Is kindness the key to battle polarization?
A recently published book called The Power of Us shares some really interesting insights about polarization, how it differs in modern times and what could be a possible solution. The authors describe traditional intergroup attitudes as: “They’re fine, but we’re
What philosophers think about philosophy’s biggest questions (survey)
Sometimes we stumble onto some inspiration that we don’t necessarily have something to add to, but we want to share it with our newsletter readers anyway. This week that is just the case. This month the 2020 PhilPapers Survey results
Taco Bell taps into the appeal of changing spirituality
Coming in as seemingly the most random collection of ingredients for a brand promotion: Taco Bell, ex-reality star Spencer Pratt, Uber eats and astrology crystals. The result is a purple crystal with golden ‘cheese’ dripping down onto it. The reason
Why emphasising the ‘ethical’ aspects of your product might prove counterproductive
A recent article in MarketingWeek looked into the implications of health-based messages on food products and came to an interesting conclusion: when brands make health-based claims before people taste their product, people actually rate the product as less tasty when they try
Scientists define a new dimension of a good life: beyond the dichotomy of hedonic versus eudaimonic well-being.
At TrendsActive we are very invested in the debate of what exactly makes for a good life. Since we advise brands on how to impact people, it only makes sense for us to closely follow what it is that defines
The on-demand society: how our drive for efficiency is hurting our happiness
With the introduction of on-demand grocery delivery services the ecosystem of ‘I want this today without leaving my couch’-services is getting pretty saturated. As a matter of fact, it is getting increasingly hard to think of things you cannot receive
Are smartphones ruining teens after all?
It has been the knee-jerk reaction from many a tech-illiterate uncle or grandparent; ‘maybe kids wouldn’t be so lonely or depressed if only they put their damn phones away and went about socializing the old-school way’. Good old face-to-face social
Volkswagen turned ad breaks into an immersive gaming experience
To promote the new golf GTI, Volkswagen launched an immersive advertising experience called the ‘Golf Adbreak Championship’. Television viewers could compete with each other live during the ad break for the opportunity to win a free car. If viewers scanned
The highlights of Adobe’s 2021 global emoji trend report
The report, which was released in the middle of July, surveyed 7,000 people in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Some of the discoveries emphasise the significant role emojis have captured in our everyday (digital) communication.
Summer of spontaneity: the Utrecht-made social adventure app
As we’re moving towards the final generations in the vaccination cycle, more and more restrictions are being removed. Young people are getting out into bars and parks to make up for lost time. And something interesting was created to facilitate