LSN : News : Voice vouchers speak to a new retail direction

A celebration of nature’s wellbeing benefits

Everyone Needs Nature by Wieden + Kennedy for The National Trust, UK

UK – The National Trust is raising awareness of how nature can powerfully enrich people’s lives through a new campaign entitled Everyone Needs Nature.

Through a series of films created by Wieden + Kennedy, the campaign communicates how vital it is to preserve and protect nature and wildlife. The films also explore the mental benefits of connecting with nature, using dynamic typography of words such as ‘calm’ placed on top of atmospheric visuals and audio of natural environments.

The campaign is a response to the lockdown period experienced in the UK and its impact on mental wellbeing – in particular among urban dwellers. It highlights how gardens, parks and the open countryside became spaces of recuperation and positive escapism.

‘Lockdown, more than any other period of time, showed us clearer than ever before the value of nature and its importance for our wellbeing,' explains Shaherazad Umbreen, marketing director at the National Trust. 'Spending time outdoors became the one moment people could look forward to in their day.'

With many global citizens still feeling hesitant about far-flung travel, they're instead embracing opportunities to explore nature, wildlife and open spaces closer to home. For more, explore our Staycation Market.

Pai’s packaging overhaul centres on sustainability

Pai rebranded by Concrete, London

London – Eco-skincare brand Pai is putting sustainability at the centre of a packaging overhaul.

The brand is relaunching its organic beauty line with a focus on improving recyclability and its carbon footprint through more sustainable boxes, tubes and bottles. Now, 50% of its products are bottled in glass, 40% are made with post-consumer recycled plastic, and the remainder from bio-based sugar cane.

Designed by Toronto-based creative agency Concrete, the new packaging is made with a patent-pending outer carton that is laminate-free, made from 50% recycled and 50% FSC board material, and has biodegradable tamper seals. The brand is also using the upgrade to highlight that it still makes all of its products in-house.

‘Covid brought complexity, but also positives too, making us focus on the benefits of conceiving and making our products under one roof and explaining why our customers should care about this as much as we do,’ says Sarah Brown, founder of Pai.

With brands increasingly considering the whole lifecycle of their products, this is filtering down to packaging as the beauty industry strives to move from zero to positive impact.

Voice vouchers speak to a new retail direction

London – Send me a Voucher is tapping into the potential of voice devices with the launch of bespoke discount vouchers from household brands.

Created by commerce incubator Rehab, the Send Me a Voucher platform takes the form of an Amazon Alexa skill and is able to quickly provide unique codes to individual users.

Consumers can ask for a voucher using Alexa commands, with the voucher service sending single-use codes directly to them via text or email. Looking ahead, the service is set to be launched on Google Assistant, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, allowing consumers to seamlessly receive discounts for brands and restaurants away from the home.

'As brands see their models accelerate to e-commerce rapidly to deal with Covid-19, we’re pleased to bring voice vouchers to the table as a new means of delivering a fantastic experience to customers, who are keener than ever to find savvy ways to save money,' says Rob Bennett, CEO of Rehab.

Consumers are increasingly using a variety of digital eco-systems to connect with the brands and services they love. For more, meet our Digital Architects community.

Voice Vouchers by Rehab, London

Stat: Social media is crucial to beauty research

Versed by Target, US

According to a new US report by marketing company Tinuiti, the pandemic has accelerated the trend of beauty shoppers turning to social media networks for product discovery.

With stores closed, the exploration of beauty products has boomed online, more than 60% of consumers surveyed by Tinuiti saying they use online resources for product research. During the pandemic, more than three-quarters of beauty shoppers (76%) have consulted a social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook or YouTube before making a purchase.

For brands keen to understand consumers' browsing and buying beauty habits, the most commonly used device was a smartphone, with almost half of respondents (49%) preferring to use their mobile devices to shop, while 37% favour computers.

As people look for honest guidance in finding suitable beauty products online, brands are creating more intimate digital connections with their customers. For more on how the pandemic has transformed the brand-to-consumer relationship, explore our macrotrend Recuperative Living.