NoGood

Chipotle wants you to be a burrito this Halloween. 🌯 Chipotle collaborated with Spirit Halloween to release unhinged costumes like a Chipotle to-go bag, water cup, and fork. In other words, it's a viral moment waiting to happen. Cultural relevance and creativity are crucial drivers behind the choices Gen Z consumers make — and Halloween costumes are no exception. 🎃 Chipotle’s marketing strategy found their success around tapping into consumer behavior and online conversations. Remember when they poked fun at consumers filling their water cups with lemonade by releasing a "water cup" candle? Or when they made a TikTok directly responding to the fact that people were filming their orders being made to get bigger portion sizes? Chipotle’s odd yet clever costume collaboration is yet another example of how they're able to poke fun at themselves while participating in existing online conversations. Social media is changing the ways consumers approach Halloween — and brands should adapt to this too. What do you think about Chipotle’s Halloween costumes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #halloween #memefication #brandmarketing

Nutter Butter is to Gen Alpha what Duolingo is to Gen Z. Their newfound virality on TikTok is all about nonsensical videos ranging from disgusting to disturbing. Why does this work? Nutter Butter took a risk in doing things differently. This made them stand out amongst a sea of CPG brands trying to make it big on TikTok by following the same "tried and true" humor approach. Because let's be real, the mascot approach and the Duolingo copycats that followed is tired and overused. The sheer shock value that Nutter Butter's TikTok commits to requires a level of chaos and absurdity that other brands just aren’t willing to do. They're playing with internet culture in a way that keeps people engaged by catching them off guard. This "chaotic approach" works for Nutter Butter because no one can do it like them – just like how no one can out-mascot Duolingo. Do you think Nutter Butter’s marketing strategy will last? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. #nutterbutter #shockadvertising #tiktokstrategy

Is black the new blue? Paypal just parted ways with their iconic, 25-year-old blue wordmark. Why? To differentiate themselves amongst the crowd of fintech companies. While the change from blue to black isn’t a major visual change, it’s a strategic move to stand out in the “sea of blue” that’s now become synonymous with the fintech industry. PayPal’s black wordmark is intentionally pared-down, versatile, and accessible. It's no coincidence that this rebrand is happening at the same time as the debut of their new debit card. This versatility opens doors for more flexible usage across different mediums, and also welcomes opportunities for future in-person experiences and brand collaborations. Do you think they did the right thing by losing the blue? Let us know in the comments below. #paypal #rebrand #logodesign

Charli XCX just performed her first show on her “Sweat” tour and Duolingo wanted all the attention. The popular language learning app spent thousands of dollars on pit tickets for 10 of their employees to be at the first show of her tour. Duolingo knew Charli’s concert would be heavily recorded and posted on social media, and so they showed up dressed to impress — as the duo owl. This is a prime example of guerilla marketing. While Duolingo did post about their appearance at the concert, most of the videos that went viral actually came from other people's accounts and POVs. These videos of the duo birds at the concert went viral and amassed millions of views on TikTok. Duolingo is already known for their "unhinged" marketing strategies, but they took it a step further this time by choosing to spend their budget on concert tickets and tactical virality instead of taking the traditional route of ad or billboard placements. That being said, the actual Duolingo app and Charli XCX don't have much in common other than the fact that Charli sings "talk to me in French, talk to me in Spanish, talk to me in your own made-up language". Is that enough of a tie-in for Duolingo to use the Sweat tour as a marketing stunt? Or are the millions of social media impressions alone enough to justify this strategy? What did you think of Duolingo’s unconventional marketing strategy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #guerillamarketing #charlixcx #duolingo

I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the GAIN AI Summit in Riyadh last week. In a conversation with Ben Thompson from the BBC, we explored how to influence LLM-powered answer engines and take control of your AI brand narrative. I also shared some of the pioneering research, real-world applications, and cutting-edge tech that NoGood has developed in this space. A big congratulations to SDAIA and the AI Summit team for organizing such an outstanding event! #GAIN #AISummit #AI

Perplexity saw the audience backlash against the controversial Google Gemini ad decided to take things in a new direction. The AI-powered search platform will take the spotlight during the first half of “Monday Night Football” in their biggest ad campaign yet. What makes Perplexity stand out from their competitors? Humanization. Other AI platforms are always painting the same story — cutting edge technology with a quick how-to. But Perplexity puts a twist on how we typically talk about AI and instead uses humor and celebrity endorsement to appeal to the masses. They didn’t even mention the word AI in the entirety of their 60 second ad. By taking a very different approach from other major AI players, Perplexity is positioning themselves as "AI for the masses" and leaning into the fact that AI will only become more and more accessible as the technology evolves. What did you think of Perplexity's positioning approach? Let us know in the comments below. #perplexity #generativeai #googlegemini

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Barbie have one thing in common... They're both ready to move on from traditional movie marketing strategies. Viewers today are observant and are quick to note when something is product placement or just a sleazy promo with a logo. That's why Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s campaign pinged into what GenZ likes and spoke a language they could understand. Their campaign started earlier than the typical movie marketing schedule – for good reason. About ¾ of young consumers in the U.S. decided to watch a movie due to online virality and memes about it. Participating in trends and internet meme culture created a two-way conversation between the film studio and viewers, where viewers can engage in the content and co-create a marketing experience rather than just passively watching ads. Getting ahead of the traditional promotional cycles gave Beetlejuice Beetlejuice the time they needed for their their content to achieve virality and for consumers to engage with their content ahead of the movie release. That said, movie studios are just the latest to hop onto capitalizing off of internet culture — brands have already been doing this for some time. Do you think this is the future of movie marketing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #beetlejuicebeetlejuice #moviemarketing #marketingstrategy

How long can Emily stay in Paris? As long as it takes for brands to capitalize off of her trip. 🤑 The storyline revolves around Emily’s job in a luxury-marketing agency, sparking opportunities for product placement. Maybe too much product placement. With the release of season 4, fans were quick to point out half of Paris using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phone. There are two things the show failed to understand. First, Parisians have a disdain for technology, making the product plug seem strange. 🇫🇷 Second, Gen Z has a disdain for being served ads that are obviously ads. The show runners might argue that turning episodes into ads combats Gen Z’s resistance. Using Google Lens, for example, helps fans scan and shop Emily’s outfits online. But is the fluffy storyline of “Emily In Paris” enough to build an emotional connection with viewers to make them even want to buy the product shown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #EmilyInParis #Netflix #productplacement 

WeTransfer is apologizing — for making users’ lives easier. After users complained of links expiring too quickly, WeTransfer announced links would stay up permanently. But the way they did their announcement is what caught people’s attention. 👀 Instead of formatting it as a normal update with a matching graphic, WeTransfer posted a public “apology.” The format mimics those found on brand pages that have committed serious offenses. WeTransfer’s satirical “letter” effectively landed the joke and resonated with users through humor. 🎯 What do you think of WeTransfer’s update announcement format? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #WeTransfer #brandstrategy #socialmediamarketing

TikTok saw Google’s new AI search overviews and said “I can do that too”. 👀 The TikTok search function now relays AI-generated “highlights” to users. It’s part of the platform’s testing to incorporate generative AI using ChatGPT. The update’s purpose is to find relevant content to a user’s search. But why AI? 🤔 64% of Gen Z uses TikTok for search over platforms like Google. TikTok is taking advantage of user habits developed in-app — such as finding restaurants. It’s clearly a priority for TikTok, because the results appear above creator content. What do you think of TikTok’s generative AI update? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #AI #tiktok #brandstrategy