Sebastian Maynard

Man and woman watering a plant with money in the background

Show Me You Care: Building a Social Brand in 2021

2020 was a tough year for many, and although 2021 is looking a little more hopeful, the fact remains that our way of life will be very different moving forward. As a result, brands should consider how to best support their customers. A year marked by a global pandemic, widespread social protests, and man-made environmental […]

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Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Orange colours blending together on colour wheel

How to Ensure Your Digital Experience is Inclusive

Digital experiences and communications, including websites, social media and digital content, play an essential role in influencing shopper decisions, but first it has to reach the right audience. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, online interactions have increased, as has competition for your consumer’s attention. Inclusive communication and marketing design is now more important than

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Drawing of a man getting his temperature checked during COVID

What Retailers Need to Know About COVID Vaccines

The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has begun, and with them come a welcome light at the end of the tunnel for retailers who faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. Even those that did well, such as grocery stores and big boxes, have faced unforeseen challenges – who would ever have imagined that policing hand sanitization or

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How Beauty values are shifting

The Shifting Values of Beauty and How Brands Can Adapt

The financial and social uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racial injustice, and widespread unemployment has meant that consumers are now reconsidering their priorities. As a result, any discretionary spending has been reprioritized and shifted elsewhere. A Mckinsey study from June 2020 found that consumers are pulling back spending in categories such as apparel and

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Scientists in a lab testing a COVID-19 vaccine

What Brands Can Learn from the COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

The world continues to struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, and in its wake, consumer behavior, and therefore, brand service design, is being rewired. The good news is the recent announcements by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna regarding the viability of their vaccines energized financial markets and provided a much-needed sign of hope. The race to

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Ant Group Record-Breaking IPO

What Ant Group’s IPO Could Mean for Retail Banks

It is no longer a surprise that Fintech firms are shaking up the financial service industry. The most recent example is Ant Group, who has been making news for a potential record-breaking IPO, which some analysts believe could surpass $35 billion USD. Though the offering is currently on hold as the company responds to changing

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Cyber security hacker behind a screen

Digital Distrust: How Brands Can Navigate a World of Disruption

Technology has been a salvation during the pandemic and has thrust us into the age of omni-channel once and for all. And yet, there is a looming threat to the digital brand experience: a growing sense of mistrust in technology and the cyber-verse. Fanned by the flames of fake news, online hate and political interference,

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Digital Sign Saying Welcome

Tips for Implementing Digital Signage on a Dime

COVID-19 has accelerated many of the digital transformation behaviors that were already in progress before the pandemic. While many larger retailers had the resources to adapt quickly, smaller retailers often had a tougher time in updating their physical stores. Unfortunately, this inability to adapt in-store digital signage undermined the delivery of effective communication with customers

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Illustration of women talking at a bank

How Banks Can Appeal to Both Rational and Irrational Customers

We recently highlighted the relationship between behavioral finance, a banks’ brand strategy, and how prospect theory changes our perception of experience design. Now we will continue to explore the topic of brand strategy based on customers’ behavior patterns. Are Your Customers Rational or Irrational? Probably Both. Traditional business analysis assumes that consumers and other market

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Mobile app illustration

The Shift to Digital Ecosystems

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation initiatives by financial institutions and retailers, bringing the need for a robust digital ecosystem to the forefront. In a study we recently conducted with over 500 banking and retail executives, we have seen that though many realize a digital transformation is essential, there is still some confusion as

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Behavioural Theory Illustration

Using Behavioral Theory to Improve Bank Customer Experience

Commercial banks operate in a buyer’s market. Since products and services of commercial banks are highly homogenous, banks find themselves trapped in a semi-perfect competition market, where they might be forced to play the price war, leading to dwindling profit margins. All banks hope to break free from this trap through differentiation and in offering

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Using mixed reality to play sports

How Mixed Reality Can Elevate Your Packaging Design

It’s no secret that the role of packaging has evolved from being strictly focused on practicality to now having a central role in a brand’s identity. These days, packaging serves as an effective marketing tool – especially with augmented and mixed reality innovations – and gives brands an opportunity to use their packaging to creating

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Online Personalization Strategies for Fashion Retailers

To most, shopping means paying a visit to your favorite store or mall to give yourself a feel-good experience that results in instant gratification. You leave the store feeling satisfied and well taken care of. Often, retail associates are there to offer assistance every step of the way, and, most importantly, give a sense of

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Mobile phone being checked by someone outside in a city

Super Apps and the Future of Banking

Over recent years, most financial institutions have embraced mobile apps as a way to provide better service and convenience for their customers. In 2019, over 75 percent of Americans said that they used their mobile device to check their bank account, and as COVID-19 has forced branches to temporarily close, the number is even higher for 2020.  However, simply

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