Chipotle gives its freshness message a soundtrack made from the food itself, played by classically trained musicians. As I write this, one of my kids is practising flute after the other’s piano session. I enjoy living in a house of musicians, although I’m firmly on the audience end of that arrangement. So Chipotle had my attention when it sent vegetables to Abbey Road. For reals. The chain teamed up with the London Vegetable Orchestra to record “From Ground to Sound,” using instruments made...
1 day ago • 1 min read
When customers recognize your product’s taste as your brand, you have something you can carry into new formats and occasions. For most of my life, Reese’s was peanut butter cups and the Pieces Elliott shared with E.T. “Two great tastes that taste great together,” as the old ads put it after chocolate collided with peanut butter in the happiest of accidents. Over time, that combination became a single taste we recognize as Reese’s. (Although the chocolate seems to be eroding into...
2 days ago • 1 min read
More than 40 years ago, Jobs described how computers would preserve a person’s worldview, answer questions and act as personal agents. Steve Jobs gets credited with predicting a ton of stuff after the fact. But this one’s especially hard to dismiss. At the 1983 International Design Conference in Aspen, Jobs talked about the limitations of books. He loved how they let you access Aristotle or Plato directly, without an intermediary. But books disappointed him in one big way. You couldn’t ask...
3 days ago • 2 min read
I tend to write subject lines as statements. Research suggests I could be leaving readership on the table. I have this habit with subject lines… Even when they begin with words like How or Why, I tend to frame them as statements rather than questions. Why Customers Choose the Familiar instead of Why Do Customers Choose the Familiar? The first one has always seemed cleaner to me. More confident, I guess. Less clickbait-y. A study I came across has me reconsidering that instinct. Researchers at...
4 days ago • 2 min read
New research suggests the best way to use generative AI for product ideation is to add on MORE constraints. When innovators use AI to develop a new product idea (or any creative idea), there’s an obvious temptation: Show me what it looks like. That can be useful early on. But new research suggests it can also be a trap. A 2026 study in Information Systems Research examines how people refine ideas with AI-generated text versus AI-generated visuals. The researchers found that textual...
5 days ago • 2 min read
New research links getting a smartphone before 13 with dramatically worse mental health in young adulthood… and the younger the child, the worse the association is. My daughters were the last kids in their classes and social groups to get smartphones. Like, VERY last. At one point another parent asked us if we weren’t worried they might get teased. Of course they got some ribbing. (About that AND the fact that they’ve never, ever eaten at McDonald’s.) And for sure there were plenty of moments...
6 days ago • 3 min read
Affluent customers might welcome AI assistants, but premium service means knowing when a human needs to take over. Luxury service has traditionally meant high touch. Like a concierge who remembers your preferences or the salesperson who knows your size by heart. Maybe the hotel that anticipates what you’ll need before you step onto the shiny tiles. But the luxury consumers I know are also super-interested in AI agents and automation. Why wouldn’t they be? If an agent can book the restaurant,...
7 days ago • 2 min read
Kate Moss wore Hunter boots to Glastonbury in ’05 because the field was mucky. Twenty-one years later, that spontaneous choice is still sellin’ the Wellies. Hunter turns 170 this year, and for its anniversary campaign it has reunited with Kate Moss. The connection goes back to Glastonbury in 2005, when Moss arrived in black Hunter Wellington boots, tiny shorts and a waistcoat. The look blew up into one of those fashion images that seemed to be everywhere, and helped turn a practical...
8 days ago • 2 min read
Meta is making virtual reality dramatically lighter and more affordable. The big engineering challenge is making folks around the wearer comfortable. Meta just showed off the coolest VR hardware it has built to date. The new Meta VR Glasses, due in spring 2027 for US$1,299, weigh about 100 grams, way less on both counts than a Quest headset. Most of the computing work has been moved into a pocket-sized puck connected by a wire. The glasses use eye tracking and hand gestures, provide...
9 days ago • 2 min read
