1. What is your favourite current consumer brand, and why?
I really, really love Parade [US underwear brand - pictured left]. I think they’ve brilliantly captured their target market — Gen Z and millennials — yet because their product and price point is so good, they really have what it takes to go mass. Their Instagram presence is so special, and I can’t wait to see how that magic translates to their first brick and mortar opening in New York City this fall.
2. What are your three top sources to stay informed about the world of ecommerce and consumer brands?
This isn’t exactly just three, but: 1. Youth culture publications like i-D and Nylon to understand what interesting young people are thinking and doing. 2. The standards — WSJ, New York Times, Bloomberg — who are consistently publishing essential reporting about generational trends. 3. I would be nothing without my Feedly and Google Alerts (more so tools, than “sources,” but essential to my day-to-day media diet nonetheless).
3. What is one easy thing any brand could start doing today to be more relevant for its customers?
Hire a 22-year-old who loves your brand (or who can at the very least appropriately represent it), and let them run with your TikTok strategy. So many brands overthink TikTok; they’re far too precious about it. And I get it! It feels like the Wild West to people who don’t spend much time there. But Gen Zers are natives of TikTok and they know how to make a good brand look great on the platform.