The Zeitgeist: December 20, 2024

Today's Edition: Hot Wheels, Drone Merch and Candy Salad

December 20, 2024

Good morning. This week, Confidant teamed up with VYTAL, a Gen Z-focused market research firm, to release a study that looked at how niche community subculture overlaps with brand devotion. We were inspired by an episode of Plain English with Derek Thompson that suggested the fragmentation of media and culture has created an environment where “everything is a cult.” Our findings validate the impact of brands that authentically show up in subcultures vs. trying to align with the mainstream. Axios’ Eleanor Hawkins dives in deeper.

Of note, The Zeitgeist is taking a short winter break. We’ll arrive back in your inbox on Friday, January 3. Happy holidays, and happy new year!

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Inside Ferrara’s holiday candy salad kit launch

The Holiday Candy Salad Kit from the maker of Nerds, Trolli, Brach’s and SweetTarts is available on TikTok Shop and taps into the trend where people mix multiple types of candy and post their “salads” on social media.

By Gillian Follett | AdAge

Gen Z marketers reveal brand wins and fails of 2024 - and their advice for 2025

Marc Jacobs, Duolingo and Liquid Death were among the brands the panelists identified as the best marketers of the year, and they agreed that Gen Z still loves “unhinged” marketing.

By Gillian Follett | AdAge

Also, Pop-Tarts’ toaster trophy, Duolingo x Squid Game’s “Learn Korean or Else” campaign, Oscar Mayer’s search for the next Wienermobile driver, Wendy's chicken sandwich ornament and Amazon x Kleenex’s Breakup Calculator for International Breakup Day.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

The Extremely Offline Joy of the Board Game Club

Hungry for in-person interaction, Gen Z and millennial players are joining old-fashioned chess, mahjong and backgammon groups.

By Callie Holtermann | The New York Times

The American dream is shrinking

From tinier homes to fewer vacations, America’s aspirations are getting smaller by the day.

By Juliana Kaplan | Business Insider

New Jersey’s mysterious drone sightings are inspiring swarms of memes and merchandise on Amazon, Etsy, and elsewhere

Despite the recency of the public’s fascination, there are already hundreds of New Jersey drone-themed pieces of merchandise available online, just in time for the holidays.

By Grace Snelling | Fast Company

NFL Inks Deal With Betches to Produce Football Content Targeted at Gen Z, Millennial Women

Betches will produce content that “enables millennial and Gen Z women to tap into exciting NFL moments” while presenting advertising and sponsorship revenue opportunities for brands looking to reach the demo.

By Todd Spangler | Variety

Corporate

This Startup Makes A Vaccine For Honeybees. Shrimp Are Next.

Dalan Animal Health is working to sell its bee vaccines to commercial beekeepers and governments. The CEO and co-founder is on a mission to get as many bees vaccinated as she can, helping to safeguard not only the hives, but the crops that they pollinate.

By Amy Feldman | Forbes

Starbucks Triples Baristas’ Paid Parental Leave to 18 Weeks

Starbucks is increasing paid parental leave for birth parents to 18 weeks, up from six, aiming to boost employee morale and performance. Most U.S. private-sector workers lack this benefit.

By Daniela Sirtori | Bloomberg

Advocates are pushing to end lower wages for disabled workers. Some families are opposed.

A new proposal to abolish the subminimum wage for people with disabilities is being met with mixed reactions.

By Karissa Waddick | USA Today

After high-profile blunders, bosses consider best RTO strategies for 2025

Recent data revealed that while 70% of employers plan to tighten remote work policies next year, their hardline stance could negatively impact talent retention and recruitment.

By Tony Case | WorkLife

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

Hot Wheels sales are on fire, powered by adult collectors and nostalgia

The Mattel toy’s enduring popularity after 56 years stems from its cross-generational appeal and connection to car culture.

By Jaclyn Peiser | The Washington Post

New Technology is Taking Package Tracking Past Scanning

Parcel tracking technology is moving beyond the days of having workers manually scan barcodes.

By Liz Young | Wall Street Journal

Temu is the most downloaded app on the US App Store in 2024

Shopping app Temu was once again the most downloaded free app in the U.S., according to a list released by Apple. The app moved into the No. 1 slot last year, stealing the position from TikTok, which held the title in 2022.

By Sarah Perez | TechCrunch

Mytheresa Emerges as the Hero in the 2024 Drama of Luxury E-commerce

New owners of Farfetch, Matches and Net-a-porter are still figuring out how to rebuild these multibrand online luxury retailers in a difficult time for luxury and amid the resurgence of physical retail.

By Samantha Conti | WWD

Connections

Feed intelligence

Group chats beat Twitter

Thousands have abandoned their X accounts and turned inward to smaller group chats, via text message or on platforms like Discord, where they can have conversations “free of algorithmic determinations.”

By Amanda Hoover | Business Insider

Publishers Battle for the C-Suite

Numerous media outlets, looking for new lucrative lines of business, are pursuing newsletters and events aimed specifically at top executives.

By Katie Robertson | The New York Times

Icon Magazine Plans A U.S. Edition

The U.S. edition of the men’s fashion and lifestyle magazine will launch in April with Gro Curtis serving as editor in chief. Owner Reworld Media also owns more than 80 multiformat media brands including Grazia and Air France’s inflight magazine Envols.

By Ray Schultz | MediaPost

Media Moves:

  • Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, formerly U.S. news editor at the Financial Times, is now CEO editor at Semafor. Andrew will be at the helm of The CEO Signal, an invitation-only newsletter for chief executives starting in January that will be free but available only to the leaders of companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue.

  • Rohan Goswami, formerly reporter at CNBC, is now business reporter at Semafor, starting in January.

  • Julia Black, reporter at The Information, is switching to a new beat next year to cover tech policy and the Trump administration. She has been writing features about the companies and people in the tech world since joining the tech news site in July 2023.

  • Josh Koehn, formerly reporter at The Information, has returned to the San Francisco Standard as senior political reporter. He had joined The Information in August to cover powerful people in technology, focusing on politics and public policy.

  • Samuel O’Brient, formerly reporter at Investor Place, is now tech markets reporter at TheStreet.

  • Diego Munhoz, formerly reporter at Bloomberg Industry Group covering labor and employment, is now reporter at Punchbowl News covering technology on Capitol Hill.

  • Noah Johnson, formerly global style director at GQ, is now editor in chief at Highsnobiety.

  • Bailey Calfee, formerly premium reporter at Campaign U.S., is now communications manager at 72andSunny.

  • Antonia DeBianchi, formerly associate editor of food and lifestyle at People, is now PR specialist at Mondelēz International.

  • Layoffs were announced at Refinery29.

Also... read this Smithsonian Magazine article about what happens to letters sent to Santa.

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