TikTok Xmas and Santa's Little Helper
By that I mean influencers
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Today’s letter is brought to you by Day One Agency (my first sponsor!)
Reading a daily newsletter about youth culture 🤝 creating award-winning campaigns that connect with Gen Z. My friends at Day One Agency are looking for creative thinkers and problem solvers to help leading brands earn Gen Z’s attention (see: the recent Chipotle X Roblox launch). If that sounds like you, drop a line at afterschool@d1a.com and be sure to check out their recently relaunched youth insights arm Ask Gen Z.
Harry Styles announced his beauty brand Pleasing; HYBE — the company behind BTS — and Universal Music are launching a girl group; U.K. fast-fashion retailer Primark announces rapid U.S. expansion; Applebees is hoping to lure young consumers with wings covered in…Cheetos; Gen Z has killed the networking mixer; and brunettes are back (and they’re expensive).
THE POWER OF THE TIKTOK HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE, glossy
The #christmaswishlist2021 hashtag on TikTok has been viewed more than 34 million times, #christmaslist2021 has 10 million views, and #christmas2021 has more than 800 million views; Converse, Jordan, Lululemon, Ugg, and Alo Yoga are among the brands topping young consumers’ lists.
“Even before we started our account, TikTok was a platform where we were receiving a tremendous amount of organic love, whether that be with #christmaswishlist2021 or other trending style moments,” said Sejal Shah Miller, CMO of Converse. “While TikTok is viewed as a massive platform, we see it as a patchwork and celebration of smaller, niche communities.”
↳ Santa’s top toy sellers this year are influencers. (“Influencers, and the videos they post on TikTok, YouTube and other social media platforms have replaced Saturday morning cartoons as the way to market toys to kids.”)
DOES MYSPACE CLONE SPACEHEY SIGNAL FACEBOOK'S DOWNFALL?, highsnobiety
Billed as a "retro social network focused on privacy and customizability," the MySpace-circa-2005 dupe just passed the 200,000 user mark; it’s the invention of an 18-year-old German coder who wasn’t even alive during MySpace’s heyday.
↳ Elsewhere in nostalgia, data says ’90s makeup is back (anything but skinny brows, I beg), and so are wired headphones.
GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEMES THAT TARGET YOUNG PEOPLE ONLINE PROLIFERATE, wsj
I sincerely thought only boomers fell for online fraud (no offense dad), but boy was I wrong. Apparently, “millennials and members of Generation Z are particularly susceptible to these scams because social media is so integral to their lives,” according to cybersecurity experts. Speaking of boomers…
WHY IS GEN Z ACTING LIKE BOOMERS RIGHT NOW?, mel
TikTok trends are beginning to resemble unhinged chain emails of yore, thanks to Gen Z creators “who seem optimistically gullible at best, and sinisterly exploitable at worst.”
They’re spreading conspiracy theories about Satanic imagery, spotting rituals to create portals to hell in a rapper’s musical performances. They’re labelling run-of-the-mill phishing scams as “elaborate attempts to kidnap young women.” They’re emphatically promising that, if you use a certain new-agey trip-hop rhythm, within five minutes of hearing it, your “dreams will come true.”
ROBLOX, BUILDING OUT THE METAVERSE, LOOKS TO BRING EDUCATIONAL VIDEOGAMES TO SCHOOLS, wsj
Roblox is reportedly investing $10 million to help develop three games for middle-school, high-school and college students. I was going to make a joke about hooking kids while they’re young, but, well, you know.
One last thought (please stop):
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