Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 82
March 20, 2017
What The “Robot Renaissance” Really Means …
Nothing says the future quite like robots, and this week there were plenty of interesting stories of how robots are being used in important, curious, quirky and sometimes terrifying ways. From robots replacing advertising agencies to virtual home tours to an edible robot that could soon crawl through your insides, the stories this week touch a range of industries. Enjoy this week’s journey into what I called the “Robot Renaissance” in my 2017 Non-Obvious Trend Report.
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March 9, 2017
6 Powerful Stories Celebrating Women
As I am sure you have noticed, yesterday was International Women’s Day and it was hard to miss all the stories about women’s empowerment and marches and political statements. For me, the most powerful stories (and the ones I selected for this week’s email) had little to do with politics and much more to do with cultural statements and powerful initiatives to change biases. From reimaging a traditional Russian folk song to changing the way Muslim women are portrayed in stock photography … this...
March 3, 2017
Agencies Embrace Trump’s America, Elmer’s Slime Problem & Why Digital IQ Is Falling
For a quick summary, this week’s featured stories include:
20 luxury brands that millennials most want to own Why CEOs are slowly losing confidence in their brand’s Digital IQ NY agencies are gaining more empathy for Middle America What Elmer’s glue can teach you about the ROI of social media How Chinese and American consumers describe a creative product A creative solution to a common problem nonprofits face How Agencies Are Embracing Trump’s America
One of the few undisputed things about...
February 24, 2017
How To Build Trust In An Era Of Desperate Truth Seeking Consumers
It is hard to get away from the feeling that we are being manipulated all the time. This week there were plenty of new stories of divisive characters losing their audience, brands trying new ways to be more truthful, and talk show host John Oliver trying to define reality itself. The theme this week is the idea that increasingly audiences and consumers are desperate to find brands, media and people that offer something that at least seems closer to the truth. See the stories curated in this w...
February 17, 2017
The Future Of Loneliness
The theme for the week is the future of loneliness and the stories focus on everything from how technology is reinventing how we hug to the curious role of social media in creating a new kind of loneliness we feel even when surrounded by people.
Given it was Valentine’s day this week, I felt this would be a fitting topic worth discussing — whether you were lucky enough to have a Valentine this week or not. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this format and theme structure as well!
St...February 9, 2017
LinkedIn Redesign, Whole Food’s Big Idea and Tech That’s Always Listening
As you know, this weekly post is a collection of interesting stories, but today I was inspired to try something different. Rather than sharing individual stories, I’m going to make connections and instead share three themes with multiple stories, along with a collection of links to stories that caught my attention this week. In the spirit of experimentation – please let me know what you think about this new format and whether you prefer it (or not). I look forward to hearing what you think!
I...February 3, 2017
Starbucks’ Mobile Crisis, Lego’s New Social Network, Realtor.com Invests In AR and How To Name Your Brand
Fascinating stories from the world of business this week included Lego’s bold move to finally create a safe social network online for kids, Starbucks’ growing pains from its mobile app that perhaps works too well, a new startup that will pay business travelers to skip the hotel mini bar to save money, and how augmented reality may transform home buying. And on the gadget side, a cargo robot that follows you around and carries your stuff. I’ll be back on Monday next week with a special SUPER B...
January 27, 2017
Professional Ghosting, Why We Prefer Serious Robots and the Secret Genius Of Trump’s Paid Applauders
A tequila maker cashing in on the craft drink phenomenon, the surprising reasons why vending machines are so popular in Japan, how drones are evolving to offer unexpected solutions and what Trump’s fake audiences should teach us about media consumption. Those stories and a highly entertaining ad that will show you everything you need to know about Bollywood – all in this week’s non-obvious insights!
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January 20, 2017
Tokyo Toilets, the World’s Rudest Billboard and Richard Branson’s Next Big Idea
This week’s stories span from a new design for the many buttons on Japanese toilets to a deeper look at the flaws inside one of the most frequently used metrics in business to measure loyalty: the Net Promoter Score. Other stories that stood out this week were a Swedish coughing billboard that may or may not actually work, an emotional Sci-Fi story that offers an interesting new take on storytelling, and two in-depth inside look articles at entrepreneurial ventures: Richard Branson’s new Virg...
January 13, 2017
Kodak Brings Back Film, How To Be Funny On Stage, and the Professional Snowball Fighting League
The stories this week offer a valuable reminder that while we tend to focus a lot of our attention on looking forward toward the future, there can be a beautiful resonance that comes from looking in the other direction from time to time. Kodak brings back film, the ultimate “device like no other” from a greeting card company and a league for professional snowball fighting are the perfect antidote to the world I saw last week at CES which was rocketing toward drone racing and sentient robots....
