Metaverse Marketing, the Greatest Tourism Video Ever Made, Being Indian Enough and Inescapable Nostalgia




Metaverse Marketing, the Greatest Tourism Video Ever Made, Being Indian Enough and Inescapable Nostalgia | Non-Obvious Insights #314




Dear <<First Name>>,

Bhangra dancing, vallenato music, metaverse marketing and inescapable nostalgia are all topics in this week’s newsletter. To be honest, I don’t feel much like a “speed understander” today given how many hours I spent reading over the past few days. Yet one reason I love what I do is that sometimes I need to get lost in stories and research. What I learn from these insights might show up in my work and writing day or even months later. Ideas, after all, aren’t always useful only in the moment when we first hear them. Sometimes their utility, like great advice, only reveals itself over time.

The Dyson Zone Air Purifier Shows Us Exactly How Innovation Should Work

Six years before a global pandemic, Dyson was already working on a wearable air purifier. This Fall, the long-awaited product, called the Dyson Zone, will be available for retail sale. Along the way, Dyson has shown the world once again how a truly innovative company really works. Products that solve problems. Designs that delight consumers. And a roadmap of product ideas that are well ahead of their time … until the times catch up with them. The story of the Dyson Zone is a masterclass in how innovation should work in any organization. Will it really work? Dyson Head of Product Tom Bennett admits he isn’t sure: “but our aim, and what we’ve done, is find the problem, develop the solution, and then explain it. I think people will get it.” I think they will too. 

Metaverse Marketing Is Predictably Pointless … But Maybe Not For Long

In case you missed it, last week was the “first-ever metaverse fashion week.” GM Motors and DKNY were among the brands creating virtual storefronts for the Decentraland Fashion Week. Despite the predictable tech glitches, brands are really excited about the metaverse. Morgan Stanley estimates a €50 billion revenue opportunity and there is a flood of experimentation happening right now. Heineken opened a metaverse bar that doesn’t serve drinks. Wendy’s has a metaverse restaurant. In Asia, a Unilever owned oral-care brand is asking couples to get married in the metaverse.

Most of these efforts are quirky, amateurish and relatively pointless. But they are a symbol of just how much excitement there is around digital experiences and virtual goods. The craze around NFTs, fueled by the real revenue they are generating, along with these fledgling efforts may have the intended effect. Whether you buy the hype or remain skeptical, the metaverse is getting more real day by day.  

Why We Can’t Escape Nostalgia

“Accepting nostalgia as an ever-present condition allows us more agency in how we choose to engage the past. Instead of looking back with the only intention of recreating old joy, we can learn to fashion new circumstances that produce hope.”

Is the prevalence of nostalgia today simply a marketing ploy to sell recycled experiences, or a truthful promise of how we might relive our past loves once again? That’s the debate that writer Madison Jamar explores in an essay for Catapult this week. The answer, she writes, comes down to our intentions. If we can look into the past with joy, without asking for it to replace or fill holes in our present, then we can enjoy nostalgia as an experience rather than get lost in the futile search to relive something that has already passed. 

“I’m not Indian enough?” How a Bhangra Musical Addresses Identity with Radical Nuance

Last week good friends of ours opened production in San Diego of a colorful new Bhangra-inspired musical called Bhangin’ It. The show features Indian dancing, tackles the confusion of multi-ethnicity and tells a story that will be familiar to anyone who has struggled with finding a place to belong. A review in the LA Times spotlighted how the show managed to achieve a deep authenticity through collaboration and engaging cultural consultants, as well as through the casting of the show itself. It will be playing at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego until April 17th, eventually moving to Boston after a break for the summer. 

The Greatest Tourism Video Ever Made

If you are a fan of Latin music, you may already know the surprising number of international stars who all come from Colombia: Shakira, Maluma, Fanny Lu, Juanes, Fonseca and Carlos Vives are all Colombian. Back in 2015, Carlos Vives brought together many of these stars for a music video that pays tribute to their shared homeland. I was reminded of it recently and thought it was useful enough to share once more since it remains one of the greatest tourism marketing videos I have ever seen. If you have the time, just watch it and listen to the music … and then tell me you’re not already dreaming of visiting Colombia on your next holiday. 

Even More Non-Obvious Stories …

Every week I always curate more stories than I’m able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest: 

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Want to discuss how I could bring my best thinking to your next event as a keynote speaker or facilitator? Watch my new 2022 speaking reel on YouTube >>

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