Edition 75 | October 5, 2025 Shopify’s selling inside ChatGPT. Miu Miu’s turning mics into marketing magic. AI’s reshaping commerce and connection, plus the creative brand moves you’ll want to know. 5 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week: 1. Your future customer’s talking to AI to find you. Shopify just opened the door to a new kind of checkout. And it’s happening inside ChatGPT. Shopify’s CEO says this: tobi lutke @tobi Shopify merchants will be able to sell directly in...
10 days ago • 5 min read
Edition 74 | September 28, 2025 Gen Alpha’s got new slang, and Meta’s got a new scroll-stopping format. Both are reminders that culture shifts fast, and that the art of imperfection is key to staying brand-relevant. Here are 5 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week! 1. From “that’s cap” to “that’s AI”: Gen Alpha’s new slang for skepticism. Razorfish Gen Z crowned “that’s cap” as the go-to callout for anything fake. 🧢🧢🧢 But in true generational style, Gen Alpha has already...
17 days ago • 5 min read
Edition 73 | September 21, 2025 Protein, facelifts, and full glam: how 3 brands are chasing culture to stay relevant and profitable. Here are 4 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week! 1. Protein is the new caffeine, and every brand wants a scoop. Starbucks Between 70% and 85% of consumers are powering up on protein for satiety, muscle support, and weight goals. 💪 According to the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey, 70% of Americans are actively trying to consume *more* protein....
24 days ago • 2 min read
Edition 72 | September 14, 2025 This week, I’m sharing the secret design files I’ve been sending to clients. Plus one bold shopping prediction. Recently, I’ve been designing weekly LinkedIn posts for an enterprise client that need to cut through the clutter. That means keeping tabs on what’s trending, what the algorithm is pushing, and what’s actually driving engagement. From ad formats to typography, I’m always saving and sharing the best finds. (You can unlock my camera roll for this, too!)...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Edition 71 | September 7, 2025 Any September birthday babies on the Bloc? This one might be special for you! Here’s how one brand is turning early birthdays into lifetime loyalty, and here’s what we can learn from it. (Plus, ideas for product- and service-based brands included!) Here are 3 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week: 1. Besties, beauty, and Ulta’s clever brand plays. Ulta Beauty just turned 10 stores into birthday hotspots. 🥳 Ulta The retailer’s “birthday party...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Edition 70 | August 31, 2025 The US Open is underway. Has anyone seen Mia? Let’s talk about AI-generated models and how brands are thinking about the future of their content. Examples included! Here are 3 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week: 1. Is Mia M.I.A.? Mia always gets the best seats in the house. She posts front row at high-profile boxing matches and more recently stole the (digital) show at Wimbledon, but seems to have skipped out on the Grand Slam tennis...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Edition 69 | August 24, 2025 How a badly timed email proved the case for segmentation, and why the right color speeds the path from brand awareness to loyalty. Here are 3 (another quick one!) brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week: 1. The secret to happier customers? Email segmentation So *now* you want to have a sale??? This was live footage of me getting one brand’s 50% off email just two days after my full-price order arrived. GIPHY Devastated. If you send emails,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Edition 68 | August 17, 2025 This workplace red flag might be too quiet to spot, and how one brand’s impromptu call to their top customer turned into a *profitable* million-dollar ad. Here are 5 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week: 1. KFC’s “Kentucky Fried Comeback” KFC One wedge. Two words. Thirty-five point seven million views in a single day. KFC’s Potato Wedges made a splash this week on social media thanks to their announcement of its comeback. Famous for their...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Edition 67 | August 10, 2025 Quick one this week! Just 3 good bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you: 1. Brand storytelling, in-house. Cookie Jar & A Dream Studio Dick’s Sporting Goods is playing in a league of their own. On August 7, the brand launched Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios, an in-house content and production studio dedicated to human-centered sports stories. “This is where it’s all heading: brands launching their own entertainment studios,” says one Business Director on LinkedIn....
2 months ago • 2 min read