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This summer, IKEA is transforming a section of Paris's Seine riverbank into an open-air reading room. Installed just steps away from the National Library of France, the Billyothèque — a nod to the brand's iconic shelving system — will offer passersby a chance to read, borrow and donate books. For those unsure of which title to pick, advisors will be on hand to provide recommendations.

Created in partnership with publishing house Le Livre de Poche, the pop-up library will run from July 22nd to 27th at the Port de la Gare in the 13th arrondissement. After the activation, remaining books will be collected and redistributed by Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, extending the initiative's impact beyond its temporary home.

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The Billyothèque taps into a resurgence of analog experiences. As city dwellers seek meaningful shared moments, brands are finding creative ways to facilitate connection through physical touchpoints that promote slowness and serendipity. By transforming a public space into a cultural commons, IKEA positions itself not as a mere retailer but as an enabler of accessible experiences. It's meeting people where they are — outdoors, potentially unhurried and offline.

For Gen Z, homeownership isn’t off the table, it’s being reassembled. As prices soar and wages stall, the next generation isn’t bowing out. They’re buying in — together.

A 2025 US report by National MI and FirstHome IQ shows that 32% of Gen Z adults (18–24) are open to co-buying a home — teaming up with friends, siblings or parents. That’s nearly double the rate of Millennials (18%). Sibling co-ownership alone has jumped from 4% in 2023 to 22% in 2025. Gen Z is also more likely than millennials to house hack; they‘re renting out part of their home to make the math work (23% vs. 17%).

💸 Still, only 56% of Gen Z believes homeownership is attainable (vs. 61% of Millennials), so they’re getting creative, with YouTube tutorials and ChatGPT chats fueling their financial literacy.

🛠️ Gen Z is fluent in remix culture. They co-design fashion lines, co-authoring identities, co-building digital worlds, and now, they’re co-owning real ones. For them, ownership is less about solo independence and more about shared stakes, flexible models and collaborative futures.

Yes, co-buying brings complexity (94% of co-owners say they need help managing agreements), but Gen Z is undeterred. They don’t fear the fine print; they value the shared payoff.

👀 Is your brand ready for the co-everything era?

Launched by Bengaluru-based hospitality group Olive, Open Hotels plans to transform budget accommodations with a fully remote, AI-driven management system. The concept replaces traditional front desks with centralized virtual receptionists who interact with guests via video conferencing, while AI systems handle routine operational tasks. In a pilot program, the approach dramatically reduced staffing requirements, cutting the staff-to-room ratio from 0.7 to 0.3 — a 57% efficiency gain that translates directly to improved margins.

The technology stack extends beyond virtual check-ins. Open Hotels deploys comprehensive surveillance systems throughout properties, remotely monitoring everything from guest behavior to staff performance. AI-powered cameras track compliance with operational procedures, analyze crowd density and monitor employee attendance through facial recognition. While this constant observation creates efficiencies, it also introduces a panopticon-like environment where both guests and workers function under perpetual digital supervision, raising questions about privacy in what's ostensibly a space for rest and relaxation.

Open Hotels aims to integrate 130 properties and generate INR 2 billion in revenue this financial year through two business models: a franchise option where owners manage staff while utilizing Open's technology, or full operational management via the company's AI command center. "Hospitality is all about the human touch. Technology is enhancing that by taking over routine tasks," Olive's CEO Kahraman Yigit told Business Standard. Critics might question whether extensive monitoring systems will truly enhance the human experience or fundamentally erode it.

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Concepts like Open Hotels will reset consumer expectations:

• 'Always-on' service: If guests can get an instant AI response at a budget hotel, how will they expect service to function at airlines, retail stores and hospitals?
• Surveillance normalization: The idea of being watched, even in 'private' spaces, is becoming increasingly tolerated if it promises convenience or safety. The long-term cultural shift? Surveillance reframed as 'smart assistance.'
• Human interaction as a premium: The more tech mediates experiences, the more face-to-face, human warmth becomes a luxury differentiator.

Anime has officially burst beyond its niche status to become a global mainstream phenomenon. According to recent data from Netflix, more than 50% of the streaming giant's subscribers worldwide now tune in to anime content, with viewership tripling over the past five years. In 2024 alone, anime was streamed over 1 billion times on the platform. (Causing Reddit user u/alikamal48 to exclaim "NOOOO, WE'RE ALL NORMIES NOW, IT'S HORRIFYING.")

The genre's cross-cultural adoption is fueled by Netflix's simultaneous global releases, with dubbing available in up to 33 languages (research shows 80-90% of viewers prefer watching dubbed versions). Japanese content now ranks as the second most-watched non-English content globally, with anime driving much of that engagement.

Netflix positions anime as "emotional, bold, and boundless in its imagination," making it a perfect fit for a world in flux. Amid climate crises, geopolitical tensions and AI acceleration, anime offers a form of escape that doesn't ignore emotion. These are stories that stay with people. In a marketplace saturated with content, emotional stickiness is a gold standard.

Across the globe, algorithms and social media are funneling tourists to the same iconic spots, so Visit Faroe Islands has launched a solution: Auto Odyssey: Self-Navigating Car Adventures. The program offers 30 curated, self-guided itineraries that lead travelers to lesser-known corners of the archipelago, with each destination remaining a surprise until arrival. By embracing what they call 'surrender seeking' travel, where control is relinquished in favor of spontaneity, the initiative aims to disperse visitors beyond typical hotspots like the Mulafossur Waterfall and Mykines Island.

After booking with local car rental company 62N, travelers scan a QR code to activate turn-by-turn directions with four to six mystery landmarks programmed into each journey. The system reveals only one section of the trip at a time, maintaining the element of surprise while sharing local stories connected to each location. Destinations might include turf-roofed wooden churches, dramatic fjords, remote villages with outdoor pools, or scenic spots for fish and chips picnics — all carefully selected from a local's perspective to showcase authentic Faroe Island experiences.

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Auto Odyssey taps into what we've dubbed SPONTAINMENT — how brands are engineering moments of wonder for consumers who've optimized away their ability to be delighted. In our review-reading, route-mapping, algorithm-driven world, genuine surprise has become rare, while it's exactly what human brains crave — research shows neural activity jumps when people encounter unexpected events, which makes experiences more memorable.

By designing controlled surprise within safe parameters, Visit Faroe Islands isn't just solving overtourism; it's selling the psychological satisfaction of surrendering control. What could your brand do to reintroduce spontaneity into consumers' overscheduled lives, helping them rediscover the joy of not knowing what comes next?

Resembling a retro landline telephone, a new device called Tin Can allows kids to make voice calls without any of the distractions, apps or internet access that come with smartphones. Created by parents who couldn't find a suitable communication device for their own children, Tin Can operates over Wi-Fi and connects only to contacts approved by parents through a companion app.

What sets the product apart is its deliberate limitations: no texting, no apps, no games and no access to strangers or unknown callers. The device does include playful touches like secret codes to hear a daily joke or word definition. Tin Can is available for pre-order at USD 75 and includes free unlimited calling to other Tin Can devices. An optional subscription is available for calling regular phone numbers.

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With their pseudo-landline for kids, Tin Can's founders are responding to persistent causes for concern: screen addiction, online predators and the erosion of in-person conversation skills. While Tin Can might seem nostalgic, it's a forward-looking intervention that reclaims the telephone as a tool for genuine connection, especially during the formative, pre-smartphone years when kids are building their social habits and emotional vocabulary. While parents retain control over who can call and be called, kids gain a sense of independence and social agency.

✳️ Simplicity as a feature, not a flaw (aka Calm Tech)
🔒 Control without surveillance
🧠 Offline connection that still feels cool
🧃 Analog nostalgia reimagined for digital-native kids

In response to the hospitality industry's persistent employee turnover problem, Kyoto-based luxury ryokan operator Nazuna is launching a new recruitment strategy: inviting job candidates to experience their accommodations before interviewing for positions.

The company has partnered with hospitality job platform 'in the HOTEL' to offer potential employees complimentary overnight stays at one of its properties, followed by on-site interviews with current staff. This approach addresses a fundamental issue in luxury hospitality recruitment — candidates rarely experience the service they'll be expected to deliver.

According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the accommodation and food service sector saw a staggering 26.6% turnover rate in 2023, significantly higher than the 15.4% average across all industries. "As inbound tourism increases and more facilities open, the hotel industry faces a significant talent shortage," explains Ryuichi Watanabe, Nazuna's CEO. The new initiative is rooted in Realistic Job Preview theory, which aims to reduce post-hire disillusionment by providing candid pre-employment experiences.

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Nazuna is shifting the balance from recruitment-as-audition to recruitment-as-invitation. In luxury hospitality, the standard is to anticipate and fulfill a guest's every need. By extending this mindset to potential employees, Nazuna is making a statement: the employee experience can't lag miles behind the guest experience. That welcoming and empathic mindset meets a growing expectation among younger workers in search of meaningful, emotionally resonant workplaces, not just jobs.

What if the climate emergency looked like a game? Enter FutureGuessr, a new 360° anticipation experience from creative studio Artefact 3000 and climate coalition Réseau Action Climat.

Inspired by GeoGuessr, the online game drops players into AI-generated landscapes disrupted by +2.7°C warming: melting ice caps, submerged coastlines, savannas replacing rainforests... 🏝️🏜️ Using IPCC data and climate science, each round presents two versions of the same place: one catastrophic, one resilient — highlighting the choices people still have.

FutureGuessr is a powerful way to turn abstract projections into visceral, visual storytelling. And it's landing at a crucial moment, as governments — from Brussels to Washington — soften climate targets and roll back commitments.

Bringing climate action into gamer mode opens a portal for brands:

🎮 Meet players where they click. Gaming culture is massive and increasingly values-driven. Climate-conscious gameplay like this grabs attention where PSAs can't.

📍 Co-op with credibility. Let players visualize the future and show your brand has skin in the game. Collaborate on new maps, sponsor resilient "what-if" futures or add layers of action (think: click to pledge, play to donate).

📹 Stream it loud. Twitch, TikTok, YouTube — it's made to be watched, reacted to and memed. Gamify climate messaging through influencer collabs or branded in-game moments. Start by backing creator challenges with real-world impact, à la Airbnb.

🕹️ Bottom line? In a world of short attention spans and rising eco-anxiety, games like FutureGuessr offer a new way in when the climate crisis feels abstract: less preaching, more playing. Smart brands won't just spectate — they'll hit "Start" and help co-create tomorrow's map.

European fashion outlet platform Otrium has launched Ovatars, an AI-powered modeling system designed to give unsold clothing items a second shot at reaching consumers. The initiative addresses a persistent challenge in fashion retail: how to effectively showcase single-SKU items that don't typically warrant expensive model photography shoots.

The system works by photographing unsold items in basic format, then digitally placing them on seven AI-generated models that represent diverse styles and customer segments. These virtual avatars — with names like Ava (The Minimal Muse) and Zion (The Street Prodigy) — allow Otrium to create product detail pages, lookbook visuals and animated advertisements for inventory that might otherwise languish in a warehouse. Early results suggest the approach delivers tangible business benefits: conversion rates have jumped 15% to 50%, while model photography costs have dropped 40%. The Amsterdam-based company, which partners with over 300 brands and serves 4 million members across Europe, developed the technology with digital agency DEPT®.

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As brands grapple with mounting overstock challenges — exacerbated by unpredictable demand patterns and shortened fashion cycles — the ability to cost-effectively showcase every item becomes crucial for waste reduction. Otrium's Ovatars highlight how AI can solve immediate business problems while supporting sustainability goals. As generative AI tools become more sophisticated and accessible, expect similar applications to emerge across retail categories where visual presentation drives purchase decisions. Could your brand use AI to breathe new life into overlooked products or underperforming inventory?

South African game developer Nyamakop has crafted an unusual title with Relooted, a side-scrolling heist game that transforms cultural repatriation into compelling gameplay. Players assemble diverse crews from across Africa to liberate 70 real artifacts currently housed in Western museums, navigating stealth-based puzzles that blend parkour mechanics with Ocean's Eleven-style planning.

The game emerged from a family dinner conversation after developer Ben Myres' mother visited the British Museum and was appalled by what she saw. Two years of research later, the team had painstakingly recreated artifacts like a Kenyan drum that local communities believed had been destroyed for over a century, only to discover it gathering dust in museum storage.

Once players grab an artifact, they have just 30 seconds to escape as alarms blare and security systems activate. Each crew member brings specialized skills — lock picking, hacking, acrobatics — and represents specific African countries with authentic voice acting sourced from those regions. The studio grew from three to 30 people during development, deliberately building a team that could bring genuine cultural authenticity to both the visual design and narrative elements.

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Relooted exemplifies how gaming is becoming a vehicle for cultural reclamation and education, tapping into broader consumer demand for authentic, global perspectives that challenge and reclaim colonial narratives. The game arrives as younger audiences increasingly question whose stories get told and who controls culture, reflecting a shift toward more conscious consumption of entertainment.

By gamifying a serious political issue while maintaining respect for its subject matter, Nyamakop demonstrates how brands can engage with social justice topics without preaching, letting players draw their own conclusions about whether these artifacts belong in Western museums or African communities. Entertainment doesn't have to shy away from hard truths; instead, it can transform them into agency. In Relooted, players aren't just looting for thrills — they're engaging in symbolic justice. Expect more media formats that tackle serious, historically complex issues with irreverent, energetic gameplay.

According to the NIVEA CONNECT COMPASS, a survey of 30,000+ people across 13 countries released last week, people aged 16–24 are the loneliest demographic, with 24% feeling isolated, compared to 19% of all adults.

🙅‍♂️ Post‑demographic pain: Other vulnerable groups? Singles, cash-strapped consumers, rural residents, doom‑scrollers. And yep, young men too.
👯 Support systems: Where real bonds exist, 63% feel happier. Family (67%) and friends (59%) top support lists — yet 31% feel they can’t rely on them.
🤫 Stigma and silence: 56% of lonely people say it’s hard to ask for help, rising to 62% among youth.
⏳ A silent killer: Loneliness slashes life expectancy on par with smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and rivals air pollution, obesity and inactivity. Every hour, 100 people die from loneliness-related causes, the UN health agency reports.
🔁 ICYMI: NIVEA’s first global study, published in September 2024, flagged a 1-in-4 loneliness epidemic, sparking the launch of NIVEA CONNECT — an educational and support system that’s now operating in 30+ countries.

👀 What’s next for brands?
Loneliness has flipped the script: it skews younger, not older. Gen Z, and Millennials too, are juggling competitive wellness, chatbot companionship and long COVID solitude. Hyperconnectivity ≠ human connection.

Your playbook for the connection economy:

📚 Build brave spaces, online and IRL, where youth can show up unfiltered. Think drop-in connection corners that spark micro-moments of belonging. Even better? Make it serendipitous: since reading is proven to ease loneliness and boost the brain, could a book club forge healthy, passion-led connection?

🇩🇪 Partner for proof. Collaborate with mental health orgs, schools and youth leaders. Take a cue from NIVEA Germany’s collab with non-profit krisenchat, offering 24/7 text counselling to guide teens out of isolation.

As summer temperatures continue to break records, Coors Light is stepping into the climate adaptation space with a playful solution for wedding parties sweltering through formal ceremonies. The brand recently unveiled the Cold Tux, a first-of-its-kind tuxedo engineered with built-in cooling technology, featuring a breathable linen shell and a hidden refrigerating core powered by ice pack rods.

The tuxedo, which debuted earlier this month at a Florida wedding, even includes a "Chill-o-stat" that turns blue when the suit reaches optimal temperature, mimicking the cold-activated indicator on the brand's beer cans. Building on this concept, Coors Light is now releasing the BrrrTie, a refrigerated neck accessory designed to target a key body temperature regulation zone. The chilled accessory promises up to 40 minutes of cooling relief — just enough time to make it through the ceremony without visible perspiration. The company will release 100 BrrrTies to consumers through its website, at USD 32 each.

A new entrant in the e-commerce landscape aims to transform how people discover fashion online. Unlike traditional shopping platforms that are retrofitting AI capabilities onto existing systems, Daydream was built from the ground up as a conversational commerce experience. The platform functions as a chat-based shopping agent that understands nuanced queries and personal preferences: customers explain what they're looking for, Daydream serves up options. From there, it's a conversational process of finding similar or different garments and styles until the right item is found.

Daydream adapts to individual style preferences, serving as a digital personal shopper that learns from each interaction with a user. At launch, the platform boasts partnerships with nearly 8,000 global brands and retailers. Founded by e-commerce veteran Julie Bornstein and a team of former leaders from Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nordstrom, Daydream scored USD 50 million in seed funding co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Index Ventures, with participation from GV and True Ventures.

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What Daydream is promising isn't just personalization; it's personalization that feels like magic: a highly curated, emotionally intelligent experience where the platform acts more like a personal stylist or concierge than a search engine.

Once they've become accustomed to Daydream and other retail agents, here's what consumers will start expecting before they purchase:
👩‍🎨 Shopping that feels more like a creative collaboration than a transaction
👁️ Aesthetic intelligence: stores and platforms that 'get' their taste
💎 Recommendations that evolve and improve with every interaction

eufyMake E1, the world's first personal 3D-texture UV printer, has shattered Kickstarter records by raising over USD 44 million from backers worldwide. The campaign reached USD 10 million in just 14 hours, surpassing the platform's previous funding record of USD 41.7 million. And demonstrating serious demand for accessible manufacturing tools.

The device promises to democratize professional-grade printing by delivering 3D textures up to 5 mm thick. The E1's modular design allows users to print on a wide range of objects and materials, from coffee mugs to metal sheets, supported by an AI-powered workflow and a library of 20,000+ templates. Its biggest draw might well be its size — the E1 is a whopping 90% smaller than conventional UV printers, making the technology available for home studios and small businesses.

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The maturation of the creator economy has given rise to new expectations around individual expression and entrepreneurship. Throw in renewed interest in local manufacturing amid tariff uncertainties plus AI tools that amplify people's creative capabilities, and it makes sense that tools combining digital creativity with physical output are resonating so strongly.

The question for brands becomes: what's your role when your customers could potentially become your manufacturers or even your competitors? Will we see established companies partnering with these democratized production tools, or will they find themselves disrupted by a generation of consumers who would rather print their own products than purchase off the rack?

Samsung and utility company Coolblue Energie have joined forces in a strategic partnership that will provide Dutch households with free electricity for doing their laundry between 12 pm and 3 pm. Available to users with a Coolblue contract with dynamic pricing and a compatible Samsung washing machine connected to the SmartThings app, the initiative harnesses solar and wind power during peak production hours while simultaneously reducing pressure on the electrical grid.

This collaboration addresses growing consumer demand for smarter home energy solutions while promoting sustainable consumption patterns. According to Marijn van Weele, director of Coolblue Energie, the combined power consumption of all appliances sold annually by Coolblue (which is primarily an electronics retailer) could illuminate the city of Rotterdam for three years — demonstrating the substantial impact of shifting electricity usage to midday hours when renewable energy is abundant.

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Initiatives like Samsung and Coolblue Energie's free electricity program exemplify how brands are responding to consumers' shifting sustainability priorities — from abstract climate pledges and complex carbon offset schemes, to tangible, immediately understandable benefits. The offer's genius lies in its simplicity: consumers save money while reducing grid pressure during peak solar production, transforming a daily household routine into meaningful climate action without additional effort.

As sustainability fatigue and greenwashing skepticism grow, expect more brands to follow suit with equally transparent initiatives that make environmental impact visible, measurable and rewarding. The most successful will be those that, like this washing machine program, embed sustainability so seamlessly into everyday activities that consumers don't have to choose between convenience and conscience.