Schieber Research: Trends, Innovations, Marketing, Strategy

Consumer goods brands have a huge opportunity - and yes, responsibility - to offer #stressedout consumers holistic #wellness and support their #mentalhealth. Take #CBD: crowned "the next big thing" in #food, #beverage and #beauty for the past few years, Cannabidiol is a manifestation of this opportunity, and its rise is mostly hindered by some regulators, as opposed to consumer demand or manufacturing. CBD is sought after as a way to release #stress, and it is incorporated i...nto #mindful-positioned products. But it's far from the only way to tap into #selfcare and #mindfulness: as I have mentioned in my lecture on self-care, #rituals, #comfort, #indulgence, #purpose and #awareness are all part of the solutions. A great demonstration is Harney and Sons fine teas: The company sees the opportunity in #stressfree as an important #needstate for #tea consumers. It offers a variety of products to support comfort and indulgence (e.g., #chocolate, #antiinflammatory #turmeric #goldenmilk and other flavors) as well as #infused CBD products. But with its #D2C activity, it also offers a card with recommendations for mindful rituals, not all of which have anything to do with tea. This can create a sense of belonging and gratitude towards brands - marketers, please try it yourselves.

Hamutal Tula Schieber is featured in the Forbes Expert Panel again. The Panel was asked about an important subject for people's wellbeing: #doomscrolling. This pertains to people starting their day with scrolling their social media and news apps, so that they know what (unpleasant) events to expect next following the flow of such events in 2020. On the one hand, spending more time on social media is an opportunity for marketers. On the other, marketers need to raise awarenes...s of their brand and gain followers and customers in a stressful, competitive environment. So, how can brands get eyes on their content while people are doomscrolling through social media? According to Hamutal, you need to focus on #stressfree and #mindfulness. Hamutal offers a way for brands to help people help themselves - thus creating brand awareness and loyalty by offering real value to consumers. Her answer was: "One thing your brand can do is to encourage mindfulness. Help consumers create and stick to a morning ritual that takes into account their mental health and self-care commitment. These could be exogenous to the brand (e.g., journaling, meditation, stretching) or inherent to the brand's consumption ritual for example, personal care, food/beverage or relevant content." https://www.forbes.com//15-effective-ways-to-leverage-do/

There’s a new #mealkit service in #NYC: Just Salad, the #fastcasual #healthyfood #chain, just launched #directtoconsumer services including #mealkits, #preparedfood and #onlinegrocery. This is probably partially in response to #covid19 forcing the chain to close for indoor #dining, but more importantly, if people will continue to #workfromhome as it appears they will, the #saladbar chain will need those new sources of revenue, as catering to office goers is there bread and ...butter (or better yet, lettuce and olive oil). The chain is responding to the health seeking consumer who is looking for quick, #stressfree solutions: further, it reduces perceived #stress by enforcing the promise for #zerowaste and #sustainbility, and requiring no commitment or #subscription. It will be wise for the chain to note however, that while consumers say they want healthy and clean food, they also look for #comfort and #indulgence; and so menus should in my opinion present a more indulgent offering - with #customization options (a-la Panera Bread) for those following a specific #diet regimen.

Another #collaboration aims to reduce #stress in #petowner #travelers. #Wyndham Hotels - the world's largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,000 hotels across 90 countries - is collaborating with #Rover, the leading US network of #pet sitters and dog walkers, offering U.S. guests $30 off their first Rover pet service when they book a qualified stay at any By Wyndham hotel. As more and more US consumers adopted dogs during #COVID19, about 2/3 of Americans own a ...pet and they are anxious about leaving these guys during #travel. They can also choose to bring their dogs with them to one of 4,500 Wyndham hotels that accept dogs. https://corporate.wyndhamhotels.com//wyndham-hotels-resor/ #hospitality #Trends #innovations #collab

US retailer #Target and #Levis launched a new #collab in their 10-year-long #partnership. As part of the 2019 #RedTab line at Target, the companies offer #curation of Levi's in-store displays to be set in 500 stores by Fall 2021. The #collaboration's shared values are #sustainability and #durability. Meanwhile, #HM and #Lee are also claiming the crown of "the most #sustainable #denim on the block" with a collaboration of their own - link in first comment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BpNBP91toQ

The OREO Lady Gaga special edition was #dropped today, with a well-executed #twitter #treasurehunt campaign. https://twitter.com/Oreo/status/1354850652942286849?s=20

#directmail #marketing is overlooked as companies often prefer the option of #emailmarketing. Here, #amazon demonstrates how to do it right, with in-pamphlet stickers and content. More importantly, #qr and #image processing enable shoppers to buy from their #mobile seamlessly, searching the image from the catalog on the search bar (see second video which I will upload soon).

The #amazon #halo #fitness and #wellness #band is here. As predicted, amazon indeed wants to take over #peloton, #apple, #nike and other #digital fitness #content competitors, and it’s connecting this #smart #wearable band to on-demand workouts, food journals, #mindfulness and #habit changes, and even #voice analysis- a technological advantage over competitors, stemming from its #echo #alexa capabilities.

It might seem like a cute one-off gimmick - but #amazon’s new #AR and #QR #omnichannel #innovation, which utilises the company’s #shipping cartons, can lead to a new #marketing #media or another revenue channel for the company. The current #mobile #campaign asks consumers to paint a pumpkin, then scan the qr code, download the app and see the pumpkin come to life with augmented reality, including filters and customisation. This could provide a whole new platforms for brands to engage with customers in.

#Video #conferencing is here to stay, and #Facebook finally figured out it's better to become a part of the #Zoom flourishing eco-system than to try and push its #Workplace platform. The company's smart device, #Portal, now enables Zoom on the platform. It's worth mentioning that #Amazon's #Alexa is already integrated into the Portal - which means Facebook, and Amazon, are expected to have an even bigger share in our conversations.

Teens love Ulta, Shein and... #Impossible foods. These are some of Gen Z's favorite brands, according to the Piper Sandler 40th semi-annual Generation Z survey of more than 9,800 U.S. teens -- When we look into future #trends, it's important to understand what younger consumers are doing and to separate age-related fads/trends from long-term, sustainable behavior. In this case, with 18% (!!!) of teens consuming #plantbased "meat", and considering the widespread availability ...of Impossible - and even more widely accepted flavor / texture - it seems that we will have a plant-based future. -- In other words: #GenZ consumers are not blind to the future of this planet, and unlike #Millennials, these consumers are not required to sacrifice flavor and indulgence for the good of the planet, animals, or health, thanks to the advancement of #foodtech and the adoption of plant-based protein by mainstream retailers. And so, this generation will reply to the industry's old question of "why" move to plant-based with the only 2 words we need to hear: "WHY NOT?!" See more

Hamutal Schieber is once again featured on Forbes.com's Expert Panel! This time, the question was how to successfully implement agile marketing. According to Hamutal, "Leverage collaboration to remove silos. Remote technology makes it easier than ever to create cross-organizational and cross-functional teams, in order to identify new customer needs, as well as the company's capabilities, and to design and communicate standout solutions".

General Mills (through new brand ratio) and Greek Gods introduce Keto-friendly yogurts in response to this consumer diet trend.

The #fitness and #wellness market is booming. While a lot of the change will be experienced in physical studios and gyms post COVID-19, the major shift is in the digital fitness apps and wearables industries. Here's a new post on Peloton and its new competitors - Apple and, perhaps, Amazon.

Many companies around the world are under the impression that "consumers don't really CARE about the environment". This is a grave mistake. First, because Generation Z, increasingly an important spender, is hugely concerned about the environment and are well aware of the dire results of ignoring this problem. Most of the marketers - Gen Y and older - can't imagine how this is an important issue, because they (we) were not raised this way. It's time to accept that the younger ...generation really does care. And maybe more importantly - across all generations, influence matters. And, as on-trend brands tackle environmental, ethical, and social matters, they also shape consumers' mindsets and therefore create demand that can no longer be ignored thereafter. Today, food retailer Just Salad announced that it is creating a carbon footprint label for its menu items. And for a limited time, it will even price the salads accordingly. This sort of initiative will make more consumers consider their food choices - increasingly benefiting #plantbased foods. Whether marketers agree with the notion - or not. According to Just Salad: "Next to every item on our menu, you’ll see its estimated greenhouse gas emissions. That means it’s the environmental impact of growing, producing, and transporting that item to your plate. Since there are a lot of different gasses that go into all that (hey, cow farts), we use a comparable measurement called Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e). This number lets you compare the environmental impact of a carrot to a chicken. Amazing, right? We call it a Carbon Label. It’s just like a nutrition label, but for the planet."

Adding #value in #ecommerce: instead of discounting, these #online #retailers offer their customers #flashsales, extra items and other #loyalty perks, through the #mobile apps or online. Sephora: new #sample box in addition to the #VIB bonus items; #renttherunway: 2 extra slots for #RTR #unlimited customers; #HM: 15% off flash sale on top of the rewards program points.

#fashion #retail: #amazon is curating a #luxury collection for #prime member, currently by invitation only, and only on the #mobile app.

Food Industry Executive summarizes our new #food #trends report, including mega-trends of #stressfree, #guthealth and #immunity.

#fitness #app WHOOP created a market for athletes, to gather #data on their sleep, performance and recovery, in order to perform better. Now, Amazon.com is entering the market with Amazon Halo, a new #wearable device that does... just that. But for less money. Will Whoop tap into its existing #athlete #community to compete? I already said the same thing regarding #peloton: you cannot expect to be the only leader in the game for long, so you have to use your #firstmover advantage.

This #wine has a multi #sensorial serving suggestion - it has a #Spotify #playlist built in. #digital #marketing #innovation