• How to Launch, Scale, and Raise Money as a Black Beauty Brand: The three-part series by BOF explores the experiences of black founders in the beauty industry as they build, launch, and scale their businesses. There are some really key findings here about securing investments, entering large-scale retail environments, and gaining market presence and financial backing. I always say to any small business or start-up, use what's already out there to navigate your journey. There’s so much out there to guide you. You most definitely don’t need to do it alone.
• How Zara Is Beating Shein: Chinese e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu offer extremely low prices that challenge established players like Zara, H&M, Asos, and Boohoo Group. Despite these challenges, Zara and Mango, both Spanish retailers, have successfully maintained and even increased their market presence. As a brand designer, I’m happy to admit it has much to do with branding and customer experience. This strategy of focusing on quality products, a superior retail experience, and unique creative collaborations has allowed Zara and Mango to thrive despite the competitive pressures from low-cost e-commerce fashion brands. It just goes to show, that creating an elevated experience for your customers could be the one thing that sets your brand apart in the long run.
• How to use ordinary objects as a brand marketing play: Oren discusses creative ways brands can enhance consumer engagement and brand affinity through the strategic use of ordinary objects. Examples include:
  • Mirroring: Using objects that reflect the brand’s core product or ethos, like Vibram’s doormat made from the same material as their footwear.
  • Irony: Fun, ironic uses of branded objects in campaigns or events to generate buzz.
  • Cornerstone: Integrating unique objects as a fundamental part of the brand’s identity, such as Pure Beauty’s use of artisan chairs and ceramics.
  • Household: utilising everyday objects in marketing campaigns to enhance brand recognition and association, i.e., Only NY’s campaign involving NYC trash can pen holders.
• TikTok Is So 2004: I mean, I wouldn’t know seeing I was 3 at the time but interesting to see…
• The unusual story of how Gap revived its iconic dancing ads: I saw the Tyla ad and was immediately going to talk about that until I realised Gap used to always do dancing ads and fell under that rabbit hole instead. “[…] Music is part of Gap’s heritage,” Everett says. Tyla recently won a Grammy. Genius way of capitalising off of a pop culture hit. The Gap website is reinventing the eCommerce landing page, displaying dynamic lookbooks that include clips of the dancers grooving in their linen (click on the link and scroll down a bit).
• It’s Time to Give Up on Email: “Email has felt overwhelming for a long time now, with all of its spam and scams and discount codes. But what used to be a vexatious burden is now a source of daily torment. Email cannot be reformed. Email cannot be defeated. Email can only be forsaken.” Ian Bogodt wants us to think of our emails as paper letters in a bid to lessen the burden our inboxes have become.
• What the Media Is Getting Wrong About AI: AI may be the most significant invention since electricity, so let’s use it to our advantage.
• Totemic: I was reading this substack by BP&O and thought these products sort of looked like/reminded me of Cecred’s packaging.
• Meghan Markle is back on Instagram 👀: I’m late, I know. Many people (me included) weren’t happy with the grid launch or the vertical video posted on Instagram’s portrait story. It’s honestly two of the worst ways to post on Instagram but I think the logo is very lovely so…

• How to write better captions: Brands seriously need to invest more in their voice and copy. Like seriously.

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I'm sharing my favourite brands with whoever cares (I own a brand design agency so my opinions probably mean something) Read here.

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