A Fishful of Dollars: What Marketers Can Learn from the Gen Z Caviar Bump If you’re a marketer, you cannot ignore meme culture. No, I’m not talking about making tone-deaf corporate memes that shout “How do you do, fellow kids?” I’m talking about real, organic viral trends. They might seem silly on the surface but– when timed right– jumping on the right meme can mean marketing magic. Case in point: The Gen Z caviar bump. A TikTok trend that’s helping brands tap a $465 million global market. A caviar what now? If you’re not familiar with the caviar bump, you’ll be thankful to know it has nothing to do with snorting fish roe. A caviar bump refers to the growing trend of licking a dollop of fish eggs off the back of your hand. But while it may be trendy, it’s actually not new. Culinary experts say that this is the preferred method of caviar connoisseurs, because it allows you to taste only the eggs (and, of course, the back of your hand). When you serve caviar on top of other ingredients– like toast, creme fraiche, or salmon tartare– you risk masking the flavor you’re paying so much to taste. What is new, however, is the traffic that it’s bringing. At the time of posting, hashtags related to caviar bumps were pulling millions of views on Instagram. The term #Caviar alone is responsible for 1.7 million posts. Not just views. Posts. So what’s a marketer supposed to do...

Has Google Gotten Worse? Here’s What New Data Says “Google is getting worse” is almost a meme at this point. Go into any forum or subreddit that mentions search results, and you’ll find someone complaining that SEO has ruined Google Search. Joke’s on them. SEO has been ruining Google Search for 26 years. I was there for keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link farms. The idea that Google is somehow getting worse is a claim I’ve rolled my eyes at in both my official capacity as a marketer and as a consumer. Only now, marketing news headlines are breathlessly claiming that a study from Germany has proven Google is getting worse. See here, here, and here. Like everyone else on the internet, I want to insist I’m correct in the face of evidence that I’m not. So, I turned to one of the smartest SEOs that I know and asked her who was right. But first, let’s take a look at what the study actually says. What the Data Shows The claim comes from a longitudinal study by researchers from Leipzig University, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (ScaDS.AI). “Longitudinal study” is a fancy way of saying they observed variables over time without trying to change those variables. In this case, they observed 7,392 product review searches on Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo over the course of a year. Think of searches like “best headphones” or “best budget bidet.” (Don’t judge me!) Their results suggest that...

Dry January is Big Bucks for Booze Makers Dry January. It sounds like the next scary impact of climate change. In reality, it’s part personal challenge and part social movement. Dry January refers to the growing trend of taking the month off from drinking alcohol. Consider it a four-week vacay for your liver. But it’s not meant to be a detox. Instead, the creators say the goal is to reframe your relationship with alcohol as “a conscious choice, not a default.” It might seem like bad news for alcohol sales– already reeling from the post-holiday slump– but actually, Dry January is one way booze sellers can tap into a half-billion-dollar market. Why ask why? Try going dry. Though the Dry January trend is currently having a moment, it’s actually existed in some form for decades. In 1942, Finland promoted “Raitus Tammikuu” or “Sober January” as a way to ration resources. It took its current shape in 2013 when the London-based charity Alcohol Change UK launched it as a personal challenge. Since then, searches for “Dry January” have grown exponentially to an average of 18,000 per month. Although, in a sign that people are as bad at planning as me, the searches only appear around January. And that seasonality is masking the popularity by dragging the monthly average down. Take a look at these screenshots from the SEO tool Ahrefs, and you’ll see that there were over 140,000 searches in January of 2023. But are those searches turning...

Our Favorite Marketing Campaigns of 2023 It was an interesting year to be a marketer. Expectations were high, budgets were low, content moved at the speed of light, and marketers had to make magic happen through it all. As 2023 comes to a close, I polled the HubSpot Media Team to see what their favorite marketing campaigns of the year were. Check out the full run-down below. HubSpot Media’s Favorite Marketing Campaigns of 2023 The Barbie Movie Let’s start with the obvious: Barbie owned the first half of 2023. To promote the summer blockbuster, Warner Bros. and Mattel teamed up to execute one of the most robust, well-rounded marketing campaigns we’ve ever seen. The “Barbie” movie’s marketing engine, from experiential activations to product collaborations, had it all. Some of the highlights include: Ken’s Malibu Dreamhouse that was listed on Airbnb Barbie-themed co-branded products with brands like Crocks, XBOX, BEIS, and Homesick Candles An experiential Barbie-themed boat cruise in Boston The Barbie meme generator However, Warner Bros. and Mattel can’t take all the credit — “Barbie” also had a ton of organic marketing support. Opening the same weekend as “Oppenheimer” led movie fans to create the “Barbenheimer” double feature trend on social media, giving both films a marketing boost. Also, anytime we saw the color pink this year, we couldn’t help but think of Barbie. Snoop Dogg and Solo Stove In the fall, Snoop Dogg shared a cryptic social media post implying that he...

2024 Creator Economy Predictions Content makes the world go 'round (at least for marketers), but it can’t create itself. This week we’re exploring the top creator economy predictions for 2024 that marketers need to know. Chances are, your brand has worked with creators in the past and likely will again. Currently valued at $250B, the creator economy is expected to reach $480B by 2028. This growth is fueled by increased cash flow from brands and higher demand for content. Per a recent study by IAB: 44% of advertisers plan to increase spend with content creators in 2024 Brands anticipate increasing creator content budgets by 25% in 2024 39% of consumers watch more content now than the year prior Creator content is no longer just a top-of-funnel play. In 2024, a well-rounded marketing strategy has content embedded throughout, and strong relationships with creators are essential to making these strategies work. Here are the top predictions of how the creator economy will evolve in 2024. 2024 Creator Economy Predictions The Growth of YouTube Shorts YouTube launched Shorts, its short-form video feature, worldwide in 2021. Two years later, Shorts continues to grow. In February it crossed 50B daily views and rolled out a revenue share program for creators who share videos on Shorts. While Shorts haven’t yet matched Reels which garner 200B views daily across Instagram and Facebook, the feature still has a lot of untapped potential for marketers. YouTube is a powerful search engine with a...

The Highs and Lows of Spotify: A Major Campaign and Layoffs in One Week It’s been an eventful week for Spotify. As reported by our sister newsletter The Hustle, the company announced a round of layoffs just days after the launch of its annual campaign Spotify Wrapped. While The Hustle talked about the business and employee implications of Spotify’s recent layoffs immediately following Wrapped, I’d like to take a look at this series of events from a marketing perspective. The Marketing Power of Spotify Wrapped Wrapped is to Spotify what “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is to Mariah Carey — a sure bet for engagement at the end of each year. Since it began in 2016, Spotify Wrapped has given users a detailed analysis of their listening habits each year. While Wrapped was initially distributed in email format, its popularity exploded when social media sharing was added to the mix. The idea to turn Wrapped results into sharable social media stories was pitched by former Spotify intern Jewel Ham in 2019. Since then, Spotify users can see their year-end data within the platform’s app and easily share listening stats directly to their Instagram stories. According to Time, 156 million users engaged with Wrapped in 2022, and it’s estimated that half of Spotify Wrapped users share their results to their Instagram stories. That’s a lot of positive engagement Spotify can count on each year. Not only has the campaign provided content opportunities for Spotify users, but several brands...

Walmart Wins Black Friday Marketing with Mean Girls Campaign The instrumental to Missy Elliott’s “Pass That Dutch” is blaring through your speakers while Lindsay Lohan is on your screen walking through the halls of North Shore High School. Did you just transport back to the early 2000s? No, chances are you were just served Walmart’s latest Black Friday ad. The movie Mean Girls has been a pop culture classic since its release in 2004. Nearly 20 years later, Walmart is capitalizing on the film’s enduring popularity with a Mean Girls-themed Black Friday campaign. Walmart’s series of ads features five of the film’s original cast members reprising their roles and even includes a cameo from Missy Elliott herself. Instead of the notorious “burn book” featured in the original movie, the Walmart ads are centered around a “deal book” highlighting discounts the retailer is offering this holiday season. Today we’re breaking down why this campaign is brilliant marketing by Walmart. Want to sell to millennials? Reference Mean Girls Mean Girls is a generation-defining film for millennials. This generation was the target demographic for the film when it was initially released, and has since been a mainstay in millennial pop culture. Since the film is regarded positively by so many members of this generation, it’s the perfect backdrop for nostalgia marketing, which tends to be especially effective for millennials. Nostalgia marketing leverages familiarity to evoke positive emotions from potential customers. Millennials came...

Is Social Media Dying? What That Could Mean for Marketers The social media boom of the last decade is over. It’s not that people are no longer using social media — they are. They’re just using it less, and engaging differently. In 2022, the average daily time spent on social media declined globally leading to a drop in organic reach for brands and creators. Per GWI, 54% of people use social media to connect with friends and family, and 27% of people use social media to keep up with news. What they aren’t necessarily hopping on social media to do is be sold to. However, social media platforms need users to spend as much time on their apps as possible and to continue buying from advertisers in order to remain profitable. In other words, social media users want to socialize and social media platforms want to sell, leading to a misalignment between a product and its customer base. Here are some key insights we’re seeing with the current state of social media. Users Prefer to Share with ‘Close Friends’ There is one social media feature that satisfies users’ desire to connect — Instagram’s Close Friends. On Close Friends, users feel free to share private stories in a controlled, non-judgmental space. Individuals can control who sees their content, and it’s the one corner of the app where there are no ads or selling. Instagram has taken note and is expanding the Close Friends feature, including an option to only share...

Social Impact Done Right: Why Nike and Dove Are Teaming Up to Advocate for Girls Sports We recently discussed whether or not consumers want brands to make social statements with our sister publication, The Hustle. The main consensus is instead of making broad social media statements, consumers want brands to make tangible changes to improve broader communities. Nike and Dove are doing just that with their recent partnership which is incredibly on-brand and has the potential to make a positive impact. Last month, Nike and Dove announced a new initiative called Body Confident Sport — a package of coaching tools and resources to build body confidence among 11 to 17-year-old girls through participation in sports. The two brands conducted a global survey of 2,000 participants to better understand trends related to girls' participation in sports worldwide. The survey found: 45% of girls drop out of sports during their teenage years due to impacts on body image and self-esteem associated with puberty 74% of the girls surveyed said their coaches positively impacted their confidence Body Confident Sport equips coaches with the tools and resources they need to instill confidence in their female athletes, making them more likely to continue participating in sports. Participating in sports has various benefits for women and girls including: Increased confidence and self-esteem Decreased risk of health issues like breast cancer and osteoporosis Better academic performance Increased leadership, teamwork, and goal-setting skills Why this partnership makes...

Gen Z Business Spotlight: Chamberlain Coffee World events and economic conditions impact how each generation behaves as consumers and business owners. A decade ago, millennial consumers were constantly making headlines for “killing” certain products. From a business standpoint, millennial entrepreneurs in the 2010s saw notable success marked by increased access to venture capital and early adoption of social media to acquire customers. Now, as interest rates are higher, venture capital funds are harder to come by, and privacy laws have made paid customer acquisition on social media more challenging, Gen Z entrepreneurs are following a different playbook when it comes to building their businesses. Per The Business of Fashion, Gen Z businesses are differentiating themselves from their millennial counterparts by creating super-niche products. This route requires less capital and calls for slower, more sustainable growth. To better understand the ins and outs of Gen Z entrepreneurship, we’re doing a deep dive into a uniquely Gen Z business: Chamberlain Coffee. Founded by popular YouTube creator Emma Chamberlain in 2020, Chamberlain Coffee has become a cult favorite among young coffee drinkers. The brand launched offering whole bean coffee and has expanded to sell cold brew packets, matcha, chai, ready-to-drink coffees, and branded merch including a milk frother and mugs. What Makes Chamberlain Coffee Uniquely Gen Z So what makes Chamberlain Coffee distinctly Gen Z compared to other beverage brands? Natural Connection to Chamberlain’s Content Not all brands founded by popular creators succeed, but Chamberlain Coffee is off to a strong start....