Sunday Strategy: Self Employment Gap, Dying Nightlife, Tim Hortons + More

In this issue of Sunday Strategy, we look at the gap in Self-Employment expectations and reality, the death of nightlife, Stephen King (not that one), Tim Hortons musicals and Bluey selling homes.

// Article of the Week:

The Self-Employment Gap: How to Make Work, Work - When We All Work for Ourselves?

If your LinkedIn feed is anything like mine, it seems like everyone is going freelance or starting an agency. But what will it be like for them?

However, looking at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)'s latest SMB confidence data - there's a gap in the perception and reality of self-employment in the US and if we don't acknowledge it, it is going to hurt when most of us are pushed through it.

From small business portrayals in advertising, to platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, as well as self-employed communities, networks and technology providers - everyone has a part to play in addressing the self-employment gap.?

Read More Here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/self-employment-gap-how-make-workwork-when-we-all-work-dubose-cole-jcrge/

// Additional Stories:

• The Long Running Strategic Excellence of Stephen King’s Planning Guide. In an industry that covets novelty and innovation, documents that have made it through to remain respected and relevant are rare. However, on the 50th year of the Stephen King planning guide, AMV’s Martin Weigel looks back on why it was required reading in JWT then and why it should still be for strategists everywhere now. Read More Here: https://creative.salon/articles/features/the-only-guide-we-ever-needed-martin-weigel

• The Long Slow Death of Urban Nightlife. Bloomberg looks at the factors killing after dark culture and economies in major cities around the world. As noted by UNESCO in 2021 when they denoted Berlin clubbing culture an important institution, nightlife breeds more than a night out, it inspires creativity, artistry, community and culture. However, real-estate, rising costs and shifting post pandemic behaviours are a threat to the success of urban nightlife. Read More Here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-26/best-london-nightclubs-suffer-from-high-property-prices-soaring-costs

• The Power of Teams. Research shows only 16% of employees are fully engaged at work, while a majority go through the motions. HBR looks at the power of teams and the psychosocial impacts of them in engaging workers more in their workday and supercharging how work occurs. Read More Here: https://hbr.org/2019/05/the-power-of-hidden-teams

• Tesla Lays Off Marketing Team Four Months In . Famously unpredictable boss Elon Musk has ended his experiment with advertising four months after starting it, laying off his entire marketing team. He derided the output as ‘generic’ and not what is great about owning a Tesla. While much has been written about it this week, I personally believe the lack of effective work stems less from the team and more from the brand. Tesla struggles to scale its meaning beyond Musk or a deep experience with the car. Advertising that tries to fix that without fundamentally clarifying what it is communicating is doomed to fail. Read More Here: https://www.marketingweek.com/tesla-elon-musk-advertising-generic/

• Your Brain Has Retained Council When it Comes to Privacy. As neurological technology advances, the issue of privacy for our brainwaves and thoughts doesn’t sound as far fetched as it once did. Colorado has recently amended their state privacy law to include neural data. As other technology comes to listen to the ‘whispers’ of our mind’s function, the privacy for these thoughts will develop too. Read More Here: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24078512/brain-tech-privacy-rights-neurorights-colorado-yuste

• More Young People In the US are Opting for Permanent Contraception. In the wake of court cases such as Dobbs & the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, a study has found that vasectomies and tubal ligations have increased significantly in people aged 18 to 30. Reproductive autonomy and regulation, coupled with economic uncertainty has made pregnancy, children and sexual health a changing issue for younger generations. Read More Here: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/more-young-people-are-opting-for-permanent-contraception-study-finds-roe-v-wade

• Inside the Visuals for Phish at the Sphere. As more bands go to the Sphere in Las Vegas for event residencies, the need for visuals that use the canvas effectively, but compliment the style of the artist is key. As Phish finishes their four night contest of who in the audience can go the longest without freaking out, the Verge takes a look at how real time and pre-planned visuals were used to marry impressive effects with improvisational music - while giving insight into the technology behind the future of concerts.? Read More Here: https://www.theverge.com/24134861/phish-sphere-las-vegas-moment-factory-interview

// Ads You Might Have Missed:?

• Tim Hortons - The Last Timbit: The Musical. Seminal Canadian Fast Food brand Tim Hortons and GUT have partnered to create a branded musical on the heels of its 60th anniversary. ‘The Last Timbit’ pulls together broadway talent to stage a real musical about a 2010 snowstorm that forced drivers to wait out the weather at a Tim Hortons. What the Duolingo owl threatened to do, Timmy's will do it seems. Read More Here: https://globalnews.ca/news/10449299/tim-hortons-stage-theatrical-production-the-last-timbit/

• Legambiente - No to Smog. Italy’s leading environmental association and Leo Burnett / MSL raised awareness of air pollution in Italian cities by submerging the world freediving record holder into a transparent cube filled with smog. Read More Here: https://www.lbbonline.com/news/environmental-association-legambiente-fights-against-italys-air-pollution

• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - Employee Only Sneaker Drop. Branded sneaker collaborations are a daily occurrence, but its rarer to see the approach used to make employee uniforms more exciting. Dutch airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Filling Pieces have partnered to create bespoke work sneakers available only to employees. Changing your footwear policy isn’t this interesting usually. ? Read More Here: https://news.klm.com/launching-sneakers-under-klm-uniform/

• Powerade - Pause is Power. As Olympic marketing begins to ramp up in advance of Paris 2024, Powerade has put out a distinctly different story around US gymnast Simone Biles. The ‘Pause is Power’ video covers her decision to pause during the Tokyo Olympics team final, her thought process in returning and subsequent success. With performance and unyielding focus as the code within energy and sport drinks, taking a different tone activates an athlete relationship for the brand in a new way. Watch It Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OMKmJ9onhE

• OVO - Power Nap. Extending their dynamically timed billboards that only ran on green energy times in the UK grid, Ovo Energy has released an Alexa skill that allows users to know when is a good time to use appliances or higher levels of electricity. With Alexa’s skill marketplace in flux, truly useful 3rd party options are rare. However, this approach and the API / data infrastructure built behind it by the brand aim to help consumers make real change. Read More Here: https://www.shots.net/news/view/ovo-takes-a-power-nap

• Zillow x Bluey. When a recent episode of the popular children’s show ‘Bluey’ featured the protagonists family deciding against moving house, Maximum Effort and Zillow took an opportunity to respond with the benefits of a move. Understanding the emotional pull and scale of a show like ‘Bluey’, as well as moving a speed to make it relevant - shows what it takes to actually do something with modern culture as a brand. Read More Here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2024/04/26/zillow-bluey-the-sign-ad-ryan-reynolds/73467539007/

• New York Lottery - Unbelievable. A day travelling around New York City can make anyone a bit jaded about what is truly unbelievable. A nod to the lady on the 7 train who had a boa constrictor in a bag - hope you’re doing well! The New York Lottery and McCann tap into this insight around an absence of surprise in their new campaign promoting the seemingly more pedestrian scratch off games. The contrast is amazingly executed in a series of videos linked below. Read More Here: https://www.lbbonline.com/news/the-new-york-lottery-spotlights-how-new-yorkers-encounter-the-unbelievable

// Until Next Sunday

As always, let me know what you think by email ([email protected]), website or on LinkedIn.