Selling sustainability to European guests? Watch your words.
Your “eco” label could become a liability, even if your property is thousands of kilometres from Europe. EU and UK greenwashing rules can reach across borders, while booking platforms and ad tools create risks of their own. An audit of 15 South African lodges reveals what’s missing from many sustainability claims, and how to fix it.
Your AI strategy might be quietly undermining your climate commitments
Most organizations adopting AI don't have the governance infrastructure to know whether their climate commitments are still holding. That's a problem, and it's about to become visible.
Pub programmatique et activisme digital : les entreprises face à la polarisation politique
Quand un algorithme publicitaire place une bannière au mauvais endroit, les entreprises se retrouvent malgré elles au centre d'un débat politique. Les cas Leroy Merlin, Auchan et Kiabi le montrent : ce qui s’apparente à une crise de communication relève souvent d’une défaillance de gouvernance.
Five signs your organisation can handle a social-issue crisis (and what's missing if it can't)
When a social-issue crisis hits, communications can only defend what governance has already built. This post introduces five indicators of organisational readiness, from decision ownership to friction tolerance, and shows what their absence looks like in practice.
Why the standard crisis playbook doesn't work for social issues, and what to do instead
Most organisations treat social-issue backlash as a communications problem. The research says otherwise, and the gap between those two assumptions is where reputations collapse.
Communicating on social issues when meaning is no longer shared
In a polarized, low-trust environment, the same statement, policy change, or moment of silence can be read in radically different ways. This piece explores what’s changed in the socio-political context, and offers a research-backed framework for communicating on social issues when shared meaning can no longer be assumed.
When stability disappears, narrative becomes strategy: Leading through uncertainty in 2026
In a world of permanent volatility, leadership is less about prediction and more about sense-making. This analysis explores how narrative clarity—explaining what’s changing, what isn’t, and why—has become a core strategic capability for leaders navigating AI, consolidation, and uncertainty.
Imperfect brands: Why the human touch matters most when everything is automated
AI has turned aesthetic polish into a baseline. When anyone can make anything look perfect, execution stops differentiating, and meaning takes over. This brief explores aesthetic inflation, the trust crisis it creates, and why taste, provenance, friction, and deliberate imperfection are becoming the real strategic advantages of 2026.
The new wellness economy: how health trends are reshaping business in 2025
From consumer behaviour to workplace policies, the growing focus on health and well-being is reshaping how businesses engage with their audiences and employees.
Navigating the sustainability tides in 2025: risks and rewards for modern brands
The juxtaposition of consumer optimism for sustainable solutions against lingering economic anxieties and a sense of fatalism about the environment presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses striving to maintain relevance and trust.
The evolving consumer mindset on technology, data, and AI—and what it means for brands in 2025
The relationship between consumers and technology is in a state of flux. With rapid advancements in AI, data usage, and digital platforms, the general sentiment towards these technologies has grown increasingly complex. Here's a closer look at emerging trends and actionable strategies brands can adopt to meet these challenges.
Responsible brand building in 2025: Balancing Social Responsibility and Consumer Trust
In a world where consumers demand authenticity yet are quick to call out missteps, brands face a daunting challenge: how to act responsibly and transparently without alienating their audience. The key? Embrace complexity, lead with values, and prioritize genuine action over performative gestures.
A year in flux: decoding 2025’s emerging trends
Six pivotal trends shaping our collective future this year.
How to define your brand's stance on social issues
In a world where trust in governments and the media is waning, businesses are expected to step up to the plate with credible information without necessarily having the capacity to do so. This checklist guides brands through the process of positioning themselves on key societal issues. It’s a companion piece to the Social Issue Positioning Handbook, also available on our website.
Six principles for stronger content strategies
Too often, brands treat content as a nice-to-have item on their marketing list. Here are six actionable steps they can take to step into their role as publishers, and produce content that generates meaningful connections with their audience.
Content strategy for audience-first brands
Too many brands are getting content wrong. By embracing their roles as publishers, future-facing brands can increase opportunities to create meaningful and long-lasting conversations with their audiences, and nurture brand and business growth.
Purpose is not a marketing strategy
Brands are increasingly behaving like charities, but that’s not what customers want or need. Responsibility starts with companies taking stock of the impact they have just by virtue of existing.