THIS WEEK SUMMED UP We’re talking about brand “magic,” AI making your website obsolete and what experience we’re going to spend money on next.
Ever wonder how to unlock the loyalty habits of Gen Z? We did too so we went inside their phones and apps to find out 👀. Check out the findings in our insight report!
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THREE PARTS THAT MATTER
Marketing
Business of Fashion’s second annual Brand Magic Index is out.
As lovers of a 2x2, scoring of luxury brands on their alignment (how clear their identity is) and engagement (how effective it is at inspiring customer conversion) has sparked many spirited discussions.
The first - what makes the mystique of Miu Miu so inescapable? More than just the micro-skirt—the brand’s revenue growth of 89% (!) in Q1 '24 is attributable to how effectively the brand has delicately balanced the timelessness of their identity (long-term brand stewardship) with the timeliness of culture (short-term creativity). They've kept the youthful, playful style that they've always been known for (as Prada's little sister) without falling victim to the trend cycles. They are the ones setting the trends—managing to have something for everyone and adapting to culture without straying from the ethos of what made the brand fun in the first place. The second - what exactly is Burberry going to do with Daniel Lee?
Culture
Even when money gets tight, people are still spending on experiences! Memorial Day Weekend travel broke records with *nearly 44 million people traveling for the holiday weekend* and many airlines doing their busiest weekend of business ever. Despite inflation concerns, there has been *a 65% jump* in experience spending since 2019 as people spend their cash on entertainment, travel, dining, and live events. Gen Z is spending on experiences too, with 50% planning more experience-focused spending this year than last.
With folks forgoing new products in favor of trips, travel, and quality time with friends and family, businesses looking to attract those dollars need to focus on their brand experience. We’re talking about concierge services, travel perks, in-person events, and loyalty programs. We’ve got some ideas about *how to unlock the loyalty behaviors of Gen Z* in our brand new insight report.
Technology
We know, AI again. But the last two weeks gave us a helpful preview on the impact of Google’s AI Overviews on web traffic from search. Some of the early analysis shows AI Overviews showing up somewhere between 15-42% of the time, and as you would expect, lean towards informational content answering questions and providing comparisons.
Google is naturally scaling back AI Overviews while they sort out AI fantasy fruits and other issues. If you haven’t already looked at your last two weeks of site traffic to see if it’s gone down, this is a PSA to have a look and make a game plan for stepping up your SEO efforts and supplementing this with other search channels–that aren’t affected by AI yet–like videos on YouTube and TikTok.
WHAT ELSE WE ARE READING