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One of the most popular trends from this year’s edition of Non-Obvious was a trend I called RetroTrust – the idea that we trust in brands and experiences from our past. Since I wrote the chapter, I am discovering new examples of the trend in real life all the time. Last week I told the … Read more
The Hotel That Forces You To Take A Digital Detox In Sweden, one hotel has created a stunt designed to encourage you to stay off of Wifi during your stay … by only charging you when you use devices in the room. If you can exhibit self control for the evening in the “Check Out … Read more
There was a time when people used to think the waiting list for season tickets to Redskins games took decades to clear. Then the team finally admitted those numbers were inflated and made season tickets available again last year. The idea of a show/venue being “sold out” is one of the most basic marketing techniques in entertainment … … Read more
As Washington Redskin’s running back Chris Thompson shares, “Fantasy football, it makes us not human. It’s almost like people think we’re just robots out there, performing for you.” In a sport sometimes described as our modern day gladiator ring due to how often the sport causes long term inury and even death among its participants, Thompson has a … Read more
This week there have been no shortage of World Cup memes. Everything from Senegal manager Aliou Cissé becoming the tournament’s coolest man, to the early domination of Ronaldo. Yet the one meme so far that might offer the best business lesson is the justified worldwide ridicule Adidas is earning for their confusingly designed official jerseys. … Read more
Social media is under attack and all of us are trying to figure out what to do about it. Should we use Facebook less like a newspaper and more like a telephone? Is the best solution for the manipulated outrage on Twitter to just to turn it all off? An Op-Ed in the NYTimes this week tackled … Read more
The value of branding was questioned in a few stories this week, including one of a perfume store selling scents without the “noise” of marketing or labels and retailer Diesel launching its own store selling knockoffs. Other stories this week feature a fascinating data analysis of what might happen if women and men could compete … Read more
In a league often defined by greed, with unscrupulous owners who are sometimes hated by their entire fan populations (like Daniel Snyder of the Redskins), it may come as a surprise that there are some who do care about more than the bottom line. Instead of requiring vendors to buy expensive sponsorships and then subsidize them with … Read more
After years of pushback, some people think that esports may be on the verge of recognition as a “real” sport – courtesy of the International Olympic Committee.
This week’s stories span from a new design for the many buttons on Japanese toilets to a deeper look at the flaws inside one of the most frequently used metrics in business to measure loyalty: the Net Promoter Score. Other stories that stood out this week were a Swedish coughing billboard that may or may … Read more
Non-Obvious is my #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book about how to see what others miss and anticipate the future.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books.
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Rohit is the author of 9 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
