Your ATTN Please | Tuesday, 5 August

Time for a Full Bush Summer, y’all.

Or at least, it is for gardeners invested in Miracle-Gro. But listen, you’re not wrong if you read the above and your mind went… downwards. There’s major discussions on bikini etiquette happening on TikTok right now, specifically around garden maintenance on your lower lawn. So while Miracle-Gro’s no beauty brand, they’re seizing the moment by spreading their own kind of bush-positive messaging.

- Devin Pike, Guest Editor 💜

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Miracle-Gro supports growing out your bush, AI kills hustle culture & nano-influencers rake it in

We’re having a Full Bush Summer thanks to Miracle Gro.

For those of you chronically online, you’ll know the bush is so back. “Full bush in a bikini” went viral somewhere around May, and has since been embraced by the likes of Vogue, Glamour and Women’s Health (I would argue its renaissance began at the Maison Margiela SS24 Couture show – yes, the one with the viral glass skin and transparent gowns). But regardless, the body-positive sentiment seems to have resonated with consumers across the board. So it was a stroke of genius by The Martin Agency, tapping the trend for Miracle Gro’s new campaign. “Full Bush Summer” is exactly the kind of tempest-in-a-teacup moment that marketers dream of, albeit slightly edgy. And for the brand? It just makes sense.

“Obviously, this concept is a bit edgy, but it is really true to our roots and our brand purpose, which is encouraging growth, empowerment and self-expression through gardening,” said Sadie Oldham, vice president and head of gardens at the company. “While it was playful, the message was sincere in that Miracle-Gro supports healthy growth, however that might look to you.” Love to see it - bush and all.

Apparently AI is destroying hustle culture?

Can I get a hell yeah? I’ve been virtually (and physically) eyerolling since the manosphere overlords (see Tate and Liver King) took hustle culture to new and problematic extremes. Every 4am/cold plunge/semen retention post I’ve seen sent me further into hopelessness for our kind (women, normal people, etc). But alas, why do all that to feel sharper for your client pitch when AI can do it for you?

That’s right: hustle culture influencers have discovered that ChatGPT and a healthy amount of rest are actually the keys to success, and that AI influencers are the future. However, there is one fatal flaw in the tech bro AI manifestation of “work smarter, not harder”: the cognitive cost of AI reliance, which in turn might mean, well, working stupid. Welp.

Nano-influencers earn impressive impression & engagement rates, EMarketer reports. 

if you’re a brand with small budgets or niche audiences, you may be looking in the wrong place if you’re only focused on influencers with large followings. According to eMarketer, your best bet may actually be nano and micro influencers - but why?

Because they offer the best value: high engagement, and real, loyal followers. Particularly if you’re looking at content like product trials, local campaigns and building grassroots hype. In fact, according to eMarketer's report, “US nano-influencers, those with fewer than 10,000 followers, boast a 34.1% impression rate—more than double that of any other tier.” Numbers don’t lie, baby. Check out the full report here.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

DEEP DIVE

When brand values break: What Kyte Baby taught us about misalignment and trust

“I will never give Kyte Baby another dime of my money!”

Consumers make assumptions. The woman who posted that?

She probably assumed that a company built around babies and mothers would understand the chaos of new parenthood. That they’d show empathy. Offer flexibility. Or at the very least, support a mum in crisis.

But she’d just learned that Kyte Baby – the buttery-soft bamboo babywear brand founded by a mum of five – had fired an employee who couldn’t return to in-person work once her two weeks parental leave was up.

Her preemie baby was still in NICU, nine hours from her hometown. The request to work remotely was denied. And termination was deemed an acceptable next step. The internet found out, and things got ugly… Influencers chucking their Kyte Baby goods out the back door ugly.

As a brand, it's important to remember that consumers connect the dots, even if you don’t.

The minute you choose a product category, you’re also choosing the values people associate with it. If you sell baby clothes, people assume you get what parents need – not just in marketing, but in practice. They expect you to show up with care, flexibility, and humanity. Not corporate coldness.

So when a brand “says” one thing but does another? They’re breaking an implied promise and people don’t just get mad. They feel betrayed.

Like it or not, this extends beyond what your brand does publicly.

Your policies are part of your brand. In Kyte Baby's case, this wasn’t just a bad HR decision. It was a branding disaster – the kind marketers and management should study closely.

Just like your policies are contracts with employees, your brand values are contracts with your target audience – and you’ll be held to them whether you know they exist or not.

Consumers expect consistency. So if you market like a mum, but manage like a machine, people will notice. Because when you claim to support families, then turn around and deny that support internally? It doesn’t just break trust. It reveals your values were probably just... well, marketing.

Brand betrayal hits harder than brand failure.

A bad product can be fixed. A bad policy can be changed. But a values breach? That hits a little harder, and sticks a little longer.

For Kyte Baby’s audience (mothers who would strongly identify with the employee in question) the reaction was personal. These were people who’d spent sleepless nights cradling babies wrapped in this brand’s products. And suddenly, the company behind it felt fake.

Can a brand come back from a PR nightmare?

Redemption can only come from what you do next. And most importantly, how it’s done. What doesn’t work? Slow, defensive statements. Vague “we’re listening” posts. Apologies that centre the company, not the harm.

Kyte Baby’s apology came after days of public pressure. Founder Ying Liu did eventually speak out twice – the second time to apologise for the first time, which she admitted was “scripted” and “wasn’t sincere”.

Liu then proceeded to say that not granting the request to work remotely “was a terrible mistake, and I own 100% of that.” Kyte Baby offered the employee’s job back to her, which they must have known was only a token, because… awkward.

But they also changed their parental leave policy, and made it front-and-centre on their website. 

Ok, but did it work?

Trust can take years to rebuild, and to do that the brand needs to:

1) Take ownership, and

2) Actually show change.

That might mean changing leadership, rewriting policy, or publicly supporting the very causes they failed to uphold. Consumer forgiveness will largely depend on the follow-through. Let’s just say that those who have forgiven won’t readily do so again, so the pressure’s (rightly) on.

The takeaway for marketers?

Your brand values aren't decorative. They're operational.

Ask yourself:

• Do all our policies reflect the kind of brand we claim to be?

• Do our brand values apply internally, or are they just external sweet talk?

• Would our customers be proud to support us if they were privy to how we operate behind the scenes?

If your internal decisions don’t reflect your external promises, your customers will find out... because, social media, yeah?

And they’ll hold you accountable with their most powerful weapon – their wallets.

-Helena Masters, Copywriter

TREND PLUG

In 2012, I was attacked in Paris

This trend is perfect for that moment when someone asks, “What happened with that brand/client/job?” and you don’t even know where to begin.

It uses a clip from Naomi Campbell on The Wendy Williams Show, where she explains how she was ”was attacked in Paris” back in 2012. TikTokers are turning it into the ultimate way to start a personal lore dump - not just any story, but a confession delivered straight down the camera like you're two matchas deep (shoutout my performative bros) and finally telling the truth.

How you can jump on this trend

Start with the sound, look at the camera like you’re holding back tears and rage, then throw the on-screen text up with zero emotion - like this is just your life now.

A few ideas to get you started

• “When I try to catch my new intern up on the lore of this cursed brand account.”

• “When you make a new work friend and have to explain every agency feud, rebrand flop, and ex-client beef.”

• “Explaining to a new hire why the word ‘vibes’ is banned in the content calendar.”

- Abdel Khalil, Brand & Marketing Executive

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😲WTF: Grand Canyon On Fire!
❤How wholesome: i’m gonna have to hold your hand…
😊Soooo satisfying: Satisfying oceans!
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Stuffed zucchini boats

ASK THE EDITOR

I've just started a financial coaching business and I'm trying to get my name out there in a couple Facebook groups. What advice do you have for me? - Barry

Hey Barry!

If you haven't already, you need to really think about where your target audience hangs out. If you're focusing on FB right now, you want to make sure you're in groups that are full of potential clients. For you, that might be small business owners, entrepreneurs--totally depends on who you want to work with!

Then, the key is to invest time in being active in the group. Answer questions and give good advice in your area of expertise. You can also make educational (NOT SALESY) posts with genuinely helpful information related to money management. If you do this enough, people will start to recognise you, and you will get tagged when others ask questions about money.

Use those opportunities to continue to show your expertise. When it makes sense, you can offer your services. It will take time to build your network and reputation this way, but it will work!

- 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.

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