Edition 82.

Culture leads while brands adjust. That shift is shaping this season — and what it means for you.

Four brand bytes to elevate, inform, and inspire you this week:

1. Co-pilots in consumption.

Kids. They grow up so fast.

And brands are keeping pace.

Gen Alpha to Gen Z are influencing family shopping carts.

Here are 3 recent (and major) youth-focused launches:

• Kith released a kids-only Nike sneaker collab (“For the feet that shape the future,” says Kith’s CEO)
• Actress Shay Mitchell launched Rini: a hydrogel face mask and skincare brand for children (as young as four).
• Skims debuted a holiday loungewear capsule with Cactus Plant Flea Market featuring whimsical, cartoonish graphics worn by Gen Alpha to Z talent.

Each drop uses social-first design, influencer partnerships, and cross-platform visibility to capture this young cohort’s (and their parent’s) attention.

Although marketing to kids is not new, digital ecosystems have amplified it.

Today’s “cool kids” are pushed through algorithms, giving kids sway over family purchases.

And brands (try to) counter parental concerns with marketing cues like Rini’s “parent-founded” language, and Kith’s exclusivity launched as family photoshoots.

Kids are co-pilots in consumption, and brands are tapping that influence to shape how parents spend and make decisions.

2. Simplicity speaks, too.

Brands don’t need to book the coolest (or Gen Alpha-est) talent to hero their campaigns this season.

Some are keeping it simple, and this conceptual, arguably low-production style campaign has caught my eye.

If you’ve seen my favorite things, fragrance is a category I share.

And a new fragrance brand has caught my eye (and nose): Lore.

I sampled four of their scents and already claimed my favorite one.

(“Somewhere but nowhere,” if you’re curious.)

What draws me in is their simplicity.

Their tone, visuals, and story-first approach as a brand all resonates.

This unique simplicity shows up consistently for Lore.

(“Be consistent, be known,” as I always say.)

It’s in their packaging design, their naming, and their product descriptions (even social captions).

It also defines what they are calling their holiday campaign — a simple black and white illustrative concept that recreates nostalgic holiday moments and classic movies.

“We Were All Small Once,” the brand says.

A “holiday campaign in comic form, centered around the spirit of youth and connection.”

Here are the social posts earning strong engagement from a brand that leans in to its lore:

“Everyone else brought gifts.

We brought narrative arcs,” adds the brand on social.

3. Peak spend season.

Thanksgiving is this week, and the *real* Black Friday will be here.

Even though brands have been discounting for five Fridays now.

It’s the best deal of the season, no longer tied to a single day.

Consider it the season that refuses to wait for Friday.

Both product and service businesses are offering discounts, special bundles, and exclusive offerings.

And for that one luxe brand in my inbox, a “rare reduction.”

Aesop refuses to use the word “sale.”

Likely to keep their premium nature while still acknowledging consumer expectations this time of year.

I love it.

The moral of the story: do discount season *your* way.

You don’t have to use the word “sale” if it does not feel right for your brand.

(And last year I shared a few brands who strategically expressed having no sale at all.)

Consider unique bundles or short flash offers that keep your brand top of mind during peak spend season.

And hey, it’s (technically) not too late.

With a digital presence, mailing list, or engaged audience on social, you still have four days to shape your own “rare reduction.”

Do what feels true to *your* brand.

4. The “quiet” shift (a brand observation)

Across youth-driven buying, illustrated holiday storytelling, and month-long Black Friday strategies, here’s my observation...

The power dynamic has shifted toward consumers, and brands are responding with more intention and a clearer alignment with what people already value.

As I’ve shared above, the smartest moves this season lean into:

• Simplicity over spectacle
• Story-first creative that builds emotional resonance (remember my “prediction” from last week?)
• Consumer-led cues rather than top-down messaging
• Influence that flows upward from kids, creators, and communities
• Identity-driven language that replaces generic “sales”
• Marketing that matches behavior, not tradition

Quiet does not mean small.

It means strategic.

It means calibrated.

It means showing up where your audience already is, and offering what they’re already leaning toward.

For you, this shift is an invitation to:

• Simplify your message
• Follow your customer’s behavior, and
• Create with intention

Listen closely.

Build where your audience already is.

Lead with story, clarity, and the moments they care about most (i.e. nostalgia, story-first, etc.)

Let their cues shape your next move.

More brand bytes next Sunday at 5!