Steve Madden is beloved by TikTok girlies
Plus: Insights from SXSW London, and the psychedelic venture space is expanding.
Morning,
I’ve been in London all week for SXSW and a GOOD THINKING LONDON TOUR. The amount that was crammed into this week might be a personal best.
I’m going to be in Cannes in a couple of weeks. Should we do a GOOD DRINKS CANNES? The one in London was lovely. Reply to this email if you want to connect!
I’ll be checking out Brands and Culture’s talks too. RSVP here.
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: most sections are packed with lots of connected dots. Find your fave. Or hit up the loaded FUN FOR THE WEEK.
As always, the lens of this letter is a best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What I’m dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands.
Let’s dive in!
CULTURE
THE NEW SOUTH // Not sure what happy juice Londoners are drinking, but the vibe this visit was amazing. The energy of the city and the people were top-notch. I’ll share more in the LONDON TOUR email coming soon. As for the conference:
We should get this out of the way: the organization of the conference left a lot of folx frustrated. Attendees parked themselves at venues, making it impossible for anyone else to get in. Very fixable. I’d make a report for them if anyone wants to put me in touch.
The sprawl was real. The main venue should have, and definitely could have, accommodated a lot more. Trekking 20mins between various venues (sometimes in the rain) isn’t a winning move. Bigger venues, more efficiently used = you’re golden.
Canva and Notion, by far, had the best on-site and off-site brand activations.
All that said, every single talk I attended was excellent. The speakers were great. The variety of topics was good. One fix: the titles were often misleadingly boring. Something to think about for your own title submissions.
The speaker lounge/experience (getting mic’ed, lounge space, walk-through, swag, etc) was first class. A well-oiled machine on the back-end.
CONSUMER LOVE // Hinge is killing it lately. Their mini-series approach to Substack was inspired. Then I learned that they give staff a $100/month date stipend "to really practice what we preach" because if “what you express in the world is not what your people experience, then you're off.”—preach. And they are leaning into friction (very timely) with features like Your Turn Limits, which “ blocks users from making new matches until they respond to old ones, cutting down on ghosting and encouraging follow-through.” They aren’t just advertising. They are trying to build a brand that consumers enjoy engaging with. Love.
F&B
HOT CHICKEN CHECKS // This week, Dave’s Hot Chicken was ”acquired for $1B by the owners of Subway, Roark Capital. The 3 cofounders, who are childhood friends, started the business in LA with $900 — this should be the success story of the week.” Couldn’t have said it better,
. I don’t hate a nepo baby billion-dollar brand. Everyone building any brand knows it’s hard work. But this is way more compelling.DRUGS & BOOZE
SHAME LESS // Two great talks I heard at SXSW were by Only Fan’s CEO, Keily Blare, and Christian Tooley. Both tackled taboos, which was the topic of our recent podcast with Jasmine Bina. As of November 2023, OnlyFans had over 4.1MM creators, +29 % YOY increase from the year prior (that number is much higher today). They are killing it. More fascinating though? The brand's lens. They aren’t concerned with the shame spiral society wants them to fall into. They are positioning themselves as a creator brand, that gives direct access to monetization, where adults are welcome to be adults. (Related: OnlyFans has turned to good old OOH to get around online ad restrictions and shadowbans.). Tooley’s talk took a similar stance. A former Bain analyst, turned investor, he argued that shame is clouding investors’ visions. Sectors like psychedelics, sex, and more have huge addressable markets that are going overlooked due to stigma. Brands like Linq, tackling revenge porn prevention in a really smart way, and Soneira, exploring an ancient African shrub, Ibogaine, for neuropsychiatric conditions, are just two of many examples. Speaking of psychedelics,
reported that Atai Life Science acquired ’s Beckley PsyTech for ~$390MM (all shares) this week. And this all aligns with my 2025 predictions for culture and wellness. Too many dots to count.SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS
GIVE US THE FINGER // Oura’s new campaign, Give Us The Finger, hits on all the levels. 1) The tagline is cheeky and still a call-to-action. 2) The casting is great, expanding their audience well outside of tech bros. 3) It puts the product front and center without a hint of CGI floating-object syndrome, which most tech brands still can’t detach themselves from.
RETAIL
ONE OF US // Being real is a superpower most founders fail to use often enough. Following his interview on the Cutting Room Floor (if you aren’t following Omndi, you’re missing out), Steve Madden’s star is rising once more. TikTok is loving him. “His blunt, uncle-esque charisma led to a 60% spike in Google searches,” said
. It made me think of Tommy Hilfiger’s Issac Likes interview. Not as many hot takes, but equally as compelling. It’s a risk for founders and brands to take the honest route, but it can pay big when it works. Tangentially, people are (rightfully) going gaga over McDonald’s social manager breaking the 4th wall for the same reason. We love it when people are honest, passionate, and have a POV.TECH
SELF BET // The trend of betting on yourself continues. Grammarly, once known for better spellcheck, now known for AI-assisted writing, is partnering up with General Catalyst for a little growth funding to the tune of $1B ($1B is the only unit of measure these days). Rather than getting equity, GC’s return is ”based on how much revenue Grammarly can generate from the capital.” Revenue-based goals could get more popular as venture firms try to find returns with fewer businesses rushing to IPO.
SPORT
FASHION SPORTS // The fashion sports romance is reaching a fever peak. I spotted this Stine Goya X Umbro while on the tour—excellent. GAP X Malbon is not something I saw coming, but ultra smart for the GAP. And I enjoyed
’s breakdown of why the Rhude x Como 1907 jerseys are so good. In my talk with Fran Millar, the CEO of Rapha, she talked a lot about the critical need and importance of community and not resting on your brand quality laurels. The bar is higher than ever.WELLNESS & BEAUTY
WHAT AGES YOU // Another of my favorite talks was about biohacking, longevity, and biological age versus actual age. If you want to understand the latter, I recommend the Brian Johnson doc, it’s fascinating. The standout line in the talk? “In 10 years, we will think not treating aging has the same level of negligence as not treating cancer”. Yes, we need lower costs and increasing access, but all agreed that rather than treating the symptoms of aging (Alzheimer's, dementia, heart disease), the focus is shifting to treating aging itself. Methylene Blue was mentioned, which my readers are already aware of. There was also some talk about ingredients and diet, though no overtly MAHA messaging. It was a great discussion. Try to find it if they release the recording.
Tech
BIG AD TECH ->
// Meta is building tools that will allow brands to fully create and target ads using AI by the end of 2025. Naturally, AI and marketing were the topic du jour at SXSW London. In The State of Venture Capital, which was venture with a heavy side of AI, a great point was made that I’ve shared here before: “AI is a tool we will all have”. Much like we all got flashier websites when Squarespace or Shopify came to be. The playing field will rise, but AI will be table stakes. You’ll have some early winners who integrate it faster, but it won’t be the winning factor for most. In fact, I’d argue, and it was argued, that it will force all brands to think smarter, work harder, and require more creative thinking in every role. DeepMind’s CEO Demis Hassabis (whose demeanor alone calmed many of my AI fears) told people AGI is max 3- 5 years out. All small tasks will disappear, and that that alone will fundamentally reshape how we behave as a society. Big times ahead, but AI tech isn’t what saves you. That’s the new normal. I also sat in on Gary V’s chat at Brand Innovators. The most interesting takeaway? AI influencers are about to steal from influencers the way influencers stole from celebrities and athletes. He predicted that every brand in the next 1-2 years will have its own AI influencers, whose IP they’ll own. He gave Jake from State Farm as an example, even though he’s real. Mascots, but make them digital.TRAVEL
FULL EXTREME // The extreme travel trend continues to get extremely big. Sky Cave, is a new retreat in Oregon, drawing celebrity crowds for $1.8K, 4 nights in complete darkness. Think “meditation on steroids.” Then, after successfully executing an unprecedentedly quick climb up Mt. Everest with the assistance of Xenon gas, climbing tour providers are planning to offer 2-week round-trip excursions with the gas. This will cut the typical time needed to scale the mountain by several weeks, opening it to people who can’t take months off. And, finally, London is building a £2B wellness district. The 1.8-acre village will battle social isolation but also tap into the huge, growing trend of longevity and wellness.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
Arrive AI has secured $40M to build an autonomous delivery network with smart mailboxes to accept packages from drones and robots.
Merit teamed up with Brooks Brothers. Didn’t see that coming.
Branded convenience stores are popular lately. Two more: Dr Jart and Mecca.
Goodyear threw a party for brand mascots. Mascots and hotels are the ‘it’ influencers.
This hotel in Amsterdam made a souvenir sculpture vending machine. Love it.
The transparency of plastic surgery is rising—an interesting repositioning of the sector.
Peanut, the social app for parents, made the literal village that parents are searching for.
File under fun / makes actual sense collaborations: Block Shop X Sunbrella, Wes Anderson’s Phoenician Scheme X Edie Parker, and USM Modular X Humanrace (Pharrell’s skincare brand).
How cute and cool are these two Silvers. Work with them.
Any brand with a photo booth should work with this person on swag.
These are fun. A brand could play with this.
AI art direction tips. Doesn’t sound as easy as people think.
Rimowa made a kids' Line. Feels pretty similar to Away’s.
Wip, is a new brand, clearly taking cues from Zyn. Interesting. No nicotine, just caffeine.
This Booking Genius ad is funny.
Old Navy casting Lindsay Lohan = genius.
Uber is expanding access for caregivers to book rides. More brands will realize that internet-savvy adult children need tools to care for their parents remotely. This will grow.
Walmart is preparing to welcome AI shopping agents (theirs and others).
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
If you read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.
I’ll be in Cannes and missed the London drinks so would LOVE to meet while in Cannes!
ok glad I’m not alone with Dave’s Hot Chicken!! I do not see this being discussed 😭