GENERAL IDEA.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Investor / Board Member at Boy Smells!

Welcome to the Carnival of Commerce..... Remember when omni-channel was a disruptive idea in retail? Forcing brands to grapple with the concept that they needed to sell in stores, on websites, through phones and social platforms all in one seamless customer experience? The tech forces driving those changes continued getting better and better until one day we were all shopping everywhere all the time. New technology is once again reshaping commerce - this time, not where we buy but how we experience it. Fashion, celebrity culture, sport, entertainment, news, travel and food have collapsed into one amorphous and unending content consumption experience: this is the Carnival of Commerce. At the Carnival, shopping is not a distinct and separate task but something that takes place within the flashing lights and constantly whirling ferris wheel of our blended digital and real lives. It is watching the Barbie movie and then purchasing from its universe of product collaborations from roller blades to toothpaste to luggage. It’s the NBA becoming a pre-game catwalk through tunnel fashion. It’s Douyin live streamer Zheng Xiang Xiang flashing through a carousel of products and whiplash speed. It’s the funhouse of Drake’s virtual shoppable ‘Embassy’ mansion. It’s McDonald’s inviting you to travel back in time with its retro Happy meals for adults. It’s Beyonce and Taylor Swift’s tours creating a consumption boom that’s been credited with boosting the overall GDP of the United States. Today brands need to see themselves primarily as entertainment propositions, enticing consumers with a a multi-platform, multi-sensory experience that is as exhilarating and imaginative as any fairground. The products they sell are just the souvenirs of a good time.

The Vestiaire Collective campaign demonstrates the power of creative CGI to deepen emotional storytelling..... Intellectually, we are all now aware of the damage of fashion waste. We are used to seeing discarded clothing piled high in landfills in other countries, comfortably out of our own day to day lives in the West. But do we really feel that impact on a visceral level? What if we were confronted with it at the very point that we purchased it - our ghosts of fashion past coming back to haunt us? This was the foundational insight for the work from our technology arts sister agency, Reference, created with Vestiaire Collective, as the business announced a further round of bans on fashion fashion brands being sold on the platform. A visualisation of mountains of discarded fashion in famous cities from Paris to London to New York urged people to consider ‘What if fast fashion waste was on your doorstep’? The video has 11 millions views to date and helped generated coverage from Vogue to Harper's Bazaar, amplifying Vestiaire Collective’s message far beyond anything the words in their press release alone could have achieved. This is the creative promise of CGI - not as a way to generate ideas themselves, but to push an idea far beyond what is possible in the real world and at far greater speed. We all know fast fashion is hugely damaging to the planet. But not the bits of the planet we see every day. Creative CGI changes that, and in doing so jolts us into greater consciousness.

The 2 fundamentals of a successful idea: truth and taste. Recently we’ve been inspired to hone our thinking on our creative process, and creativity more generally. What are the ingredients that go into making something good, something that lots of people sincerely engage with? What makes people love Jacquemus or Jay-Z? Distilled into one essential question: what makes an idea successful? To us the answer is equally simple. A successful idea is in the meeting of truth and taste. Truth is the ability to distill an idea down to its essence, to have absolute clarity about who you are, what you think, and to posses the confidence to express that without compromise. Humans have an innate ability to sense authenticity, and we gravitate towards it. We often talk about the Carl R Rogers idea that ‘what is most personal is most universal’ The specifics of your own unique experiences also illuminate universal themes everyone can connect with. By sharing your truth, you claim your authentic voice. The starting point of any successful idea is in connecting with the absolute essence of what makes you, you - whether a brand or an artist, and to communicate that unapologetically. Taste is, according to Rick Rubin “our ability to distinguish the good from the very good, very good from great.” Taste defines the way an idea is brought to life through words, music, images. It is the twin component of success. Taste is original creative expression and creative perceptivity - the ability to present something in way that lands in that magic place of making something that feels new to others, but at the same time gives them something they wanted without knowing. From Beyoncé to Jacquemus and Apple to Dyson. Truth and taste are what make great art, and great brands.

JAY-Z Lexus GS 300 This The Book Of HOV moment brought to you by Lexus Brooklyn Public Library https://lnkd.in/e6RdQw5W

Roughly seven months ago or so, we at GENERAL IDEA. started on an ambitious project in partnership with Roc Nation and the Brooklyn Public Library. Our vision was to tell the story of Jay-Z, and the ways in which he has shaped culture, his impact and influence, over a vast body of work. The architectural marvel that is The Central, Brooklyn Public Library, off Grand Army Plaza, would serve as the canvas for this story, an institution whose commitment to knowledge and learning, free and for all, was the perfect host for this show.   The resulting exhibition finds itself woven throughout the entirety of the library, presenting Jay-Z’s story through archival materials, newly commissioned artworks, archival videos and documentary videos set within site specific installations. An extensive audio documentary accompanies the show, alongside a digital exhibition that catalogs its entirety for local and global audiences.   This weekend I was moved to see lines wrap around Flatbush Avenue as people came out in the pouring Sunday rain to read, listen, and explore this story. Jay-Z means so much to so many. His story is universal and highly personal. For me, he teaches that you must always belief in yourself. Bet on yourself and work to create the world you want to see.   Thank you to all the people involved in this project, and deepest thanks to Desiree Perez, who pushed me to never stop working towards excellence and hold strong to my own truth, and character. “Everything is Possible.”

As the month comes to a conclusion, and we roll into high summer, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on Pride this June. After four years of developing our business, I am proud to share this month that we have registered with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce - an organization lobbying on behalf of LGBT business owners. Little did I know when we setup our agency how much the development of our design practice was shaped and informed by our experience as LGBT individuals looking to create an environment that reflected our values and a safe space for expressive creativity. Receiving our certification is rewarding in that we take one step forward in creating visibility and pride for the small number of vocal and beautiful businesses run by our community.

Premiumization is helping brands outrun a challenging economy. It feels counterintuitive for brands to be developing premium products and services in an environment where consumers are reportedly becoming increasingly price sensitive. But premiumization can transform the way consumers think about your product and brand. Water is the perfect case study for how a brand’s value is as the vector of an idea, rather than the physical product. Premium water is not about hydration, it’s about signalling a set of values. The shelves of any high end grocery stores’ water section offers consumers infinite possibilities for personal branding. Those wanting to convey a European sophistication could select Aqua Panna from Tuscany, with a characteristic velvety taste. A wellness devotee might choose Essentia Water, ionized for optimal hydration. And taking a complete swerve from category norms, Liquid Death offers counter culture rebellion in the form of a tallboy can.The appeal of these identities is driving the global bottled water market to over 5% growth YOY. Premium cleaning products turn a chore into a sensory experience - fans of Diptyque Perfume candles and fragrances can now purchase a multipurpose cleaner or dishwashing liquid for $45 each. The surge in perfume shows how price expectations can be suddenly reset with the right story. Fragrance is a huge topic on TikTok, where knowledge of niche perfume houses like Maison Francis Kurkdjian and KILIAN PARIS have been disseminated to a wide audience. These tiny brands are now famous, and their price tags are changing consumers expectations of what perfume costs. Premiumization can even translate to our four legged friends. Dog food sales were up 39% in 2022 compared to 2019 and luxury pet food brands used the pandemic dog ownership boom to convince consumers to focus on their canine’s nutrition with the same exacting standards that they do their own. Brands like The Farmer's Dog and Ollie offer ‘human grade’ dog food for triple of the cost of standard kibble. Companies are leaning in to premiumization because they understand that a higher priced offering with a compelling story about its benefits shifts their product from a commodity that can be evaluated on a rational basis to one that gives the consumer an emotional benefit that is harder to quantify or replace.

Making the brand’s debut at the Met Gala earlier this month, JACQUEMUS arguably won the red carpet with a take on the Chanel ‘Bride’ featuring Bad Bunny in a backless suit blazer with 26 foot floral train. But it was a video JACQUEMUS posted on Instagram for the same event that is key to the brand’s deep emotional appeal, and points to its potential longevity. The video imagined founder Simon Porte as a child watching the iconic CHANEL No 5 advert ‘The Film’ featuring Nicole Kidman, the feathers of her famous gown gently touching his face through the television. It then showed him in the present day, on his way to the Met Gala, the same feathers brushing his face in what many followers observed as a beautiful a full circle moment. In an era where many brands scan culture looking for a way to be relevant, Simon Porte has always put his own personal story at the heart of his brand. Porte often references his own childhood growing up in the South of France and his mother Valerie who he lost at 19, and is his constant muse. For all his genius in creating meme worthy products and AI generated PR stunts, it is the powerful emotional truth he expresses that elevates the brand into a different category than its contemporaries and gives a relatively new brand (13 years old) a true sense of heritage. It’s also confirmation of Carl R. Rogers famous quote ‘What is most personal is most universal’. Not every brand can weave a narrative based on a founder’s personal history, but Jacquemus is a reminder of the value of sincerity over second guessing mass appeal. Humans have an in built desire to connect around truths. You don’t need to have had the exact same experiences as someone else to understand them, you just need to know that they are heartfelt in their expression. For brands, looking inward for inspiration can be vastly more valuable than looking out. #GI_THINKS