GOOD THINKING

In this episode, Kirsten Ludwig and Chris Danton discuss the viral trend of ‘Demure’ on TikTok and its crossover to other platforms like LinkedIn with special guest, TikTok expert, Sara McCord.

They explore the factors that contributed to its rapid spread and big-picture takeaways for brands.

They also discuss the changing dynamics of social media platforms and how brands can adapt to the fast-paced nature of trends.

They wrap it up with some speculation about the future of Jools Lebron and the potential for her to bridge into social advocacy, new chapters and more.

Hi,

This week on the podcast we get into one of my favorite topics: intergenerational marketing.

In the letter, I wrote about the massive rise in people moving in with their parents.

This shift has been happening for a while but marketers have yet to truly capitalize on what it means.

So we dig in.

0:29 - Moms are the best roomies

1:56 - The power of Gen-X’s free income and how their spending will shift

4:13 - Cross-generational influence—the influence is going both ways.

7:12 - The standard for '‘elder’ products is shifting dramatically

After that, we get into a few other fun topics from the letter.

8:40 - Private label popularity

10:48 - Women’s health shakeup and opportunity

12:56 - Resolve’s brick-and-mortar in Aspen

16:12 - How Madison Reed could be having more fun

That’s all, folx.

- Chris

You can also listen to these on Apple and Spotify if that’s your jam.

Hi all,

This week on the podcast we get into the power of your brand and how it can all slip away if you aren’t careful.

We also discuss who’s winning brand-wise at the Paris Olympics and what to consider moving into the LA28 games.

And finally the rise of private-label brands.

2:35 - Why SouthWest should be looking at Nike for lessons.

6:09 - The ROI on ‘brand’

7:53 - How Hoka and On benefited from Nike’s misstep

12:22 - The difference between Paris and LA and what it means for activations at the LA28 games

13:58 - Pendulum swings in trends, how to find what works for your brand

16:06 - Ulta wants the Alphas. Can private-labels win?

18:82 - The difference between well-branded private-label and ‘basics’

In this conversation, Chris and Kirsten discuss two main topics: the ‘Sport Your Period’ campaign by Knix and the ‘California Pizza Kitchen's Mac and Cheese Apology. They explore the unique approach of the ‘Athletes Get Periods’ campaign, where athletes are paid for mentioning their periods while competing without explicitly promoting the brand. They also praise the CPK Mac and Cheese Apology for its humorous and customer-centric response to a missing macaroni incident. The conversation touches on themes of empowerment, vulnerability, brand authenticity, and the importance of owning mistakes.Takeaways

The ‘Sport Your Period ’ campaign is a unique and empowering approach that pays athletes for mentioning their periods while competing without explicitly promoting the brand.

The CPK Mac and Cheese Apology is a customer-centric response that humorously addresses a missing macaroni incident.

Both campaigns highlight the importance of authenticity, vulnerability, and owning mistakes.

The conversation emphasizes the shift from surviving to thriving and the empowerment of individuals in embracing and taking control of their experiences.

“You don’t have to say what the campaign is. You don’t have to be affiliated with the campaign. You don’t have to say Knix is sponsoring it. You don’t have to say any of that stuff. Like all you have to say is the words and then they pay you. And to me, that is the best.”

Hi all,

Thanks for the lovely emails and notes you have shared on the podcast. Still getting our sea legs but stoked you’re enjoying it.

Just a reminder, if you prefer Apple or Spotify you can listen there too.

This week we kept things even shorter.

Covering just the two big highlights from the last letter:

ATHLETES GET PERIODS & THE ART OF AN APOLOGY.

1:21 - Athletes get periods—a delightfully, unbranded campaign from Knix

2:31 - The power of getting to the ‘root’ and knowing why the campaign should exist

3:15 - Megan Rapinoe, the unexpected and perfect choice

6:04 - What Knix could have learned from Swehl

7:46 - The perfect apology California Pizza Kitchen apology.

8:21 - Keeping the consumer first but not losing the product in the message

To cap it off we discussed how on point this podcast by Glossy was. If you want to get the download on what tweens are buying in skincare, give it a listen.

If you have the time and do enjoy this, give it a little heart. And feel free to share what would make it more valuable. Clearly Kirsten and I love chatting with one another but want this to be helpful too.

That’s all, folx!

-Chris

PS. Substack doesn’t offer an easy way for you to make the timestamps clickable prior to uploading the pod that I can tell. It feels so much better when they are. That’s always how I like to listen. So meanwhile I’m experimenting with a hack. If the links don’t work, apologies. If they do, yay. If you’re an expert, and I’m just missing how, please let me know if you know. Appreciate it.

Greetings, happy midweek.

First, would love to know how we’re feeling about these podcast. Are they useful. Would you like them to be more specific? Give more advice? Please share.

Second, this podcast is revealing something I already knew but now is literally staring me in the face: I can’t help but make faces when I talk. Do people go to podcast school for this? Tips and tricks are welcomed and needed.

Ok, now let’s dive in to a few topics that really stop out from the latest letter.

* 2:11 - How Jellycat is getting it right.

* 4:24 - How the right retail experience has legs on social.

* 5:50 - Retailers need to think about the various personas and what the experience can offer each.

* 7:33 - How retail has lost it’s way with engagement.

“Make your retail experience an experience”

* 10:41 - Where Burberry has gone wrong and the first question they need to ask themselves.

* 12:08 - “Even if we're not personally interested, we should be able to identify” who your brand is for.

* 12:43 - Collabs are signals.

* 13:52 - The Vera Bradley rebrand.

* 15:26 - How so many rebrands are derailed by internal teams fearing that they’ll ‘lose their current audience. And why this is a mistake.

* 15:57 - The Vera campaign we’d have loved to see.

* 16:26 - The Lily Pulitzer rebrand comparison.

* 18:11 - A rebrand is more than a logo and a mark.

(a brief period of barking by the very cute and adorable Poppy)

* 24:42 - 1/8 of every suitcase is filled with supplements. What brands can do with this little nugget of insight.

That’s all, folx!

-Chris

Hi all,

Trying to send these podcasts out sparingly. Sharing this one because it’s a fun one.

This week we discuss 5 parts of the newsletter that deserved more attention. We get into what worked, what didn’t, and most importantly how brands can use these nuggets.

Enjoy!

Around the 2min mark:

* EVERYONE’S MAKING KIDS // This week Mark Bittman launched his famous ‘How To Cook Everything’ cookbook but made for kids. I’ve mentioned that in Milan there were a shocking number of freestanding kids stores (everyone from Stone Island to Versace). Kith has opened 2 kids stores in BK this year alone. Kim Kulka is having profound Play. Tiny, Même. Boden Kids, Bubble, Yawn and more brands focusing on this space coming soon—mark my words.

At about minute 9, we get into:

* EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE // I loved Rachel Karten’s breakdown of Tiffany’s Elsa Perreti Collection social rollout. They focused on 1 hero piece. Stuck to carousels—bold. And went for niche (‘stylist’). Endearing yourself to the ‘industry’ = smart. Examples: Karla Welch, Thomas Christos, Allison Bornstein, Elsa Hosk, Laura Harrier, Peter Lux, Sarah Slutsky.

11:47-ish:

* BRANDY MELVILLE IS DESTINATION SHOPPING -> AfterSchool // The ‘kids’ are traveling over oceans and putting ‘Brandy Melville’ at the top of their destination list. One draw seems to be store size. Also interesting: BM appears to be aware that their core demo is aging out and are launching a new brand called St George to capture them. It’s less chaotic in the merchandising and has sizes. 

18:47:

HEAVY WEIGHTS ARE GOING TO REPLACE REFORMERS // As the conversation around menopause has heated up, another one has followed: Gen-X/Boomer women lifting heavy weights. There’s now a consensus that to women’s long-term health they need to build muscle by lifting heavy weights. Such a GREAT place for brands to play. Franchises that make this less intimidating than a Crossfit Box. Product assortment ie. weighted vests that look good. Campaigns that target this older demo. Yes pls. 

25.47:

CHECK INTO THE COPPOLA -> Feed Me // Francis Ford Coppola renovated a former Days Inn Motel in Georgia’s Peachtree City (not his first hospitality endeavor), and turned it into a hotel with everything you need to shoot a movie. Editing facilities, screening rooms, fitting rooms, recording studios, the whole 9-yards. Niche hospitality for creators—clever. 

If you enjoy these, hit the little heart thingy. We appreciate it.

That’s all folx.

-Chris

This week, Kirsten and I get into the conversation around Abercrombie’s ‘unbranding’, Bandit’s no-logos Unsponsored Project at the Olympics trials, and Gucci (and many of the houses’) new art direction.

Enjoy!

This week’s episode we dive into all things Milanese retail. Ok, not ALL things but a couple of highlights. One of two low points and a lot of detailed takes on what was working and what wasn’t.

OFFICINE UNIVERSELLE BULY (at the top)

SEZANE (around 17:30)

LEVI’S (around 24:30)

LA DOUBLE J (around 30:00)

CORSO COMO 10 ( approx 33:40, briefly)

ZARA HOME (approx 36:05)

MASSIMO DUTTI (briefly towards the end)

This week, we decided to go deeper on aspect element of the letter: Booze Free Games.

BOOZE FREE GAMES -> As Seen On For the first Games ever, non-alc is going to sponsor the Olympics. Yes, I know the subject line last week said non-alc was over but, obviously, we know I was joking. This past World Cup was big sporting moment for booze-free and wasn’t the disaster everyone expected—it was a huge success. But booze-free or not, the question is: how to make sure the sponsorship work with the Games (and all sports, really) being consumed in a totally different way. “The difficulty for a sponsor is that, while there may indeed be millions watching the pole vaulting, and by extension the sponsor’s brand in the background, millions more…are watching the pole vaulter’s unbranded TikTok video of what they had for breakfast.”

We dive into what this means for the games, how non-alc needs to ensure it positions itself not as same-but-different but truly different. And more.

Enjoy!

This episode of GOOD THINKING WEEKLY we dive into our last letter, Episode 21. If you haven't read it and want to, dive in here.