If you're ever worried about losing your way in branding, remember that nearly everything is a construct... and constructs are extremely valuable brand opportunities.

Pink for girls and blue for boys is a cultural construct.

Language is a cultural construct.

Our modern sense of time is a construct.

Tipping culture is a social construct. Capitalism is a social construct. Money itself is a construct.

Constructs are arbitrary systems determined by your culture or your community, rather than a truth that stems from an immovable aspect of human nature. 

Why does something so arbitrary hold so much power? Constructs have a subtext. The difference between a norm and a construct is that constructs add a layer of meaning that goes beyond the norm.

In this week's podcast, Jean-Louis and I talk about two breakout brands who have bent the changing nature of our constructs to their will for great success.

Ring's perceptive repositioning from a smart home device to a security platform went deep on three intimate constructs in great flux right now: the nuclear family, parenthood and privacy. 

Their use of these constructs was so effective, it compelled us to voluntarily surveil ourselves in our own homes.

Billie is an outstanding example of a brand that used subculture to bring gender constructs to the surface. They created layers upon layers of nuance for a rich experience that stood out in an already noisy space.

That use of construct is what brought them top of mind for a jaded and oversold audience.

Nearly all brands, including yours, are playing within a cultural or social construct.

But in this episode you'll realize that when constructs start to change, the real brand opportunities emerge.

You can also listen and subscribe on Google Play, Spotify and Stitcher.

Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode:

• The Nuclear Family Was A Mistake (The Atlantic)

• How Ring Transmits Fear To American Suburbs (Vice/ Motherboard)

• Resonate (Nancy Duarte)

• Metaphors We Live By (George Lakoff and Mark Johnson)

The game is rigged.

Here's what we've been consuming.

Email Addresses and Razor Blades (Stratechery): "At first glance, the proposed (and now-withdrawn) acquisition of Harry’s Razors by Edgewell Personal Care Co. — the makers of Schick — and Intuit’s announced acquisition of Credit Karma don’t appear to have much in common. There is, though, a common thread: digital advertising, and the dominance of Facebook and Google."

Astrology In The Age Of Uncertainty (The New Yorker): "It’s a commonplace to say that in uncertain times people crave certainty. But what astrology offers isn’t certainty—it’s distance. Just as a person may find it easier to accept things about herself when she decides she was born that way, astrology makes it possible to see world events from a less reactive position. It posits that history is not a linear story of upward progress but instead moves in cycles, and that historical actors—the ones running amok all around us—are archetypes. Alarming, yes; villainous, perhaps; but familiar, legible."

The decoy effect: how you are influenced to choose without really knowing it (The Conversation): "The decoy effect is defined as the phenomenon whereby consumers change their preference between two options when presented with a third option – the “decoy” – that is “asymmetrically dominated” [...] challenging established doctrines that a new product will take away market share from an existing product and cannot increase the probability of a customer choosing the original product."

The Mystery of the $2,000 Ikea Shopping Bag (Harvard Business Review): "Why does luxury brand Balenciaga sell a $2,000 purse modeled after a $1 blue Ikea shopping bag? What’s behind the craze for seemingly distressed and worn-out Gucci sneakers? [...] As the traditional markers of superiority lose their signaling value, high-status consumers and brands may purposefully choose to mix and match different types of signals as an alternative signaling strategy to distinguish themselves."

(Scout's honor.)

Casper Aside, Consumer Brands are Thriving - Maveron on Medium

From first kiss to unfollowing – culture that sums up love in 2020 - The Guardian

Why so many suburbs look the same - Vox on Youtube

America’s Next Top Male Model Wears Size XXXXL - Narratively

Strategy in the wild.

Brand news that you can learn from right now.

Last week Burger King announced its commitment to rid the Whopper of all artificial preservatives in an ad campaign that showcased the timelapse of a decaying burger.

What's really happening here (other than the shade they're throwing at McDonald's indestructible ingestibles) is an attempt to take back control of the conversation by asking questions instead of answering them. Pantone owns this move, and I've written about using this tactic in Strong Brands Ask, Weak Brands Answer. I also did a TLDR Strategy video on it here.

Ty Haney, founder of Outdoor Voices, stepped down this week amid declining growth and many people are criticizing her leadership and brand building - many of the same people that lauded her work when the company was thriving.

Let's not forget she built a lifestyle brand (which I wrote about in The Lifestyle Brand Blueprint) that people literally lined up around the block for (something I spoke about on the podcast).

I think there's more to the story here, namely that apparel and retail are extremely hard and taking VC money (especially at a valuation that feels like tech) is proving more and more disastrous for consumer brands following the Casper model.

We're leaving the sexy age of fast growth at any cost and entering the Uggs-and-sweatpants era of slow, sustainable gains.

Thought of the day.

Jasmine Bina
Founder & CEO
Concept Bureau, Inc.