Membership schemes and referral bonuses are just a few of the ways brands try to boost shopper loyalty – but are they enough to forge long-term commitments? Canvas8 spoke to Debra Grace, a marketing professor at Griffith University, about how to measure people’s relationships with brands.

Even amid the economic fallout of COVID-19, drop culture is thriving. Brands like Heat and Scarce are packaging up items from hyped-up streetwear brands into mystery boxes, feeding people’s desire to uplift their mood through surprise and tapping into fierce brand loyalty.

From stockpiling toilet paper to dropping £100 on a plain t-shirt, hype can get people doing all sorts of seemingly strange things. Canvas8 spoke to Gemma Milne, author of Smoke & Mirrors, to learn more about this psychological phenomenon and the role it can play in a public health crisis.

With retail suffering in Hong Kong, brands are exploring hype to get shoppers interested. Playing into this, Pizza Hut and IKEA have teamed up to release a Swedish meatball-topped pizza and a flatpack table designed for holding pizza in a lighthearted campaign targeting limited-edition fans.