Publicly traded companies are by legal definition and requirement completely amoral. They want only one thing, to raise their stock price, and the public good and common decency are just obstacles to be overcome or spun in that quest.
"A lot of you don't know what being here with a brand takes. Sorry, I'm not political," comedian Chris Burns deadpanned to his more than 443,000 followers on Instagram. "Yeah, I posted about boycotting Starbucks, but that was like two months ago."
Michelladonna goes around the world to celebrate the cats who live and work in bodegas, corner stores, and repair shops on her show, Shop Cats. The bilingual series launched in 2024 on creator-led production platform Mad Realities, and quickly found an audience drawn to its feline stars and Michelladonna's energy and humor.
How do you create brand meaning that's algorithm-proof? By creating moments so meaningful that when the customer's need returns, the brand does too, without any algorithmic assistance. I call it appreciated generosity. In a marketing world increasingly optimized by AI, personalization engines and predictive systems, it's tempting to believe relevance can be engineered entirely through data. But the brands people default to, the ones they don't search for, compare or ask AI to recommend, are built through small, generous brand acts.
This year has been volatile for brands. With tariffs taking effect, the job market slowing, and consumer spending barely keeping pace with inflation, it's no surprise that ad spend has slowed in tandem. Amidst economic uncertainty and an onslaught of unanswered questions, brands are increasingly looking for demonstrable ROI in their marketing and design budgets. Some may choose to invest in a costly new campaign or commit to a new brand identity, while others will default to slashing their budgets altogether.
