Hospitality Everywhere, AI at the Met Gala, and Getting Thirsty at Fashion Week

Welcome back to our fortnightly newsletter. An exploration of our inspirations, strategic directions, and the groundbreaking initiatives we are championing in culture.

Hospitality Everywhere
Every brand is evolving, but not in the way you think - so why is hospitality at the heart of their innovation?

From new branded cafes  (Jacquemus Café in Seoul, Zara Cafè in Dubai, CAFFÈ RIMOWA at Milan Design Week, Prada Caffè in London) to restaurants (The Coach Restaurant in Indonesia, Monsieur Dior in Osaka), luxury brands are transforming into immersive venues that allow customers to engage, interact and even taste the brand's aesthetic. 

But these aren’t ordinary pop ups, they’re here to stay. Louis Vuitton have created an ambitious 6,000 m² hotel project on the Champs-Elysées. Il Pellicano Hotel has partnered with Aquazzura. But why now? This consumer demand for physical experiences can be drawn from the pandemic. The public demand more from venues than just sit-eat-drink-buy, with a desire for more sensual and philosophical experiences to interact, learn, and engage in new activities.

According to a VML study, 70% of customers prefer spending money on experiences rather than objects. This underscores why the integration of hospitality into brand strategies is not just a trend, but a model that is here to stay.

Here are the 3 key tools from the hospitality trade:

1. Immersion

Brands transform their venues into spaces that platform their history for patrons to interact with up close and personal. The physical embodiment of a brand's identity in these spaces allows customers to connect on a deeper level.

2. Human-Centric

A sense of personalisation and community is key to a successful hospitality offering. This ensures the brand world is authentically established with the customer beyond the physical parameters of creating a new venue.

3. Memorable

With the proliferation of touchpoints between brand and customer, brands must innovate in their sales ceremonies to turn the customer into an ambassador.

AI at the Met Gala 
Across X, photos of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Rihanna at the Met Gala flooded the timeline, despite none of them having attended. One TikToker even gave a positive review of an AI-generated dress that Kim Kardashian didn’t wear. AI's infiltration into the Met Gala brings exciting possibilities for brands considering that last year’s Gala resulted in nearly $1 billion in media-impact value for the various brands involved. Next year's Met Gala promises to be a fascinating battleground between cutting-edge technology and the established world of high fashion. It will be interesting to see how AI is embraced, challenged, and incorporated into fashion’s biggest night. [Read More]

More Culture:
Scientists Explain Why Beer Tastes Better Cold | How a TikTok Hot Sauce brand generated 10 million views

We recently asked you whether you prefer expert influencers or traditional influencers. The result showed 37% of you prefer expert influencers, while 29% see no difference between the two…

More Brands in Culture: 
New $200 vodka features an out-of-this-world ingredient | KFC UK Debuts New BBQ-Scented Perfume | Pickles and Dr Pepper is the new flavour combination going viral on TikTok | Domino’s Pizza is advertising a $100 per-hour hand model role | Crayola is reuniting adults with their childhood artwork and it’s surprisingly moving

Getting Thirsty at Fashion Week with Thirst Trap

With Australia’s hottest movers and shakers in Sydney this week for Fashion Week, sustainable canned water Thirst Trap teamed up with Elouise Eftos (“Australia’s first attractive comedian”) to ask attendees how thirsty they were. [View Content]

How We Created a Water Revolution

At Example, we set out to disrupt the plastic-dominated water industry by collaborating with H2coco to create Thirst Trap, a sustainable canned water brand. Our mission was to make drinking water as cool and edgy as any sugary or boozy drink, promoting hydration as an aspirational choice around the clock.

Now, Thirst Trap is stocked in major retailers nationwide, including Woolworths, Coles, Ampol, and Ezy Mart.