A monthly snapshot of trends in marketing, storytelling and digital culture locally and abroad.

1. THETRENDSREPORT
February 2016
Proudly brought to you by NATIVE VML

2. A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF TRENDS IN
MARKETING, STORYTELLING AND DIGITAL
CULTURE LOCALLY AND ABROAD.

3. CREATIVITY
ANDANEW
REALITY

4. An Exoskeleton Suit is a robotic suit that allows
people who have been paralysed due to illness
or injury to become mobile again. It fits around
the hips and legs.
Although the suit can’t reverse the damage
caused, it can assist in preventing further
damage.
Exoskeleton Suits

5. The SuitX Phoenix.
Find out how this suit has helped many paralysed
people walk again. This light, easy to use and
adjustable Robotic Exoskeleton returns movement to
the hips and knees allowing patients to walk up to 1.1
miles per a hour. This suit is battery operated and
can last for up to 8 hours.
Read More
SuitX’s Phoenix
Story and Image source: Technological Review

6. The exoskeleton that is controlled by our thoughts.
Find out how researchers have enabled patients to
control an exoskeleton using just their minds. The
device is wrapped around the hips and legs, while a
cap is used to make a connection between the brain
and the machine.
This machine has been designed in hopes that it will
one day give people with spinal cord injuries and
neurodegenerative diseases the ability to walk again
or for the first time.
READ MORE
New Robotic
Exoskeleton Is
Controlled by Human
Thoughts
Story and Image source: Live Science

7. AI is transforming how we operate and rely on
technology, enabling humans to work more
efficiently and effectively than ever before,
making our jobs simpler, our efforts more
calculated and our outputs more accurate.
Technology is simplifying our everyday
requirements or amplifying our ability to improve
safety and security.
Improved Security with
Artificial Intelligence

8. PayPal usesAI to boost security.
Big financial companies have become a target for easy
fraud and theft due to customers’sensitive data getting
into the wrong hands.
Deep Learning allows these companies to locate and
see possible fraudulent activity without concerns of
getting it wrong. This is because suchAI is able to
mine data from the customer’s purchasing history and
pick up on anything that seems out of the ordinary.
READ MORE
PayPal
Image source: Technology Review and RM Magazine

9. AI offers a new way to improve surveillance systems.
How sure are you that the surveillance cameras are
picking up all activity, good and bad? Find out how
newAI namely intelligent video analytics, is designed
to pick up on any abnormal activity or suspected
threats caught on tape.
This surveillance system analyses footage in real-
time and “learns” what is normal so it can notify
security companies of any danger that could be
missed due to human error.
READ MORE
The New Eyes
of Surveillance:
Artificial
Intelligence and
Humanizing
Technology
Image Source: Security intelligence and Wilton Bulletin

10. INNOVATION
AND DISRUPTION

11. Although we don’t yet live during a time of
driverless cars, humanity is moving into an era
where different forms of automated robotics are
taking over human activities and workflow. Even
social media network sites have invented bots
that can now create content without human
intervention.
We are moving into a generation where humans
would need to specialise in skills that computers,
robots and smart machines can’t do, to avoid
being replaced.
Source: Time
Humans need not
apply

12. “I know there is a proverb which
says ‘to err is human’, but a human
error is nothing to what a computer
can do if it tries.”
Agatha Christie

13. The connected home took centre stage at CES
2016, many of the products on display aim to
create more integrated experiences between
consumers and brands.
A collection of smart household appliances
promised to modify the way consumers engage
and connect with their homes.
“The home has been identified as the new
battleground, and the data collected by our
household purchases and our conversations with
our devices will be just as valuable as data
collected from the internet”- CES 2016.
Mainstream Smart
Homes

14. Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator.
Samsung has an ambitious refrigerator that
promises to eliminate last minute grocery
errands by ordering the goods for you based on
collected data and what's missing in your fridge.
READ MORE
Source: Samsung Newsroom

15. MEDIA
JUJITSU

16. What is Programmatic advertising? According to
Digiday: “Programmatic” ad buying typically
refers to the use of software to purchase digital
advertising, as opposed to the traditional
process that involves RFPs, human negotiations
and manual insertion orders. It’s using machines
to buy ads, basically.
A great example includes DoubleClick by
Google.
Programmatic
marketing

17. Weight Watchers boosts acquisitions by 56%.
The Weight Watchers team has started exploring
the digital landscape in hopes of talking and
engaging with the younger generation. To do this
they tested a number of creative executions and
call to actions to see which worked best with a
new and existing target market.
The top-performing banner was called "coaching
cake": an image of a birthday cake with the
message, "Kids' Birthday Party? We can help
you manage Tempting Moments with Weight
Watchers 24/7 Chat.” Says Aaron Davis, Director
of Digital Marketing.
READ MORE
Image Source: DoubleClick by Google

18. Sport Network grows video ad revenue by
239%.
We know that video is one of the biggest digital
trends for 2016 and this is also true for
Programmatic advertising. That’s why Sport
Network used DoubleClick technology to
successfully monetise the brand’s video
inventory.
Image Source: DoubleClick by Google
Watch the
video here

19. CONNECTING THE
UNCONNECTED

20. Many African countries still face
big challenges when it comes to basic
infrastructure. Secluded communities are
especially at a disadvantage because most
resources are in Capitals.
New entrepreneurs and the private
sector are now taking it upon themselves
to finance innovation to try and bridge this gap.
According to the World Bank,
Africa’s infrastructure deficit has become a
significant barrier to economic growth.
Source: Forbes
The wireless
infrastructure

21. Banking on the move.
Airtel partnered with Access bank to launch a
mobile initiative that allows Nigerians to use their
phones to open bank accounts without the
hustles of traditional bureaucracy.
The ‘Smart Savers’ initiative will empower
consumers with financial literacy whilst saving
them time and money in real time.
Source: Naija News
Read More

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