Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

As the new post-pandemic normal settles in and people adapt to a context of uncertainty, constant adversities, and pessimism, we are moving away from a moment in which consumers expected brands to rise up to society's challenges and into one when they’re demanding genuine allyship from businesses.

In the US, there’s a huge gap between the number of eligible voters and those that actually make themselves heard on election day; around 93 million Americans didn’t cast their ballot in 2012. How has Hillary Clinton’s campaign harnessed digital platforms to engage people and get out the vote?

If Faisal Islam, Ralph Keyes and theNew York Timesare to be believed, the Trump candidacy and the vote for Brexit show we've entered a post-truth era – a world where emotion and populism win out over facts and experts. But is it true? And do emotional appeals really trump facts and figures?

“People have asked about the dislike button for many years,” announced Mark Zuckerberg at an informal Facebook Q&A in September 2015. “Today is a special day, because I can say we’re working on it and shipping it.” Of course, the internet has had something to say about it.

According to the world of online dating, coming across as an arse to some can make others love you more. If having haters makes those who like you like you all the more, does the same psychology apply to our relationships with brands? And does it actually pay for a brand to rub part of its audience up the wrong way?