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A former cargo port in Rotterdam could become home to Europe's largest floating residential community, as Danish marine architecture studio MAST unveils plans for over 100 apartments floating in place. The proposal arrives as the Netherlands grapples with an acute housing crisis, racing to build one million new homes by 2030 while contending with scarce buildable land.

Rather than pursuing costly land reclamation — a practice that continues reshaping coastlines worldwide at significant ecological expense — MAST's floating neighborhood embraces water as an integral part of urban infrastructure. The development would feature modular buildings constructed off-site and towed into position, creating minimal disruption and indicating the possibility of relocating entire structures if needed.

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Floating urbanism is gaining momentum as cities worldwide confront rising sea levels and housing shortages. Unlike traditional waterfront developments that struggle to keep water out, these communities work with their natural aquatic environment. MAST's design incorporates 900 square meters of floating reed beds to improve water quality while providing habitat for wildlife.

Connected to Rotterdam's extensive cycling infrastructure and accessible by boat, Spoorweghaven demonstrates how floating communities could integrate seamlessly with existing urban networks. As MAST pursues similar projects in Denmark and elsewhere, the studio positions floating architecture as a scalable response to 21st-century pressures.

Singapore's National Library Board is pioneering technology that could reshape how people engage with books. The library system has developed Augmented Reading — an experience that uses Snap's Spectacles to overlay real-time audio and visual effects onto physical books. The glasses scan text as readers progress through pages, using machine learning to trigger ambient soundscapes, music and visual elements that correspond to the story's mood and action.

The technology tackles a key challenge: competing with digital entertainment for shrinking attention spans. Rather than replacing traditional reading, Augmented Reading aims to be a tool for sustained engagement. By adding layers of images and atmospheric sound — creaking doors, distant chatter, suspenseful music — the system creates an immersive environment for reluctant readers. The project, currently in beta testing with plans for public trials later this year, represents a broader trend of cultural institutions experimenting with AR technology to remain relevant.

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Augmented Reading reflects a pragmatic approach to serving audiences whose expectations have been shaped by gaming and streaming, texting and scrolling. If successful, this Singaporean experiment could signal a new chapter for how stories are consumed, combining the tactile, offline pleasure of physical books with the multimedia experiences digital natives have learned to expect.

French startup Lokki, a platform for rental companies, has introduced a dedicated paid leave policy for abortions. It offers employees two days of paid time off with complete discretion over what they choose to disclose. The policy, announced by co-founder Benoit Prigent, emerged from a personal conversation with a friend who felt compelled to use vacation days and hide her experience from colleagues during an already difficult time.

The initiative reflects a shift toward radical empathy in the workplace. Rather than forcing workers to navigate an abortion through generic sick leave or vacation policies, Lokki has created a specific framework that acknowledges people will sometimes need to terminate a pregnancy. While it's entirely up to the employee whether or not to share the reason for their two days leave, Prigent hopes the policy will lead to normalization and more open conversations, to "empathy without shame or guilt."

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Traditional boundaries between personal and professional life are being redrawn, particularly among younger generations who expect employers to acknowledge life's complexities rather than pretend they don't exist. As employees increasingly expect psychological safety and authentic care from employers, organizations that acknowledge the full spectrum of human experience can gain a competitive advantage in talent acquisition and retention.

The question for other companies becomes: which of your existing policies unintentionally force workers to hide real life behind euphemisms and workarounds?

Spotted in Boston, Month Friend represents a deliberate rejection of social media's obsession with performance and optimization. The service randomly pairs users for exactly one month, during which the pair exchanges daily messages guided by prompts ranging from mundane ("What's your favorite kind of soup?") to profound ("What are you most proud of?"). There's no swiping, no algorithmic matching, no endless scroll of content. Just two strangers committed to a month-long correspondence by email.

Users can't choose their partner and must navigate whatever chemistry — or lack thereof — emerges from the pairing. As the concept's unnamed developers explain, "The closest feeling we'd like to replicate is those intense friendships you form at summer camp, where you're thrown together with a stranger and share everything with them, even though you're not quite sure if you really get along and never see each other again."

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Month Friend explicitly acknowledges that it's "probably worse" by any measurable standard than existing social platforms. Which points to something marketers are increasingly recognizing: people are growing weary of hyper-optimized experiences where they feel a constant pressure to perform and rack up likes.

The month-long commitment also creates artificial scarcity in an attention economy built on infinite choice. Whether this represents a viable business model or an art project masquerading as a social network remains unclear, but it signals a growing hunger for authentic digital experiences that prioritize depth over engagement metrics.

Salesforce just dropped the 6th edition of its Connected Shoppers report, the result of surveying 8,350 consumers and 1,700 retail leaders across 21 countries. The headline? 85% of retailers agree AI is transforming retail. No shock there. From synced services to AI agents buying on shoppers’ behalf, the path ahead is paved with seamless, automated ease. But what lies beyond convenience? Let’s unpack two shopper shifts pointing to deeper desires:

🎲 SERENDIPITY SEEKERS – bring back the joy of the unexpected

By 2026, shoppers expect 41% of their purchases will still happen IRL — a gentle dip from 45% in 2024. Amid algorithmic precision and hyper-personalized feeds, consumers are craving surprise. After all, if every search yields the expected, where’s the thrill?

Only 17% of shoppers have taken part in a unique in-store experience. That’s a missed opportunity. Curated randomness, sensory subtraction, unexpected collabs — it’s time to transform brick-and-mortar outlets into discovery engines. Want to tempt people off-screen? Make IRL irresistible. Take a peek at our new Retail & Commerce report for inspo. 👀

🎁 WORTHWISE – prove your worth beyond the price tag 

Yep, 66% of shoppers switch brands over high prices. But a full 26% say brands simply stop keeping up with their evolving needs. And while 77% belong to at least one loyalty program, 35% never use them. Why? Because many still serve up points-for-purchase that lack emotional pull.

Gen Z are 3x more likely than Boomers to crave experiential rewards — think backstage passes, invite-only workshops, in-store masterclasses. The future of loyalty? It’s emotional, social, identity-driven. Smart brands are those rewarding participation, not just purchases. 📒 Beauty and Food brands are already onto this. Are you?

For its reopening after two years of renovations, Fotomuseum Winterthur recently created a satirical video claiming 'Switzerland is fake.' Working with JUNE Corporate Communications and AI artist Patrick Karpiczenko, the video featured AI-generated content that questioned Switzerland's authenticity and played with various disinformation tropes — from mind control through yodeling to Swiss command of global finance.

It's a clever marketing exercise tied to the museum's new exhibition, "The Lure of the Image — How Images Seduce Online." The campaign's rapid-fire clips mimic disinformation tactics to make audiences question what they see online. As the museum says: "In a world of AI and fake news, it is more important than ever to scrutinize, actively reflect on and critically examine images."

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By weaponizing the tools of misinformation to promote media literacy, Fotomuseum Winterthur taps into a deep cultural undercurrent: "What's real, and who decides?" As the tidal wave of synthetic content continues to swell (AI images, deepfakes, virtual influencers), Fake Switzerland reflects a growing need for clarity and critique. It also suggests a way for institutions to forge deeper, more meaningful relationships with their audiences — invite them to question rather than simply consume.

German discount retailer Aldi Süd is challenging supermarket convention by reorganizing its fresh meat displays around animal welfare standards rather than product categories. Instead of the traditional arrangement by meat type — beef here, pork there, chicken elsewhere — the chain has introduced a color-coded system that groups products by the conditions in which animals were raised. Blue sections house meat from conventional farming (welfare levels 1 and 2), while green areas showcase products from higher welfare standards (levels 3, 4 and 5), with promotional items marked in red.

The new system reflects Aldi Süd's #Haltungswechsel (welfare transition) initiative, which aims to eliminate all products below welfare level 3 by 2030. The company has already completed this transition for milk, turkey and beef, responding to what it describes as steadily growing customer demand for higher-welfare products. The retailer reports that sausage products from the lowest welfare category have disappeared from its shelves entirely.

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Aldi's welfare-first merchandising taps into a crucial barrier preventing consumers from living more purposefully: decision paralysis. When faced with complex sustainability challenges — from climate impact to ethical sourcing — many people struggle to know where to begin. The overwhelming scale of global issues, combined with the fear of making imperfect choices, often leads to inaction instead of incremental progress.

By reorganizing its cold storage around clear welfare categories, Aldi removes cognitive friction from ethical decision-making. The color-coded system transforms a complex assessment of farming practices into an intuitive shopping experience. Less moral math, more doing the right thing by default.

As part of a slate of accessibility features launching later this year, Apple is adding Accessibility Nutrition Labels to the App Store. The goal is to provide consumers with transparent information about an app's accessibility features ahead of downloading.

Similar to nutrition facts on food packaging, the new labels will appear on App Store product pages, highlighting supported features like VoiceOver, Voice Control, text customization options and more. The initiative aims to empower users with disabilities to make informed decisions about which apps will meet their needs, while giving developers an opportunity to showcase their accessibility investments.

Apple is also adding new accessibility tools to its physical products. The Magnifier app, previously available on iPhone and iPad, will come to Mac, allowing users with low vision to zoom in on their surroundings using webcams or connected iPhone cameras. For braille users, new Braille Access will transform Apple devices into full-featured braille note-takers with support for math calculations and real-time conversation transcription.

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Accessibility is no longer about compliance — it's a business imperative. The pandemic exposed how fragile access can be, while disability influencers continue to reshape public perception by showing how diverse needs define everyday life. Apple's latest accessibility updates signal a broader industry shift: inclusive design as a strategy, not an afterthought. Universal design benefits everyone, so don't hold back ;-)

In August 2024, a customer's social media post about her mother's 25-year-old dress caught the attention of millions. Now, Japanese fashion brand Felissimo is once again selling the iconic garment. The reproduction, described as exemplifying 'Heisei elegance,' is being released as part of the company's 60th-anniversary celebrations.

The idea was sparked when Nao Masunaga shared that she treasures and wears her mother's Felissimo shirt dress from the 1990s. The post and its intergenerational story caught the attention of the brand's planners, who worked with pattern makers to recreate the dress. While maintaining the original design's essence, they updated it by replacing the original lining with a separate slip better suited to today's hotter climate.

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An inflation-driven market is making brand loyalty increasingly elusive, but the Felissimo dress exemplifies how emotional connections can transcend purely transactional relationships. By responding directly to a customer's social media post and collaborating with her on details like color names ('misty morning gray' and 'dewy sky blue'), Felissimo demonstrates that empathy throughout the customer journey — even decades after an initial purchase — can bolster allegiance. Could your brand similarly leverage heritage, family stories and emotional bonds?

Long queues outside stores. Topping US app charts. No, it’s not a new iPhone or sneaker drop — it’s Pop Mart, the Chinese collectible toy brand now valued at USD 34 billion — more than the makers of Barbie, Hello Kitty and Transformers combined. That’s a global takeover fueled by blind boxes, toothy dolls and a fiercely loyal fanbase.

From Rihanna’s bag charms to Selfridges’ vending machines, Labubus is everywhere. Labu-what? The furry, snaggle-toothed figurine first caught fire after Lisa from BLACKPINK (aka Mook from White Lotus) showed hers off on Instagram. Pop Mart’s latest major drop, Labubu 3.0, triggered long lines, resale frenzies and added USD 1.6 billion to its CEO’s net worth — in just one day.


Collectibles aren’t new. So what’s fueling the frenzy?

🫳 Physical, not digital. From blind boxes to magazines, the act of buying, unboxing and displaying is the point. In an era of endless screens, tactile matters again.

👜 Luxury-adjacent, not kiddie-core. Pop Mart lives in the kidult zone: nostalgia meets high design. Think Pokémon meets Bottega. Custom outfits, rare drops and aesthetic cred drive demand.

👯‍♂️ Communal, not commercial. Collecting Labubus isn’t just shopping — it’s signaling. It’s membership. From themed runs to resale platforms, it’s a decentralized fandom with a shared language of cute and cool.


Collectibles are the new coupons!

But instead of discounts, they offer identity, community and cultural currency. They’re memories. Badges. Stories. Objects that live online and IRL. In an age of fragmented fandom, ask yourself: which elements of your brand can people latch onto, both physically and emotionally? How might your products or campaigns earn a place in someone’s personal narrative?

Pop Mart isn’t just making toys. It’s building a fandom-led world. And in 2025, the most magnetic brands aren’t selling products — they’re selling belonging in a box.

GoodNews recently accepted an unconventional yet decidedly human form of currency: gossip. At one of its Spanish stores, customers were offered free beverages in exchange for a bit of (over) sharing. Coffee for a rumor, matcha for a bit of gossip, and a coffee and cookie for anyone willing to divulge a personal secret.

Gossip-for-beverages joins other initiatives the brand has playfully implemented to foster real-world social interaction at its locations in Barcelona, Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam. Earlier this year, for example, GoodNews launched a local book club, offered free drinks for joining a barista-led conga line and handed out drinks to customers who could get the next person in line to laugh at a joke they told.

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The Spanish chain is tapping into a growing cultural pushback against digital perfection and algorithmic interactions. As AI-generated content saturates social media feeds, consumers increasingly seek authentic, messy human connections, and GoodNews appears to be positioning itself as a physical space for genuine human exchange. With digital fatigue setting in across demographics, brands can make their mark by sparking moments of emotional authenticity and unfiltered human connection.

Beer brand Stella Artois is inviting travelers to view a delayed flight as an opportunity for an unexpected breather. Developed by GUT Miami, the "A Delay Worth More" campaign draws on the fact that approximately 30,000 flights are delayed globally every day, affecting around 6 million travelers.

Rather than commiserating with stranded passengers, Stella's approach celebrates these moments of limbo, of time both lost and found. The brand created an algorithm that feeds real-time flight data into digital airport billboards, generating context-aware messages like "The 4:15 PM flight to Toronto is fortunately delayed" alongside imagery of a perfectly poured Stella Artois.

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The campaign reframes what's typically a source of traveler annoyance and anxiety into an opportunity to savor a premium beer. By offering that perspective shift, Stella positions airport delays as serendipitous moments for reflection and enjoyment — all while driving footfall to airport bars.

Stella Artois is tapping into people's growing appreciation (and desire) for unstructured, spontaneous moments. The brand is encouraging travelers to reclaim the 'wasted' time of flight disruptions as a gift: an unplanned invitation to slow down and find a moment of pleasure.

Britain's National Trust recently partnered with Nowadays On Earth and Pitch Studios to present Glitch, an augmented reality platform aiming to bring blossom trees to younger and more diverse audiences. By merging technology with ecological education in an immersive digital experience, the collaboration offers a new way for London residents to connect with nature.

Using AI, machine learning and LIDAR technology, Glitch allows users to visualize five different species of blossom trees in their local environment through their smartphones. The platform features cherry, plum, damson, apple and hawthorn trees, all native to Britain. Through a conversational interface with a 'cyberbug' guide, users answer questions about their neighborhood before generating and virtually placing trees in areas they believe need revitalizing.

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The collaboration addresses multiple converging challenges: declining biodiversity in urban spaces, limited access to green areas in cities, and the need to engage younger generations in conservation efforts. By adding a layer of play to the experience of learning about native flora, the National Trust and Glitch are creating an accessible entry point to gardening and environmental stewardship. As Nowadays On Earth points out, "If we're going to face the polycrisis head-on, we need more than urgency — we need imagination and tools that invite people to grow another world."

In what seems to be a world's first in sports marketing, ASICS has signed Felix the Samoyed as an official brand ambassador, acknowledging the role of dogs as exercise influencers. Felix, who has 1.2 million Instagram followers, will "champion his love of walks, runs and even zoomies." The move is backed by research showing that 65% of dog owners cite their pets as their primary motivation to get moving, surpassing the influence of family members, celebrities and personal trainers.

Additionally, ASICS' survey of 28,000 people across 14 markets revealed that dog owners are 31% more likely to meet recommended physical activity guidelines. They also boast mental wellbeing metrics that are 18% higher than those of non-dog owners. Professor Brendon Stubbs of King's College London, who analyzed the research, notes that dog owners average 210 minutes of exercise weekly, with 81% reporting that moving with their canine companion improves their mental wellbeing.

Beyond Felix's appointment, ASICS is inviting dog owners to nominate their own pets for a chance to become official 'Mind's Best Friend Ambassadors.' The brand is also leveraging the campaign for social impact; each post shared with #MindsBestFriend before 12 July 2025 will raise funds for mental health organizations, including Mind in the UK, Mind Us in the Netherlands and NAMI in the US.

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ASICS is recognizing something millions already know: dogs aren't just companions — they're facilitators of healthier lives. As consumers seek holistic wellness routines, dogs are a natural fit, innately combining movement and mood support.

Mind's Best Friend also builds on the trend of brands using virtual or non-human personalities (from animals to AI-generated characters like Imma and Lil Miquela) to sidestep influencer fatigue. Felix the Samoyed offers both algorithmic appeal and a dog's unfiltered joy and authenticity.

Newly launched, Philips' Fixables initiative addresses the limited repair options available to consumers. Rather than requiring customers to go through the hassle of sending products back for servicing, Philips is offering open access to 3D-printable replacement parts for select personal health products. The premise? If buying a replacement takes just one click, repairing a product someone already owns shouldn't be much harder.

Fixables is the result of a collaboration with 3D printer manufacturer Prusa Research and creative agencies LePub Amsterdam and LePub Milan. Philips sees the project as part of its wider circular business strategy, and as a response to people's growing frustration with electronic waste and throwaway culture.

At the core of Fixables is a digital library of 3D-printable parts. Users can download and print parts at home or through certified partners. The pilot kicked off in Czechia, with global access via Printables, an online platform for 3D printing owned by Prusa. Just one part is available at time of launch (a replacement comb for a beard trimmer), but additional parts will be added over time.