ThisIsRetail #16
Welcome to ThisIsRetail, your weekly look at some of the more diverse and unexpected stuff influencing the way we buy, sell and consume in the 21st century.
We're not a news feed, nor are we algorithm-powered content aggregator. No, we prefer to painstakingly hand-pick the innovative, the new, the stimulating, and the provocative. Expect diverse and, sometimes, esoteric features on culture, politics, travel, art, music, literature, and technology - plus anything else we find intriguing - so long as it's on a collision-course with consumerism.
So why are we doing this? Well, amid the doom and gloom that clouds the sector, we want to shine a light on some of good stuff going on. We're optimistic for the future of retail, but it's up to us all to seize the opportunities it presents.
This week we've half a dozen great pieces for you, from models for how to run a business as viewed through the prism of rock and/or roll, to the weird (but weirdly inevitable) world of computer-generated influencers, and, with the release of Toy Story 4, we indulge in some childhood nostalgia.
So what are we waiting for? In the words of an old friend, to infinity and beyond!
Toy Stories
As the cinematic saga comes to a conclusion this summer in Toy Story 4, this is a fascinating (and unapologetically nostalgic) look at the innovators behind the original toys - who couldn't possibly have imagined where their ideas would eventually lead - that inspired the franchise [Smithsonian]
The Proceeds of Laundering
Aside from what now seems a rather quaint reference to then, not yet disgraced, former president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, this 2010 Ted talk from Professor Hans Rosling contains some fascinating insights into innovation, productivity, and the consequences - positive and negative - of household consumerism [TED]
Exuberance, Raw Power, Punctuality
ThisIsRetail meets ThisIsSpinalTap for a look at what business lessons can be learned from the weird laboratory that is the modern rock band [1843 Magazine]
Putting Food on the Table
One man's heroic efforts to combat hunger with human ingenuity [BBC]
Followed to its Logical Conclusion
Why hire a fallible human celebrity, supermodel, or even a social media influencer to market your product when you can create the ideal brand ambassador from scratch? [New York Times]
Ubiquity & Exclusivity
Both obscure and everyday, the rise and rise of the modern tote bag has transcended its status as a mere shopping necessity to become a sign of identity [Elephant Magazine]
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