What

The shift to remote learning this spring, as a result of the pandemic, was a disaster for many students and families. So much so that several public health experts have began pushing for schools to reopen in recent weeks. However, what has become increasingly clear is that, for many communities large and small, reopening schools just isn’t realistic with COVID-19 cases surging again. Now, with conflicting messages coming from policy makers, many parents and students have been left to ask themselves: What now? Many Gen Z students have started to rethink their approach to higher education and views on success, with a recent study revealing 70% want to follow their own educational paths. Across the country, groups of parents have started “podding up” with other families who have children of similar ages to create homeschool learning programs and education-based playdates. Alternative school programs are seeing their numbers rise as well. Outschool, a stable of online classes for school-age children, claimed that enrollments in the past two months reached 250,000, compared with 80,000 in the past three years through mid-March 2020.

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Takeaway

The disruption the pandemic inflicted on education has prompted the industry to reset in many ways. This resetting of approaches and attitudes around the learning experience presents a prime opportunity for brands like Adobe to advocate for the importance of creativity as a skill in the new classroom.

What

Enabling creative expression in unexpected ways

Though the pandemic may be forging on with seemingly endless ferocity, it hasn’t stopped companies from continuing to push the boundaries of creativity. Burger King recently teamed up with UK rap artist Tinie Tempah (via Twitter) to launch a track called “Whoppa.” To bring it to life, BK printed special QR codes on Whopper packs that generated a mini “hyper-realistic,” 360-degree virtual Tinie, who performs the track while dancing on top of a burger. In the world of retail, Nike immersed Tokyo’s youth in the creative process of the launch for their Air Max 2090 sneaker, without relying on IRL events. So they published a custom print magazine that lets readers decorate black-and-white drawings of the Air Max sneakers and see their creations in a 3D AR experience on their smartphones via QR codes. But the fun doesn’t stop at AR. Long-running life simulation game The Sims has been made into a competition-based reality show. Spark’d will task contestants with building “the most unique characters, worlds, and stories.”

Create with Air Max

The Sims Spark'd trailer

Finding new ways to engage

Walmart: Walmart has a couple of exciting executions lined up for the summer. The first is a series of free virtual classes and challenges, called Camp by Walmart. Kids can learn about a variety of topics, spanning fitness, fashion, science, and performing arts with celebrity counselors, such as Neil Patrick Harris and LeBron James. Secondly, Walmart partnered with Tribeca Enterprises to host drive-in, family-friendly movie nights in the retailer’s parking lots across the country this summer.

Shake Shack: The popular fast-casual restaurant launched Shack Camp Box, a series of family-friendly activities, packaged in a box and shipped directly to participants’ homes. The boxes are filled with supplies for arts and crafts, a lemonade stand, and ice cream sundaes. Each week (6 weeks in total) has a suggested in-person activity with an accompanying instructional video on Shake Shack’s IG TV channel. The campaign’s objective is to help kids enjoy some summertime fun during an unsettling time.

Takeaway

Amidst a year filled with so much unexpected turbulence, one thing that remains is people’s expectations for brands to devise creative ways to reach them. How can Adobe build on the exciting year we’ve had thus far and push the envelope in our own unpredictable ways, to continue inspiring our audience to create the unexpected?