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- Your ATTN Please || Tuesday, 15 April
Your ATTN Please || Tuesday, 15 April
Cancel culture may not be as in-your-face as it was back in 2020, but 1 thing hasn’t changed…
Consumers still expect brands to be accountable. To own up when they mess up. And to actually follow through when they say they’re going to do something (not just post about it). Pro tip if you want to make sure your brand doesn’t end up on the proverbial chopping block in 2025: Forget perfection. Focus on principles instead.
- Charlotte, Editor ♡
PRESENTED BY PLANABLE
Want to turn casual followers into brand advocates?
Imagine having a community so invested in your brand that every campaign or product drop sells out—because they’re that loyal.
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At this FREE event, you’ll learn how to:
✅ Turn casual followers into passionate brand advocates
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✅ Build a community that’s invested in your success
👉 What? 5 talks, 5 minutes each, all community management
👉 When? 16 April 1:15 PM UK
No BS. Just straight-up insights on how to grow an audience that actually wants to support your brand.
👇 Only 1 day left to register! 👇
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?
A Minecraft Movie breaks records, Xbox wants you to escape the rat race & Plus-sized influencer cops hate
A Minecraft Movie shatters Box Office expectations with a record-breaking $163M opening weekend.
I mean, I get it. Anything with Jack Black in it, I’m there. But also, the demand has been rampant since the news broke of the film all the way back in 2014. However, Minecraft absolutely blew those expectations out of the water in the U.S. and abroad. The film collected a blockbuster $163M in its opening weekend, making it not only the biggest domestic debut of the year, but the best in history for a video game adaptation.
Because the Minecraft brand is largely unproblematic and beloved by all, “the film is drawing like a coveted five-quadrant movie, appealing broadly to everyone — younger and older adults, as well as young teens and kids,” says David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm. I’ve personally never played a single game of Minecraft in my life, but you bet you’re going to catch me at the cinema this weekend boiiii.
All in all you’re just another rat in the race - without Xbox, that is.
The console has taken a page from the old gaming advertising of the 90s it seems with an unsettling new spot showcasing life as a dystopian, dreary rat race. Our only salvation? Xbox. The advert, called "Wake Up" is kind of disturbing. However, it's extremely well considered and totally engaging from start to finish. There are so many little details and easter eggs that make it good, like the rat’s pet cat, or the rat-shaped gargoyles on the bank building.
“Growing up, gaming advertising felt like a glitch in the matrix, something honest in a sea of deception,” says Tres Colacion, ECD at Droga5 N.Y., which helped set the creative direction. "'Wake Up is about rekindling that tradition and reestablishing that dialogue.” Does this mean we’re going to be seeing more freaky-deaky gaming ads? One can only hope.
An influencer’s weight loss triggers an internet meltdown.
Remi Bader built her career as a plus-size influencer with over 2 million followers on TikTok. She recently went on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast to address her weight-loss that caused a year and a half of backlash for the influencer. Bader's fans are certain that she's betrayed them. And it doesn't seem they'll be letting up any time soon.
On Khloe in Wonderland, Bader explained how she had undergone weight-loss surgery for mental and physical health reasons, including a binge-eating disorder, a 100-pound weight gain, and chronic back pain. She also explained her brutal recovery experience that led to her to contemplate suicide. Even these harrowing revelations did nothing to stop the onslaught of speculations and hate toward her. This begs the question, if you build your brand around your body, does it then belong to the internet and those who choose to follow you? I don’t think I want to know the answer to that.
Anyway, that’s all folks!
-Sophie, Writer
DEEP DIVE
How to cancel-proof your brand in 2025 (without selling your soul)
2024 was a bumpy ride for brands.
Inflation kept climbing, trust kept sinking, and some companies fully face-planted trying to keep up. From botched DEI backpedals to tone-deaf pricing “strategies,” the year served up plenty of what-not-to-do moments. Now it’s 2025. Consumers are done with the performative fluff and desperate viral stunts. They want honesty. Accountability. A brand they can actually believe in.
Cancel culture might not be as loud, but accountability culture is alive and well.
And consumers are watching closely. So how do you future-proof your brand's reputation when everything from your pricing to your politics can spark backlash? Let’s dig into the big brand missteps from 2024, and how you can learn from them to build a more resilient, loyal customer base in 2025.
Wendy’s dynamic pricing debacle.
In early 2024, Wendy’s announced it would experiment with “dynamic pricing”, which is just the fast-food version of surge pricing. The internet lost its mind, duh. Despite clarifications that it wasn’t exactly Uber-style inflation, the damage was done: it looked like a cash grab during a time when everyone’s grocery bill already felt like a car payment.
Takeaway: Transparency matters more than ever. Consumers aren’t just sensitive to price hikes—they’re sensitive to tone. If you're going to adjust pricing, frame it with honesty and empathy. Let them know why and show the added value. Don’t insult intelligence by using buzzwords. Say it straight or risk the internet doing it for you.
Companies gutting DEI departments post-2020.
Several major corporations quietly rolled back their DEI efforts in 2024 under the guise of “budget constraints” or “realigning priorities.” Now, they’re doing it again under the Trump administration. But consumers—and employees—noticed. The move was seen not just as tone-deaf, but dishonest, especially after lofty 2020 pledges.
Takeaway: If your brand's principles shift based on the current political climate, were they ever genuine in the first place? Tie social responsibility to business goals. Make it measurable, make it visible, and make it non-negotiable—even if political pressure mounts.
Dead-eyed AI influencers, cringe brand memes, and pointless stunt marketing.
Some brands are still trying to ride the virality train by hopping on trends they don’t understand. But Gen Z sees through it—and they’re the first to drag you on TikTok. (Looking at you, brands using AI-generated thirst traps to sell beverages…)
Takeaway: Relevance isn’t built in a content calendar. It’s earned through consistency, tone, and actual utility. Offer value. Offer entertainment. But don’t chase attention for attention’s sake. People want community, clarity, and cultural literacy—not copy-pasted memes from 2022.
How to maintain customer loyalty in tough economic times – for obvious reasons:
Reward loyalty like it’s 2010 again. Think: surprise perks, tiered discounts, even just a “thank you” email that feels human.
Explain price hikes like a friend, not a finance bro. “We’re paying more for ingredients, but we’re keeping the quality up.” Easy.
Foster a community, not just a customer base. Whether it’s a group chat, a run club, or a meme-filled newsletter (hi hehe), connection drives conversion.
Substance over stunts: Customers don’t want a rainbow logo. They want to know your employees are being paid fairly.
Substance over speed: In a post-algorithm-fatigue world, thoughtful, slower content stands out more than trying to trend-hop.
Accountability over optics: When you mess up (and you will), own it. Apologise well. Be specific. And then actually fix it.
Your brand doesn’t need to be perfect to be cancel-proof—it needs to be principled.
In 2025, the most resilient brands won’t be the loudest or the trendiest. They’ll be the ones that are trustworthy, transparent, and actually trying. Consumers can live without your product, but not without their values. Meet them there.
-Sophie, Writer
TREND PLUG
God forbid I be myself!
We all have our quirks, so why can't people just accept them?
Today's trend, set to "Easy" by The Commodores, has creators giving their perfectly reasonable responses to others who question their habits/personality traits that may be less-than-desirable. For example,
How you can jump on this trend:
Think about a toxic trait that you may receive some "constructive" feedback about. The first part of your OST is what others might have to say when they're questioning why you are the way that you are.
Then, come up with a response that reframes this trait as a positive, starting with, "God forbid..." Add the trending sound and footage of you looking at the camera with an expression that says, "This is totally normal, why are you questioning me?"
A few ideas to get you stared:
"Why do you always take sick leave on a Friday?" God forbid a girl look after her wellbeing
"Why do you always submit projects a week late?" God forbid a guy take the time to do his best work
"Why do you always eat lunch out even though you brought something?" God forbid a girl listen to what her body needs
- Charlotte, Editor ♡
FOR THE GROUP CHAT
😲WTF: Bro used an AI Lawyer?!
❤How wholesome: these young fans aww
✨Daily inspo: set YOUR boundaries
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Yummy Pesto Pasta!
TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST
Want even more “YAP”ing? Check out the full podcast here.
ASK THE EDITOR
I'm in charge of creating content for a skincare brand. I've been posting a lot of content but our followers aren't growing. Any tips for me? - Marcus
Hey Marcus!
The first thing I'd do is review your analytics as your best and worst performing content. Look for patterns so you can start to get an idea of what worked and what didn't. If it's static content, pay extra attention to your hook and your images. If it's video content, look at things like your on-screen text, audio quality, your hook, and visual style.
Next, you need to start experimenting. Change one thing at a time and test how that affects your performance. Keep in mind that, if your goal is to grow your audience, you want people to engage and share your content. As you make tweaks, you'll begin to see what gets you the results you want. Then do more of that!
- 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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