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This month Scottish craft beer brand BrewDog opened The DogHouse in Columbus, Ohio: a beer-centric hotel that lets its guests ‘wake up inside a brewery’. Following a successful crowdfunding campaign in March last year, the newly-opened 32-room hotel features an interactive beer museum, games like beer pong, beer-infused spa treatments and access to limited-edition beers from the brewery next door, while craft beer pairings are available for every meal (even breakfast). The regular rooms each include a beer tap, in-shower minibar at USD 150 a night, while the luxury USD 2,000-a-night suite features a hot tub filled with IPA.

Some of you might be writing this off as ‘impossible’ for your brand to emulate. Possibly. But here are three insights you can take back to your team:

  • So you know the Experience Economy is here to stay. But the bar (pun intended!) keeps on getting raised to new heights! Let the DogHouse inspire you: what’s the most extreme, once-in-a-lifetime experience you could possibly imagine for your brand? Is it more Insta-worthy than a beer jacuzzi?! No…? Back to the drawing board!  
  • On that note, are you doing enough for your BRAND FANATICS? Okay, most consumers don’t want a relationship with your brand. But since we started tracking this trend way back in 2016, we’ve seen status-seeking consumers unashamedly embrace a host of surprising, playful and ironic (or not!) brand-led initiatives, from KFC’s ‘edible nail polish’, to the Cartoon Network’s cruise ship, to Supreme’s MTA subway cards and many, many more. Don’t be constrained by ‘rules’ that no longer apply!
  • More practically, the hotel is also part of Brewdog’s clever twist on scaling its artisan roots. Originally a Scottish brand, the site’s brewery means its beer is now brewed ‘locally’ for the US market. Can you bridge the gap between global and local, and satisfy consumers’ desire for both?

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