Raffi's Round Up - w/c 3rd March 2024
The five best Marketing-related nuggets across my desk this week
Welcome to the latest edition of my weekly Round Up!
Greetings from a sunny spring morning in London! Here are the five best Marketing-related nuggets that came across my desk this week:
ONE (if you want to see brands leaning into influencers more creatively, read this one)
So I was walking past Joe and The Juice only to notice a huge sign saying “THE STEAK” — turns out they’ve done a collaboration with NBA star Kevin Durant to create a “MVP-level” sandwich experience.
Pretty keen to try it, but more importantly it’s noteworthy as it follows the Stormzy x McDonald’s tie up… Brands are still early when it comes to the power of using influence in tailored, specific ways like these.
TWO (if you want to play around with AI, read this one)
Whisk is a new Google Labs experiment that lets you “prompt using images for a fast and fun creative process.”
It’s a cool premise and certainly one that speaks to an an issue I’ve had when lacking inspiration with words alone:
“Instead of generating images with long, detailed text prompts, Whisk lets you prompt with images. Simply drag in images, and start creating.
Whisk lets you input images for the subject, one for the scene and another image for the style. Then, you can remix them to create something uniquely your own, from a digital plushie to an enamel pin or sticker.”
Available only in the US (for now) here.
THREE (if you believe in power laws, read this one)
“The top 1 percent of titles accounted for about 22.32 billion hours of viewing, almost 24 percent of the total. The top 10 percent brought in 68 percent of all viewing — 64.16 billion hours.”
Netflix’s new data dump was a treasure trove, and none more than those stats quoted above. It’s a healthy reminder that the minority of efforts with always deliver the majority of results.
FOUR (if you want to get to grips with the growth of a niche industry, read this one)
The cigar industry is booming, according to a new piece in the Associated Press…
“Habanos S.A., a joint venture between Cubatabaco and Altadis, holds the global monopoly on Cuban cigar sales. In 2024, their sales surged to $827 million, a 16% increase over the previous year, with China, Spain, Switzerland and Great Britain as key markets.”
And that growth rate, they’ll soon be doing $1bn in sales. Would be fascinated to understand what is driving this growth. This YouTube explainer is on my weekend watch-list.
FIVE (if you want to see the business behind a business, read this one)
