LSN : News : Saudi Arabia is introducing a licence for influencers

The Girl Scouts rebranding is infused with joy and optimism

The Girl Scouts USA rebranding by Collins, US

US – A unifying rebrand brings together the 1.7m members of the Girl Scouts of the USA under one refreshed visual identity. The organisation worked alongside brand experience and design company Collins since 2019 to unite its 112 independent councils with a bright rainbow palette and updated logo design.

Branding assets are designed to work with the organisation’s long-standing fondness for badges, encouraging interactivity with geometric forms and a consistent new typeface, Girl Scouts Serif. While its signature trefoil logo previously only appeared in a single shade, the redesigned version has been freed up to work in a range of colours, adding another layer of freedom to how it can be used on uniforms, badges and communications.

‘We developed a voice that looks girls in the eye, recognises everything they are and can do, and seeks to empower them to blaze the trails only they can,’ explains Collins.

As we explored in The Zalpha Reckoning, the rebranding signals a shift from childhood as a time of innocence to a time of productivity. It provides a rising generation with a visual framework to express a sense of purposeful positivity.

Strategic opportunity

Inspire the next generation with campaigns and messaging that help them to achieve their optimistic visions for the future and engage them on the issues that matter to them

This backpack is designed to go wild swimming

The Fogland Backpack by Breakwater Supply, US

US – As wild swimming becomes a more popular pursuit across the world, outdoor apparel company Breakwater Supply is releasing a line of waterproof backpacks that can be fully submerged in water.

Launched on fundraising platform Kickstarter, the Fogland collection meets IP67 waterproof standards. To provide an airtight seal, the backpack’s seams are stitch-free. The edges of each panel are overlapped and fused via RF welding, eliminating any small gaps or holes characteristic of stitches.

After the pandemic-induced hobby boom, more companies have been realising products for the Elevated Outdoors. ‘By utilising high-quality TPU-layered textiles, dry suit-grade airtight zippers, and RF-welded seams, we created a backpack that withstands full submersion and ensures water, snow, sand, dirt and mud stay out,’ says Josh Lipinski, founder of Breakwater Supply.

Strategic opportunity

How can companies capitalise on the post-pandemic hobby boom and release products for new pastimes for rollerskating, wild swimming or pickleball?

Saudi Arabia is introducing a licence for influencers

Saudi Arabia – From October, Saudi Arabia will require content-creators to acquire an official licence giving them the right to post ads and sponsored content on social media. Saudi and non-Saudi residents will need to apply for the £3,460 ($4,000, €3,986) Mawthooq licence from the Kingdom’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM), which lasts three years and allows them to work with brands and companies.

Applicants must agree to abide by the Commission’s regulations and to provide any data or information it requests. ‘This move will help regulate the advertising sector and digital content in the Kingdom,’ says GCAM in a statement. While the move is being criticised in some quarters, GCAM insists that instead of censorship the new system offers legal protection for creators and brands. Anyone found in violation could face five years in prison and fines of up to £1.1m ($1.3m, €1.3m).

The move acknowledges the real and rising societal power of Accredited Influencers, and aims to introduce standardised rates and contractual obligations.

Aesthetic Relativism by Mouaath Moh (https://www.instagram.com/mouaath.m/?hl=en)

Strategic opportunity

As social media regulations surface in some territories, ensure you are complying with all local laws. Take responsibility to ensure that partnered influencer claims are fact-checked

Stat: High news engagement among young people

The Loewe Show Has Been Cancelled by Loewe in partnership with novelist Danielle Steel

Young people are frequently criticised for not knowing about current affairs, but research in the US by the Media Insight Project, a collaboration between the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, suggests that they are highly engaged with the news. Indeed, almost a third of Generation Z and Millennial consumers (28%) pay for news subscriptions out of their own pocket.

Young people may have changed how they access news sources, but they haven’t stopped reading legacy media brands; 74% still do so once a week, and 45% do so every day. What’s more, more than half view their local tv news, newspapers or websites as ‘completely or very reliable sources for hard news’.

Distrust of the media among young people is rampant, too. Nine out of 10 respondents believe that disinformation is a problem, but they are unsure about who is to blame.

While stereotypes about unplugged young people abound, the findings show that, as well as alternative sources, young people are highly engaged with legacy and heritage news outlets.