LSN : News : 03 : 05 : 23

Jems sheds light on the escalating STI issue among seniors

F#cking Old by Jems, Canada

Canada – Condom brand Jems has launched a campaign targeting an unusual target audience when it comes to safe sex advocacy – seniors.

Jems is a body-safe condom brand committed to making the industry more inclusive and has dubbed its latest campaign, F#cking Old. It aims to provoke uncomfortable but necessary conversations about sexual health in an age group seeing a rise in STIs. Jems has created boxes of condoms and sweets featuring conversation-starters on safer sex on their wrappers. ‘Ultimately, the candies are a sweet prompt to help bridge the gap and promote healthy sexual habits among seniors,’ explain Whitney Geller and Yasemin Emory, co-founders of Jems. ‘Instead of your grandma giving you a hard candy, this is a chance for you to give her one and ignite a conversation.’

Jems notes that in the past decade, STI rates among Canadians over 65 have increased by 267% for chlamydia and 340% for syphilis, as many seniors are ending decades-long monogamous relationships and discovering modern dating culture, all while seemingly unaware of the risks of unprotected sex among their generation.

Strategic opportunity

Changing expectations of senior life stages – along with the empowerment and new possibilities for this generational demographic that come with being digitally literate – mean a shift in perspectives for brands. How is your business addressing revised life stages for older demographics?

Sweetgreen launches a £8 monthly loyalty programme

Sweetgreen, US

US – Fast casual salad restaurant Sweetgreen is tackling cautious consumer spending by launching a paid loyalty programme that will offer its customers discounts and access to salad-themed merchandise. The loyalty scheme costs £8 ($10, €9) a month and gives subscribers £2.40 ($3, €2.73) off daily orders and delivery perks as well as the ability to earn rewards and menu exclusives.

The new loyalty programme was introduced to help boost growth after Sweetgreen was left with a lower-than-expected sales revenue at the beginning of 2023. The chain is positioned in the market as a lunchtime staple for office crowds and the slowdown is in large part due to people working from home more frequently. In our Inflationary Loyalty Market report, we reveal how inflation is hitting consumer spending, forcing brands to develop innovative new strategies to boost loyalty. This scheme from Sweetgreen aims to re-incentivise consumers to make it their go-to lunch choice again.

Strategic opportunity

Brands should look at pricing strategies and delivery partnerships to recapture consumers who have changed lifestyle practices due to the pandemic

Late-night talk shows lose viewers but live audience remains strong

US – Viewer numbers of the iconic late-night talk show tv format have fallen in the past decade, but fans, tourists and fun-seekers continue to queue up to join the studio audience in New York. Tv host James Corden bid farewell to his Late Late Show on 28 April 2023 after nine seasons for family reasons, but the entire genre could collapse along with its business model.

According to Vivvix, a tracker of ad spending, seven of the most famous late-night programmes, broadcast on NBC, CBS, ABC and Comedy Central, drew more than £557.6m ($698m, €640.8m) in advertising in 2018 before dropping to £329.7m ($412.7m, €378.9m) in 2022 – a fall of about 41% over five years.

As the local tv market invests in telling hyper-local stories to reach small yet highly engaged audiences, late-night shows could find new revenue streams in the hundreds of people voluntarily queueing up for hours to see Jimmy Fallon and his counterparts performing live.

The instantaneous nature of live television could turn into nightly theatre-like performances selling out tickets.

Lick Click Bite Spit by Bianca Schick. Photography by Iris Rijskamp, The Netherlands

Strategic opportunity

Consider how traditional tv formats could be sold via a 360-degree strategy in order to retain advertisers, such as hyper-personalised ads tapping into the live studio audience, live viewers tuning in from home, and netizens accessing the content after the broadcast

Stat: LVMH’s market value surpasses £400bn

Vestiaire Collective, China

France – Luxury conglomerate LVMH’s market value surpassed £400bn ($500bn, €459bn) at the end of April 2023, the first European company to reach this number. This can be attributed to booming sales of luxury goods in China and a strengthening euro. Its first quarter sales also pushed the brand into the ranks of the world’s top 10 biggest companies.

Hermès International, one of LVMH’s rivals, has also published strong numbers, reinforcing the importance of China’s re-opening from pandemic lockdowns to fuel growth across the luxury industry. Demand for LVMH products including handbags, Moet & Chandon champagne and Dior gowns have risen despite surging inflation and cost of living, according to Bloomberg.

An early investor in the Chinese market, LVMH opened its first Louis Vuitton store in Beijing in 1992. The conglomerate is also adjusting its strategy for this region by moving resources out of Hong Kong, previously considered to be Asia’s premium shopping hub. Instead, it will focus its investments on the burgeoning cities of Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as Chinese consumers move towards shopping in key domestic markets – as discussed in our State of Luxury China market report.

Strategic opportunity

All eyes are back on China’s luxury market, with hopes of a recovery in Chinese consumer spending having also boosted the share prices of other luxury groups, including Richemont, Kering and Burberry