Focus: Latest

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Bite-sized stories: why Circa gets mobile

Following the shift from print to online news, the news industry is adapting again – this time for mobile devices. The top players are recognising the different contexts of desktop and mobile, and the importance of an easily-digestible format.

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How Vuse hopes to make smoking 'cool' again

With smoking in decline, e-cigarettes are anticipated to be the future – but only by being culturally relevant can new brands like Vuse stand out. Will this high-tech alternative be enough reason for smokers to switch entirely?

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Is Federico Zannier kickstarting a 'small data' revolution?

There's an increasing consumer awareness of the value of their personal data - and in response, those who gather it are finding ways to emphasise the 'value exchange' while becoming more transparent about how it's used.

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Zero waste: Tide's gamble on the future of housework

P&G have been accused of driving innovation too far with new product Tide Pods – even “killing” the laundry soap industry. Yet by acting like a leader, Tide Pods profitably taps into new trends and behaviours that might be the future of housework.

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Calorie neutral: Miele’s vision of balanced consumption

Calorie neutral pop-up restaurant Steam provided a vision of responsible indulgence. With it, Miele met a growing demand for balanced living – and proved, once again, that domestic appliances need not be boring.

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Shared emotion: Dove's social experiment hits a nerve

Half of teenage girls in the UK have avoided certain activities because they feel bad about their looks. Skincare brand Dove is out to tackle low female self-esteem with its new advert that tells women “you are more beautiful than you think”.

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How Tictail is bringing niche boutiques to the global marketplace

UK high street shops are shutting down at the rate of 32 a day, but new business Tictail has managed to open 10,000 boutiques across Europe in just ten months, with very little cost. There’s a bright future for retail, and increasingly it’s online.

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Mean Stinks: how P&G created a social movement for tweens

Secret is America's best-selling female deodorant. Keen to encourage a new generation of consumers to take up the product, parent company P&G tapped into a broad social concern that connects parents and children alike: bullying.

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Squeezing more from fans: One Direction's booming pop-ups

Under pressure from digitisation, music labels are seeking alternative sources of revenue. One Direction has transformed merchandising into a multi-channel branding operation that covers everything from phone covers to fake nails.

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What Women Want: how Gillette is normalising 'below-the-neck' shaving

In America, it's rapidly becoming the norm for men to shave 'below-the-neck'. As men of all ages become more open to grooming products, Gillette's 'What Women Want' campaign is encouraging men and women to spark a dialogue about beauty routines.

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Honest Tea: communicating quality and provenance

At a time when food origins can be easily traced and disputed, brands are increasingly eager to open up and build trust. Honest Tea has a strong commitment to transparency, from their unconventional marketing to their organic products.

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How Disney is using data to make magic

As smart technology changes the way consumers interact with brands and products, innovations like Disney's MyMagic+ are leading the charge towards contactless payment and a smarter, more efficient world.

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How H&M is getting down with Tumblr's teens (& Other Stories)

As 'remix' culture becomes increasingly popular, people are placing a greater value on self-expression than ever before. & Other Stories is a mid-range conceptual clothing brand that encourages customers to build their own 'stories'.

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We Are What We Do: tools to change behaviour

Environmental change begins with behavioural change, but simply telling people to 'be better' isn't enough. A new kind of pragmatic environmentalism is emerging – and the 'incidental change' pioneered by We Are What We Do is leading the charge.

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How Patagonia is encouraging sustainable behaviour

In an age of fluctuating fashion trends and disposable clothing, apparel maker Patagonia is on a mission to change how people think about clothes. So what exactly are they selling?

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How KLM is engaging the connected traveller

Dutch airline KLM are engaging intimately with customers at a scale never before possible, spearheading social media not just as a marketing tool, but as a tool that improves what they do for an increasingly connected traveller.

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How Red Bull moved from marketing to media

In the hunt for clicks, likes, shares and tweets, few brands have achieved the unique success of Red Bull, the energy drink that's fast becoming a global media powerhouse by creating content so compelling it’s impossible to avoid.

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Happy calories: Coca-Cola takes control of the obesity debate

If obesity is an international crisis, sugar is increasingly cast as the chief villain. In response, Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, has openly pressed moral 'reset', throwing itself into the drive for collective health improvement.

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Why did The xx only tell one fan about their new album?

As legal music sharing becomes ever more integrated with social networks, are experimental releases like The xx’s viral freebie a sign of an industry loosening its shackles and welcoming new ways to deliver content to the web generation?

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How General Assembly created a collaborative environment

In an era of innovation, traditional education systems have failed to equip a generation of entrepreneurs. Filling this gap is General Assembly, a network of collaborative working spaces around the world built by the people they serve.