The current situation is so unknown that economists are turning to history to get an idea of what to expect.

The record suggests that after periods of massive non-financial shocks, such as wars and pandemics, GDP tends to recover. But it offers three more lessons.

First, while people are eager to go out and spend, uncertainty persists for some time.

Second, pandemics encourage people and businesses to try new ways of doing things, altering the structure of the economy.

Third, as the example of “Les Miserables” shows, political upheaval often follows, with unpredictable economic consequences.

Innovation as a priority

For many companies, forced by the pandemic to drastically change the way they operate, innovation is now the number one priority. But only 20% of companies are prepared and equipped to innovate.

The report, Most Innovative Companies 2021: Overcoming the Innovation Readiness Gap https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/worlds-most-innovative-companies , found that 75% of companies make innovation one of the top three priorities in 2021.

Innovative companies, from Apple to Walmart, are recovering faster from the pandemic.

But there are many other innovations in almost every area. There are recent examples, for all tastes, that will surely inspire you to continue innovating, or to start doing it. I share some, several:

Development company Palari Group and construction technology company Mighty Buildings have teamed up to create the world’s first zero-emission (net) 3D printed neighborhood using robotic automation, Rancho Mirage, California.

The priority to innovate

AirBnb had just hired former Apple Chief Design Officer Jonny Ive to design “the next generation of AirBnb products and services”, with no clue as to what they would be. CEO Brian Chesky said that from the beginning, design has been at the center of everything they do.

And that design is more than the appearance of something, it is the way something fundamentally works. Aspiring to bring this design-based approach to Airbnb. From the design of the original business model, to the trust system, to the creation of new products and offers, addressing many of your decisions as design problems.

Netflix had just bought the historic Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles to add to its other boutique cinemas like the Paris Theater in New York. Owning cinemas is seen by the company as a good thing for both consumers and Netflix as a general business.

Film purists are gaining a bit, and to some extent Netflix is recognizing the importance of the cinematic experience. In the end it seems to be good for movie lovers and good for filmmakers. And it is clear that the experience of going to the cinema, no matter how much there is at home, is irreplaceable.

Innovating is the norm

The Outernet opened in London the first of a “global network of connected entertainment districts where communities can come together to enjoy culture in new and impressive ways.” It is a global media and entertainment business comprising connected inner-city districts where music, film, art, games and retail experiences come to life in new ways.

More than 100 million visitors a year will be able to access extraordinary streaming content, live events, brand launches, product launches, celebrity endorsements, and a world-class art show program.

Fitmatch & Brookfield Properties have announced the launch of 3D / AI scanning powered garment fitting technology in shopping malls. A retail / fashion data experience versus consumers who will interrupt their shopping journey?

A new dimension

Ralph Lauren has partnered with Zepeto’s global social media and avatar simulation app to bring customers a personalized virtual world.

Known as Ralph Lauren x Zepeto, the partnership consists of a digital clothing collection and a themed virtual world. Ralph Lauren clothing is virtually represented in Zepeto’s digital world. Participating customers receive a personalized 3D avatar and can socialize with other users.

Many retailers within the fashion vertical are beginning to explore the potential of marketing and even sell virtual products.

Users can also save their 3D avatars with exclusive products. Three different interactive digital spaces are designed to celebrate the spirit, energy and attitude of the brand, including the Madison Avenue flagship store, Ralph’s Coffee Shop and Central Park, all in New York City.

For the first time ever, Ralph Lauren’s digital apparel will be available for purchase, marking the company’s entry into virtual economies.

Second life and new formats

Patagonia had just launched its WornWear “recycling” thrift store, the Recrafted recycling line and repair strategy.

The end of the new? These are garments made from other garments, created from thousands of used garments diverted from the landfill, sorted at their Reno Repair Center, designed by a team that sees potential in things left behind and ultimately deconstructed and sewn in Los Angeles, the collection shows the true strength of what acts radically in the imagination can become reality.

Boomingdale’s has opened its first location under the Bloomies brand.

Located in the Mosaic District lifestyle center of Fairfax, Virginia. The store experience interprets the iconic Bloomingdale’s aesthetic in a fresh way, with new design concepts to drive customer discovery and highlight rotating trends. Unique carts are placed throughout the space, displaying cool finds.

From curbside pickup to online store pickup, Bloomie’s offers a variety of services that tie together the online experience with convenient neighborhood location. Returns from any Bloomindale channel can be made to a returns drop box. Buyers can also take advantage of the customization desk for customization and modification services.

Bloomie’s stylists provide expertise in all categories and are technology-trained to serve clients on your terms.

Circulating the economy

Ikea is piloting a furniture buyback and resale program at its store in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken and plans to roll out the program in additional select US markets, with the ultimate goal of making it a service across all of its US stores. USA “in the future“.

The program, which is open to members of the free Ikea loyalty program, allows participants to sell their used Ikea furniture in exchange for store credit. The service is available only for fully assembled and functional Ikea furniture, and all items will be checked for condition, age and functionality.

Returned items will be available for resale in the “as is” section of Ikea at discounted prices.

“At Ikea, we are passionate about making sustainable living easy and affordable for many, and we want to be part of a future that is better for both people and the planet. The Buy Back & Resell service inspires our customers to live a more sustainable living at home while giving your used furniture another life and a second home, “said Jennifer Keesson, national director of sustainability for Ikea USA.

Cryptocurrencies

Housers joins companies such as Microsoft, Virgin Galactic or Time Inc. in the adoption of Bitcoin as a means of payment. The leading participatory financing platform in southern Europe has partnered with Criptan and will now allow the queen cryptocurrency to be used to invest in real estate.

A recent study revealed that 45% of young people residing in the United Kingdom choose crypto assets as the first option when investing.

Paris Saint-Germain has announced that part of the contract with Lionel Messi includes crypto tokens.

In a statement, the sports entity has indicated that Messi received “a significant amount” of “$PSG Fan Tokens” in response to an attempt to link millions of fans around the world while diversifying the sources of income necessary to further develop the club’s global brand.

The “Fan Tokens“They are cryptocurrencies that offer a wide variety of possibilities to the fans of the club. One of them is the right to vote to promote some changes in the institution. For example,” choose a motivational message on the wall of the locker room before a game key or end-of-season award winners. ”

We will witness how a young man buys Messi’s new shirt, paying with Bitcoin, and it is delivered to him with a drone at his home.

Generating change through ideas

For the past five years, Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards have honored companies and organizations driving change around the world. This year, the entries reflect a range of exceptional work that helped fight the pandemic and support people during the crisis, and the need to rethink better than before how society emerged from last year.

The 34 winners and hundreds of other finalists represent the kind of innovative thinking that will help us channel the optimism and hope of this moment into a better futurehttps://www.fastcompany.com/90623897/see-34-ingenious-inspirational-winners-of-the-2021-world-changing-ideas-awards

Speed

The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, said recently in his first significant political speech that “it is necessary to take advantage of the technological advances and a better integration of the military operations at the global level to understand faster, decide faster and act faster“ .

“We cannot predict the future”Austin said. “So what we need is the right combination of technology, operational concepts and capabilities, all woven together in a networked way that is so credible, so flexible and so formidable that it will make any adversary stop.”.

The era of digital twins. The physical and the virtual make a ‘match’

A digital twin is a digital representation of a process, a physical service, or an object.

Many companies from different industries and sectors are seeing digital twins as a very useful tool to improve the functioning of their systems. The real-time simulation of services, infrastructures and communications allows to optimize operations without generating interruptions. And with the current maturity in digital transformation, this technology has the potential to cover all areas of the business.

Is it possible to design digital versions of people to help us anticipate and avoid disease?

Not only that. Among other functions applied to the health field, its response to a possible treatment could also be evaluated, a scenario that becomes important in the context of the current pandemic. It seems like a thing of the future, but the development of Digital Twins is progressing by leaps and bounds. It is the perfect ‘match’ between the physical and the virtual.

NFT

NFTs allow you to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the blockchain. NFT stands for “non-fungible token,” and it can technically contain anything digital, including drawings, photos, animated GIFs, songs, or video game elements.

The protagonist of the meme known as Disaster Girl, the American Zoë Roth, in which she appears as a child smiling in front of a burning building, has sold her popular image in this format for a whopping $ 500,000 .. This technology based on ‘ blockchain ‘guarantees the authenticity of a file in digital format as a work of art, as well as who its owner is.

This image has been sold as NFT for 180 units of the cryptocurrency Ether, which is equivalent to the current exchange rate of 415,000 euros.

Hello metaverse

The creation of a virtual universe not as utopia but as reality. In the metaverse, persistence constitutes one of the pillars on which this new (parallel?) universe will be based. If, like real life, this virtual universe does not end or restart, what will be real and what will be virtual?

Improvements in mobile device processors, gaming systems, internet infrastructure, virtual reality headsets, and cryptocurrencies are critical components to creating the metaverse. Also to ensure consumer adoption.

The pandemic forced much of the world to work, learn and socialize from home. And the digital age has encouraged many people to feel more comfortable interacting virtually than in person.

The metaverse is a relatively old idea, seeming to gain momentum every few years, only to fade out of the conversation instead of generating more immediate opportunities.

Those who work in this technology see signs that this time could be different. Especially because there could be a huge commercial potential. A completely new platform on which to sell digital goods and services.

Robots take care of you

Grace, the first humanoid nurse robot to care for COVID-19 patients. Sister of the humanoid Sophia, her job is to help people recover from coronavirus in hospitals and nursing homes. It was created by Hong Kong scientists and can speak English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

Brands that didn’t exist 20 years ago

iPhone Facebook YouTube Twitter TikTok

Instagram Android iPad Gmail Tesla

WhatsApp Bitcoin Netflix streaming DoorDash

Chrome Messenger Zoom HumanOffOn FaceTime

Google Maps Amazon Prime Airbnb Uber Snapchat

BrandOffOn LinkedIn Reddit Robinhood Skype

TOTEM Spotify SpaceX

New times, new challenges, also new jobs

Miami is the first city in the world with a “Director of Warming” (in reference to the climate). And Athens and Freetown, Sierra Leone, come right behind.

Although the CHO title is new, labeling the role of “Chief Heat Officer” is a smart mark, and not just because of the obvious association with the Miami Heat. It shows the public that global warming is now an explicit priority for the city, especially as it continues to increase itself.

Greece and Sierra Leone they have already signed up for the change.

Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis fulfilled his commitment as a founding member of the City Champions for Heat Action (CCHA) by appointing Europe’s first Heat Director, and appointed urban climate resilience veteran Eleni Myrivili to the position.

The CCHA is a foundational initiative of the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance (EHRA), spearheaded by the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center of the Atlantic Council (Arsht-Rock), a global team committed to providing resilience solutions to one billion people by 2030.

Social impact

Social innovators and social entrepreneurs have been working to solve market failures and demonstrate more sustainable models for building inclusive economies for years, and during the COVID-19 pandemic they have proven invaluable in getting help where it’s needed most: in the front line of the crisis. where markets and governments have not been able to reach.

These smaller, more innovative and, above all, more agile actors are, metaphorically speaking, the tugs that can help us get out of the place where we are stuck.

They have the confidence, capacity, talent, experience and understanding of the context to try new and local solutions, reach hard-to-reach people and places, form coalitions of local actors, and get much-needed resources, ideas and energy flowing to them. through the arteries of the world economy.

Action.

When “business as usual” is no longer an option, what changes should we make to keep our communities safe and happy while our economy continues to function? We need to look at access to work, education and culture for all citizens, without ruling out both the climate struggle and the human connection.

Now that the post is about to finish, the work must begin.

A world with multiple innovative actors, regardless of their origin, race, sex or religion. Committed to improving people’s lives, elevating humanity towards new challenges and responsibilities, committed to the safety of the planet and consecrating innovation as the central axis of a new era of makers.