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KLM calls for more sustainable travel

Fly Responsibly by KLM

Netherlands – The airline has written an open letter calling for consumers to fly responsibly in order to reduce the environmental impact of air travel.

Part of KLM’s wider Fly Responsibly initiative, its open letter – published in a number of global newspapers – is accompanied by a video that asks a series of questions such as: ‘Could you take the train instead?’ or ‘Could you contribute by compensating your CO2 emissions or packing lightly?’ The video, created by agency DDB Unlimited in Amsterdam, will run across all KLM communication channels.

‘KLM has strong views on creating a sustainable future for aviation,’ says Esther te Pas, managing director at DDB Unlimited. ‘So, it’s very fulfilling to turn this vision into the ‘Fly Responsibly’ platform. This isn’t about a campaign, but an initiative with a long-term commitment to change. We’re proud to take the lead and to help KLM to really set the agenda on sustainable air travel.’

For more on sustainable travel, read our Conscious Tourism market.

Pussypedia is an accessible guide to the female anatomy

Pussypedia

Pussypedia website

Global – Designed for women, the playful online resource is designed to fill the information gap relating to the female reproductive system.

Pussypedia offers a curated number of articles and guides to the female anatomy, which are fact-checked by gynaecologists and medical researchers. Available in both English and Spanish, the free platform aims to be as accessible as possible, to ensure all readers receive accurate information about women's genitalia.

The website’s founders Zoe Mendelson and María Conejo say they are reclaiming the word ‘pussy’ to raise awareness of the lack of adequate language for the female anatomy. As well as featuring articles covering topics such as ‘how to wash it’ and ‘painful sex’, Pussypedia includes a 3D Interactive Pussy for women to explore the biology of their reproductive systems.

For more on how young women are creating practical tools to improve the female physical, mental and sexual health experience, meet the Young Female Health-preneurs.

Vienna’s tourism board highlights the city’s faults

Unrating Vienna, London

Vienna – The city's Unrating Vienna campaign addresses the impact that online ratings can have on the tourism industry.

According to the Vienna Tourism Board, 95% of holidaymakers read at least seven reviews before they book a holiday. To draw attention to the fact people are trusting the opinion of total strangers, the company decided to feature the negative reviews of real people set against positive campaign imagery.

With flippant comments such as ‘no takeaway coffee’ and ‘the view is rubbish’, the adverts seek to debunk opinions with the tagline ‘So who decides what you like? Discover your own Vienna’. In this way, the campaign encourages visitors to break free from their digital bubbles and embrace the serendipity of exploring on their own terms.

In line with our Anti-authenticity Marketing macrotrend, Vienna’s tourism board is experimenting with the concept of tongue-in-cheek branding to present its city as realistic and far from perfect.

Shisheido debuts at-home personalised skincare

Optune by Shiseido, Japan

Japan – Launched by Shisheido, Optune is a personalised skincare system that offers 80,000 potential product formulations matched against users' individual skincare needs and environmental surrounds.

Combining a dedicated app and a smart appliance, the full-scale Internet of Things (IoT) skincare system uses an algorithm to analyse skin condition data, as well as environmental data and sleep data. The results of twice-daily tests are used to mix optimal skincare on demand, matched to user’s current conditions.

Optune is Shisheido’s first subscription service, with a monthly charge of £73 ($92, €82). When applying for the service, five skincare cartridges called Optune Shots are selected based on skin conditions initially described by the user. Cartridges are then delivered to the users’ home. By simply putting their hand in the dispenser, users can access simple yet hyper-personalised, two-step skincare.

As consumers continue to demand personalisation and customisation within the beauty sector, Optune reflects how brands are creating tools that offer ongoing analysis.

Stat: Consumer faith in brand activism falters

Despite consumers’ desire for brands to reflect their personal beliefs, trust in brands is at an all time low, according to Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer. Just one in three of those surveyed by Edelman said they trust most of the brands they buy and use, while only 21% say they know that the brands they use keep the best interest of society in mind.

Consumers are also disappointed in brands’ lack of societal impact, with just 41% believing that brands have better ideas for solving problems than governments. Adding to this, more than half of consumers surveyed say that too many brands use social activism as a marketing ploy. To earn back consumer trust, organisations must support advocacy with action.

Thought-starter: How is FinTech evolving?

Calibra wallet by Facebook

This year’s Money 20/20 financial conference examined opportunities in banking beyond the Western world and how brand purpose is taking precedence over innovation.

It’s been more than a year since the introduction of open banking, but with little headway made in terms of value to customers, talk at Money 20/20 turned to how this legislation could – and should – be used in the future.

‘People need to get their thinking hats on about how to convert this very specific public policy initiative of trying to get more openness in banking into propositions that really engage with consumers and businesses,’ Lu Zurawski, practice lead for retail banking products at payment solutions provider ACI Worldwide, told the audience.

Many delegates at this year’s conference reported that the lustre of the Western financial world is beginning to fade as new territories in east and southeast Asia offer new opportunities. ‘We've been too focused on Western markets. We need to build inclusive capitalism for everyone,’ noted Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe. Within new opportunity markets, there is a need for brands to fully understand both the cultural and societal needs of their consumers.

Read the Money 20/20 round-up here.