These brands are putting humans first in an increasingly digital world

How we do create meaningful human connections in a digital world when the physical and analog worlds can often feel separate, and even disconnected? 

The answer is to embrace Human First thinking. This means bridging the analog and digital worlds in meaningful, inclusive, and purpose-driven ways. 

This is one of several explicit themes coming out of our recent Bluescape Summit in Hawaii. We convened leaders across some of the world’s most admired brands -- Moleskine, Lululemon, OluKai, and many more. We wanted to explore the very human implications of digital transformation. Here’s what inspired me the most about some of their stories.

Moleskine: Bridging Digital and Physical Worlds

Moleskine’s notebooks, journals, and planners have embodied the cultural legacy of writers, travelers, and artists ever since the company began about 20 years ago. These notebooks are inherently analog products, but Moleskine’s creative technologist, Gabriel Walsh, looked more closely at consumers who buy Moleskine’s products. His goal was to learn if there was also a digital connection. 

Gabriel discovered that Moleskine consumers are not only more creative than average consumers, but they are also more likely than others to use digital technology. Not only that, these consumers switch between writing and drawing by hand when engaged in heightened states of creativity and analysis, and rely on keyboards and touchscreens for other types of thinking. In other words, they move seamlessly between physical and digital devices when expressing themselves.

Moleskine subsequently invented a new digital notebook, along with a smart pen and app. The new digital notebook makes handwritten notes and drawings instantly transferable and editable online -- all simply by touching a sensor-based icon in the notebook itself. The result combines the immediacy of paper with collaboration in the cloud. It also delivers a more inclusive environment for introverts who may be afraid to speak up at a meeting. “They need time to process and write their thoughts down,” says Gabriel, “and bring it back to a collaborative space that can keep track of people, which is very valuable.” 

OluKai: Purpose and Place

For Hawaiian lifestyle brand OluKai, success is about winning together as part of an inclusive community.

When OluKai was first established, its founders knew that the company chose a name that embodied its values. OluKai in Hawaiian means “comfortable ocean”, because, as international spokesperson Archie Kalepa said, “It is not the land that divides us. It is the ocean that connects us all.” 

OluKai is also committed to supporting its local communities through the Ama OluKai Foundation. The foundation’s purpose is to give back to the native Hawaiian community by honoring those who preserve and celebrate its deep cultural heritage. Its aspiration is always rooted in the spirit of Aloha: defined as a state of love, compassion, kindness, and grace, and literally translated to mean the presence of (Divine) breath.

OluKai’s spirit of purpose, place, and people is woven into every one of its products. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the company’s online store. As partner and foundation executive director Dan McInerny explained, “Our products are an extension of our stories. You will see that every product has a Hawaiian name, and a story on where it came from, and why we created it.” In another act of compassion, OluKai’s online store is also conscientious in respecting versus competing with its offline ecosystem partners. “We made sure we could recognize our retailers,” said Dan. “You need to build trust and be in constant communication with them when you take an online presence.”

Lululemon: Values Drive What You Do

The best brands are able to show why what we do is profoundly, intrinsically linked to shared values that drive why we do it. Athletic apparel maker Lululemon is a great example of this. 

Lululemon’s head of innovation, research and development, Tom Waller, leverages science, data and careful feedback to re-engineer products. He doesn’t do this around body size, but by how people move -- and more importantly, feel -- in their clothes. The result has been Lululemon’s breakthrough product line with Align, unique new fabrics such as Nulu?, and a series of other innovations and experiments. These all enable Lululemon to connect our body’s movement to our well-being, and even our communities, so we can feel more in touch with our humanity in an increasingly digital world. 

Tom also observes that “customer experience” is often a buzzword more biased toward a company’s view of what it thinks its customers want, versus listening to what really drives them. Lululemon has focused instead on values-centered business practices that speak to our shared purpose as humans. Little wonder that Lululemon is one of the world’s most valuable brands in its category.

I love how Tom, Gabriel, and Dan put Humans First in everything they do. It’s not a tickbox or a sidebar. It’s what drives their organizations at their core. They also show how technology can serve as a bridge versus a barrier when people come together at scale to create magic. It’s a philosophy we drive every day at Bluescape, in a world where collaboration, done at scale, matters more than ever before in achieving great things. That’s because the goal of technology is to make us more inclusive, more productive, and more in touch with our shared humanity. It’s not always easy, but Human First at scale is the north star that gets us there. 

Our shared humanity is the route that leads us to the ways that brand, products, and services can and should earn a meaningful role in our lives. We are all seeking a connection with the world and each other. The most inspiring brands get this.