KSI’s minority stake in Dagenham & Redbridge is the latest sign that celebrity ownership is changing how lower-league clubs grow. In this week’s issue: the rise of creator-backed football clubs, New Balance’s chess-inspired Eberechi Eze campaign, Kith and On’s cinematic running film.
Rich Hewes
In a culture hooked on scroll-stopping tricks, the real competitive edge for brands isn’t understanding and playing into the algorithm, it’s about being brave enough to lean into a niche, be a bit weird, and show up unmistakably themselves.
Sam Hollis
For many AI chatbots feel closer to confidants than simple search tools. As they start recommending products and slotting in sponsored answers, the real question isn’t only whether we trust what they’re saying, it’s whether we’re willing to pay to keep that sales pitch out of the conversation.
Hannah Bowler
The signals beneath the noise. We track slow culture, emerging scenes, and values shifts shaping how people live, work, play – and what that means for the products, media, and experiences they choose next.
If you care about how brands show up around big cultural moments, this summer’s World Cup is going to be a stress test. Not just for creative work, but for how well we understand what football actually provides people with in 2026.
Rich Hewes
Bad Bunny didn’t switch languages or adapt to the mainstream – and he still ended up owning the Grammys, the Super Bowl and the charts in China. For brands, his rise is a reminder that you can’t buy your way into culture for a quarter and call it a strategy, you need to stay authentic.
Roger Gehrmann
Explore our archive of articles, interviews, and creative projects
As Millennials’ “cringe” era loops back into cool, brands face a harder question: not how to stay young forever, but how to stay culturally legit while their fans grow up – and a new generation wants nothing to do with them.
James Kirkham
“Community” is on every marketer's deck right now, but most brands are just renaming their audience strategy. Here’s a more honest – and more hopeful – way to think about audience, fandom and community in a post‑mass‑reach, AI‑everywhere world.
Alex Zeevalkink
Audiences aren’t chasing bigger, louder nights anymore. They want experiences that feel human, intentional and emotionally rewarding. Here’s why the next decade of events will belong to those who design for emotional resonance first and use AI as a powerful, but purely supportive, tool.
Nathan Reed
