Your ATTN Please | Saturday, 16 August

Let’s be real - “going viral” ain’t what it used to be.

In ancient times (i.e. 10-20 years ago), viral moments were rarely fleeting and often changed the world. Gangnam Style reshaped pop music, every double rainbow makes us think of THAT guy, and “I Can Has Cheezburger?” is ground zero for every cat meme of the last 18 years. But today, you don’t achieve internet virality by riding the wave of a big splash - you do it through several small and consistent ripples.

- Devin Pike, Guest Editor 💜

Want to know how we got 1 billion views in 1 year?

Join Stanley Henry and Jony Lee, the brains behind our social strategy, for a 2-day intensive workshop in Sydney. You’ll walk away with a full content strategy for your brand and a repeatable system for creating content that gets attention. You’ll even get our help making content so you can confidently execute on your strategy when you go home. We only have space for 12 brands so get in before this fills up!

22-23 August | Sydney, Australia | $3k for 1 person OR $5k for teams

Building your personal brand is the best way to future-proof your career (now more than ever).

The problem is, if you don’t know what to post (and where to post it!), you’ll probably try for a few weeks, see no results, and just give up.

That’s why we’re running our next workshop on exactly how you should build your personal brand in 2025.

What you’ll learn:

👉 How to get started (even if you’ve never created content before)
👉 Why EVERYONE should be building a personal brand (yes, even you)
 👉 How to create a content system (so posting doesn’t take over your life)
👉 What type of content you should create (so you can make the most impact)

This session is not about theory! You will walk away with all the tools you need to start building your personal brand right away.

Wednesday, 3 Sept | 8:30 – 10:00am NZT | $59

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

The 90’s really weren’t that great, slot cars embrace smartphones & there’s lots of money in MAHA

Apparently, we’ve all got a bad case of “The Good Ol' Days.”

As marketing and politics continuously romanticizes the past, we’re led to believe that the 90s was full of sunshine and rainbows. But according to Vox, we’re actually experiencing collective nostalgia bias. A survey from CivicScience shows that the 1990s was the decade respondents felt most nostalgic for, while another survey found that a third of Gen Z-ers, despite not having even being born yet, longed for the era, with 61% of millennials feeling the same way. But take a closer look and you’ll see that "the good ol' days" weren’t actually all that good. Beyond the nostalgic stuff, the 90s:

• Had the highest violent crime rate in US history, peaking in ’91.

• Saw 40 percent of the entire world in a state of extreme poverty, which is actually insane to think about.

• Had a global AIDS epidemic, with deaths racing toward the 2-million-a-year mark.

• Just 27% of Americans backing legal same-sex marriage in '96. You’d think we were sliding all the way backwards with how polarised our present moment is, however support sits at 71% today, not to mention opportunity gaps for women have also narrowed significantly.

So, yeah, maybe the 90s had things to be nostalgic about (pop culture, fashion etc), but let’s make sure we don’t let that cloud how far we’ve actually come.

A veteran toy racing company is trading slots for smartphone-controlled RC cars!

Sometimes I get so tired trudging through the same old marketing campaigns and strategies. And then someone does something like this. And I’m like: hell yeah. Carrera, a German company that’s been making toys since the 60s, has reimagined slots racing. Using the same 1:50-scale cars around a reconfigurable track, however this time, controlled by an app – meaning you can steer however you want, including offtrack.

The company is launching a starter set on September 1st for US$199.99 that includes a mix of 15 straight and curved track pieces and a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R racers. Do what you will with that information. x

It’s a risky strategy, but there’s money to be made from "MAHA".

From PepsiCo swapping seed oils for avocado and olive, to Steak ’n Shake cooking fries in beef tallow, brands are scrambling to ride the health-and-authenticity wave post-Dr. Casey Means and her Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.

It’s a tricky dance: align too hard with MAHA and risk political backlash; ignore it and miss the sales surge. The through-line is that Americans don’t trust big food, and they want “real”. Whether that’s probiotics in soda, watermelon over wearables, or Omaha Steaks pitching “just beef”, the health halo is here. Politics aside, clean ingredients are the new status symbol, and brands are clearly smelling opportunity.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Hey, do you like YAP?

If so, why not share it with a friend? The more we grow this thing, the more resources we can put into making it awesome for you. Even if every subscriber invites just 1 person to YAP, we’ll meet our growth goal for 2025. So, you in?

DEEP DIVE

Do viral moments even exist anymore?

When you think about anything “viral” these days - it doesn’t quite compare to the type of virality experienced in the earlier days of the internet.

And NO, I’m not an old head. And YES, I'm aware things evolve and change as the landscape does, okay? That much is obvious, but that’s also exactly the point. Take Gangnam Style. Insane example I know, but hear me out. It was the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views. A song that didn’t need to be in English to become a freaking global hit (no matter how bad it made me want to smash my head through a wall). A dance trend – worldwide might I add. A cultural export moment for K-pop, launching the genre into households on every corner of the planet.

Now let’s compare that to Hailey Bieber’s glazed donut nails. Pretty, yes. Everyone (and I mean, like, actually, everyone) wore them… for about three months – max. Then? Onto the next.

The difference in these phenomena is not within the numbers. In my mind, it’s cultural resonance.

True virality used to check three boxes:

1. Reach – it crossed platforms and geographic locations.

2. Longevity – it lasted weeks, months, even years.

3. Cultural imprint – it changed the conversation, influenced other media, is referenceable years later, or became shorthand for something bigger.

Most “viral” content today hits maaaybe one of those, and usually just for a niche audience. Even moments like the white and gold dress, or early YouTube content like the Bed Intruder Song, or Charlie Bit My Finger have arguably ten times the cultural power than another “viral chicken pasta recipe.”

Because these things aren’t actually viral at all - the term has been watered down to the point where it’s lost all meaning.

The internet is so fractured, and the amount of content being churned out every day means the lifecycle of each piece has grown shorter and shorter, while social media platforms inflate public metrics and devalue actual impressive stats. There’s no central “water cooler” where everyone gathers. TikTok trends rarely escape TikTok. X memes never make it to Instagram. The lifecycle of content has shrunk from months to days, sometimes even hours.

This is “viralflation”, where everything is labeled viral, but nothing actually is.

For marketers, maybe the takeaway is to stop hunting for The One Big Moment™. Instead, stack micro-moments that resonate deeply inside specific communities. Measure influence, not just views. And if you do want something to “go viral,” design for cultural stickiness. Something people will reference, remix, and reuse long after the initial spike fades. Because in this landscape, true virality isn’t about one wave everyone rides together. It’s about making enough ripples that the right people keep feeling them, long after the feed has moved on.

But how tf do we practically do that?

Good question. And the truth is, there’s no easy solve. We’re working in an unprecedented landscape here. One that moves the goalposts every time we get close to a score.

But, there are ways to try, my friend. Here are some from my little bag of tricks:

1. Design for remixability. Give people a format they can play with: memes, duets, remixes, stitches. Obviously this is nothing new, but the more people can put their own spin on it, the longer it lives.

2. Anchor it to a deeper truth. Gangnam Style represented more than a weird af horse dance: it was proof global pop culture didn’t need to be in English. Tie your content to a cultural or emotional undercurrent that makes it worth remembering.

3. Make it live in multiple places. Don’t leave your moment stranded on one platform. Adapt it for different networks so it can jump silos. Repurposing is your best friend.

4. Leave a breadcrumb for re-use. Create a phrase, image, or soundbite that can be pulled out later as a reference. Stickiness thrives on recognisable shorthand.

5. Tap into subcultures, not “the internet”. The general internet doesn’t exist anymore. Choose a community, learn its language, and make something that feels like theirs.

6. Think in arcs, not one-offs. Plan follow-ups and callbacks so the moment has a second and third life instead of dying in a week.

7. Slow down the burn. Instead of blasting it everywhere at once, let it migrate between niches. Each new audience extends the life cycle.

Virality is still a thing (hello, Jet2 Holiday) – but now it's smaller, faster, and more fragmented. You have to know the difference: we’re not aiming for the next Gangnam Style anymore. We’re making enough well-placed ripples that the right people keep feeling them, even in an everchanging feed. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

TREND PLUG

“I need to spend more time with you”

Today's trend is made for those "did we just become best friends?" moments in life.

Times when you click with someone, and you realise they just get it. The sound comes from a conversation where actress Keke Palmer is talking to Ciara on the red carpet. Keke goes, "I need to spend more time with you. You're just everything. Whenever you have time, girl..."

And now, the sound is circulating TikTok as a way to describe those newfound friendships that show so much promise, you can't hold back your excitement. You know, times like:

• When you finally find a work friend that's just as messy as you

• When the new hire actually has a personality

How you can jump on this trend:

Film yourself lip-syncing to the sound. If you're doing a work-related scenario, film yourself at your desk or somewhere that gives context to your situation. Use OST to describe what kind of person you just need to spend more time with.

A few ideas to get you started:

• When you realise your desk buddy keeps chocolate in their drawer

• When your boss pays for lunch at a place where you can't afford to eat

• When the client raves about your presentation in front of the whole team

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: A once in a lifetime memory!
❤How wholesome: his friend noticed him crying
😊Soooo satisfying: Pool cleaning time lapse
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Crispy chicken cutlet caesar salad

ASK THE EDITOR

I've started creating content for my wellness coaching business but I'm not getting much interaction with it. What should I do? - Claudia

Hey Claudia!

First of all, I'd encourage you to spend some time on social media, paying attention to what stops your scroll. Analyse the hooks that grab you, then think about how you can use those as inspiration for your own content.

Second, think about how relatable your content is. I know you're targeting a specific audience. But if you want to grow your following, your content can't be too niche. So if you find your content isn't accessible to the average person, ask yourself how you can speak to a broader audience.

Lastly, you need to make more content. Posting more often will not only make you more visible on the platform. It will also give you more data, which will help you improve your content faster.

- Charlotte Ellis, 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.

WHAT DO YA THINK?

PSST…PASS IT ON