Hello Marketers!
For some of you, today is one of the biggest retail days of the year. For others, it’s a day to make a statement about your company’s values. (Yes, REI has once again closed its doors for Black Friday to #OptOutside.) In recent years, it seems like Black Friday has morphed into much more than just a day of sales for retailers but a way to tell consumers about your brand purpose. Whatever Black Friday means to you I’d love to hear your thoughts about it this year. Drop me a note at Kristina.Monllos@adweek.com.
This week brand reporter Katie Richards whipped up a deep dive on the three branding shops behind some of your favorite challenger brands. How is it that challenger brands—think Harry’s, Casper, Brandless—arrive on the scene with clean branding and clever marketing when they don’t even have an audience yet? That’s thanks to a surprisingly small number of branding shops including Gin Lane, Red Antler and Partners & Spade. Read about them here.
And if you’re looking to learn more about challenger brands—maybe you’re running marketing at an up-and-coming challenger or you’re at an established brand dealing with a challenger in your space—you should check out Brandweek: Challenger Brands. The 2-day symposium kicks off on Feb. 6 in New York City and will provide insights from the world’s most disruptive brands including Harry’s, Hulu, &Pizza and more. Early bird tickets are on sale now.
Quote of the Week: “It’s time to stop telling women what makes them sexy—let us decide. We’re done with pretending certain sizes don’t exist or aren’t important enough to serve. And please stop insisting that inclusivity is a trend,” wrote ThirdLove founder Heidi Zak in an open letter criticizing the Victoria’s Secret’s CMO’s controversial comments.
Say What? Think Black Friday doesn’t matter? Think again. Per Adobe’s numbers, the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend is expected to net $23.4 billion in online sales.
Have a great week,
Kristina Monllos
Senior Editor, Brand Marketing
