[things i've read online + have an opinion on]
chipotle's on-the-go lip stain
For National Avocado Day, Chipotle teamed up with Wonderskin to create a smudge-proof lip stain called, Lipotle. This limited-time collaboration was born from mukbang creators and/or Chipotle fans getting lipstick on their burritos while eating. Similar to the Liquid Death & E.L.F. Cosmetics stunt, or even the cross-pollination of Michelin Tires & Stars, fusing different – but complementary – categories not only taps into new audiences but also strengthens brand salience off the first impression of a unique and unusual campaign. As brands, how can we equip outside-of-the-box thinking and infuse categories separate from our own to reach new audiences? Or, is there a “cause and effect” scenario that paints your brand as the desired solution (e.g., Michelin tires to drive your car to Michelin Star restaurants)?
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Source: Link
the entitlement of radical fan-fic
Media outlets and fans are notorious for speculating on the “will they, won’t they” dating rumor trope. From Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy Allen White to Ayo Edebiri and Paul Mescal, or even Paul Mescal and Natalie Portman / Daisy Edgar-Jones, the media has desensitized people’s perceptions of basic human privacy and enabled radical fandoms. Whether it’s obsessive fans and media shipping or shredding celebrity relationships, or objectifying the celebrity, some fans have become so consumed in radical fan-fic that they’ve developed a strong entitlement to their devotion. As brands, how can we humanize the way we speak to our cohorts? How can we ensure our cohorts feel genuinely valued and cared for rather than just being sold to?
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Source: Link
liquid death x e.l.f. cosmetics battling the mainstream
A limited edition corpse paint makeup kit has been created by Liquid Death and e.l.f. Cosmetics. Equipping a nostalgic infomercial approach, the brands successfully produced a jarring LTO product that challenges norms – such as the “clean girl aesthetic” and “love for boy bands” – by leaning into and addressing the subculture of Goths and heavy metal. In doing so, not only are the brands making space for more audiences, but they are also enabling participation by developing an activity that can be done with friends – making it a shared experience. In addition to that, this campaign was launched during an unexpected time (before Easter), which spotlights the thoughtful strategy of bringing this collaboration to light in a dissonant way. Brands should experiment with targeting audiences that aren’t traditionally found in the mainstream of their categories to build inclusivity and relevance beyond their limitations.
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Source: Link
nike x thee hottie state of mind
From her 2021 Hottie Bootcamp to her 2023 fitness vlogs, Megan Thee Stallion has made strides on her fitness goals and has been perfectly partnered with Nike to preach Thee Hottie State of Mind. Megan was given the platform to shine her positive attitude and personality through this collaboration – while being able to organically present herself as if this was on her account. In other words, Megan successfully communicated the duality in mindset (e.g., picking healthy vs. junk food) and promoted the choice of balance – that progress does not have to be black and white and inhibit you from enjoying the change. When creating content or considering partnerships, how can brands be mindful and embrace their creator’s identities as a complement, rather than a supplement? How can the brand and creator’s personalities intertwine to produce resonance among its audiences?
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Source: Link
gap x jungle x tyla: blending industries
To promote its Linen Moves campaign, GAP collaborated with producers, Jungle, and Grammy-winning South African artist, Tyla, using Jungle’s viral song (and choreography), Back on 74. Linen fabric is typically known to be less elastic and more expensive, so some people might not consider it for excessive movement, such as dancing. However, this campaign successfully communicates otherwise – that GAP’s Linen is comfortable, flexible, and durable without having to verbalize it. Instead, the brand proved its product’s efficacy through a visually immersive demonstration that blends fashion, music, and choreography to bring brand salience to GAP. Brands should consider leaning into industries beyond their own as a medium for bringing in new audiences and niches while amplifying brand recognition.
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Source: Link
stanley cup craze = sustainability's grave
The purpose of a reusable cup is to buy one and keep using it. However, with the surge in obsession over the Stanley Cups, people have started to collect them for leisure, as well as filling them with water from plastic bottles for the reputation and status the cup symbolizes. In fact, the Galentine’s Day collaborations cups with Target and Starbucks have been sold out a month ahead from the holiday and are being resold for $200+ online. Consumers may have this unhealthy fixation on these Stanley Cups because it helps shape a form of their identity by making them feel like they are part of a collective – a cult. With that said, how can brands take advantage of herd mentality - in a positive way - to communicate conscious-consumption with their audiences to ensure they do not fall into the same lane as fast fashion?
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Source: Link
video game therapy sessions
Hero Journey Club is a mental health company that pairs licensed therapy and video games. This new niche is called, gaming therapy. CNN mentioned that this form of therapy has helped create a sense of engagement and immersion for many, while also noticing that gaming together improved mental health for clients during their group sessions as well. Another example of gaming therapy is the smartphone game, VoidPet, which meshes elements of Pokémon inspired creatures with gamified mental health prompts. Collectively, this new niche exemplifies the power of common ground (e.g., gaming) and the layers it can bring to unexpected categories including, but not limited to, mental health services. How can brands make an effort to understand every and any niche behavioral interest of its consumers and create common ground through those outlets?
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Source: Link
travel destination... dupes?
As glamorous as Italy and Greece are, these destinations have become overly crowded and expensive. This has led to the creation of dupe destinations. For example, data from Expedia showed that instead of going to St. Martin, U.S. flight searches have increased by 238% over the last year for the dupe destination, Curaçao. By going to dupe destinations, not only will this unlock new and affordable travel ventures for many, but it will also potentially help stimulate local economies that did not typically receive much tourism or attention before. With that said, how can brands contextualize the usage of its products or services for globe-trotting enthusiasts that are looking for their next dupe destination in 2024?
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Source: Link
the envy office
The people want the Envy Office. With the pandemic leaving many in the loneliness epidemic, offices are being redesigned to feel like the comfort of home with the glamor of an escape. By creating an inviting, community-oriented work environment – along with free snacks and happy hours – companies are hoping they can lure their employees back to their offices by making their commute feel more worthwhile. In other words, having a job that you can be proud of and boast about can nourish an employee’s self-esteem and purpose in working there; thus, enabling them to go to the office to maintain that feeling. Analogously, how can brands position their products as the comfortable, yet glamorous, option that can help people maintain the feeling of nourishment and purpose when using it?
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Source: Link
the wedding of strategy + creative
Mischief is named 2023’s Agency of the Year. Aside from being selective about clients and maintaining a “fearless culture”, Mischief successfully tied the knot between “Sexy Creative” and “Phenomenal Strategy”. Creative produces the reaction, whereas Strategy piques the curiosity to understand the creative. In other words, Mischief found the perfect “streative intersection” that led to high-performing business results. Instead of living the single life of Strategy and Creative, how can we adopt a Streative approach that weds the two in a complementary way instead of a supplementary way? How can we work to be compatible instead of just an additive to one another?
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Source: Link
fast food chains = leaving their lane
Toronto-based burger shop, Good Fortune Bar, changed their menu items to office supplies in an attempt for customers to expense them during work. Popeyes changed its “sides” menu tab to “girl dinner” — at the peak of the trend — to show people it's a contemporary brand that understands culture and "the assignment." Both brands took the risk of altering their menus as a social experiment to stimulate a reaction out of the public in an effort to elevate their brands to be top of mind. How can brands create meaningful creative that nods to culture without compromising the brand's tone of voice? How can brands strategically communicate their knowledge of culture without being perceived as performative?
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Source: Link
mugler's AR... mirror?
Mixed reality is the future of retail. Luxury French fashion and perfume brand, Mugler, is promoting its latest fragrance by installing an AR mirror in Paris, Berlin, and Munich for people to interact with it. The mirror allows participants to take a photo or video of themselves to download and share on social platforms, as well as providing them access to the filter on Instagram. As AR technology continues to be used by brands, purchasing decisions will become increasingly efficient and effortless. As brands, how can we proactively research and utilize the AR space to enhance the ease of our users' experiences?
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Source: Link
unbothered elderly fashion
"You look cool when you look unbothered." Highsnobriety news editor, Jake Silbert, believes we should all dress like elderly people. Elderly people have had a lifetime to master the art of dressing - creating aspirational ease to their style, which has been adopted by many, including Tyler, the Creator, A$AP Rocky, and the GenZers of Bushwick. Not only is elderly fashion charming, but it's also effortless and communicates quirt confidence. As brands, how can we inspire unbothered, quiet confidence with our products?
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Source: Link
music industry: tiktokified
TikTok is transforming the music industry. TiaCorine, SZA, Steve Lacy, and other artists have added sped-up versions of their songs on audio streaming platforms. In fact, Spotify created a “sped up songs” playlist that has generated 1MM likes. This is a prime example of how TikTok is disrupting culture not only in social content creation but also in the world of music. Artists are releasing sped-up versions of their songs expeditiously to beat TikTok users who may do it first. As brands, how can we be the pioneers of culture for our product categories?
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Source: Link
brand story = brand glory
Virtual brands are the future. During the pandemic, many restaurants found success and opportunity in delivery services (e.i., Uber Eats, GrubHub). Since business was bustling, brands began to develop spin-off food services that targeted particular demographics (e.i., Gen Z, Millennials) to expand their business profiles. They learned that in order to sustain consumer trust in virtual brands and achieve business goals, it required a clear & strong brand story to provide context and transparency for users. As brands, how do we integrate our brand stories during strategic & creative ideation processes to earn consumer trust?​
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100% to remember the game
Not everyone knows the different variations of recycling there are that contribute to the overall condition of the world. Intel and Dell collaborated with Animal Crossing to increase awareness about e-waste by creating a new island called, ECycleLand, where users can bring “rusty parts” to exchange for new e-devices. Using a video game format subtly educates users by turning the game into a mnemonic for brand messaging - just like Wendy’s and Fortnite teaching their consumers that Wendy’s does not use frozen beef. Not only does this make information naturally more digestible, but it also makes it more memorable. As brands, how can we creatively go beyond the traditional platform methods to create meaningful and memorable messaging?
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humor wins consumers
80-year-old brand, Looney Tunes, has garnered over 1.6m followers and 13.3m likes on TikTok. How? By using “concisely told jokes and beloved character archetypes”. The agency, Movement Strategy, noted that absurd humor is what wins on TikTok, so that’s exactly what they did. Juxtaposing this social strategy with their goal of reaching Gen-Z, they were able to enhance brand relevance and evolve their brand image by adapting to culture. As brands, merging concise humor with our cohorts, how do we design creative that optimizes
our brand relevance without jeopardizing brand positioning?
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Source: Link
pivotal visuals prevails sales
Men have historically outnumbered the whiskey industry by 228%, so Glenmorangie decided to change that. Glenmorangie created a campaign that ditches traditional whiskey advertising tropes keeping Gen Z and Millennials as top-of-mind consumers, creating alluring visual metaphors with bright color palettes, and changing the connotation of the whiskey industry. Instead of being hyper-product-focused, the brand successfully fostered community through an aesthetic experience. How can brands deconstruct legacy gender dichotomies through experiential visual language?
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say goodbye to fast fashion
TikTok #haul culture is being challenged. Over-consumption has been a soma for Gen-Z, but over-production contributing to the acceleration of climate change is making its way to certain sustainable influencers who have taken it upon themselves to reframe fast fashion to improve the state of the planet. As brands, we need to implement more sustainability initiatives and teach our audiences how to properly dispose of our products, and how to prevent excess waste. Leaning into consumer interest in learning about sustainability, how can we use EducationTok to make content that emphasizes eco-friendly product benefits while not being ad-y?
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represent-asian
A century after getting her first lead role in the film industry, Anna May Wong became the first Asian-American to be forged on U.S. currency. From the start of her acting career (age 14) to the end of it (age 56), she dealt with racism and discrimination - playing stereotypical Asian roles in Hollywood. However, overtime, she conquered some of those obstacles, paving the way and becoming one of the first movers in the creative world for Asian Americans. As brands, how do we honor POC heroes from the past to represent & include people of the present?
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luxury or quality food?
The largest & and fastest growing Asian restaurant chain, Jollibee, captivated New Yorkers by juxtaposing their fast food advertising digital displays in Times Square with memefied versions of luxury ads for fragrances and timepieces. These displays are changing the digital OOH space by generating a cross-screen experience for their viewers to showcase the idea that it’s not expensive to enjoy quality food. As Media buying options continue to expand, brands like Jollibee are using familiar imagery in an unexpected context to reframe how consumers see them. How can our brands leverage new media and juxtaposed aesthetics to re-position
themselves in an evolving world?
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corny ads for horny parents
Instead of captivating kids with a taste of adventure, Capri Sun has pivoted their marketing by tempting parents with a secret escapade of their own with Juicio, the sexy juice slinger. The brand’s new persona captures the attention of adults - the actual buyers - while dissuading kids from watching the “corny ad” and not finding out that Capri Sun now has 40% less sugar. This juicy secret between the parents and Juicio creates an intimate experience for the buyer, not the user, allowing the parent to make the healthiest decision for their child. If buying is becoming more intimate than using, how can our brands elevate the initial purchase to make the conversion as attractive as possible?
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