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...
1 day 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...
2 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...
3 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,...
4 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...
5 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...
6 days ago • 2 min read
After over a century of levity, The Laughing Cow has changed one of its most recognizable brand assets and refuses to say why. Exactly a month ago, I wrote about The Laughing Cow turning its famous cheese wedge into a themed vehicle. Now it’s pulled something even more intriguing with the cow herself. She done stopped laughin’! On September 22, Bel began rolling out special packages of The Laughing Cow Original across more than 4,700 U.S. stores. Looks like the usual classic red cow with the...
7 days ago • 2 min read
New research suggests mind wandering can actually increase purchase intent when the purchase is still some distance away. Marketers put tons of effort into trying to STOP you and me from zoning out. With shorter videos. Faster cuts, sharper hooks, more movement and greater urgency. The assumption is kinda obvious: if our attention wanders, the marketing failed. A new study shows that’s not quite true. Researchers looked at what happens when people’s minds drift while they’re processing...
8 days ago • 2 min read
New research suggests recent consumption has an outsized effect on what people buy next, especially when uncertainty is high. My kids love goin’ to Costco, especially when they know there’ll be lots of sample stations. For them, it’s part shopping trip, part entertainment, part snack time. For brands, it can be serious business. I’ve had clients sampling at Costco tell me some version of the same thing: “When we’re sampling, sales are brisk. When we’re not, totally different.” A new study...
9 days ago • 2 min read
