The Youth Lab

///FAME///

• The devil is in the details when it comes to Gen Z communication. From reassessing the meaning behind full stops and whether Gifs are dead and cringey, there are many nuances in the playful, digital-first ways youth communicate. One young woman from The Love Network disagreed with the notion of gifs being dead - “who said they are dead, I need to get ready for a debate.” What matters is getting the balance right between not coming across as irrelevant or trying too hard.

• In case you missed it - Rihanna is going to be this year’s Superbowl Half-time entertainment. As fans have waited years for her new album, her simple announcement post on Instagram got everyone hyped and quickly became a new viral moment. With an obvious nod to the Superbowl, some brands were quick to make it their own with clever re-interpretations, like this one from Jameson.
• An expose on Bloomberg reveals that large podcasting companies like iHeart have been buying listeners through game streams - creating inflated, false numbers. However, podcast creators themselves felt their own numbers were suspicious. For independent podcast publishers growing with authentic listenership, it could be their time to shine. Fraudulent tactics from big players may signal more scrutiny, challenging the big buzz on the reach of advertising in audio.

///TRANSFORMATION///

• Industry thought-leader Zoe Scaman (founder of strategy studio Bodacious) recently shared this presentation on cynicism and the creative industry. It touches on why people are getting cynical, how it differs from scepticism, and why it is a threat to creativity. She closes with a message of encouragement: “Be Prolific. Be Playful. Embrace Possibility”.
• Why it is awesome that your brain can experience awe - an insightful read on the experience of ‘awe’, reminding us that we should seek to awe to spark our curiosity and creativity, and inspiring the goal of creating more awe-inspiring work.
• The criticism of World Cup host Qatar from football teams and fans continues. While Fifa banned players from wearing rainbow armbands to show solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, the Danish team revealed their uniform, including a black, somber jersey, created by sportswear brand Hummel, toning down the branding and a message of honouring migrant workers who died. With millions tuning in, it is hoped to be an opportunity to draw attention to the human rights exploitation and spark change en masse from proud football fans.

///PLANET///

• By making earth its ‘only shareholder’ Patagonia’s leadership has set a new precedent for ‘going purpose.’ Campaign Magazine talks about how businesses who want to make a difference and invite new systems into being, face structural challenges versus communications challenges.
• John Oliver’s recent 20 minute segment on Last Week Tonight about Carbon Offsetting is an important analysis of some of the issues in the carbon market. This article by Sustainable Brands is an important accompaniment to the discussion.
• Explore research on political messaging and how ‘systems thinking’ offers a blueprint to ‘fix society’: “As an example, “systemic thinking” moves the conversation about poverty from one focused on individual deservingness to one about opportunity.”
• Read this to rethink why closed captions are a must-have. Not only are they making accessibility mainstream, they’re now a must-have for plenty of people without hearing loss, too, helping them better understand the audio or allowing them to multitask. Closed captions are cool on many levels.

BRAND TAKEOUTS

Watch/Read Something Completely Different: To create work that keeps surprising people and pushes you forward, source your inspiration from places outside of your comfort zone. By diversifying your inputs and stepping outside of your immediate world, your outputs will become more interesting.

Co-create Shared Inspiration Resources: You never know where someone else is getting their inspiration from. Create forums for sharing resources, like a shared inspiration session, inviting team members to bring something they discovered and explain what about it gives a creative boost. Alternatively, co-create an endless bank of inspiration by starting a shared doc where friends, colleagues and even your wider network can input their own reference images, resources and links to books, podcasts, social media accounts, and more.

Help Us Inspire You Best: Like this ‘inspiration boost’ version of 52INSIGHTS? Let us know! Or, if there is something else you’d like more of, please email theyouthlab@thinkhousehq.com.