Your ATTN Please || Wednesday, 9 July

For 5 minutes, can the world NOT be on fire, please and thanks?

Seriously, it hasn’t even been a year since we talked about making online content whilst dodging toxic digital landscapes fuelled by global wars, AI domination, freefalling democracies and U-turning social progress. Today, it’s all gotten so much worse. But as doomsday-ish as it all seems right now, you’re allowed to feel sensitive to everything going on - and you shouldn’t ever let it stop you from posting.

- Devin Pike, Guest Editor 💜

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In this session, you’ll learn:

✅ What to post, how often, and in which format (templates included!)
✅ How to set up your first (or next) campaign so it’s built to convert
✅ The one thing every successful campaign gets right
✅ How to track what’s working & tweak what’s not

PLUS The latest best practices for Meta ads in 2025.

Ask questions. Get answers. Leave ready to grow your sales and scale your business.

Wednesday, 30 July | 8:30–10:00am NZT | $59 NZD

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Tinder trials facial recognition, Labubu booms on TikTok Shop & smart glasses block out the ads

Tinder pilots facial recognition security feature in California.

And we love to see it. I genuinely sometimes wonder how it’s legal to not have more safety measures in place with apps like these. In my (very) short-lived delve into the world of Tinder, all I could ever really think about was "wait what if this person wants to murder me?" Not really a great selling point. So, it’s good to see Tinder, amidst a reputation clean up, prioritising users’ safety, while also restoring trust in the app. There’s allegedly been a rise in “romance scams”, where people make fake profiles in order to win over someone's trust and then manipulate them into giving money.

What a time to not be single. Jesus Christ. The technology prompts users to take a video of themselves and then scans their profile to ensure the person is who they say they are. It also examines other accounts to make sure no one else is using their likeness. Sorry catfish, you’re sh*t outta luck.

Pop Mart’s Labubu craze supercharges TikTok Shop sales.

Look, I’m not going to be a hater. But can y’all please, please relax on the Labubu’s. There is something so insane about this phenomenon. It’s like crack. and brother, everyone’s smoking it. Pop Mart has become one of, if not the biggest success story on TikTok Shop in the US in 2025. According to Modern Retail, “In April alone, Pop Mart generated $4.8 million in sales on TikTok Shop, up 89% from March. Meanwhile, TikTok Shop’s sales in the U.S. fell over the same period. As of May, Pop Mart’s sales on TikTok Shop have surged a whopping 1,000% year-over-year, while revenue on TikTok Shop overall has climbed over 100%".

What makes it all the more impressive is that the brand has done it mostly through its own livestreams, rather than relying on pre-recorder creator videos like most brands do. In June, roughly 85% of Pop Mart’s TikTok Shop sales came from livestreams, with only a fraction driven by traditional video content. That’s true organic demand, and a wholeeee lot of it.

These smart glasses block out all real-life advertising.

IMAGINE. You can just opt out of seeing billboards, OOH, even the label on a food container, just as you would block a popup on a website. Unfortunately, such a product is not currently on the market… yet. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a reality in the near future.

Stij Spanhove, an enterprising software engineer, posted an experiment to X with a pair of augmented reality glasses. When you wear a pair of these bad boys and look at any kind of ad, a red rectangle pops of to block the “offending visual clutter” from your view. While some would argue a red box is offending visual clutter, the experiment is a cool little example of how we can curate and control the physical content and spaces we see. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

DEEP DIVE

Marketing while the world burns: How do you stay online when everything hurts?

It was literally just last year I was writing about how to “survive the chaos”, how to stay focused and hopeful during election season, mass unrest, humanitarian collapse.

That piece now reads like a time capsule from a simpler kind of doom. Because somehow, the chaos seems to have only gotten louder. Meaner. More constant. And far more fkn absurd.

There are armed conflicts happening in nearly every corner of the world. Gaza continues to be decimated in real time. ICE raids are ramping up, tearing families apart. DEI programs are being gutted. The right is out for blood, the left can’t seem to unify, and everything - gender, freedom, language itself - is up for public debate and political weaponization. All while our algorithmic overlords are busy replacing facts with vibes and creators with AI.

And if you, like me, have a job that exists almost entirely online? Then you’re probably familiar with this feeling: How TF am I supposed to care about my content calendar right now?

Consider this a love letter to the people who have no choice but to keep showing up online, even when everything feels wrong and surreal and like you’re signing in to Textbook Doomsday Freaking 101. The strategists, the social managers, the writers, the brand leads. The freelancers, the creators, the email copywriters trying to make a skincare serum sound exciting while wondering if this is the week World War 3 breaks out.

You’re not broken for struggling to persist. You’re not too sensitive or unprofessional for feeling disoriented by this impossible tension: that everything is practically burning but you still need to post.

The internet has always been a mess. But this feels different, am I right?

There’s a particular kind of psychic whiplash in switching between headlines about mass displacement and your client’s latest product launch.

You go from a livestream of a real-life protest to mocking up carousel slides about brand storytelling in the span of 10 minutes. It’s disorienting.  But it’s the job.

It’s not just headlines either, it’s the whole internet itself. AI tools are flooding the web with soulless slop while misinformation is becoming indistinguishable from truth. Platform policies change overnight. Your feed has no memory, no mercy. You’re expected to respond in real time to a reality that’s constantly shifting, morally, politically and culturally.

I usually have something funny to say about this stuff. Some tongue in cheek cultural commentary to keep us laughing along and kicking rocks. But if I’m honest, the stakes feel higher than they ever have before.
Alas, the internet does not stop. And neither does your job.

And the matter of the fact is, no one trained any of us how to navigate crisis after crisis (after crisis after crisis)

We didn’t get briefed on how to ethically market a product during genocide. Or how to write empathetic brand copy when reproductive rights are being stripped away. Or how to hit our KPIs in a week when the air is too toxic to breathe.

We’re not public policy experts. We’re not mental health professionals. We’re just people with log-ins and loglines, trying to navigate the endless scroll of doom without losing our own grip on reality.

We were trained in campaign planning and content strategy, creative direction and copy for crying out loud. We got good at performance funnels and tone of voice. But none of us were prepared to operate as crisis responders in the middle of every crisis.

And yet, here we are. Still showing up. Still posting. Still trying.

So, how do we keep doing that?

Because “self-care” content doesn’t hit the same when you’re in fight-or-flight mode every morning. “Unplugging” isn’t really an option when your income literally depends on being in the loop. And pretending everything is normal feels a little insulting tbh.

Unfortunately, my loves, there’s no neat listicle or productivity hack that I can whip up to fully solve this sh*tshow, but here are a few truths I’ve been holding onto lately:

1. You’re allowed to feel it.
You’re allowed to feel hopeless, heartbroken, distracted, numb, angry. Feeling everything doesn’t make you less professional… it makes you human. Your empathy is not a liability.

2. You don’t have to “perform” your awareness.
Not every brand needs to weigh in. Not every post needs a statement. There’s a huge difference between being informed and being reactive. Between using your voice, and using it performatively.

3. Protect your inputs.
Curate your feeds. Mute liberally. Step away from the firehose when you need to. It’s damn near impossible to hold the entire world’s grief in the same hands you use to make sharp, thoughtful work, and you don’t have to.

4. Make room for both/and.
Yes, it’s a horrifying time.
Yes, your work still matters.
Those two truths can coexist. Holding joy, humor, beauty, and meaning in spite of the chaos isn’t frivolous, it’s resistance.

5. Be soft where you can.
To yourself. To your coworkers. To your community. The world doesn’t always need more hot takes, especially right now (and that’s coming from me lol). It needs more humanity. More gentleness. More grace. Just be fkn nice.

This isn’t normal. But you’re not alone.

If you feel like you're unravelling a little every day just trying to keep up, girl same.

If you’re doing your job with one eye on the news and the other on your nervous system GIRL same. If you’re trying to stay ethical and empathetic in an environment that rewards neither, same.

But we are not alone in trying to survive it. So, this is my little digital forehead kiss to you. Because God knows I need one. Your work still matters, as does your heart.

Even when everything hurts. Especially then. 

- Sophie Randell, Writer

TREND PLUG

A little something to take the edge off

We’ve all got that little something that takes the edge off…

And it’s not always what everyone thinks it is!

Yeah, it could be a glass of wine with dinner. But it could also be… literally anything else that gives your nervous system a little “aaaah”.

How TikTokers are using it:

Set to this trending audio, creators are showing the people, places and things that “take the edge off” for them like a cigarette would. The irony is that it’s not ever an OG edge smoother – cigarettes, alcoholic beverages or Xanax have been substituted with quirky, personal alternatives which give insight into someone’s world. 

Restaurants, pets, airplanes and even resignation letters? If it gives you a moment of reprieve, go for it – but as with most social media trends, the quirkier or more unusual, the better!

How to do this trend:

Film an 8-second clip of whatever relaxes you, held between your index and middle fingers (like you would hold a cigarette). Write “Just a little something to take the edge off” as OST, and use the audio.

Bonus points for starting with a tight shot and then zooming out to fully reveal your relaxant of choice.

A few ideas to get you started:

• Airline tickets to your favourite destination held over your slightly chaotic desk

• Your client’s unfiltered 5-star review, printed out and framed like art

• Your 3pm iced coffee with extra cream, from your favourite cafe next door

• Your work bestie’s hand, when deadline is looming

- Helena Masters, Copywriter

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😲WTF: Teen Pilot Arrested in Antarctica
❤How wholesome: He likes to share EVERYTHING
😊Soooo satisfying: Slicing through a TSUNAMI?!
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Garlic Butter Pasta

TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST

Want even more “YAP”ing? Check out the full podcast here.

ASK THE EDITOR

If I want to start making videos on Instagram, should I create a new account or post videos on my personal account? –Faith

Hey Faith!

It doesn't really matter. Don't let these small details stop you from getting started. Just pick one approach and go for it. Whether you use your personal account or create a new one, the most important thing is actually creating and sharing content.

Your brand will build over time, and you can always adapt your handle or approach later. What truly matters is whether you're creating attention-grabbing content that connects with people and sells a human truth. So stop overthinking it and just start making videos. The name of the account isn't important - the content and how you connect with your audience is what really counts.

- 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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