BNPL Fixation and P.S.L. Cringe

"you really should be on tiktok"

Olivia Rodrigo is helping Sony make Gen Z headphones; Alix Earle and Alex Cooper go 1-2 in Spotify podcast charts after teaming up at new media company; and the Mean Girls musical is headed to theaters in January.

FORBES TOP CREATORS 2023, forbes
I spend a significant amount of time online, and I only recognize about half of these 50 honorees, which speaks to the sheer size of the creator industry. The second annual Forbes Top Creator list has a combined 2.6 billion followers and made an estimated $700 million in earnings, up more than 20% from 2022's $570 million score. In 2023, brands will spend an estimated $21 billion on creator marketing, up from just $1.6 billion seven years ago.

THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE WILL OUTLIVE US ALL, nyt
Victoria Carlotti, a fashion student at the New School, would never post about the P.S.L. — Starbucks is a bit “cringe,” she said. But, recently, at a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Manhattan, she said she planned to drink an uncountable number of pumpkin spice lattes this fall. Ms. Carlotti, 21, reaches not for the newer, hyper-customizable variations that Starbucks dangles in front of Gen Z customers, but for the classic hot version. “It’s nice to have something that keeps you consistent,” she said. “Your brain realizes it’s been another year.”

HOW GEN Z KILLED THE PURCHASE FUNNEL, fastcompany
According to Edelman’s Global CBO, young consumers now focus on post-purchase aspects like loyalty, advocacy, and brand love. Fifty percent of consumers conduct brand research after making a purchase, and 78% discover reasons to be loyal to a brand after the initial purchase.

BUY NOW PAY LATER USERS ARE YOUNG AND WELL-OFF BUT NEARING A FINANCIAL CLIFF, usatoday
Not only do shoppers who use BNPL apps tend to borrow and spend a lot, but they’re also having difficulty keeping up with debt payments, with more than two out of five of them carrying BNPL debt. In August, 37% of Gen Z adults and 32% of millennials said they made a BNPL purchase, compared with 16% of Gen Xers and 6% of boomers.

YOU REALLY SHOULD BE ON TIKTOK, slate
”You’re consuming content from the app one way or another,” writes Shannon Keating. “Go straight to the source.” Could not agree more, Shannon Keating! The biggest barrier to entry is TikTok’s algorithm, which takes a few days of scrolling to figure you out. But once it does, it will serve you up exactly the kind of content you’re interested in.

LOUIS VUITTON LANDS ON DISCORD, voguebusiness
The new Discord channel will serve as a “showcase” of the brand, giving members access to exclusive content and a place to share their thoughts. Themed threads will be “immersive and interactive,” with an emphasis on topics like virtual reality, gaming, Web3, esports, and technology. Some of the conversations will be accessible only to those who hold NFTs from its Via NFT project, like the $39,000 Treasure Trunk token.

SPOTIFY TAPS INTO A MEXICAN MUSIC GENRE EXPLODING AMONG GEN Z, adweek
Spotify‘s data found consumption of “corridos” — a narrative ballad that has been sung in Mexico for more than a century — increased more than 600% in Mexico, 200% in the U.S. and 430% worldwide over the last five years. Its campaign taps into this trend to reach the genre’s growing Gen Z audience.

One last thought:

@bananabonaniSee you in june #cuffingseason

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