Brat Summer & What Jhumka

Yo!

"Kamala IS Brat", a tweet by Charli XCX, was embraced by Kamala Harris' presidential campaign team as a valuable endorsement.? I'd be surprised if Ms Harris had heard of the album or the artist or her millions of fans called "Angels". Luckily her marketing team did and moved quickly to celebrate the tweet by changing?their banner to the neon green that is symbolic of the Brat Summer trend. ?

In India "What Jhumka" was a trend that inspired a thousand videos and fashion choices. If you didn't know what it was, you couldn't capitalize on it.? The reverse is also true - a young social media manager may not spot the brand goldmine amongst the silver generation of an endorsement by say Waheeda Rahman who has a mere 20K followers on Instagram.?

Do you speak my trends?

H&M is celebrating a collab with Anamika Khanna .? Indian textures and colours are going global with a Swedish brand. Uff da!? Clearly the trendspotters at H&M have a finger on the pulse of their audience - even if it sends people like me into a tizzy to see what they think is corporate wear :)

Back in the 90s I was "forced" to watch Chitrahaar and Krishi Darshan (Agriculture Vision - India's longest running show) because that's all there was on TV in our hostel.? Many of us are familiar with Donald Trump because the Apprentice ran on prime time.? Now, in today's highly fragmented media consumption it is possible to be online all day and yet miss trends that are super hot amongst, say, Gen Z in India or US, if you are Gen X.? And within these geographies there are niches based on language, ethnicity, economics too, music - the list is endless. ?

I wrote about this in detail "Do you speak Manga" in issue #497.

AI is really good - but you need to know what to ask for, and even that requires you to have a grasp at least of the genre that you are researching.? We have to deliberately break the bubble and consume content outside of our preference zones.?

Marketers Get Back to Marketing

Many marketers have been riding the SEO wave for a decade or more now.? Using search trends to uncover what is being bought and then adopting those trends or buying ads in those spaces.? But we are on the cusp of a big change - AI is moving into search really fast, and TikTok, Instagram are where discovery and purchase are taking place.? You may see loads of people with neon green clothes or wearing outsized jhumkas with formal clothes and not make the connection if you are not tuned in to the trends.

Sure, google search is in trouble.? Many small brands focus their budgets entirely on Instagram or Amazon.? AI is going to disrupt research.

It is better to be searched for than appear in search!

What does this mean to marketers? It means you have to create a buzz, be relevant, be wanted.? Good old brand building.

I confess - our family had a Maharaja doll in our 'showcase' for many years. My first flight ever was on Air India in the?70s.? I recently flew Air India business. I received a Tumi amenity kit. But why? How is it connected with the Air India brand? They've been handing these out since Christmas, and I enjoyed the pyjamas that came with it earlier, but it just doesn't fit the brand ethos. ?

Contrast this with KLM - their amenity kit is a reusable bag that I find useful, and every traveller in business class receives a miniature Dutch house filled with Bols liquor.? The houses are collectibles and passengers spend a lot of time choosing one. ??

What's the equivalent of the Dutch House for your brand? Or the jhumka? Or the neon green dress??

Dopamine Branding

There's a lot of chatter about dopamine hunting these days.? It's good to know that dopamine is primarily released in anticipation of a reward or pleasure.? This is why food ads focus on that moment just before the first bite.? Brands that have something exciting to look forward to trigger our dopamine response - whether it is a toy house or a new menu or a new colour.??

Hopefully you look forward to reading this newsletter when you see the subject :)

Social Age vs Chronological Age

Paul Writer is releasing our first research report on CMO Skills and hiring next week.? We have launched a recruitment service to help companies hire senior marketers and I thought the first thing to do is to understand what CEOs expect from their marketers!?

An interesting takeaway was the ideal age of the CMO.? Interesting because given the social bubble we all live in, my chronological age may be irrelevant to the social age of my target audience.? It's more important to stay in touch with the needs and preferences of your target demographic.?

If you'd like an exclusive preview copy of this report email me at [email protected] reply to this newsletter.?

Happy Racing

Large format events like the Olympics, Super Bowl, Cricket and F1 racing are the last remaining "one size fits all" programs. The eclectic mix of entertainment gives you a taste of what other people like these days.? So in the spirit of adventure I shall be at the F1 track on the 21st September. Maybe I'll wear neon green or filch my teen's Ye hoodie. Oh, wait, that will not make me belong. Merely fit in. That's a story for another week.

Have a great work week!

Jessie Paul

[email protected]

PS: I de-installed Facebook from my phone today. It feels momentous to me - is it? Or am falsely sentimental having joined in 2009 when social media meant you knew everyone IRL?