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I think oat milk is definitely one of the better tasting substitutes to milk. Being someone who has a dairy intolerance, I love trying new alternatives. Leon Seibert's article, explains the ways that Oatly used their marketing knowledge to achieve the success and awareness that they have today. What Oatly focused on was their brand. Seibert writes, "It’s quirky, post-modern style was well received by some and detested by others. But that’s how Oatly likes it. It wants to divide audiences in a productive way, and isn’t afraid of a little hate" (Clugston). This notion of challenging their audience to go beyond their expectations of non-dairy milk.

The way that Oatly captured there brand identity reminded me of when we talked about the importance of a company having a brand that stands out and creates a personality that is rememberable. Oatly does just this, they do not waste there time to promise customers life changing solutions by using their product instead they use a brand that they can guarantee in there product; oat milk.

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Born out of a lab in Sweden in the early '90s, the oat milk brand has since received high-profile investment from celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Z, and mammoth global investment funds including Blackstone, which secured a 10% stake in the business for $200 million in July.

Blackstone valued the business at around $2 billion. When it floats on the New York Stock Exchange, the alternative-milk pioneer is said to be seeking a value closer to $10 billion.

The IPO news was followed by a partnership with Starbucks , as Oatly follows in the footsteps of brands such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which both secured high-profile partnerships with McDonalds and Burger King following their own float.

With solid investors, powerful partnerships and a product that speaks to the zeitgeist of living healthier, more sustainable lives, a formidable cocktail begins to brew here.

But none of this would be possible without marketing.

A serious business

Oatly has been known for splashy campaigns through the years.

The brand was targeted by dairy company Arla Foods in Sweden, which ran ads discouraging people from buying vegan alternatives with a fake brand named 'Pjolk' as an analogy to Oatly. In response, Oatly trademarked the fictitious brands Pjölk, Brölk, Sölk and Trölk and began using them on packaging.

Later, Swedish dairy lobby LRF Mjölk sued Oatly for more than $130,000 for using the phrase "Milk, but made for humans." IOatly published the text of the lawsuit, making LRF Mjölk look like a bullying and leading to a 45% sales jump for Oatly in Sweden.

Oatly then swiftly took aim at the European Parliament for banning "dairy free" or "creamy" as descriptors for plant-based drinks for being "misleading." Oatly ran a tongue-in-cheek campaign called "Are You Stupid?" that asked viewers to challenge the decision.

Most recently, Oatly made itsSuper Bowl debut with a divisive 30-second spot featuring CEO Toni Petersson playing a keyboard in a field of wheat singing, 'It's like milk, but made for humans' and repeating 'wow, wow, no cow' for the duration of the advert.

It's quirky, post-modern style was well received by some and detested by others. But that's how Oatly likes it. It wants to divide audiences in a productive way, and isn't afraid of a little hate.

Why do these tactics work for Oatly? Why can they afford to be light-hearted, funny and frankly, kind of annoying?

Keep It Simple, Stupid

Oatly has clearly defined brand purpose: oat milk. It's embraced its inherent ridiculousness to craft a maverick brand personality.

Many brands fall into the trap of making their purpose too broad. It would be easy for Oatly to unveil a grandiose mission to change the world one cup of coffee at a time. But convoluted brand missions often lead to complications down the line.

Fairlife Dairy advertised as a brand that believed "exceptional cow care and sustainable farming practices yield higher quality milk." But last year, retailers pulled the brand from shelves following graphic footage revealing the consistent abuse of calves at Fairlife farms.

This is equally true for businesses like Procter & Gamble, which declared itself a "proud sponsor of moms" in 2010. When put into action, that becomes complicated. How does P&G live up to that as gender roles and attitudes shift? How does it work when lots of moms are losing jobs or being forced to quit to look after their children at home ? Suddenly that brand purpose feels disingenuous.

Oatly isn't trying to save the world. Oatly is about oat milk. This simple purpose allows it to capture attention in a multitude of playful and creative ways.

So are investors attracted to brand purpose? Or irreverence? Of course not. But they are attracted to a brand that stands out on the shelf and in consumers minds. If you walk down a dairy aisle you will see countless clone brands that look and feel the same.

Oatly is using brand personality to cut through a half-century of sameness.
Ross Clugston is executive creative director at Superunion

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Oats, floats and jokes: what can start-ups learn from Oatly?

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Born out of a lab in Sweden in the early '90s, the oat milk brand has since received high-profile investment from celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Z, and mammoth global investment funds including Blackstone, which secured a 10% stake in the business for $200 million in July.

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"The Drum's" take on Dove's 'Reverse Selfie' Ad

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"The Drum's" take on Dove's 'Reverse Selfie' Ad

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Ad of the Day: Dove reverses selfie edits to highlight dangers of social media

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In a time before digital, glossy photoshopped ads in women’s mags were condemned for their part in generating a dangerously idealized definition of beauty. Today young girls face the same problem, but it has been magnified.

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Throughout the course of the semester we have been discussing the ways that Dove ads promote racial injustices and have a tendency to emphasize similar messages that the hygiene industry issues, which is that the darker one's skin is the dirtier they are. Dove's "Reverse Selfie" advertisement uses aspects of social media (photo editing) to say that face editing and social media in general creates long lasting insecurities. The notion that you are beautiful just the way that you are.

This advertisement not only reminded me of recurring issues within the hygiene industry in regards to their marketing schemes, but also the black is beautiful movement. This notion that just the way that you are is beautiful. I also wanted to note that there were young women of all racial identities showcased in the ad as well.

I chose this ad, because of the way that the captions of each of the images were phrased. "face editing gives her insecurities at the touch of a button," "instant face apps, long lasting damage." I thought each phrase made the consumer stop and think and truly understand the implications of the advertisement.

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The crucial issue of women and girls' self-esteem is once again top of the agenda, as Dove uses its new global platform to highlight the widespread damage caused by the trend for heavily edited selfies in Ogilvy's new campaign for the brand.

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The crucial issue of women and girls' self-esteem is once again top of the agenda, as Dove uses its new global platform to highlight the widespread damage caused by the trend for heavily edited selfies in Ogilvy's new campaign for the brand.

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Good Quality air is essential to Good Health

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Good Quality air is essential to Good Health

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Kristin Toussaint's article discusses the current emphasis that has been put on good air quality in indoor spaces since the start of the pandemic. With this being said, she argues that the quality of the air inside should remain a pressing concern even after the spread of COVID is no longer a risk. Toussaint interviews Linsey Marr, who is an expert in airborne transmission and says that the monitoring of CO2 levels in indoor spaces should be required of any company. Some research shows that high levels of CO2 can not only affect mental performance, but it can alter ones ability to make decisions.

This article stood out to me because it has been something that I have been thinking about often since the pandemic started. Specifically in gym settings, where the amount of CO2 that an individual exhales is at greater quantities than in any other indoor setting. With this being said, it has made me wonder how the air quality of individuals has effected them in the past, if at all.

In class we discussed the importance of marketing a product in regards to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This article made me reflect on the way that a company that sells products that measure the level of CO2 in a given space could do very well by selling to industries of all sizes.

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In a gym in Virginia, a carbon dioxide monitor helps the owner, and the gym goers, understand the risk of COVID-19 transmission in that space. Carbon dioxide levels are a proxy for how well-ventilated the gym is and thus how many COVID-19-containing aerosols might be floating around indoor air if someone inside is contagious. If CO2 levels are high, "it means that people's exhaled breath is accumulating in that room, and their respiratory aerosols are also accumulating," says Linsey Marr, an expert on the airborne transmission of viruses and a member of that gym who helped it reopen safely. "If someone is infected, those could contain virus."

Outside, CO2 levels hover around 400 parts per million, and if they're 800 parts per million inside, "that means 1% of every breath you inhale is from other people's exhaled breath," Marr says. "It's kind of like drinking their backwash." In Japan, displaying CO2 levels on large screens outside of venues, restaurants, and other public spaces has become a way to communicate COVID-19 risk-and bring something that previously only a maintenance person may have been privy to out into the open.

Since helping her own gym navigate this, Marr has since joined Crossfit's medical advisory board to help craft national guidelines for gym safety, has gotten requests from places across the country for help with monitoring their indoor air, and has begun carrying a CO2 monitor on her when she goes to an airport or even a grocery store. Marr hopes CO2 monitors stay in vogue and become more common in indoor spaces, even after the threat of COVID-19 has passed. Building ventilation is difficult to assess, and researchers are still learning about its importance to our health. Monitoring indoor CO2 could be an easy way to know when a building needs to improve its air flow.

Researchers are still learning about the potentially harmful effects of indoor air and specifically high CO2 levels. Some research-though small, and inconsistent-has shown high CO2 levels are associated with poorer mental acuity, worsening decision-making skills for office workers and affecting student performance. Aside from that, though, making sure CO2 levels are low could reduce the spread of viruses other than COVID-19. "Other respiratory viruses like flus and colds spread in the same way," Marr says, "so CO2 is going to be a useful indicator for the risk of transmission of those other diseases."

The pandemic has also driven new focus and funding into the world of indoor air research, opening conversations about how much fresh air goes into a building and why that's so important. In March, Honeywell and Syracuse University announced the Honeywell Indoor Air Quality Laboratory at Syracuse University's College of Engineering and Computer Science, a research partnership to fund better indoor air quality tech. Indoor air quality includes not only CO2 levels, says Manish Sharma, vice president and CTO of Honeywell Building Technologies, but the parameters of VOCs, or volatile organic compounds-gasses emitted from all sorts of solids or liquids-and particulate matter, tiny particles prevalent in both cooking emissions and wildfire smoke that have a host of health effects, along with temperature and humidity.

"It is way beyond the pandemic," Sharma says of the importance of indoor air quality; It's about the well-being of a building's occupants, their comfort, and potentially their productivity. That lab will further study just how much indoor air quality affects productivity and creativity, and how to improve indoor air quality technologies. "During or even after the pandemic, our goal on the air quality side is this subject is going to be as important as maintaining temperature or any parameter inside a building," he says. "What we believe in is air quality as productivity, air quality as safety, air quality as energy, and air quality as the best environment."

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We need to keep focusing on indoor air quality after the pandemic is over

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In a gym in Virginia, a carbon dioxide monitor helps the owner, and the gym goers, understand the risk of COVID-19 transmission in that space. Carbon dioxide levels are a proxy for how well-ventilated the gym is and thus how many COVID-19-containing aerosols might be floating around indoor air if someone inside is contagious.

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A Netflix that people want to subscribe to

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A Netflix that people want to subscribe to

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I have always thought that Netflix never had popular movies. My family and I always subscribed to the streaming platform for their featured TV series. The title of this article, "Netflix finally learns the oldest rule in Hollywood: Hits matter" drew me in because I definitely thought that Netflix was never good at providing their members with hits, but rather the best throwbacks.

Author of the article, Nicole Laporte, writes to inform her audience that Netflix has paid a lot of money to big name productions in order to compete with other popular streaming platforms, such as Hulu and Disney+. Netflix has been forced to reevaluate there production line, due to the fall of consumers in the first semester of 2021, which the company blames the lack of new content due to COVID-19. This is because of the productions inability to continue filming.

In a strange way this article reminded me of planned obsolescence and even the concept of Pre-emptive Reason why. This is because Netflix is forced to consistently incorporate new content and new up and coming/popular movies and TV series otherwise their viewers will get bored and turn to their competitors for alternatives. I also am willing to argue that Netflix was one of the original if not the first streaming website that became popular, so I would be willing to say that "they did it first".

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Netflix is dramatically upping its content spend in 2021-to $17 billion-signaling that it will be making more bets on big movies and TV shows as it fights to fend off competitors like Disney Plus and HBO Max. While the latter have built-in access to popular franchises like Star Wars and Wonder Woman due to their Hollywood studio parents, Netflix has had to buy its way into the franchise business. It recently made a deal with Sony to become the streaming home to Marvel films such as Spider-Man and Venom, and it paid $465 million for the two sequels to Knives Out, the whodunit thriller starring Daniel Craig. As co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on an earnings call on Tuesday, "big event content" is crucial to the company's strategy going forward.

Indeed, these big bets on known film entities (up until now, Netflix had mainly splurged on TV showrunners such as Shonda Rhimes, whose first big project, Bridgerton, was one of the few bright spots for the company so far in 2021) are likely to continue as the streamer wades into ever-more competitive territory and tries to maintain the momentum it enjoyed in 2020 as COVID-19 kept people strapped to their couches. On the earnings call, Netflix announced that its subscriber growth was slowing this year: In the first quarter, it added nearly 4 million subscribers, short of the 6 million it had projected. The news sent the company's stock falling in after-hours trading, down 11%.

Netflix's earnings and revenue projections actually beat Wall Street's projections, and CFO Spencer Neumann said the subscriber slippage "boils down to COVID, frankly," and the fact that so many of Netflix's productions were shut down due to the global pandemic, causing delays. That created "some short-term choppiness in some of the business trends," Neumann said, emphasizing that the second half of 2021 would see more launches of major TV and movie titles to attract new subscribers.

Among the anticipated releases for 2021 are new seasons of Cobra Kai and The Witcher, as well as the Netflix original film Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, as well as Extraction 2, starring Chris Hemsworth.

But with Amazon spending nearly $500 million on just one season of The Lord of the Rings, and Disney Plus series like The Mandalorian and WandaVision sucking up oxygen in the streaming verse-according to a recent study by Parrot Analytics, the two shows were the most in-demand digital originals in the first quarter of 2021-Netflix needs to go beyond the original content game. It needs to wade deeper into the intellectual property game, i.e., the hits business, hence the deals with Sony and Lionsgate (owner of Knives Out)."The fact that we can do very large-scale audience movies at the same level as the ones being produced and being made for theaters is more and more meaningful to viewers," Sarandos said.

As for the Sony deal, which kicks in next year and also allows Netflix to produce original films from Sony's library and development slate, Sarandos noted, "It gives us access to IP that we wouldn't otherwise have."

To pay for this and other major content investments, Netflix is upping its content spend this year a whopping 44% from 2020, when it spent $11.8 billion on content. In 2019, Netflix's content spend was $13.9 billion.

For now, however, Netflix's hit list feels more boutique than blockbuster. The company said that its most-watched shows during the first quarter of 2021 were Firefly Lane, which drew 49 million households during the series' first 28 days on the service; the third season of Cobra Kai (45 million); Fate: The Winx Saga (57 million); and Ginny & Georgia (52 million). As for films, viewers streamed Outside the Wire (66 million); Yes Day (62 million); I Care a Lot (56 million); and the last installment of To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

Local language projects also drew eyeballs, with the French series Lupin drawing 76 million households during its first 28 days on Netflix.

During the earnings call, Reed Hastings, cofounder, chairman, and co-CEO, downplayed the idea that Netflix, which now has more than 208 million global subscribers, is facing any new competition from streamers like Disney Plus, saying that Netflix's biggest competitor is linear TV, followed by YouTube.

"Disney is considerably smaller," Hastings said, smiling. "We're sort of in the middle of the pack."

At least for now.

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Netflix finally learns the oldest rule in Hollywood: Hits matter

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Netflix is dramatically upping its content spend in 2021-to $17 billion-signaling that it will be making more bets on big movies and TV shows as it fights to fend off competitors like Disney Plus and HBO Max.

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Washington State leads the charge for a proactive approach to reducing Climate Change

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Washington State leads the charge for a proactive approach to reducing Climate Change

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Adele Peters article published on Fast Company talks about Washington States choice to ban new fossil-fuel cars by 2030. This not only encourages other US states to do the same, but it also shows people that EV should be something to invest in for your future as they are becoming the future. Due to the fact that vehicle emissions is the leading cause of emissions in the US, there is a more significant desire among states to make the change and make it now.

I chose this article because I have always found interest in learning about climate change and the various adaptations that can be made globally or on a national level in order to combat it.

From an advertising perspective, Washington States lead in choosing to ban fossil-fuel powered vehicles puts the industry of power plaints in the spotlight as more electric cars requires a better organization/distribution of electricity. This article made me think of when we discussed the bandwagon effect in class. The notion that once Washington bans new fossil-fueled powered cars other states will follow.

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The U.K. plans to ban new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2030. The Netherlands and Germany have the same goal. Now the state of Washington plans to follow, making it the first in the U.S. to move as quickly to phase out polluting cars. In nine years, if you want to buy a new car or light truck in Washington, it will have to be electric.

"When you really look at the issue, there's not any single factor that would prevent a state from doing it," says Matthew Metz, co-executive director of Coltura, a nonprofit that led a coalition of organizations in the state that started advocating for a new bill in 2017, after seeing how European policies were changing. "Given that we're in a climate crisis, and that we're way below our targets, in terms of reducing emissions, this is actually a pretty credible path for taking care of a lot of those emissions." The bill, which sets a target for all model-year-2030 passenger vehicles to be electric, just passed the legislature and is expected to be signed by the governor.

In the state, as in the U.S. overall, emissions from vehicles now have a bigger carbon footprint than anything else. Ironically, the bill doesn't talk about emissions because of a quirk in the Clean Air Act that means that states can't set stricter emissions standards than the federal government. (California is the exception, because it had emissions standards in place to combat its smog problems before the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970.)

Instead of talking about climate change, the bill talks about the other reasons to shift to electric cars. The billions that residents spend on gas each year go out of state, because the state doesn't produce gas; electric cars can run on locally generated electricity, a large percentage of which is renewable. Consumers can save money on fuel. The electric grid can be more stable with a large number of electric cars, since cars can plug into chargers that pull power at the optimal time or send it back into the grid when needed. A huge amount of water pollution can be avoided: "Roughly the equivalent of a supertanker, like an Exxon Valdez of motor oil, rolls into the Puget Sound every four years, just from the vast amounts of motor oil that drip from cars," Metz says.

It's not enough just to give people incentives to buy electric cars, he says. "Buying out old gas cars and replacing them or just subsidizing electric cars, those things are all great, but we need to stop the flow into the pool of cars." Research shows that it's feasible to quickly make a full shift for new cars, though older gas cars will still be allowed on roads. Now, advocates want to help other states do the same. California plans to phase out new gas-powered car sales by 2035, but Metz argues that for many states, the 2030 goal is possible. It's another signal for automakers, who are already planning to ramp up sales of electric vehicles. "It has a powerful signaling function," Metz says. "It tells industry, hey, look, the people in Washington State are moving forward, and this is going to come to other states. And it just adds to the desire to invest in EVs."

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Washington State plans to phase out new gas cars by 2030

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The U.K. plans to ban new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2030. The Netherlands and Germany have the same goal. Now the state of Washington plans to follow, making it the first in the U.S. to move as quickly to phase out polluting cars.

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Why would you want a cookie less world??

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Why would you want a cookie less world??

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The sentence that immediately made me click on the article was, "Here’s how brands can move forward in a cookieless world." I clicked on it because I was intrigued and stunned at the mere thought of anyone wanting to get rid of cookies. And with the picture of the cookie and glass of milk I was definitely fooled... embarrassingly enough. But continue to read I learned that the article is discussing the cookies that pop up on nearly every website you click onto. This was what we were discussing in Wednesdays class and the way that this is one of many ways that companies receive data from their consumers.

The article gives helpful advice about the way to approach Googles phasing out of third-party cookies which has an impact on the advertising industry. Advice such as reevaluating your companies tech set up and possibility revamping it in order to adapt to the changes. What the article suggests is that marketers and advertisers need to go back to the basics and understand what worked so well prior to cookies and go from their.

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Ever since Google said it would phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome, marketers and agencies have been scrambling to find a replacement.

Every vendor suddenly has a solution: this ID, that link. "Don't sweat it," one vendor told me. "We've got it all figured out." Regardless of what ad tech sales reps say, deep down, we all know this magical solution does not exist (yet).

So besides refining their infrastructure to collect first-party data and spending more money with walled gardens that can offer granular measurement, what can marketers do?

Accept reality - and take action

The reality is that there is no perfect replacement for cookies.

Keep talking to ad tech innovators about new solutions, but also focus on what you can do right now: implement proven strategies and technology that already exist, and think more creatively about content development.

Focus on creative quality

We're helping a top brand in the hospitality industry understand how the new ad environment could impact creative performance. This client invests a lot of time and resources on creative, but often can't measure the impression it made on customers.

We've helped the client understand whether it's the creative, the audience, the publisher or the sheer volume of impressions - or all of the above - that results in better performance.

By using tools such as Adelaide's attention metric, we can quantify the quality of their ads. Without third-party cookies, correlating attention metrics to untrackable view-through conversions becomes possible.

Invest in production

Media agencies and marketers often overlook production. Clients ask for creative best practices, but how would we know, for example, that green text on a white background outperforms white text on a green background?

Providers like Cortex, which can identify and analyze creative's visual and contextual components to determine which elements drive performance, might be able to help.

Website quality also can't be ignored. More often than not, websites render more ads than content, which mars the overall experience. Great site design goes hand-in-hand with memorable ad experiences.

Revamp your tech stack

As cookies go away, your current tech stack may not suffice. Now is the perfect opportunity to reassess.

I hear you: vetting and onboarding tech partners is time consuming. But ad tech is always changing and requires constant attention and maintenance. Ask yourself: are your tech partners adding enough value to justify the cost? Are you too reliant on one partner or idea?

Build strong relationships

Revitalize those old-fashioned PMP deals with a few premium publishers that drive results. Establish direct relationships and negotiate deals (like the good ol' days).

Publishers that have their own marketplaces and creative studios, such as Vox's Concert, are great resources. Their wide reach and creative capabilities come in handy when deploying high-impact units designed for that publisher's sites.

The bottom line

With cookies out of the picture, marketers and agencies have an opportunity to get back to basics and focus on creative and publisher relationships.

Change opens the door to future opportunities. Cookies aren't going to be around much longer. Instead of putting all of your faith into imperfect replacements, get to work creating an ad experience that resonates.
Yuting Zhang, Senior Biddable Strategist, Media Kitchen

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There's no perfect replacement for cookies

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Ever since Google said it would phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome, marketers and agencies have been scrambling to find a replacement. Every vendor suddenly has a solution: this ID, that link. "Don't sweat it," one vendor told me. "We've got it all figured out."

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The Perfect Ice cream flavors for when you crave Ice Cream the most

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The Perfect Ice cream flavors for when you crave Ice Cream the most

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Who does not want ice cream when your heart is broken? And who would turn down ice cream that is created to mend a broken heart? I certainly would! When I saw this campaign, I thought it was so smart! I was drawn to it because I was curious how the company would target such an event. From what I understood from the video and the article was that the pint is divided into layers and each flavor of layer is meant to help that particular emotion.

This campaign reminded me of when we talked about Unique selling proposition (USP). This is the ideology that there is something unique and different about your product that sets it apart from other like products within the particular industry. The way that Elena's ice cream emphaises their ability to "cure" a heartbreak by eating creating specific flavors that are scientifically proven to cure certain emotions that are common during heartbreak is most certainly unique and definitely something to promote!

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Adiós Amor Adiós has the perfect recipe for a broken heart.

Mexican ice cream brand Elena's launched Adiós Amor Adiós, an ice cream designed with heartbreak in mind.

The limited edition ice cream pint includes five flavors strategically layered to coincide with the stages of a breakup, including Matcha Tea for anger, which raises serotonin, GABA and dopamine levels. Dark Chocolate is for sadness, because it's rich amino acids help the brain release endorphins.

The campaign, created with VMLY&R Commerce, also embeds QR code on each pint that offer advice and prizes. For the "anger" stage, consumers can order free delivery of their ex's clothing to a local donation site. Heartbroken ice cream lovers are rewarded with a free Tinder Gold subscription for the "hope" stage.

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Mexican ice cream brand Elena's launches heartbreak flavors

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Adiós Amor Adiós has the perfect recipe for a broken heart. Mexican ice cream brand Elena's launched Adiós Amor Adiós, an ice cream designed with heartbreak in mind. The limited edition ice cream pint includes five flavors strategically layered to coincide with the stages of a breakup, including Matcha Tea for anger, which raises serotonin, GABA and dopamine levels.

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To figure out what career is best fit for you is a challenge and ones passion and talents comes in waves. Author of the Campaign article, Ellen Barnes discusses the ways that being a writer for a professional business although is not the master mind behind the big selling products, is essential to the way that society perceives there company and the companies work.

I chose this article because I too am a writing major and I go back and forth with the idea of doing that for my career and what kind of opportunities that would enable me in the future.

When reading this article it drew me to the ways that we have conceptualized word choice and the importance of words within the advertising industry. Without a proper set of literary devices a companies ability to market its product can truly struggle.

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When it was my turn to introduce myself on a recent call with a new client, I said, "I'm Ellen, the vice president of content. That basically means I'm the writer at the agency. I write everything from X to Y to Z."

One of my colleagues quickly messaged me saying, "Don't undersell yourself like that! You're much more than 'just a writer.'"

She meant well. I appreciate the sentiment. And sure, I am more than a writer. But there's more to the story.

I didn't mean "I'm the writer" to come off dismissively, or even humbly. I'm proud to be the person at my agency who makes words "work," who best understands the order they should fall in, which words need to go away and which should absolutely stay. I understand what should be persuasive or playful; what's going to bore, offend or titillate.

People who write for business need to be far more than creative; they must also be rational to a fault, and not attached to their ego. Because before you write about something, you absolutely have to understand it. And after you've written about something, you have to be able to see it as entirely separate from you. If what you've written is crap, it doesn't mean that you are crap. But it does mean that you will need to fix it.

The same isn't true for those who write purely for pleasure. In that case, you're welcome to start with a blank page and go freewheeling into oblivion. I like that kind of writing, too, but I don't get paid for it.

Over the years, I've learned to write in a way that I hope sweeps readers along. As a kid, my favorite place to be was ankle-deep in the creek in my backyard. I took very seriously the job of unclogging that creek, flinging sodden leaves and debris onto its slick banks so it would flow freely again. Today, I still remove impediments, break dams, make things burble and hum again.

To create ease in a piece of writing, one has to put words together in ways that are interesting without being outlandish; to make sentences charming without stealing the show.

But words are only the vehicle. Take pleasure in them, but don't get carried away with how cleverly you've worded something. What matters is that the vehicle moves passengers - readers - to their destination by saying what needs to be said as efficiently as possible. That is far easier said than done. Making a "quick read" takes, in fact, a very long time.

Lately, I've been telling people I'm our agency's "writer-in-residency." I enjoy the smug academic sound of it, but I also like the notion that my role is that specific.

For years, I downplayed my skill set. I can't count how many times I've said, "When I majored in creative writing, I never thought I'd make a career of it. I'm incredibly lucky." And I am. I couldn't have dreamed that I'd get to push words around a page for a living. But over time, my imposter syndrome gave way to a realization that I've been employed as a writer for so long because I'm damn good at it. As it turns out, my specific skill set is, if not a dying art, then an ailing one. That makes it, and me, more precious.

In an industry that's constantly shifting to remain relevant for clients, there's plenty of talk about upskilling employees. At my agency, "staying in your lane" is a no-no. We're trained on topics adjacent to our expertise. Project managers pitch in with graphic design. Media experts write a mean speech. Interns come up with the award-winning campaign ideas.

I've learned plenty in recent years about SEO, content optimization and best practices on social. With consumer appetite for content and preferences for outlets evolving, it's important that I grow with them. Thankfully, my aptitude as a writer and a human will remain a work-in-progress; I cringe thinking of the inane columns I wrote for my college newspaper. There will always be more for this writer to learn.

We are told to do what we love for a reason. Throughout your career, it's likely that your core skill set will remain more or less the same, no matter how many conferences you attend or articles you read. You will continue to be best at the thing you love the most.

You don't have to be the sum of your parts. You can play your one part, so long as you play it well. And that's something to be proud of.

So, hello, I'm Ellen, and I'm the writer.
Ellen Mallernee Barnes is VP of content at Red Havas

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Why being "just the writer" is more than enough

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When it was my turn to introduce myself on a recent call with a new client, I said, "I'm Ellen, the vice president of content. That basically means I'm the writer at the agency. I write everything from X to Y to Z." One of my colleagues quickly messaged me saying, "Don't undersell yourself like that!

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In our last Advertising class this passed week, we discussed the way that technology has allowed for companies to better understand there consumers tendencies. This includes what they are searching, clicking on, and browsing over. With this in mind, The Drum UK's article below explains how the company GymShark used the same technology and the same data analysis to figure out better ways to market there product.

This article discusses how the fitness company GymShark used Pinterest to market there product based off the increase rate that consumers wished to better there lives remotely during the pandemic. This notion of staying positive was what a lot of individuals turned to Pinterest for and GymShark was there to be viewed.

What I found really interesting about this article was what GymShark gained from there experience and presence on Pinterest. The article explains that consumers are very good at adapting and individualizing their online experience.

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In March 2020, Covid-19 hit and sparked a trend of the public seeking to beat the lockdown blues by keeping active at home. As a UK fitness brand which creates tools to help people unlock their full potential, Gymshark wanted to get involved and support home fitness enthusiasts to put their ideas into action.

Pinterest's mission is to help 'Pinners' create a life they love. Hailed as 'the last positive place' on the internet, in a year which has been difficult for so many people globally, Pinners were turning to the social platform as a place to plan for recovery and rebuilding with searches such as 'positive mindset' & 'positive habits' up by 60%.

Pinterest insights revealed that searches on the platform for terms around working out at home had increased significantly during the early stages of lockdown (268% increase in home workouts, 93% increase in home gym and 170% increase in loungewear). People were suddenly faced with either rediscovering exercise or trying to continue their regimens without their usual fully stocked gyms.

Gymshark wanted to capture the spirit of the moment, to help people with what it knew best - fitness. The aim was to raise awareness of the Gymshark brand to new people, as well as recontact its community on Pinterest through its unique workout content. Further to this, it looked to add value to people's social media experience and showcase its marketing-leading workout gear and kit.
The strategy
Additional Pinterest insights showed that performance was shifting across the platform - 60% increase in searches YoY, 30% increase in signups, click-throughs and saves on pins YoY, 3x more video views YoY; all of which underscored the need for Gymshark to double-down on Search Ads, Video Ads and Organically discoverable content.

In addition, there was undoubtedly a growing sense of confidence in Pinterest's ability to drive both brand and performance for Gymshark, with metrics like 1p CPV for home workouts in March, as well as one of the best performing ads coming in at a 51p CPA.

Gymshark prides itself on its distinctive products, genuine passion for fitness, UGC creative style and amazing Athletes - Gymshark was uniquely placed to give people real workout ideas and information that would genuinely help them in this situation, regardless of their knowledge levels from beginner to gym veterans. Pinterest, being the home of inspiration and discovery, stood out to Gymshark as a key part of its plan to put this in-front of people actively hunting for help in this area. Pinterest had a strong relevance to the Gymshark community across English-speaking countries and in Europe, so implemented a dual-pronged strategy across organic and paid pins.

Gymshark worked with its creators to build a raft of various workout routines for a multitude of needs across areas such as mobility, HIIT, toning and more - the desire was to build a library of ideas, which would contain something for everyone. Video Pins were taken to the max. which showcased the snackable exercised videos perfectly within users' feeds.

The paid media approach had a full funnel and sequential plan: a) Top Funnel: to surface the most relevant workout video to pinners who were looking for exercise ideas; b) Mid Funnel: to continue to serve both useful and inspirational Paid Pins to these new users; c) Bottom Funnel to retarget people who'd engaged with the Gymshark x Pinterest campaign and/or had visited Gymshark.com to view content/products and serve them dynamic product suggestions via Dynamic Ads.

The upper funnel activity homed-in on driving video views with Video Ads, the Mid Funnel with a focus on satisfying specific intent with Search Ads and the lower funnel tactics continued the conversation and drove people to take their Gymshark journey one-step further to the site via Dynamic Ads. To add a layer of learning into the campaign, Gymshark also utilised the Pinterest Video Collections alpha Adformat to split test it versus the standard Dynamic Ads.
The results
This campaign effectively showed how adept Pinterest users are at crafting their own online experiences. Aside from the feed-based, algorithmically generated experiences, it's clear that people are extremely clued-up to research and hone information and content that really matters to them and a great deal of this happens on Pinterest.

17.3 million Gymshark workout videos were watched over the period of the campaign, with an overall engagement rate of 3%. The content was delivered free-of-charge and, as a result, people exercising at home continued to feel a strong affinity for Gymshark. This delivered 2.63% CTR, proving the value of right time, right place, right content when planning campaigns.
"We're extremely thrilled with the simply phenomenal results we've managed to achieve on Pinterest with Gymshark so far. Clearly, it's a place that our Gymshark Community loves to inhabit every day to be inspired and find useful ideas. We've found the experience of marketing on Pinterest to drive results but also allow us to make meaningful and helpful marketing touchpoints with people, when it matters." - Kevin Chan, head of paid social, Gymshark This project was a winner at DADIs 2020. To find out which Drum Awards are currently open for entries, click here.

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How Gymshark leveraged Pinterest to provide inspiration during lockdown

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In March 2020, Covid-19 hit and sparked a trend of the public seeking to beat the lockdown blues by keeping active at home. As a UK fitness brand which creates tools to help people unlock their full potential, Gymshark wanted to get involved and support home fitness enthusiasts to put their ideas into action.

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As consumers seek out safer ways to exercise, the rise of "fitness as a service" has created exclusivity, glossiness, and gamification around certain brands and products, in order to keep them desirable even as the pandemic comes to an end.

Author, Rebecca Stewart mentions that each of the larger brands that are cultivating the category of "fitness as a service" take different approaches to their advertising schemes, which is something that I found very interesting. For example, ApplesFitness+ app targeted its product to "everyone," where Pelaton chose to highlight "real riders" and how the bike can be beneficial for all members of the family.

What drew me towards this article was the way that it targeted very popular brands that were most desirable when they were at peek exclusivity. What makes Pelaton so intriguing to so many is its price and the way that by owning the bike you are placed into a similar selective category as owning Gucci, or Dior, etc. But the more people that have the bike the less desirable it becomes.

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Prior to 2020, you might have known Peloton best for the ridicule it faced over a "dystopian" and "sexist" Christmas ad showing a husband giving his wife a stationary bike as a gift. Fast-forward just over a year and the high-end exercise firm has seen global membership surge to 1.63 million, with revenues forecast to hit $3.9bn in 2021.

The company - which offers high-tech exercise equipment complete with a 'connected workout' membership system which beams live or on-demand classes right into people's homes - has been a huge beneficiary of people staying home in 2020. In the first quarter of this year alone, sales surged by 232% as consumers turned to its bikes, treadmills and accessories during the pandemic.

It's not alone either. With gyms still closed in many global markets and personal trainers restricted in what they can offer, other winners are emerging as consumers seek out virtual fitness classes. We're not talking shakily-filmed Zoom or Instagram Live sessions beamed from the local barre studio here; this new 'fitness as a service' category is being dominated by some of the world's biggest brands.

In December 2020, Apple launched Apple Fitness+, which brings studio-style workouts to iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV and incorporates workout metrics from Apple Watch for 'a first-of-its-kind personalized and immersive experience'.

Nike, meanwhile, waived subscription fees to its Training Club app early on in the pandemic. Adding to the crop of connected devices intended to replicate a gym class is Mirror, a looking glass monolith that becomes a screen ready to display on-demand workout videos.

The World Economic Forum reports a 46% increase in downloads of fitness apps in 2020 globally and 24% increase in daily active users.

With this trend showing no signs of slowing down, these businesses are employing clever marketing techniques to build cult followings - from motivational gamification to luxury positioning. However, whether they can keep pace as lockdown draws to an end and life returns to normal remains to be seen.

Cultivating personality

All of these services have taken a different tack when it comes to advertising. Apple's Fitness+ promo had all the hallmarks of an iPhone ad and positioned the service as being 'for everyone'. Peloton has recently chose to spotlight the stories of real riders and showcased how the solution can work for everyone in the family. Indoor cycling app Zwift bagged professional cyclist Mathieu can der Poel for its TV spot aired during the Tour De France last year.

For Craig Dempsey, media planning director at Essence (which handles Peloton's media in the UK and Germany), regardless of their creative approach, the services providing virtual communities for their subscribers are coming out on top.

"A key win for these brands has been the coaching talent, with many instructors having large Instagram followings, driving familiarity with users which keeps them coming back," he adds.

In short, fitness from home brands are finding success in cultivating the personalities of the instructors being beamed into people's homes, making people feel like they have a real connection with the face behind their screen.

Dempsey's right. Peloton's 33-strong cohort of instructors each hold a celebrity status in their own right, and large social media fanbases to boot. Groomed and glamourous, their personalities draw people to specific rides due to their individual styles and carefully-curated soundtracks - from 'running with Adrian' to Cody Rigsby (the ' King of Quarantine').

"Online communities will be key for maintaining the presence of connected fitness brands," he adds.

This aspirational type of marketing doesn't just allows these platforms to attract cult-like followings. It also presents an opportunity for marketers to use these communities as sounding boards to improve features and products that will better suit people as different living and working patterns evolve.

"To continue this growth and retain post-lockdown audiences, brands will need to pick the right instructors that appeal to the masses, with unique and fresh training content to keep people engaged as well as continuing to innovate hardware that can fit into and around the home."

Some of these apps are also relying on tie-ups with musicians and celebrities to drive interest and cement their exclusive positioning. Apple Fitness+, for instance, naturally boasts a deep integration with Apple Music. The tech giant recently had its editors curate a series of playlists with tracks designed to users keep their energy levels up and 'complete that last set, run the last mile, or hold that last pose.'

For its part, Peloton recently inked a multi-year partnership with Beyoncé, which is seeing the artist develop classes for its subscription service. The collaboration kicked off with a series of classes themed on her 'Homecoming' tour in honor of historically Black colleges and universities.

Tom Moore, head of retail at VMLYY&R Commerce, predicts these brands will continue to lean on high-profile personalities to showcase just who subscribers can gain 'access' to by signing up.

"Expect brands to drive deeper connection with celebrity sports personalities past and present across disciplines. Imagine Sir Mo Farah taking the morning park run group or Marianne Vos leading a Sunday morning hill climb.

"The ability for serious fitness enthusiasts to connect beyond a community of peers to their heroes will be a compelling draw," he notes.

Motivation stations

While a personality-led approach is key for some of the more premium digital fitness players, a key marketing challenge facing all of these companies is how to keep people motivated.

For many fitness brands, the core strategy is pinned around showing a user progression.

"This is the 'better you' approach, mastered by the likes of Nike and Garmin," explains Matt Readman, head of strategy at Dark Horses and the mastermind behind Peloton's 2020 Christmas ad.

"If people can measure and quantify their improvement the more motivated they will be. This trend will continue as we enter a new era of fitness tech," he continues, pointing to companies such as Nurvv - a connected insole brand that helps people improve their running technique as "taking things to a totally new level of measurement".

The element of virtual community exalted by Dempsey has a role to play here, says Readman. Brands like Zwift and tracking app Strava share users' data and stats with their friends, using a "competitive community" to motivate members.

Recent research from Flinders University backs this up, finding that the social sharing elements of these apps often provide the necessary encouragement for people to engage with them more enthusiastically and progress on their fitness journey.

Readman highlights how another effective way to keep people moving is to make fitness something they "want to do not have to do". This is where gamification comes into play.

The Nike Run Club app embraces this, encouraging users to log their sessions and to take part in organised challenges with other running buddies. Many of the challenges appear as colorful full-screen modals offering prizes to participants. Each challenge is accessible for a limited time only - and this urgency gives undecided users an extra nudge to commits.

A spectator sport

VMLY&R's Moore says that beyond 'points for prizes' systems, Peloton and Nike could also find success in mass events. Many of these brands host virtual events and races, but, the occasions don't currently transcend participants. So it might be time for them to take a lesson from the world of e-sports.

"The industry needs to move beyond personal exercise and community connection to become a spectator sport where we all tune in to watch a virtual 'London Marathon'. Tech has a significant role to play here to ensure this becomes a compelling proposition for broadcast audiences."

Cost is, of course, another factor on which the future success of these players hinges on and it's a case of the premium matching the price. Where Nike Training App is completely free, Peloton users need to stump up $1,895 for a bike then a further $39 per month for a subscription.

In an increasingly crowded landscape, the brands competing with digital subscription-based models could choose to align themselves more with the models of Netflix and Spotify, which have both made monthly payments more palatable to people's wallets.

In the UK alone, there's already data to suggest that exercise in the second and third lockdowns is declining, compared with the fitness fad of the first, with two-fifths of people say they are doing less physical activity this time round.

About a fifth of people say they are watching more TV, streaming more films and gaming more.

Though motivation to exercise is one of the hardest behaviors to maintain, there is hope, however.

"For many of us the reason why we workout is changing," asserts Readman.

"Exercise used to be purely to 'get in shape', but now people understand the impact of fitness on not just their physical health, but their overall wellbeing.

"The good news is that exercising for mental health reasons means people are more likely to stick with it. If they're working out for physical results, there's always a risk they will be disappointed. Whereas if they exercise because it makes them happier, they are far more likely to get the reward they seek.

"This is a massive opportunity for fitness brands to retain the followers they've recruited. While many advertisers will claim to improve mental health, their approach is still very much stuck in an appearance-based world."
Check out The Drum's special Health hub, which examines how the key players - from health agencies to pharma firms to brands - are doing their part to return the world to normality.

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Lessons in agility from the rise and rise of fitness as a service brands

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From Peloton to Apple Fitness+, the rise of at-home workouts has paved the way for brands offering 'fitness as a service' to build cult followings and lift revenues in the process. Where some have gamified sport, others have hinged their proposition on glossiness and exclusivity.

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Fitness First adapts to the effects of COVID

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Fitness First adapts to the effects of COVID

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This article discusses the long lasting affects of COVID-19 on the fitness industry, specifically the in-person attendance of local gyms. Author Shawn Lim, speaks in regards to Singapores gym brand Fitness First about their approach to  at home fitness. In order to accommodate the desire to stay at home, Fitness First Singapore designed a MyFit Plan membership that allows the consumer to choose a workout schedule that has freedom and flexibility. This reminded me of when we discussed consumer-orientated approaches in which the evaluation of the product is oriented towards the need of the customer.

I chose this article because prior to quarantine I always relied on going to the gym or attending fitness classes in person in order to stay active. What I soon came to learn and love is that there are so many opportunities to stay active on the internet in the comfort of your own home. I thought this article was very interesting and I enjoyed learning the inside scoop to what a lot of gyms locally have also adapted to COVID similarly.

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As consumers settle in to working-out at home, The Drum speaks to gym brand Fitness First on how it adapted to keep its members engaged.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, work wasn't the only thing Singaporeans brought home with them. With gyms shut during circuit breaker measures, many began working out at home amid hybrid home office set-ups.

And even though restrictions are gradually being lifted in Singapore, which has entered Phase 3 of its coronavirus response, fewer fitness enthusiasts have returned to gyms. Fitness chain Fitness First has seen a drop in check-ins to its clubs in the central business district, while witnessing an increase in some of its clubs in the suburbs, such as Westgate, Paya Lebar and Ang Mo Kio.

Anil Chugani, the managing director at Fitness First Singapore, believes the fitness-at-home shift is here to stay. Chugani notes that many of the gym's members have developed new workout routines at home, through online workouts or at the park.

To cater to this new normal, Fitness First has launched a new customisable membership plan called MyFit, which allows members access to their preferred Fitness First club in Singapore.

This new membership plan allows for the flexibility to choose a gym near to either their homes or office and reduces the need for its members to travel between home and workplace.

"MyFit also enables members to tailor their fitness and regime based on their personal fitness goals and needs," he explains.

"We rolled out this plan in Fitness First Tampines as a pilot test, and officially introduced the MyFit plan at all the clubs island-wide in December, to cater to the increased demand for clubs situated in the heartlands due to work-from-home arrangements since April 2020. The numbers have been highly encouraging, and the percentage of new signups who chose a MyFit plan increased from 10% in October to 38% in December."

Chugani predicts gym operators will transform their traditional business model to a hybrid one post-pandemic, with a greater emphasis on hygiene, wellness and tech.

With the option to work from home, he says fitness should also become more accessible, so that people can squeeze in a workout in between meetings or during lunch hour - at home or at the gym close to home or office.

"We continue to see demand for our Fitness At Home series even as we stepped into Phase 2 and 3 of safe reopening, and we hope that with the launch of our Virtual Studio in Q1/2 2021 and its integration with the membership plan, this online content will run alongside our club operations and continue to help those who are unable to access the gym to stay active from wherever they are," he explains.

Fitness First recently launched H20 Flow and H20 HIIT, two new aqua fitness classes that focuses on core strength and endurance through a series of yoga sequences.

It will also work with MyZone, a wearable heart rate-based system that uses wireless and cloud technology to monitor the physical activity of its members, with a focus on rewarding effort rather than fitness, in the first quarter of 2021.

The Myzone App also provides real-time feedback during each workout to encourage effort in the moment. Fitness First has designed it to be a user-friendly and intuitive platform that allows members to see their results anywhere and anytime.

"We also foresee that wearables and fitness tech will play a big role in shaping the fitness industry in the near future. Consumers are becoming more aware of the relationship between their health, fitness level and consumption habits, and there's a rise in demand for more data and information on health, as well as personalization in data," explains Chugani.

"Wearables and fitness tech will allow our members to take greater control of their health by providing access to information and statistics on their workouts and habits, allowing them to identify gaps in their routines and work towards better workouts."

Personal health is becoming increasingly important amid Covid-19. The Drum previously looked at how businesses are tackling the subject with their employees and consumers.

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Gym chain Fitness First has pivoted to address the fitness-at-home shift

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As consumers settle in to working-out at home, The Drum speaks to gym brand Fitness First on how it adapted to keep its members engaged. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, work wasn't the only thing Singaporeans brought home with them.

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This article writes to explain the ways that digital-first marketing was a large contributor to NoBull's ability to become the leading choice in athletic wear for CrossFit athletes. Author of the article Shawn Lim discusses that the company expanded their product line, utilized marketing tools and data technology, and acknowledged their emphasis on community in order to expand in the manner that they did. The article also discusses the importance and protective awareness that NoBull has to brand awareness, which has been a main theme within our class this semester.

I chose this article because I have been a CrossFit athlete for roughly five years now and I love the sport. I personally own a pair of NoBull cross trainers and love the shoe and have enjoyed seeing them expand as much as they have as an athletic brand.

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As marketing becomes more digitally refined, maintaining the humanity that attracted people to brands in the first place becomes increasingly important. Which is why digital-first brand Nobull is so focused on building a community.
Boston-based sportswear brand Nobull became the title sponsor of the CrossFit Games and official supplier of CrossFit apparel in March 2021, taking over from sportswear giant Reebok when it decided not to renew its sponsorship deal after a decade.

The announcement raised eyebrows, with the direct-to-consumer digital brand having only launched in 2015 in a bid to challenge the status quo and provide an alternative to the traditional brands that owned the fitness space.

Todd Meleney, the vice-president of marketing at Nobull, tells The Drum how the brand had launched in CrossFit, and that the sport was its exclusive focus for the first few years. It wasn't until 2018 that Nobull began to grow outside of CrossFit with the launch of its first running shoe.

Since then, its product line has grown to include running and cycling apparel and accessories, in addition to its classic trainers, as it seeks to become a global training brand for athletes of all disciplines.

"In nearly six years, Nobull has grown from a small, three-person team operating out of a garage to a multi-disciplinary global brand," says Meleney.

"As a bootstrapped brand, we had to manage the business in a way that has allowed us to grow profitably. In the early years especially, we simply made as much product as we could afford, and that sometimes meant getting uncomfortable.

"We were so limited by what we could produce that it started to naturally create hype around our product launches. But with that also came the challenge to learn how to best manage customer expectations."

Another lesson the Nobull team was learning on the fly was how to best utilize marketing tools and technology to allow the brand to connect with its customers. That meant that in order to grow, a lot of people needed to wear a lot of different hats.

Meleney says it wasn't always glamorous, but everyone was willing to put in the work to get the job done and grow the brand to where it is today.

Now, he says the team is working to scale as quickly as it can to make sure every customer can get the product they want and have the best experience possible while doing so.

"We are very protective of the Nobull brand identity we established back in 2015. Content is one of the most important pieces of our marketing strategy. We have built a content team in-house, some of whom have been with us since the very beginning.

"With a strong team in place, we are able to collaborate with our sponsored athletes and our community to create content that is both powerful and authentic. We are always working to tell the stories of the athletes on the podium, the faces on our website and the people in our workout classes."

"We make sure everything we produce is something that our community can identify with, but we also try to have fun with it and don't take ourselves too seriously."

From a strategic perspective, Nobull believes the most powerful form of marketing is word of mouth, with Meleney saying the brand wants to give people something to talk about and to make sure there is a story to share about why they love the product they wear.

As the Nobull community has grown, the brand has seen its customers connect to the stories around its designs. That has led to annual collections, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday collections and the floral collection.

"Community has always been at the forefront of the brand. Our co-founders - Marcus Wilson and Michael Schaeffer - were members of the CrossFit community themselves when they started Nobull. There has always been a deep level of understanding of our customers because we work alongside them.

"One key component of our Nobull code of conduct is to go above and beyond for our customers. We put the community first in every way that we can. What's best for the community, in the long run, is ultimately going to be what's best for Nobull, so we make sure that to meet the needs of our customers at every stage of growth."

This means Nobull has to be thorough to make sure that it can live up to the expectations it set for itself, says Meleney, and it utilizes data to get there, regularly asking what styles are selling out quickly and what product its customers want to see.

"Whether through customer service data, digital advertising, social media metrics or simple conversations with our customers in the gym, our relationship with the community drives everything we do."

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How digital-first sportswear brand Nobull is taking CrossFit by its horns

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As marketing becomes more digitally refined, maintaining the humanity that attracted people to brands in the first place becomes increasingly important. Which is why digital-first brand Nobull is so focused on building a community.