audience & community.
I'm not a bad girl anymore
Charli XCX just proved a smart marketing move. Her new song Wink Wink swaps Brat’s party girl energy for something quieter and more grown up. It is a reminder that brands who freeze their audience in one era end up talking to nobody.
Read the full thing →How marketers survive the social media ban era
Governments across Australia, the UK, and a growing list of nations have locked under-16s out of major social platforms. If your marketing playbook relied on Meta or TikTok to reach young audiences, that playbook is now illegal. Sophie breaks down what post-platform marketing looks like and how brands can rebuild before the window closes.
audience & communityWhy I'm moving out of the feed and into the neighbourhood
The personal brand era is starting to crack. When everyone is a brand, nobody is a person, and the AI-generated noise of the feed is pushing creators toward something smaller and more intentional. The new move is the digital commune, a gated space where context beats reach and the bots are not invited.
audience & communityYour personalisation strat is creeping people out (and you probably don’t even know it)
Personalisation crosses into surveillance when customers feel watched instead of helped. Brands optimise for metrics that don't capture creepiness like when retargeting ads follow you for months or emails reference offline conversations. Helpful personalisation is transparent about data use, respects boundaries, and gives control back to users. The gap between what brands think is valuable and what feels invasive is where trust dies.
most read in this topic.
I'm not a bad girl anymore
Charli XCX just proved a smart marketing move. Her new song Wink Wink swaps Brat’s party girl energy for something quieter and more grown up. It is a reminder that brands who freeze their audience in one era end up talking to nobody.
How marketers survive the social media ban era
Governments across Australia, the UK, and a growing list of nations have locked under-16s out of major social platforms. If your marketing playbook relied on Meta or TikTok to reach young audiences, that playbook is now illegal. Sophie breaks down what post-platform marketing looks like and how brands can rebuild before the window closes.
Why I'm moving out of the feed and into the neighbourhood
The personal brand era is starting to crack. When everyone is a brand, nobody is a person, and the AI-generated noise of the feed is pushing creators toward something smaller and more intentional. The new move is the digital commune, a gated space where context beats reach and the bots are not invited.
Your personalisation strat is creeping people out (and you probably don’t even know it)
Personalisation crosses into surveillance when customers feel watched instead of helped. Brands optimise for metrics that don't capture creepiness like when retargeting ads follow you for months or emails reference offline conversations. Helpful personalisation is transparent about data use, respects boundaries, and gives control back to users. The gap between what brands think is valuable and what feels invasive is where trust dies.
How Heated Rivalry became the show everyone can't shut up about (with basically zero marketing)
Heated Rivalry exploded from 30M to 324M views with minimal marketing. They leveraged existing fans and organic word-of-mouth instead of ads.
On the snake year and digital tenderness
The Chinese zodiac created a framework for collective vulnerability on social media, transforming individual struggles into shared experiences and fostering genuine community support online.
Why running has turned into a full-on aesthetic
Running has become a full aesthetic movement, with athletic gear crossing into street fashion. Run clubs create micro-communities with distinct style identities.
The digital detox economy is coming (and it has nothing to do with nostalgia)
Examines the growing digital detox movement as response to smartphone addiction and overstimulation. Not nostalgia-driven but necessity for mental health.
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