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This past week was panic-inducing across the advertising industry. Two of the “big four” agency holding companies intend to join forces to create the biggest ad agency in the world with over 100,000 employees and an estimated $25B in revenue. The part of the news causing the most fear across the industry probably boils down to one … Read more
“Predictions are boring. None of us knows the future and therefore no one cares what you think is going to happen. Provocations are different. There is no right or wrong, just boring or stimulating. As a result, they can take many more forms: a meaningful question, a firm statement, or ambiguous feeling.” That’s the way … Read more
Back in 2023, in response to a growing number of young male British tourists partying, getting drunk and generally behaving badly, the city of Amsterdam launched a “digital discouragement” campaign aimed at suggesting that these visitors would not be welcome and should skip their trips. At the time, the campaign was widely shared, and many criticized it … Read more
Activists and consumers who believe food regulations in the U.S. need to be overhauled are getting excited right now. The recent media spotlight has been on President-elect Trump’s pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. In the past, he has been a vocal vaccine-skeptic and blames the food … Read more
The future of work is hybrid. If there was one prediction I heard most often about the workplace coming out of the pandemic, this was it. Why would anyone want to return to work once they were able to stay at home and do Zoom calls in their pajamas? And presumably the savings on office … Read more
The survival of journalism and a free press largely depends on all of our willingness to fund it. One overlooked element of this issue is how digital marketing is purchased and valued. Consider this eye-opening assessment of how digital marketing and “brand safety tech” works and why these tools that were designed to prevent ads … Read more
If the upcoming U.S. Presidential election and potential ensuing backlash and chaos has you up at night, this book might offer a helpful reminder that everything happens on a much longer timescale than we sometimes feel as we live through history. In the book, renowned futurist and geopolitical expert George Friedman paints a picture of … Read more
At several points over the past few years, I’ve showcased a story about women who make the personal choice not to have children. Usually, their stories are ones of personal bravery, confidence and empowerment. This week I came across an article that was one of the first to talk about a more invisible side of … Read more
Today is Halloween and a new survey suggests that for nearly half of all Americans, it’s their favorite holiday of the year. Amidst all the candy gathering and costume making, there are a lot of people and brands who use the day as a chance to put some stellar creative ideas out into the world. … Read more
Six years ago, Victoria’s Secret shelved their popular runway show after significant blowback from media and consumers alike who felt the show was objectifying women. Since then, the brand has had to go through leadership changes and significant soul searching about what it stood for. This week they brought back their runway show in an attempt to … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my latest book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - relesaed 10/01/2024.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
