Edition 50. Stand out in the inbox (Apple and Alo do this!)—plus, a hidden marketing lesson from the viral AI doll (and action figure) trend. 5 bytes to elevate, inform, or inspire your brand this week: Let’s go! 1️⃣ The AI doll trend nails *this* branding principle. Did you see a friend or colleague turned into a doll or action figure this week? Welp, the AI doll trend was all the rage—and it’s a masterclass in brand association. This viral moment perfectly illustrates how people use...
12 days ago • 4 min read
Edition 49. Big moves, baked-in predictions, and a shiny new ® This week was stacked. Here’s what *your* brand needs to know to stay sharp (and future-proof). 🔮 Let’s go! 5 bite-sized brand insights to elevate, inform, or inspire your brand this week: 1️⃣ Trend reports are a brand’s best friend. Big home goods, food, and fashion brands maintain their trendsetter status by leveraging forecasts, trend reports, and consumer insights baked years in advance. These reports help brands identify...
19 days ago • 3 min read
Edition 48. Two fast-moving trends hit this past week—my neck is sore from the breakneck speed. Here’s what *your* brand needs to know (minus the neck ache). 😉 Let’s go! 5 bite-sized brand insights to elevate, inform, or inspire your brand this week: 1️⃣ The breakneck pace of virality. What do bananas, blue Saratoga bottles, and Mr. Beast all have in common? This week, they were all swept up in the viral ‘morning routine’ trend started by Anton Hall. Social media users of all walks of life...
26 days ago • 3 min read
Edition 47. I spent more time watching ads than basketball this week (March Madness, anyone?). Thanks, YouTube TV free trial. 32 minutes of straight ads during halftime, tracking prediction markets on Robinhood, and juggling four games at once—sensory overload. But hey, anything to get you the insights you need. Let’s go! 5 bite-sized brand insights to elevate, inform, or inspire your brand this week: 1️⃣ Started at the farmer’s market, now we’re here. The classic small start to the...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Edition 46. Spring forwarded me into a pile of pollen 🤧 Reporting this week with the sniffles but bringing the brand news without missing a beat. Let’s go! 5 bite-sized brand insights to elevate, inform, or inspire your brand this week: 1️⃣ An influencer in *every* zip code. Global brand behemoth Unilever has a new CEO who plans to increase spending on social media influencers—down to the zip code. In a fireside chat last week, CEO Fernando Fernandez expressed his plans to increase spending...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Edition 45. The algorithm fed me a new podcast this week and introduced me to the idea of “scab” versus “scar.” I’ll explain. This framework inspired this week’s theme: “versus”—the impact of making too many decisions. Decision fatigue has entered the chat. This versus that. Skip the workout versus take the call. Pull an all-nighter versus go to bed. Lakers versus Celtics (my team won, by the way). 😏🍀 Let’s get into it! But first, mind if I make decision-making fun and inspiring, not...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Edition 44. Today’s a late send (sorry!) because we’re traveling, hopping time zones—and losing track of time, but never the brand news 😉 5 news bytes to elevate, inform, or inspire your brand this week: Here we go... 1️⃣ Love, set, rebrand. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) debuted its new look this past week, but there was little emphasis on logos and more emphasis on the passion and purpose of its players. “The WTA realizes that a brand isn’t just a logo, font, or signature color; it’s...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Edition 43. This week, a longtime and frequent customer of Spoken Flames filled out our post-purchase survey. Their comment stopped me in my tracks: “I have supported this business consistently and get no discount as a frequent buyer. What can be offered?” Oof. They weren’t wrong. I love and appreciate every customer. And I operate my e-commerce brand like Cheers 📺— Everybody knows our customers’ names. I pride myself on building a brand culture that values its customers. Yet here was one of...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Edition 42. Valentine’s Day has come and gone—now it’s time to show your website some love. These few quick updates can mean more sales and sign-ups 💌 5 bytes to elevate, optimize and inspire your brand’s website this week: P.S. I’d love to feature *your* brand on The Bloc. Interested? Peep the poll at the end. Here we go... Speed wins sales – A mere one-second delay in load time can drop conversions by 7%. So aim to optimize images, enable caching, and use a fast hosting provider. There are...
2 months ago • 2 min read