Leaked emails, investigative reports, employees on social media – in an emerging culture of transparency, organisations are finding mistakes ever harder to hide. What does science tell us about when an apology is appropriate and how they're best handled by organisations?

It's no secret that retailers mark up their products by eight or ten times what it costs to produce them. But very few challenge the status quo. Following the lead of clothing brand Everlane, Ettitude is a homeware company that pulls back the curtain on its entire production cycle.

According to the world of online dating, coming across as an arse to some can make others love you more. If having haters makes those who like you like you all the more, does the same psychology apply to our relationships with brands? And does it actually pay for a brand to rub part of its audience up the wrong way?

Digitisation is helping brands and their customers communicate, forming narratives and relationships. Whether it's Netflix taking its viewers to prom, or Anchorman's Ron Burgundy reading the regional news, brands are manifesting in the real world, disguised as human beings.