Part and Summed Up ☝️ #26

THIS WEEK SUMMED UP

How Real Housewives is driving hair care sales, a debate on copyrighting a “vibe”, and why Spotify Wrapped is ending the year on a sour note.

Read time: 1 minute, 25 seconds

THREE PARTS THAT MATTER

CULTURE

You might feel some type of way about reality TV, but the genre’s cultural impact is undeniable. Especially the long running Real Housewives series, documenting the life and times of dramatic socialites in different cities. This week, Real Housewives star Lisa Barlow gave cast member Brittani Bateman a tip about her hair care, recommending Kerastatse Thermatique. Take a look at how a throwaway mention skyrocketed the product in search.

Also in culture, we loved this New York Times article about a controversial influencer lawsuit. The question at hand: can you copyright a vibe? Many influencers are all about their visuals. But is that enough to keep others from co-opting a similar aesthetic? There’s no answer yet, because as it turns out, copyright law is a pretty murky space.

MARKETING

This new report from Dentsu breaks down how CMOs are planning to pursue media investment in the next 12 months.

And with a third of CMOs interested in growing their investment in video on demand platforms, Disney’s move to get ads running directly via their campaign manager makes sense. This self-serve platform aims to compete with the social platforms that small to mid-sized businesses are already familiar with using. And promises to allow anyone to get campaigns live quickly and for lower entry costs.

TECHNOLOGY

Did you feel like your Spotify Wrapped experience was a little lacklustre this year? You’re not alone. The popular music platform’s users are saying that this is the most “boring” Wrapped in recent memory. The 2024 roundup skipped some notable features this year, including genre statistics and geographic locations based on listening habits. Instead, Spotify opted for an AI generated podcast, featuring two “hosts” talking through the listener’s stats.

Spotify’s initial Wrapped launch was so popular that nearly everyone is copying it years later. So why did they miss the mark this time around? A former Spotify engineer suggests that this year’s presentation lacked a sense of community and context, leaving listeners with a less personalized and unfulfilling experience.

SPECIAL KUDOS

Three special shoutouts are in order this week. First, we want to congratulate our friends Sollis Health on closing $33M in Series B funding led by Foresite Capital.

And in the world of Residence, our collaborator Ben Langsfeld, Chief Creative Officer at BUCK, was featured on Adobe Creative Cloud’s SoDA series.

And if you’re looking for a unique framework for your media review, our senior strategist Justin has you covered. Check out his video here!

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