In this issue of Sunday Strategy, we look at four stories to think about next week, including: Surviving the Infinite Workday, WhatsApp Advertising, B2B Gen AI buying behavior, The Great Work Recommitment and US Restaurant Brand Chaos.
In addition, we have ads from: Adidas, Linz, Sport Clips and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Sunday Strategy is off next week as I head over to Glastonbury Music festival. We’ll be back in two weeks, so look out for us then and if you happen to also be at the festival – say ‘hi’.
// Stories of the Week:
1.) How Do We Survive the ‘Infinite Workday’?
If you feel like you don’t have enough time to do your job, especially between 9 to 5, you’re not alone. Microsoft has released research into how people have meetings globally and has shown we’ve given up defined hours for an ‘infinite workday’.
Analysis of Microsoft use data shows 40% of those online at 6am are already reading emails. Evening meetings (meetings after 8pm are up 16% this year) and Emails (29% of employees are checking email after 10pm) are also the norm. A flood of communications isn’t just fracturing our workday, it’s spreading into our entire waking day – as the average employee receives 117 emails each day and 153 teams messages, including 50+ out of hours messages.
With constant availability and never ending conversation, Microsoft paints a picture of workers that have to impossibly balance being ‘always on’, ‘always communicating’ and ‘focused’. It’s not surprising ‘crashing out’ has become popular slang amongst the way we’re working and living.
2.) Meta Introduces Advertising Into WhatsApp
Meta has announced greater advertising presence within WhatsApp, rolling out ads within the updates tab gradually. While the move may spark privacy concerns based on how chat data is used to target, Meta has claimed that privacy is maintained, with ads targeted on demographic and device information over messages. Meta’s current advertising for WhatsApp flexes its privacy credentials, which the platform seemingly hopes will cover any doubts about its advertising announcement.
Consumer response to the move looks to hinge on understanding of the ‘update’ tab and trust in Meta. The move puts more focus on how Meta sees the updates tab, with its future as the expansion avenue within the app. With ad formats including ‘promoted channels’, Meta wants to give brands a way to message users and grow through chat. How it balances user perceptions of message privacy and brand access looks to be the major factor in success for advertising on WhatsApp.
3.) Better the Gen AI Platform I Know.
LinkedIn’s new B2B research into business GenAI adoption paints a picture of buyers sticking with the partners they know. Research shows that 60% of GenAI buyers made a purchase from an existing vendor, with an average of 2.4 vendors considered before purchase. As enterprise and B2B GenAI explodes, with numerous new brands and startups launched daily, the challenge of breaking into businesses’ consideration set looks to be just as challenging as the technical issues of creating an innovative product.
4.) The Great Recommitment & Boomerang Employees.
Recent research from firm ADP has shown that 35% of new hires in the US in March were ‘boomerang employees’, who returned to organizations they’ve previously left. Boomerang hires have increased from 31% of new hires in March 2024 and 27% during March 2023. So what’s driving this increase?
Economic uncertainty and a volatile labour market has meant companies may have let employees go prematurely and have tempted them back, while employees may have found that jobs they’ve settled for didn’t stack up with where they were previously. Boomerang employees pose an interesting opportunity and risk for employers, as they already have institutional knowledge, which limits onboarding, but often have a reason why they’ve left. As ADP shows that employee commitment to jobs continues to rise in the US month on month, we may be seeing a recommitment to a job employees already knew vs the uncertain risk of something new.
// Chart of the Week: The US Restaurant Market’s Current Winners & Losers
May US Restaurant and Bar spend decreased by the most since 2023, but not all brands lost consumer interest equally. As data from the census bureau showed, economic concerns caused a decline of .9% in Americans dining out month on month between April and May.
As consumer confidence wavers, spending is being scrutinized, but not all restaurant brands are losing attention and search interest. New Classic’s Airgo ‘share of search’ monitoring shows that while many restaurant brands declined in search interest across May – June, there were some that grew.
Wendy’s, Chick-Fil-A, Raising Caines, Dairy Queen and others – using either promotion, distinctive positions or a clear value proposition – managed to grow share while others declined. In a market where brands are going to be re-evaluated and challenged for the value they provide, engaging with uncertainty and not shying away is key for growth.
// Ads You Might Have Missed:
1.) ‘Oasis: Original Forever’ – Adidas:
The Oasis hype train is going full steam in advance of their reunion world tour and Adidas is the latest brand to tap into it. The brand has released a limited edition collection of reimagined classic 90s clothing, alongside an ad that aims to combine 90s and Gen Z culture.
As James Denman aptly put it on LinkedIn: “they’ve shifted their focus in the launch video – the fantasies of the younger Gen Z fan of what an Oasis gig was (experienced), instead of what it might be in reality (documented). That shift acts as a double-dip. For those attending shows to relive their youth, and for those cosplaying, what being young in the 1990s meant.” This is just the latest in a string of 90s nostalgia ads that recognize the era as cultural currency to be transformed, not just faithfully remembered.
2.) ‘Take a Risk, Visit Linz’ – Linz:
Fresh off the heels of Kalishi’s AI generated ad airing during the NBA finals in the US, and continuing the trend of AI in tourism advertising – Austrian city Linz has released an AI augmented ad that may make you wonder what goes on there. The ad features a variety of nonsensical and whacky scenes, combining real footage and AI, to create something that intrigues, but doesn’t tell me a ton about what I’ll actually get out of a trip.
The ad’s focus is seemingly on generating awareness and shock over doing lower funnel travel decision making and highlights how tourism will be shaped by Generative AI for good and bad. While more brands will delve into fantastical worlds through AI, which should upgrade out of its trademark aesthetic and uncanny valley moments this year, does a tourism ad need to be authentic to sell?
3.) ‘Is Sport Clips Better Than Sports’ – Sport Clips:
US Barber chain ‘Sport Clips’ has always been an intriguing brand, seemingly founded on the idea that if you show men sports, the unpleasantness of having to groom themselves can be balanced out. Part barber shop, part sports bar, the thesis has to run thin at some point and in their latest campaign, we see a brand attempt to flex its credentials providing grooming services while still staying within the ‘Wide World of Sports’.
The brand highlights the hyperbolic downside of sports (T-shirt cannons, Big Hits) to highlight the services they provide. While their position may make it difficult to compete purely on experience, relaxation and skill, the campaign is an interesting case study in attempting to move brand heritage along with mainstream grooming attitudes.
4.) ‘Must Cinnadust’ – Cinnamon Toast Crunch:
Do pieces of cereal brand ‘Cinnamon Toast Crunch’ know how delicious they are? A new campaign from the brand shows they do and highlights some troubling implications for cannibalism in the breakfast food aisle. Their latest campaign, which tries to keep up with aging Gen Z fans and nostalgic millennials, takes a darker tone that combines Dexter-esque vibes with a humorous, nearly classic Brisk artistic style. The two ads see different parts of Cinnamon Toast Crunch eating each other and in the process making some taste claims in a decidedly unique way.
// Sunday Snippets
// Marketing & Advertising //
// Cannes is investigating a Grand Prix winner over use of a doctored video [Ads]
// Turtle Wax’s new brand campaign takes the phrase ‘You Are How You Car’ literally [Ads]
// American Express teases big changes to its US Platinum card later this year [Finance]
// Kylie Kelcie becomes a reluctant ‘minivan mom’ in a partnership with Toyota [Automotive]
// Airline brand PanAm has been resurrected by a private jet operator for a limited edition trip [Brands]
// Liquid Death is offering Ozzy Osbourne’s trace DNA from cans [Ads]
// Ogilvy aims to ‘make love last’ for Viagra [Ads]
// Technology & Media //
// The Age of Anemoia Technology – as younger consumers long for the time of the Blackberry, without directly experiencing it [Technology]
// Reddit announces new ‘community intelligence’ tools [Social Media]
// The NYT investigates 22 jobs you can do to offset the ones taken by AI [Work]
// GenAI firm Midjourney has launched their V1 video generation tool to compete with Runway, VEO3 and others [AI]
// YouTube announces that shorts will get an upgrade from VEO3 in the coming months, empowering more people to create AI video content [AI]
// How did America get so obsessed with Glucose Monitoring? [Health]
// Life & Culture //
// Your next 5k could be on an airport runway [Sports]
// Kith x Wilson have released an ‘elevated’ Tennis collection [Fashion]
// Culture collides at the FIFA Club World Cup as Borussia Dortmund’s mascot visits American staple Cracker Barrel [Sports]
// Will young people kill off the Hamburger in favour of something else? Not if I have anything to do with it [Food]
// Until Next (Next) Sunday
*There’s one week a year I don’t publish the newsletter and next week, during Glastonbury music festival, is it! I’ll be off in a field watching a multitude of acts (playlist here) and I hope you have a great few weeks until we speak again!
As always however, let me know what you think about this week’s stories by email (dubose@newclassic.agency), website or on LinkedIn.
You can also listen to an audio summary and discussion of each week’s newsletter on Spotify. We’re also on TikTok!
