Cool Sh*t - Crocs x Minecraft, Shook Filter, Ghost Kitchens, Microsoft's Imagine Cup, Netflix Accessibility and more...
Vol. 34
Welcome to the 6 cool as sh*t people (Luella, Crix (?), Shane, Amber, Alex and Katie) who joined us since last week! If you haven’t subscribed, be cool and join 188 subscribers here:
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#1 - Crocs has launched an AR experience in Minecraft. This is the latest development in their partnership. Choose Your Mode gives owners of a pair of Minecraft Crocs the opportunity to jump into two AR games. It’s a great way to deliver meaningful added value for customers, who in this case would be die-hard Minecraft fans, and perhaps to entice fence sitters to purchase a pair. Given access is granted by scanning a Creeper Key on the shoes, which isn’t unique to every customer, I expect they can and will simply share access+ with friends too. I admire Crocs as a brand. They make the fugliest shoes, yet they have earned they place within mainstream fashion, primarily through smart partnerships with a range of brands, celebrities, artist, designers etc.
#2 - The ‘Shook’ filter breathes new, hilarious life into existing content. Sometimes I love the internet… The way people get creative with new technology/software, no matter how simple, never ceases to amaze. In this case, there are stacks of posts across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat etc. where people have applied the ‘Shook’ lens to their favourite movies and TV shows. Cue, an alternate, hilarious version of Lord of the Rings or Star Wars… Similar to my post last week about the rise of reaction content, there is an opportunity for brands to activate in this space. Whether engaging with a trend or sparking a new one, they could place themselves in the heart of pop culture. This requires a deep understanding of their audience behaviours, the platforms they are engaging with, and an agile content strategy.
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#3 - The future of ‘Ghost Kitchens’. If you aren’t familiar with the Ghost Kitchen concept, checkout MrBeast Burger and this NY Times article. The TLDR is that MrBeast (#1 YouTube Creator) started his own burger business, which was delivery only (not anymore), with all the food being prepared in other existing restaurants. It exploded. Cue a ton of copycats, many that failed but MrBeast Burger generated $110 million in 2022. What really interests me about this is it presented a new business model in an age-old category. Ultimately it was about pairing brand with service. There was also a need, as restaurants were struggling during the pandemic when this was at its peak. Currently pondering what other categories outside of food present similar opportunities…? There are countless artisan makers out there that lack the brand and scale, so perhaps that is an untapped market we will see a similar model deployed in…
#4 - Microsoft’s ‘Imagine Cup’ gets an AI injection. Had enough of ChatGPT related AI content lately…? Well, this may be the antidote you’re looking for. The ‘Imagine Cup’ is “Microsoft’s global competition for students to dream and build new ways of using technology to improve lives”. Each of these team’s application of AI presents tangible examples of its power for good. It’s also inspiring to see student’s problem/solution approach to major issues. Did anyone else spend far too much time in the pub, like me, when they were “studying”? Hosting the Imagine Cup is such a smart strategy from Microsoft. It’s great brand positioning as innovation leaders, it highlights their tech solution services, and it’s a great seeding program for new solutions to integrate within Microsoft’s service suite.
#5 - Netflix highlights its ongoing accessibility work. Alongside greater disability representation in their entertainment content (see Vol. 32), they continue to make that content more accessible too. It’s easy to overlook the importance of seemingly small changes, like the ability to tailor subtitle font sizes and colours, but this is incredibly important work for those it has a direct impact on and for awareness amongst those it doesn’t.
https://www.famouscampaigns.com/
If you have a curious mind, follow these links into the unknown…
I discovered US rock band Red Fang through Aussie artist Sindy Sinn, who designed a t-shirt for their upcoming tour. Remind me of a lighter version of Mastodon. Diggin’ it! Their track ‘Wires’ makes it onto the Cool Sh*t Spotify playlist this week.
Cool Sh*t is typically written from the comfort of my own home, here in Sydney, Australia - Gadigal land. Always was, always will be. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The views expressed are my own and don’t reflect the views of my employer…