Brand Fails & AI Can't Help
When a Brand Becomes… Normal
I cut my teeth in the early days of social media so I am always intrigued by the ever-changing nature of social media strategies. Future Social this week profiled the changing strategy of popular content engine, Duolingo. Their CMO recently announced they would be reducing the wacky content and being more … gasp … normal.
Jack writes: Duolingo’s 17 million TikTok Followers? Yeah, none of them are there to learn Spanish. Their audience is 100% comprised of shit post fans. They followed an unhinged owl. That's the deal Duo made.
I love Jack’s social newsletter and his take here is 100% spot on. Duolingo built a brand and now, they are abandoning it to no good end.
Don’t Forget to Tell Your Story
Logic isn’t always en vogue in the day-to-day operations in companies large and small, so when I come across leaders who are thinking with clear eyes, I stop and listen. On the Grow Your Credit Union podcast (you don’t need to work in banking to find value in this episode) this week, host Joshua Barclay welcomed Kathryn Davis, President and CEO, Valley First Credit Union to the show.
They discussed project alignment (as did we a few weeks back), the importance of trust in day-to-day operations, and how far too many cooperatives are failing to share their good news. Give it a listen; I think you’ll enjoy it.
(The above graphic is from the AI report linked below.)
AI is a Marathon
AI is a marathon. (I can say that as a marathoner.) If you sprint into implementing AI, I hate to tell you, but you're not going to finish the race. My friends at We Are Rival nails the current state of AI in their just released report and why taking a strategic approach to AI is so important. But you knew that already, didn’t you?
They pose key questions for marketers and re-enforces the need to guard against shiny objects, "Where can AI actually move the needle?" vs. just theater and performative tasks.
I was recently at The Financial Brand Forum and too many of the conversations were the “quick wins” with little-to-no discussion on the process to build out a strategy for AI. Maybe because no one has one yet?