From the desk of Shani Able
Thoughts on brand voice, copy strategy, and the art of saying something that actually sticks.
Any publicity is not good publicity, Janet. Crown's recent bedside table debacle is not a story chronicling Melbourne's shady underworld. It's a fall from grace following Swift's tabloid-worthy stay.
→This is not a dessert piece. It's a reminder to keep your branding in-house, and out of dinner conversation. An allegory for the process by which individual feedback gets diluted.
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You're scrolling like it's nobody's business. And then you stumble upon a billion-dollar one, impersonating an imaginary intern. That's straight out of the social listening playbook.
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Meta's verification badge promises more reach, more protection, more clout. But is the blue tick actually worth what they're charging — and what does it mean for your brand?
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Luxury designers have made one thing clear in the world of logos. Out with the serifs, in with the sans. But does ditching the old guard actually make you look more premium?
→Kim Kardashian built a billion-dollar shapewear empire on three things: a last name, a colour palette, and copy that sounds like it was written by your most aspirational best friend.
→In 2005, a team of German archaeologists unearthed a 28,000-year-old dildo. Not to be confused with a regular household appliance — this was distinguished as an 'elongated polished item with round incisions at the top.'
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Coffee was harmed in the making of this article. Words can be soothing, like an intention-filled coffee with the perfect crema. They carry significance, meaning and expectations.
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'I'll be your waiter this evening' — said no one. The hospitality industry has taken to digitalising its customer service processes like Facebook took to Meta.
→E-commerce analysts predict this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the most significant online retail events, as record trends in consumer spending reshape how brands show up in the sales season.
→After much deliberation at the Picos headquarters, twenty-twenty has been unanimously voted the Year of Adaptability. Zoom forged its way into the limelight as the primary teleconferencing software.
→Every era of the internet has its heroes. And every hero eventually becomes a cautionary tale. We pay our respects to the platforms that built the web as we knew it — and quietly broke it.
→The pivot. Every brand's favourite word when things go sideways. But is rebranding really the answer, or is it just expensive procrastination dressed up in a new logo?
→Ben & Jerry's didn't just change their business model. They changed the conversation about what a brand is allowed to stand for — and proved that values aren't just a marketing play.
→A creative agency is like a beehive. Its task force comprises a collective of devoted worker bees, collaborating to produce a premium result. And the Instagram caption is where it all comes together.
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We're closer to the year 2021 than we are to the start of 2020. For some of us, it's hard to grasp just how quickly this year has flown by — and what it's done to the way we work.
→The brands that survived — and thrived — during lockdown weren't the biggest or the best-funded. They were the ones who knew exactly what they stood for and weren't afraid to say it.
→Both need consistent care, the right environment, and someone who actually knows what they're doing. Neglect either one and you'll end up with something yellow, limp, and beyond saving.
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