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The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), is a beautifully imagined group within the United Nations that aims to make sure space doesn’t get misused as the costs for launching satellites continues to go down and the industry continues to privatize. Investor plans show there are several companies aiming to put hundreds … Read more
There aren’t many brands that define their entire category so much that people literally use the brand name interchangeably to describe the product. Kleenex has always had that for the tissue industry, and now they are doubling down on this dominance with a clever new partnership with movie database IMDB to offer “The Kleenex Score” to movies … Read more
There was a longstanding joke among my agency friends about the type of feedback we would often get from corporate clients when presenting our creative work. It essentially boiled down to some version of “make the logo bigger.” Brand managers and CMOs alike have long equated a prominent logo with brand building and, by extension, … Read more
There was a time when patriotic branding was hot. That time seems to be over. According to an eye-opening new study from a sociologist at Northern Arizona University, brands that include the outline of the U.S. map or the American flag are on the decline. And this is not just happening in America—it’s becoming more common … Read more
The worst ads of the year, according to marketing publication The Drum, included Apple’s cringy ad showing the iPad literally crushing human creativity, Google showing how AI could help a seven year cheat her way through writing a fan letter to an Olympian, Jaguar’s controversial brand revamp, Bumble’s bumbling ad imploring their female users to hook … Read more
This past week was panic-inducing across the advertising industry. Two of the “big four” agency holding companies intend to join forces to create the biggest ad agency in the world with over 100,000 employees and an estimated $25B in revenue. The part of the news causing the most fear across the industry probably boils down to one … Read more
The survival of journalism and a free press largely depends on all of our willingness to fund it. One overlooked element of this issue is how digital marketing is purchased and valued. Consider this eye-opening assessment of how digital marketing and “brand safety tech” works and why these tools that were designed to prevent ads … Read more
The iconic food storage brand Tupperware just filed for bankruptcy protection. Officially, Tupperware aims to “protect its beloved brand as it shifts towards a digital-first, technology-led company … to enhance its omni-channel capabilities.” At the same time, the company has promised to retain agreements with independent sales consultants, who “remain a core part of the company’s … Read more
Brand partnerships can be tricky. One partner may eclipse the other. It can be hard to stand out or make the right commitments. I’ve always admired the way LEGO used partnerships to leverage the content and stories of their partners but add their own unique lens through the various items you could build through co-branded … Read more
Over the past several weeks, travel and media brands with access to plentiful user data are finally following the path of social media platforms to create new ways to monetize it. United Airlines announced “the airline industry’s first media network” and just this week the Paramount Plus streaming network opened up their self-service Ads Manager to allow … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my latest book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - released 10/01/2024.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
