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I grew up on different continentsAfrica, Europe, and North America. Having the privilege of living in and experiencing diverse countries and cultures during my formative years made it clear to me that, while we are all unique in many ways, there are still core things that are universal. We all want to nurture and spend time with our families. We all want to have fulfilling careers and to feel safe. We all value community. That last shared sentiment is at the center of a brand purpose trend that has remained largely resilient, despite some who claim otherwise. Studies show that were still in an era where people not only demand brands that reflect their values, but show a deep commitment to a communalcause. We want brands to create change that makes our lives better, not just make a healthy profit. These alignments are areas where brands can lean in, promote belonging, and foster unity at a time of growing divisiveness. Creatives can be valuable partners in this, toolending brands their insight as well as design, advertising, and strategic expertise. But only if we properly value and nurture their rich spectrum of lived experiences, encouraging the unique qualities that make creatives essential to cultivating a sense of togetherness. Thats why, as community-building becomes the new imperative, we must provide creatives with environments that not only celebrate their work, but their individual voices and points of view. Community from creativity Creativity is more than a tool for messaging and communication. Its impact can transcend business into culture, helping us see the world in exciting new ways. And when you choose to be a creative, youre joining a community with its own codes and way of operating. Being in a creative community necessitates a willingness to contribute, participate, and add/realize value for everything from a group of people to an entire industry. As importantly, creative communities tend to have a diversity of perspective that results in more provocative ideas built from lived experiences and unique insights. For example, in working on a community engagement-focused campaign for Delta Air Lines, alongside their in-house agency and graduates from D&AD Shiftour night school for self-taught creativesI was often surprised by the unexpected ideas shared by our incredible talent. Theyre a part of so many different subcultures, spread across the worlds of music, fashion, comedy, and more. And they are navigating their differences while developing their own community, making them experts at helping brands do the same. That ability to turn diverse perspectives into shared purpose is rareespecially post-COVIDand its a quality that must be protected as countless influences increasingly drive us apart. Build a better community The best creative communities dont just happen. Theyre designed with intention, and theyre given the clarity, investment, and support needed to thrive. In my work at Kin and D&AD, Ive seen that, for creative people, prioritizing community-building means cultivating a safe space to share, debate, and discuss ideas. That takes prioritizing several core principles: Embrace people as they are: Pioneering creatives can come from any cultural or economic background and be at any stage of their careers. Low-cost tools and social media have also given birth to a generation of self-taught creatives with an entirely different life experience. Celebrate their unique personalities and perspectives. Its their ability to use their insights to notice and address challenges that create value. Recognize and affirm progress: While making room for acknowledgement may seem like something that should be a secondary concern, its actually key to motivating and inspiring achievement. Incremental changes, consistently executed, lead to massive gains. Both deserve a nod when working with creatives. Positive friction is creative fuel: Theres nothing wrong withdisagreement when its structured and done respectfully. In fact, its entirely expected when different perspectives come together around creative work. Lively conversation, debate, and collaboration create camaraderie and a sense of shared ownership of creative ideas, elevating them to more potent outcomes. Treat failure as R&D: That meanscelebrating risk-taking and losses as essential parts of the creative journey. They are the building blocks of innovative ideas, important signs that youre experimenting with something interesting and on the path to inventing something original, as long as you learn and evolve from them. Creatives need more environments that wholehearted embrace these principles, giving them a foundation that enhances community-building potential. That way, as brands and organizations increasingly leverage community-based approaches, theyll do so more authentically and in ways that add value to businesses and the broader culture. Kwame Taylor-Hayford is the cofounder of Kin and president of D&AD.
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E-Commerce
Just in time for the season’s kick off, the National Football League (NFL) is tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze game and performance insights in real time. On Aug. 20, the NFL and Microsoft announced they are expanding their partnership to bring AI to the field. Integrating technologies like Azure AI and Microsoft Copilot, coaches and players across the 32 NFL teams may now have more efficient sideline evaluations and enhanced scouting insights. Beyond the playing field, the 30 franchise stadiums will also have AI available to streamline its operations during the multiyear partnership. The NFL and Microsoft partnership is entering a new era, and were proud the league is once again putting its trust in Microsoft to bring AI to the NFL, Corporate Vice President, Global Marketing, Microsoft, Bryson Gordon said in a blog post announcement. “Whether youre preparing for the championship or running a global enterprise, the principles are the same: insights matter, preparation is essential, and the ability to act quickly is critical. Fast Company reached out to Microsoft and the NFL for comment but did not hear back at the time of publishing. AI-powered sideline decisions The current NFL’s Sideline Viewing Systemleague-provided, Microsoft configured tablets available to all clubswill be upgraded to include SurfaceCopilot+ PCs, providing data and analysis tools on game day. Making sound decisions and putting players in the best spots on the field is a coachs ultimate responsibility, head coach of the Los Angeles Rams Sean McVay said in a blog post. Microsoft Copilot enhances our efficiency and accuracy by breaking down complex data into digestible insights. For coaches and players, the dashboard will feature the ability to sort through plays filtering through scoring plays and penalties, and analyze formations and coverage. The feature, which is built with GitHub Copilot, will allow teams to make faster strategic decisions based on data. Additionally, club analysts may quickly spot insights like personnel groupings and more from the coaching booth using the upgraded dashboard. Beyond the field The NFL’s integration with Copilot and Azure, is not the league’s first AI related partnership in recent years. Notably, Sony’s Hawk-Eye, which uses cameras and artificial intelligence to make calls, is set to replace the line measuring system in favor of the faster and quicker autonomous option. Still, Microsoft’s partnership is set to expand beyod sidelines, integrating unto day-to-day activities at clubs and stadiums. Research is still underway for ways to incorporate Copilot as a tool for operation managers to help identify incidents like technical issues or weather conflicts to generate its own AI-powered dashboard for game day operations. While still in the works, the partnership also aims to provide data-driven insights on draft performance, as well as insights on non-football-related operations like business, finance, human resources, and events functions. And while development is underway, some teams are already utilizing Microsoft’s technology to optimize their strategies, wit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers using Copilot for a recent marketing campaign.
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E-Commerce
The top free app in Apple’s App Store right now is a passion project from Hank Green that includes a sentient bean, knitted socks, and home decorating. Its entire goal is to get you to put your phone down. The app, called Focus Friend, was made through a collaboration between Greenan author, YouTuber, and science educatorand Bria Sullivan, founder of the mobile game studio Honey B Games. Sullivan describes the app as a gamified focus timer, built with the primary goal of encouraging users not to doomscroll on social media. So far, its working shockingly well: After soft-launching in late July, the app has risen all the way to the top of the App Store in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, amassing 740,000 downloads as of this writing. For years, solutions to smartphone addictionlike the pared-down dumbphonehave been gaining popularity. Now, Focus Friend is demonstrating that theres a broadening market for more creative solutions to our reliance on the scrolling-induced dopamine rush. [Images: Focus Friend] What is Focus Friend? Focus Friend centers around an adorable animated bean who loves to knit and decorate his room. When the user sets a timer in the app, the bean is able to knit in peaceas long as no other apps are opened. Once the time is complete, he produces knit goods (such as socks) that can be used to purchase quaint little decorations. If hes interrupted, though, his knitting is ruined and he becomes visibly sad. The apps entire premise revolves around users desire to avoid disappointing the bean at all costs. Currently, Focus Friend has a free mode and a pro subscription tier. To get the benefits of the apps free version, users need to turn on deep focus mode. This setting allows Focus Friend to block almost every other app while a focus timer is on, except for essentials like messages and calls. With the pro tier, users earn socks faster, gain access to premium decorations, and are able to personally edit the list of apps that are blocked by Focus Friend. The subscription costs $1.99 per month, $14.99 per year, or $29.99 for a lifetime. So far, Sullivan says, the lifetime option is proving most popular. The massive response to Focus Friend has come as a shock to both Sullivan and Green. Hank and I thought this was going to be a niche, cute little app,” Sullivan says. “We were hoping that some people would like it, and thought his super loyal fans would probably be the ones who were interested in it. I don’t think we really had a sense of it getting to where it is right now. [Images: Focus Friend] A cute mascot for the tech-weary The idea for Focus Friend started during a casual conversation over dinner. Sullivan mentioned to Green that she had been thinking about how the mobile app could be the next frontier of merch for creators. Green later followed up with Sullivan about the comment, launching them into a monthslong ideation process for the app. Since Green specializes in educational content, Sullivan suggested a focus timer as a good format for an app that his audience might enjoy. Green liked the idea, but found that the focus apps hed already tested werent always effective at keeping him from scrolling. That insight led them to develop a central character to lightly guilt-trip users into sticking with the timer. It’s somewhat akin to a character like Duo, Duolingos cute green owl who convinces users to keep up with their language lessons, or the little bird on Finch, the self-care app that helps people tackle their to-do lists by nurturing an avian creature. Green fronted the costs for Sullivan to hire a few contract employees, including animator Noelle Brandmier, composer Samantha van der Sluis, and artist @euaruu, but he didnt actually commission its development. Instead, Sullivan says, the work was purely a passion project for the two of them. Most of the time, she was the only person building the app. This was just something that he and I have been working on for the past year and a half, and we did it out of the love of wanting to see something like this come to fruition, Sullivan says. [Image: Focus Friend] While Focus Friend takes a unique approach, the desire for tools like it isnt new. For the past several years, the dumbphoneor 90s-inspired phones with pared-back featureshave been gaining traction in the mainstream. But many people find that its just not realistic to give up smartphones and social media altogether, leaving focus tools to fill that gap. Theres been the Brick app, a physical device that temporarily removes distrcting apps and notifications from your phone; Aperture, a phone case that turns your screen into a series of minimal widgets; and Touch Grass, an app that will make you literally touch grass before you can doomscroll on TikTok. Focus Friends true innovation is combining this middle-of-the-road approach with the human desire to please a cute character. At first, it was just going to be about taking care of the character, but that turned into whatever the Bean was knitting would break, Sullivan says. I don’t think we realized how bad people didn’t want to disappoint this little bean.
Category:
E-Commerce
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