Your ATTN Please || Friday, 9 May

May 09, 2025

3-in-1 products are no longer just for time-poor dudes who’ve never heard of a skin-care routine.

Gen Z and Millennials are embracing the multi-hyphenate product lifestyle. But it’s not because they’re lazy. It’s because they’re efficient, overcommitted, and a little bit obsessed with optimising everything. And brands like Rhode, Glossier, and Ilia have already figured out how to rebrand “multi-use” into a life hack.

-Sophie, Writer

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

New robot can cook you dinner, LinkedIn wants you to find your purpose & Cow’s milk is so back

A countertop robot could become your new fave appliance.

If you're sick of hearing about how AI is going to steal all our jobs, take heart. Because the techies have finally invented something that can do a task you might actually want to offload—cook your meals for you. Enter Posha, the countertop robot that can whip up a mean chicken parm with (somewhat) limited help from you. Founder Raghav Gupta claims it works a bit like your coffee machine. You add the ingredients, choose what you want it to make, and it will do the rest.

The downside? You still have to shop for the ingredients. Oh yeah, and you also have to do all the chopping. Either way, Gupta believes Posha will shave 70% off your cooking time. At a hefty $1750 price point, it's not quite within reach for most of us just yet. However, the founder believes Posha will eventually become as indispensable as your microwave or fridge. Now if they could invent a robot that folds my laundry, that would be great.

LinkedIn wants jobseekers to finally discover their purpose in life.

Ever wish you could get paid to shop for shoes, pet kittens, or taste test snacks? LinkedIn's new and improved job search tool may be able to help. Powered by AI (of course), the tool lets you describe your dream job and it will find open roles to match. According to the platform, you could type in something like “Use marketing skills to cure cancer” and it will show you where to apply.

LinkedIn says this will make searching for a job less like trying to figure out the perfect keywords to search and more like a conversation with a career advisor. The feature will roll out to Premium users first (because capitalism) and promises to help jobseekers find a career that gives them a sense of purpose. Sadly, LinkedIn can't promise your dream job is really out there (not sure "professional napper" is a thing). But this tool certainly improves your chances of finding something close.

Beef milk is making a comeback.

Turns out, you can't milk an almond. Or, at least that seems to be the conclusion the public has come to after years of alt milk delusion. Plant milk sales were down 5.4% last year, and that may have something to do with the fact that we're all obsessed with protein, and a good old glass of cow's milk has a decent 8 grams of the stuff. Or it could be the fact that Big Dairy is getting Gen Z influencers on board to promote the "O.G. superfood."

Last year, raw milk saw the biggest increase in consumption (17.6%) when compared to all other dairy and plant-based milks. It's grown in popularity thanks to gazillions of influencers (not to mention Robert F Kennedy) touting its health benefits. Either way, it's clear the milk du jour often comes down to marketing.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

DEEP DIVE

Are men’s diabolical shower habits actually the work of some genius marketing (hear me out)?

There was a time when the phrase “3-in-1” sent a collective shudder down the spine of anyone with a functioning skincare routine.

Usually spotted in the wild clutched by a man who uses one bottle for shampoo, body wash, face cleanser, and emotional support, the all-in-one product was seen as the height of personal care apathy. And yet they all have perfect skin and hair. No 12-step K-beauty routine. No gua sha. Just one product. For everything. Including, possibly, cleaning the sink.

At first, we laughed. Then we judged. And now? We are realising things… like the fact that they were lowkey onto something.

Welcome to the Three-in-One Economy.

We’re seeing a growing market demand for multi-purpose products across beauty, wellness, and lifestyle. What started as a meme has become a business model. This new wave isn’t about cutting corners. Instead, it's about maximising value. Think:

Even beyond beauty, the trend is flourishing:

  • The Always Pan by Our Place promises to replace 10 pieces of cookware with a single aesthetically pleasing item.

  • Algae Body Oil by Osea’s Undaria is now marketed for both hair and body.

  • And yes, Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap is proudly advertised as an 18-in-1. Which feels excessive, but still iconic.

This is about more than just versatility and convenience. Consumers are tired of clutter, of choice fatigue, of buying three things when one could do the trick. Multipurpose = minimalism + value + a life hack. And who doesn’t want to feel like they’re outsmarting late capitalism with a single click?

Why it works: (psychologically and financially)

  • Cognitive simplicity: In a sea of overchoice, the appeal of just one thing that does it all is strong.

  • Economic pressure: Rising costs of living = products that promise more for less are winning baskets.

  • Time poverty: People are busy, burnt out, and desperate for things that simplify daily rituals.

  • Sustainability: One product = fewer packages, less waste, more eco points.

And of course, marketing loves a category-breaker. It’s easier to make noise when your product isn’t competing in just one space. A lip balm is a lip balm. A lip balm that doubles as sleep mask and comes in a limited-edition donut flavour? That’s a campaign, baby.

So, what can we all learn here?

  1. Solve more than one problem at once. Design products and services that multitask. If you’re not naturally a 3-in-1, ask whether you can collaborate with someone who is.

  2. Position for purpose, not laziness. The new 3-in-1 isn’t about “I don’t care.” It’s “I care so much, I optimised.” Language matters. Sell time saved, space cleared, and lives simplified.

  3. Lean into lifestyle, not just function. These products aren’t just useful. They’re cool. Think branding, design, limited drops, or storytelling that taps into self-improvement, aesthetics, or humour.

  4. Don’t be afraid to be funny. The meme of the men’s 12-in-1 shampoo still lives rent-free in our brains for a reason. If your product can play into (or parody) that narrative with wit, do it.

The three-in-one economy isn’t about being basic—it’s about being intentional. Hey, maybe those men with their 4-in-1 shampoo/car wash/lawn fertiliser bottles were visionaries after all.

-Sophie, Writer

TREND PLUG

Campfire horror stories, anyone?

Today's trend started with people sharing their "favourite horror movies."

Except instead of answering with an actual horror movie, their response is a non horror that evoked so much emotion it was almost as bad as a horror (e.g. Lightning McQueen's crash in Cars 3). Now, creators are using this trend to share "horrifying" experiences they've been in, ranging from lifestyle pet peeves to intense trauma dumping.

How you can jump on this trend:

Use the sound. Then, take B-Roll footage of anything you want and overlay the text: "What's your favourite horror story?" [insert personal horrific experience]

A few ideas to get you started:

  • When I post at 9am and it gets 11 views in the first hour

  • When your manager says "can I ask you something?" and then goes offline

  • When the client says "we’ll send feedback soon" and it’s been 7 business days

-Jony, Creative

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😲WTF: RIP Weight Watchers
✨Daily inspo: how blessed are we
🎧Soooo tingly: Head Scratching ASMR
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Sheet pan chicken shawarma

TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST

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ASK THE EDITOR

I want to get my small business on TikTok but haven't spent much time on the platform. Where do I start? -Sara

Hey Sara!

The best thing you can do is get on TikTok and play around. Every platform has its own culture, so it's a good idea to do some research to see how people behave on TikTok. Spend some time scrolling and pay attention to what kind of content is performing well. Follow a bunch of people in your industry so you can see what they're doing. Pay attention to which of their posts get a lot of engagement and which ones flop.

Then, once you've done a little homework, just start posting! It might take some time for your audience to find you, and that's ok. If you keep tweaking what you're doing based on the feedback you get, you'll eventually figure out what will work for you.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

Not going viral yet?

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.

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