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No more heroes

Becoming famous may now be relatively simple, but maintaining a celebrity image is harder than ever. As constant media scrutiny increasingly highlights stars' imperfections, is the relationship between brands and their penitent endorsers changing?

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Making social media work for retail

More and more retailers are embracing social media, but there is still uncertainty about the best way to use it. Given this, should social media marketing be viewed as an opportunity, a necessity, or is it all just keeping up with the Joneses?

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Take the stage: creating platforms for young people to shine

The way teens create identity is changing. With more tools to express themselves, access to a world of information and subcultures that bloom and wither in a matter of days, affiliation to traditional tribes has become less important.

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The highs and lows of dynamic pricing

As people become more wary of dynamic pricing, many businesses are developing transparent systems that engage the customer in the process.

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How second screens are responding to (and shaping) user behaviours

Second screens are a growing part of the TV experience. But as televisions, remotes and consoles get 'smarter', how will new user behaviours affect the balance between screens?

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Home economics: how work is influencing family life

With the number of working parents on the rise, quality time with the family is becoming increasingly hard to organise. Parents are looking to a new source of inspiration for help: business.

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Crisis in Toy Town: learning to play with digital natives

What kind of toys appeal to the digital natives? Is there any space for old favourites? Volatile sales are causing iconic toy brands to reassess what exactly they sell, as toymakers face a shrinking market of kids that are growing up fast.

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Hypersensitive! The new political correctness

In a connected world, people are watching more closely what they say and who they align with. As issues of representation and diversity come to the fore, how is the new political correctness changing the way organisations communicate?

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'Wa' culture: how Japan's mobile operators are building smarter cities

Japan's futuristic technology often leads outsiders to assume that what happens there will catch on elsewhere. Before we get excited about tomorrow's world, what can we understand about the particular culture that's enabled such innovations to flourish?

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Tuned in: how 'Generation App' are redefining radio

Young people have always looked to music, filtered through radio DJs, for identity. For generations growing up with every song at their fingertips and algorithms replacing DJs, how is the medium being redefined, and what new roles can it fulfil?

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4G: mobile behaviour in the fast lane

It sounds simple: 4G brings faster connection speeds. But for everyone (and everything) from businesses to cars, acceleration has vast implications for mobile behaviour.

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Dark and dirty: erotica mainstreaming

Hedonism is taking a dark and dirty twist: seedy is cool, erotica is mainstream, and taboos are being overturned. But in these fantasy worlds, are we really as liberal as we think we are?

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In-store expertise: how retailers are responding to ‘showroomers’

From pharmaceuticals to fashion, retailers are taking cues from Apple, recruiting expert staff, and encouraging consumers to exchange their online shopping behaviour for a lasting relationship with local stores.

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Mobile Instant Messaging: preparing for disruptive innovation

What keeps AT&T's CEO awake at night? Smartphones, apparently. As consumers adopt free apps like WhatsApp, Viber and Skype, revenues from the operators industry's most prized cash cow, the text message, are slipping. How will operators evolve?

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Jump around thinking: how publishers are rewiring for tablets

A bright future is emerging for publishing on tablets, but as early adoption shows, people see digital magazines more as a springboard to other content. In this fight for the fingertips, how will publishers keep readers engaged?

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Why moderate is the new cool

Individual freedoms are at the heart of Western society, but with economies reeling from greedy bankers, healthcare costs rising, and citizens outraged over media ethics, a new aspiration of control and responsibility has emerged.

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The connected store: double-sided data

Armed with smartphones, a new generation of consumer is forcing marketers to adopt new tools. But are the benefits entirely one-sided? Or is a new, mutually rewarding relationship set to flourish as retailers in the US turn in-store technology back on them?

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The sticky stuff: how apps keep consumers’ attention

Stickiness is one of the core principles of web design, which is still used to measure a product's success. It's also key to achieving brand objectives. Daniel Nye Griffiths unpacks the dynamics behind some sticky apps and games.

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New values: television in the US

The big US broadcast television networks recently completed their 'upfront' presentations, in which they unveil their autumn programming lineups and new ideas. The most striking thing is the emphasis on social media and family-based sitcoms.

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UK landlines: time to cut the cord yet?

Landline usage is in decline, but providers still have a significant market share; although younger people are turning away from landline voice services, users of all types still have fixed line connections. Is this set to continue?