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Guvera, the digital music platform which lets advertisers curate their own music channels, has launched its My Soundtrack Facebook app, designed to let brands boost their social marketing efforts by promoting a personalised playlist on their Facebook pages. Brands can embed and refresh playlists to keep followers and fans checking back to hear what’s new.

BMW Guggenheim Lab – a combination thinktank, public forum, and community centre – attracted 56,000 visitors from 66 countries, while 400,000 users went to the BMWGuggenheimLab.org website in the 10 weeks the initiative was up and running in New York.

Brands aiming to do good are starting to integrate social issues into their business models to create shared value – a concept which reflects the belief that generating a profit and achieving social progress are not mutually exclusive, says JWT in its 10 Trends For 2012 report.

Millennials – that optimistic, entrepreneurial and socially engaged bunch – are entering the business world and bringing this kind of mindset with them. And this globally connected demographic wants to effect social change with intuitive commercial strategies.

McKinsey has been busy crowdsourcing, and over the past couple of months has been calling for 60-second videos to showcase innovative social projects, says Steve Mullins. The move elicited 150 clips from 30 countries and the public has been given the opportunity to vote on them.

Amnesty International has unveiled a series of art installations, Making The Invisible Visible, across Europe to highlight the plight of a number of people who have suffered horrific human rights abuses. The installations use lenticular fence posters to depict a close-up of an individual’s face. The image is invisible from front-on, becoming visible only to those approaching the fence, vanishing once more as they pass.

Sony and the non-profit Forum For The Future are co-creating for sustainability with the Futurescapes initiative which aims to tap into the imaginations of Europeans to stimulate fresh thinking about what people’s lives might be like in 2025, writes Maria Stadtmueller. FutureScapes will encourage participants to share their thoughts and ideas using a variety of formats, including comment, visuals and participation at events.

Nokia has launched the 2012 Windows Phone Challenge, tasking students with developing socially conscious apps to solve the world’s toughest problems using technology. Apps solutions will be entered into the Microsoft Imagine Cup, and entrants can use the Nokia IdeasProject co-creation platform to brainstorm ideas.

Corporate social responsibility isn’t just a marketing gimmick, and many brands are devoting their entire product offering to doing well by doing good, according to The Big Little Book Of Nexts: Trendspotting for 2012 from Euro RSCG, writes Maria Stadtmueller.