Interesting Reads. Industry news that you may have missed.
A Penthouse Made for Instagram – The New York Times
Having the perfect backdrop is essential for influencers. Some influencers go the length to have lifestyle shoots at home good stores right when they open like ABC Home in NYC. A company called Village Marketing decided to design a space specifically for Instagram stars. It rented out a 2,400-square-foot space in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood with spotless walls, a plush pink sofa, and library nook — a perfect backdrop for aesthetically pleasing photos.
A Google intern built the AI behind these shockingly good fake images – Fast Company
For years, researchers and artists have explored training neural networks to generate images that look real. Most look images look distorted based off how the computer perceives the world. But a Google intern and two researchers from Google’s DeepMind team have finally broken through on a new algorithm featuring AI-generated images that truly look real. The algorithm is called BigGAN and it creates a detailed photo from scratch, which is a huge leap forward for AI.
Amazon has failed as a destination for ‘discovery’ shopping — so it built a physical store to try it the old-fashioned way – Recode
Amazon has become an empire in the electronic commerce industry. At the business continues to grow, it’s decided to experiment in retail with a 4-star store in New York City. The new store is filled with a curated selection of Amazon’s best and most popular items, most with ratings on Amazon of four stars or more. It seems this new store is a realization from the company that people still enjoy in-store shopping.
How L’Oreal is balancing data and consumer trust – Glossy
In marketing, data and trust go hand in hand. Generating personalized data has to begin with consumer trust. So industries are changing the way they approach business through a variety of data-driven techniques, especially by tapping into the digital experience. Most importantly, brands must be authentic in what it stands for to gain consumers’ trust.
