The Curiosity Stop is a monthly snackable report of all things innovative, aimed to interest, inform, and above all, inspire.

1. CURIOSITY STOP
October 2015

2. WE ARE SOCIAL
We Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents
(Antarctica is a little too chilly for our liking).
We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our
clients include adidas, Google, and Netflix.
As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at
the centre of marketing.

3. Curiosity Stop >
Introduction
Before brands did social, social was social. Platforms were
handy new ways for people to flock together over mutual
interests, like knitting, or kittens, or complaining.
There is still a simple truth in this. The way we interact on social
media mirrors the way we interact in real life. We talk about
stuff we love and stuff we hate. We rally around passions and
injustices. We like cats.
An understanding of social behaviours, online and offline, is at
the heart of the work we do at We Are Social. It helps us to find
and to tell stories we know people will want to pass on. We look
for insights to learn about how and why people communicate.
We call it social thinking.
This report is a compilation of exciting social thinking that has
peaked our curiosity this month. Read on!
Charlie Cottrell - Head of Editorial

4. 1. Shopping 3. Life Hacks
4. Food
5. Relationships
6. Dating
7. Fashion
8. Art
9. Gaming
10. Travel
11. Money
12. Community
CONTENTS
Stop
Curiosity
2. Sports

5. .@Topshop won the style stakes at
Fashion Month with their showstopper,
Pinterest Palette, unveiled off the
runway.
Shopping >
Pinterest Palette
What’s it all about?
For SS16, Topshop teamed with Pinterest to create a
piece of tech which scans your Pinterest board, then
reveals your unique colour DNA. Mine was all black
everything, just FYI.
Using this palette, Topshop offers up matching items
from their website. Great for the brand, not so great
for my bank account.
The bigger picture
We’ve seen Unilever’s All Things Hair use big “social”
data to create real-time content. Agile brands will
start to create services and products which react, in
real-time, to the content being shared on social.

6. Fans can capture and share the
intensity of live sport, by filming their
commentary with @FanCred.
Altogether now: GOAL!
Sports >
Fancred
What’s it all about?
Fancred reckons any sports fan could be a secret Sue
Barker or Gary Lineker, which is why they’re
streaming user-generated, Periscope-style footage on
a social platform designed specifically for the
sporting world.
The next time you tune into the match, why not share
your moments of agony and/or joy with thousands of
other fans?
The bigger picture
Live streaming is still a way away from having its
Instagram moment, where everyone goes nuts and
starts spamming each other. Live streaming can win
by sneaking up behind closed doors, and high-ticket
sporting events are ripe for this.

7. Meet the love-child of GroupOn and
Tinder. Input your travel details and
pair up with other travellers for
discounts.
Life Hacks >
Paystobesocial
What’s it all about?
Paystobesocial is an app which pairs you up with
people making the same train journey, so you can
nab a group discount. However, it’s not just about
clubbing together to game the system and save
money.
Since you have to travel with your new pals, you
might make a friend and/or mate for life. Unless they
bring egg sandwiches along. Then you should
pretend you don’t know them.
The bigger picture
This is a great example of a wider trend that we call
“Community Commerce”. We’ve seen several
examples of strangers using their collective social
might to gain a financial advantage. If you work for a
brand that can be hacked through this kind of social
thinking - you can guarantee it will be.

8. Know what your fast-food meal is
missing? No, not extra-large fries. A
chicken bucket which prints your
photos! Enter, KFC.
Food >
Memories Bucket
What’s it all about?
KFC is the innovator of the fast-food world, and it’s
done it again with the Memories Bucket.
Snap some photos of your mates goofing around
with chicken wings, then connect to the printer via
Bluetooth and hit print! Like a polaroid camera, only
more social.
The bigger picture
KFC are in the Curiosity Stop yet again. with another
cheeky drumstick of social thinking. This is a needless
and throwaway piece of innovation, but at least they
are looking at what happens socially when their
customers are in their restaurants.

9. Thanks to @TheRingCam, you can relive
that special moment over and over
again. Unless she says no, of course.
Relationships >
The Ring Cam
What’s it all about?
The Ring Cam is a ring box fitted with a tiny camera,
designed to capture the look of
surprise/joy/bewilderment on your partner’s face
when you propose.
The footage can be edited into an emotional video
(set to Michael Bublé, obviously) and shared with
friends, family… anyone who’ll watch, really.
The bigger picture
Voyeurism 2.0 is another of our key trends for 2016.
Ring Cam ties right into the crazy Mukbang craze of
watching other people eat (look it up, seriously) or
The Guardian’s brilliant Watch Me Date.

10. Sisters are doin’ it for themselves!
@Bumble_app is a dating site with a
twist - only women can make the first
move.
Dating >
Bumble
What’s it all about?
In the world of online dating, men can turn hostile
when rejected. Don’t believe me? Check out ‘Bye
Felipe’ on Instagram.
Bumble is tackling this problem head on. If a woman
doesn’t say anything to a new connection after 24
hours, then the connection is lost forever. It’s your
call, ladies.
The bigger picture
Tinder has revolutionised online dating in the same
way iPhones revolutionised smartphones, and now
every man and his dog are after a piece of the action.
Brands should learn that applying a social thinking
insight like ‘men can turn hostile when rejected’ can,
with a little creativity, produce a strong challenger
product.

11. If you wanted an exclusive peek at
@Burberry’s SS16 collection, there was
only one place to be. Snapchat.
Fashion >
Burberry on Snapchat
What’s it all about?
Forget waiting for a fashion collection to leaked out,
piece-by-piece, by power-hungry journalists. Luxury
brand Burberry showed off their new kit at
Generation Z’s favourite home on the internet,
Snapchat.
While this meant anyone could get a glimpse of the
new line, the content disappeared after 24 hours.
The bigger picture
The normalisation of Snapchat continues. There’s still
plenty of time to be an early mover on Snapchat,
when you can get away with unimaginative
executions. But before too long it’ll be as noisy as
Facebook and Twitter, and you’ll be paying through
the nose to watch your adverts disappear in front of
your very eyes. Can’t wait.

12. Artist Natalie Czech speaks the
language of flowers, and her bouquets
are actually 400-word reviews.
Art >
Critic’s Bouquets
What’s it all about?
Back in the day, hidden messages were sent using
bouquets. No, there weren’t X-rated notes hidden
between the stems - different flowers conveyed
different emotions and gestures.
Natalie Czech has brought this into the 21st century,
by translating authors’ 400-word art exhibition
reviews into bouquets of flowers. She provided the
authors with a key of flowers which represent
emotions, and they matched each sentence up with a
chosen bloom.
The bigger picture
Want my advice? Brands must start creating
marketing messages using flowers, it’s the new social
media! Not really. This example does show that
innovation can come from looking back, as much as it
can from looking forward.

13. Remember when laser tag was cool?
No? Well it was, promise. And now it’s
back, this time with virtual reality.
Gaming >
Zero Latency
What’s it all about?
The problem with laser tag was that you were all too
aware that you were playing in some dingy room at
your local leisure centre.
Zero Latency is laser tag with virtual reality brought
into the mix, so you really believe you are saving
society from the brink of destruction. Now, who’s for
a (virtual) slush puppy?
The bigger picture
VR is currently an experience where you put a box on
your head to pretend that you haven’t got a box on
your head.
We are seeing regular examples of social executions
of VR experiences. How is your brand going to be
relevant to a social VR experience? Has your
competitor started working this out already?

14. Guys! Gareth Thomas has invited you
round for the rugby. Don’t thank us,
thank @Airbnb. And Gareth, obviously.
Travel >
Rugby World Cup x Airbnb
What’s it all about?
Rugby players like Gareth Thomas and Lewis Moody
put their homes on Airbnb during the Rugby World
Cup, to raise money for charity.
The players offered guided tours as well as rugby
pointers, with house rules including “Compulsory
singing of ‘God Save The Queen’ at 8am every
morning.”
The bigger picture
Online “Conscious Communities” are forming, using
social to connect to causes they care about. Smart
brands like Airbnb should be making it easy for their
customers to care via their platform.

15. This one’s for that mate who’s owed
you a tenner for the last three years.
Just send them @paypal’s way.
Money >
Paypal.me
What’s it all about?
Let’s face it, constantly badgering someone for that
note you lent them ages ago is never going to work -
who keeps cash on them these days?
Paypal has set up a social way to transfer money,
whereby you send your friend a personalised URL
stating the exact amount they owe you. All they have
to do is press a few buttons, and you’re in the money!
The bigger picture
You can buy a mortgage on WeChat in China. This
shows that the company has managed to make a
chat app a trusted and secure platform - no mean
feat. This trend is making its way out west, and
Paypal.me is paving the way.

16. London’s answer to cigarette litter?
Vote With Your Butt. No, really.
Community >
Vote With Your Butt
What’s it all about?
London’s streets aren’t paved with gold, they’re lined
with cigarette butts. For Hubbub’s latest project, it’s
set up an ashtray box outside Embankment station,
with two possible slots to choose from.
Each week, smokers are given a different question to
vote on, for example: Who is the best football player
in the world? Your butt decides who wins.
The bigger picture
If someone can make binning cigarette butts
innovative and fun, then I don’t want to hear any
moans that your brand isn’t as cool or high-budget as
Red Bull. No ifs, no butts.

17. SHOPPING
Pinterest Palette
SPORTS
FanCred
LIFE HACKS
Paystobesocial
FOOD
Memories Bucket
RELATIONSHIPS
Ring Cam
DATING
Bumble
FASHION
Burberry on Snapchat
ART
Critic’s Bouquets
GAMING
Zero Latency
TRAVEL
Rugby World Cup x Airbnb
MONEY
Paypal.me
COMMUNITY
Vote With Your Butt

18. talktous@wearesocial.net