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Each week, Padilla’s Insights + Strategy team stands at the intersection of people, culture and brands to bring you five stories that you can read in five minutes.
1. Bringing kids’ clothes to life.
Gymboree has launched an AR app that will animate the designs on selected outfits. Why should you care? This is a natural entry point for a children’s clothing brand to expand their reach with technology. It’s fun and in a world with many options for kids’ clothing, this offers a fun element that others don’t – one that a generation of kids growing up with iPhones in hand will enjoy. [Mobile Marketer]
2. Mindful banking.
UK health care company, SilverCloud Health, is now offering an online platform to help those battling mental health issues (including those resulting from stress about money) manage their finances. Why should you care? While health and finances certainly go hand-in-hand, it is interesting to see a health care provider tackle this problem. I like this because it addresses a real need without the company getting something directly in return. This seems like the right type of program to drive genuine loyalty to a brand by addressing difficult issues in approachable, people-focused ways. [Forbes]
3. Clothing with perks.
Tommy Hilfiger has released a new “smart” clothing line that will track and reward customers for wearing these clothes with bonus points awarded for visiting sites around the city. Why should you care? This is a loyalty program meets Pokemon Go. However, it will be interesting to see if people find value in serving as walking advertisements in exchange for reward points. [Tech Crunch]
4. Boozy commute.
From July 25-27, Macallan Scotch will be giving NYC commuters a chance to escape through a virtual reality tour of their facilities in Scotland and a taste test for their ride to/from work. Why should you care? It can be challenging to find ways to incorporate virtual reality into marketing plans in a meaningful way. While this is still gimmicky, it also provides a service to commuters (brief escape from the daily grind) while also advertising their product. [Conde Nast Traveler]
5. Checking out with emojis.
In Target’s self-service checkout kiosks, produce is now represented by emojis. Why should you care? While many brands had an emoji gimmick for National Emoji Day, this goes beyond that. Target learned from its consumers that checking out produce in their self-service kiosks was a frequent pain point. In addition to other technical improvements, adding emojis (including the “crying person” under “onions”) was designed to simply make the experience more enjoyable. [Target Corporate]
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