What Nike's slump can teach you about brand
Plus: Moms are the new roommates and social playbooks are dead
Morning,
If you only read one thing in this letter I recco: MY MOM’S MY ROOMIE followed up with NIKE’S HARD LESSON.
I’m headed East tomorrow. If there’s anything I should see in NYC that’s new and must-do, drop it in the comments.
I was OOO this week so I didn’t send out the podcast email but we did record it. Give it a listen. It gets into a lot of stuff covered in this letter: the power of brand, opportunities for private-label players, and more.
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
LEADING THE WAY TO LEAVE LAND // Bobbie, the formula brand, created this informal ‘spot’ to support the Paid Leave Act. It’s informal and jumps on the ‘TV for social’ trend. Activism is hard for brands to do right and this comedic take strikes the perfect balance.
had a good interview with Social Consultant and LinkedIn leader, Nathan Poekert this week. I pulled a few things from the interview and some of his recent posts worth furthering:Social playbooks are dead. Playbooks are sticky and social media is not. (I’d contend a strategy is still critical)
Benchmarks have to be updated at least quarterly due to algorithm changes.
You need at least 2-3 months to test and try out new strategic tactics / content strategies
Channel algorithms are updating quickly and without any warning—be kind to your teams
DUO DOMINATION -> The Hustle // Duolingo reported a net income of $24.4m — a 500%+ YoY increase—its 5th consecutive profitable quarter. They have 100m+ daily active users and 8m paid subscribers. A lot of people will attribute the above to social (they follow the above advice) and Gen-Z’s love of streaks. But it’s also brand tone, giving people daily wins, and making the unmanageable manageable (this is why AI is popular).
MY MOM’S MY ROOMIE -> Digital Native //
’s chart series continued this week. This stood out: the rise of intergenerational homes. Gen-X has the most available income. As this trend grows they will be an increasingly critical audience for brands. This will also change housing, senior care, and so much more.
F&B
said that fragrance was going to be huge in 2024. Not sure we expected Annie’s Preztel to read her emails. But they must have. They launched a fragrance inspired by the brand’s signature aroma. While this isn’t for me in any way, the response seems positive and I haven’t been able to escape it this week.PRIVATE LABEL POPULARITY // No doubt driven by inflation, private label sales are set to reach $217B. 54% of consumers plan to buy more private-label groceries. Growth is happening in beauty and home categories too. With the growing interest in ‘unprocessed’ foods there’s a big opportunity for a private-label in the food space. Branded right, a private-label could be a brand leader.
DRUGS
TESTING TESTOSTERONE -> Gloria // More and more women are taking TRT (testosterone). I spent a week with some friends heading into perimenopause and this was a huge topic. A big reason is lack of libido but also to help with muscle mass and other peri-m symptoms. I also spoke to some 30-year-olds and they were already paying attention to peri-m. The conversations around women’s health are changing rapidly. There’s a lot of space for new brands in this area.
*If the topic of menopause is intriguing to you, give this SxSW panel a little vote.*
ALPHAS & ZS
BACK-TO-SCHOOL ALL SUMMER -> AfterSchool // This year’s BTS season is set to reach $40B. But as I mentioned last week, the season is getting extended. Sales events like Target Circle Week and Amazon’s Prime Day started even earlier in 2024, “aiming to capture early-bird shoppers and outpace competitors.” Anecdotally, parents I know are shopping before summer vacations (early July). They also got stuff for camp they’ll be using.
GAP YEAR, MI- CAREER -> AfterSchool // With the stigma of job changes and job gaps gone, people are taking 1 year ‘retirements’ mid-career. How this will affect storage, housing, and tons of services will be very interesting.
WEIGHTLIFTING ISN’T JUST FOR OLDS -> AfterSchool -> The Hustle // Gen-Z are breaking the gym model because they love it more than the rest of us. Gyms rely on you not showing up but Gen-Z like strength training that requires equipment they don’t have at home and consequently, they are using their membership. Strength training is a major fitness trend.
RETAIL
REVOLVE EVOLVES -> Retail Diary // Revolve is going brick-and-mortar , after a successful pop-up test-run in Aspen. As digital acquisition has become more expensive, and influencer trips oversaturated, they have had to evolve. It’s a little disappointing that their retail looks very standard. I’d love something more shareable.
NIKE’S HARD LESSON // If you’ve read this 50 times on LinkedIn, pls fast forward. If you somehow haven’t, Nike’s bad choices have been shamed all over the internet this week. Their numbers were terrible, Massimo Giunco (former Nike) jumped into analyze why and everyone went crazy for it. Short story: invest in brand. But the main points:
They eliminate categories. McKinsey told them to drop categories (e.g. running, basketball, soccer, hiking) and to classify every product as either “Women”, “Men” or “Kid”. It was a disaster. It’s not how people shop the brand.
They ended their wholesale relationships. Nike canceled hundreds of relationships with wholesalers. Guess who now has their spots? On and Hoka.
They prioritized performance marketing driving users to their digital properties and membership platforms. It was costly but measurable. What did it measure? That it didn’t work as well as less measurable but more memorable brand campaigns.
TECH
REDDIT WANTS TO BE LIKE SUBSTACK -> As Seen On // Reddit is looking paywall some of its best subreddits. OpenAI has a relationship with Reddit and it has turned Reddit into a search engine—51% increase in daily active users globally. And they want to capitalize. The logistics of a subreddit are challenging as no one person owns them—yet. This might change all that. From a quick scan, Redditors are not happy.
BIOMARKERS ARE POPULAR // Biomarkers are on the rise. They have discovered ones that hint at Alzheimers, blood clotting disorders, heart disease, and more. Not only will we see high-street testing become bigger but once people have these ‘markers’, their behaviors and purchasing needs will change too.
SPORT
MADISON REED PLAYS BALL -> The Hustle // Hair dye/salon brand, Madison Reed has partnered with UConn’s women’s basketball team for court-naming rights as well as name, image, and likeness deals for players on the UConn women’s basketball team. Could be amazing, hair is fun. But the initial assets could not be less inspiring.
TRAVEL GAME STRONG > The Hustle // Sports tourism was valued at $564.7B in 2023 and is estimated to reach $1.33T in eight years. Brands need to be popping up at games and tournaments. But it goes beyond that. More than half of sports fans spend $500+ before they’ve even left the airport, with one-third of travelers ages 25-34 spending $1k+—so much opportunity.
WELLNESS
said that butt ‘care’ would be the beauty trend of 2024 and she was right. A new brand, MyBum is making hemorrhoids less ugly. They are coming for postpartum moms and IBS sufferers. One product is a suppository which are having a major moment in the US market. Enuf, Bonafide, and Seed have all introduced suppositories to help alleviate period pain, support vaginal microbiome health, and more. DON’T KIELH OVER // I saw this Kielh’s campaign in person this week in Chicago and I’ll say it did make me pay attention. It’s for the launch of their intimates collection (intimate deodorants, in-grown hair cream, etc). They also partnered with Parade for the launch. Broad City’s, Ilana Glazer is the face of the campaign that taps into (a slightly overused) gameshow vibe. I did enjoy that they cast a divorced contestant in a non-shaming way.
TRAVEL
BED WITH THE ACTUAL BREAKFAST -> The Hustle // Airbnb hinted that it will add luxury amenities like personal chefs, massages, etc. to lure customers back from hotels. This feels smart for big properties with groups. I recently stayed in one that had a ‘concierge’ and it was so useful for group activities. Focusing on users that still love the Airbnb model is smart—friends or families traveling together, new parents, etc. I could see hotels also tapping into this thinking too.
WE’RE ALL ON THE TRAIN TRAIN -> The Hustle // Amtrak is lots of new riders, up 18% YoY. Brightline has tripled revenue in a single year. They are also building a high-speed train between Los Angeles and Las Vegas—thank you Biden’s love of trains. As someone who train travels a lot, someone that solves the luggage issue will be the winner of dollars and hearts.
DOCTOR’S ORDERS RETREATS // Germany is now offering four-week, all-inclusive parent-child retreats, covered by insurance. As more and more insurance companies realise how costly burnouts are, this could become a thing in the US (slowly). Regardless, a private take on this that allows parents AND kids would be so smart.
CUCKOO FOR COPENHAGEN // Copenhagen has been cool for ages but many more people are considering it a fashion hub. Perhaps you can thank Ganni but it’s been cool for way longer than that. If fashion people are your audience, start looking for retail estate or partnerships.
FUN FOR THE WEEK
Airbnb is the way we launch movies? Polly Pocket is set to be the new Barbie. Start your engines.
Soft Services collab’ed with D.S. & Durga on a scented buffing bar—so cute.
Gen Z is obsessed with matchbooks—nothing changes. Also
called matchbooks out months ago in her letter on merch.Fanta is releasing a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice soda ahead of the sequel—why this isn’t just striped I don’t know, would be way cooler.
L’Oréal is acquiring a 10% stake in Galderma—botox is big.
23andMe is moving away drug research and into weight loss.
The founder of Sporty & Rich is launching a sex brand called Sensual Sport.
Lyft is testing Price Lock, a subscription that caps prices for specific routes and times.
Roblox’s Dress to Impress, a game which involves styling avatars and runway shows, has more than 125.7M posts on TikTok.
The Olympic brand guidelines
Patrick Ta’s post for his “Beauty That Brings You Out” campaign is cute. A nice way to extend a campaign on social.
Glossier and Shopify created a shoppable treasure hunt to promote a new brow product.
The Paralympics starts Aug 28th. My gut feeling is that LA will change how this works and end the segregation.
GANNI is supporting young designers at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Google pulled its ad for Gemini that shows a child using AI due to backlash.
Synchronized swimming is the best.
That’s all, folx.
- Chris