Selby Drummond

The Debrief podcast by The Business of Fashion is back. Take a listen to the first episode with Brian Baskin, Sarah Kent, and yours truly 🎙️

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In sustainable fashion circles - especially on here where it's more brand/ startup/ conference focused - we so often talk about the new tech solutions, the apps, and the hot new materials and inventions that are supposedly going to supercharge the circular fashion economy. But I put it to you that a lot of the solutions are actually the old ones - buy less, make it better quality and repair it often. Not sexy enough? Maybe this colourful interview with my local cobbler can help with that! https://lnkd.in/gJVnfb5U

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🚨 My most recent podcast guest spot is here!! I had the pleasure of sitting down to tape The Influence Factor podcast with Alessandro Bogliari, CEO and Co-Founder of The Influencer Marketing Factory - Influencer Marketing Agency to discuss Fueling Brand Connections. This podcast is a quick and easy listen, just over 20 minutes but we were able to pack in the topics and takeaways. From the evolution of influencer marketing to mistakes brands are making to the value of social listening and much more! Give it a listen and lets discuss. Check out the full podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gdhSQjt8! #influencermarketing #creatoreconomy #marketing

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NEW: Brieane Olson, CEO of Pacsun, is courting GenZers in all the right ways. PACSUN is among a handful of trendy fashion retailers that’s consistently breaking through to teens and young adults and earning their loyalty. Olson, who became sole CEO of Pacsun in 2023 after a nearly two decades-long career with the company, has cracked the code on how to keep customers coming back for more. Brieane Olson sat down with me for Bagable.com's first feature on game-changing retail CEOs to discuss Pacsun’s evolution, AI, turning customers into co-creators, baggy versus skinny jeans, and the need to give back. #retail #genz #AI #innovation #shopping https://lnkd.in/exMq6jZS

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NEW: Brieane Olson, CEO of Pacsun, is courting GenZers in all the right ways. PACSUN is among a handful of trendy fashion retailers that’s consistently breaking through to teens and young adults and earning their loyalty. Olson, who became sole CEO of Pacsun in 2023 after a nearly two decades-long career with the company, has cracked the code on how to keep customers coming back for more. Brieane Olson sat down with me for Bagable.com's first feature on game-changing retail CEOs to discuss Pacsun’s evolution, AI, turning customers into co-creators, baggy versus skinny jeans, and the need to give back. #retail #genz #AI #innovation #shopping https://lnkd.in/eAbC-YnQ

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DTC brands including cookware are having a hard time post-pandemic, according to The New York Times article by Ella Quittner. During the height of the COVID pandemic, we were stuck at home and consuming lots of social media content, including endorsements for DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) products. Restaurants were closed, and we still needed to eat. What could help us to create delicious meals quickly and easily? Buying beautiful, pastel-colored non-stick cookware would solve our problems for those of us who could afford to buy it. Alas, buying the pretty, Instagrammable cookware did not solve all of our cooking problems. We still need to grocery shop, chop, measure, sauté, and do the dishes. Consumers also became disappointed with the quality of some of these DTC brands. Thankfully, I resisted the siren call of cute frypans during the pandemic. https://lnkd.in/g5YsHyZR

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With election night right around the corner, building trust in media is, collectively, our most important mission. Today, I’m sharing an open letter to Jeff Bezos with a straightforward message: to restore trust in news, we need to look forward—not back. After 30+ years leading The Economist, The Atlantic and Bloomberg, I know that outdated models won’t get us there. It’s time for business and media leaders to come together and reimagine what news should be for today’s world. I’m starting with a bold step: a national summit in Washington, D.C., next year, hosted by Semafor, bringing the top minds in publishing, journalism, media, and the investor community into one room to tackle the trust crisis head-on. See you there.

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Thanks to Walter Thompson for having David Placek and Dmitri Seredenko on Fund, Build, Scale to talk all things branding, naming and AI. David discusses how a name should be the vessel for the brand story. As for AI, he recommends to “Don't overpromise, don't overhype” as it comes to the name. Check it out below https://lnkd.in/eUaG_dtP

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I've been thinking a lot this year about marketing (as I always do) but in particular: how do you communicate to people what's truly different about your brand, especially in a climate where people are pickier shoppers than ever? I think E.l.f is an example of a brand that has built a really interesting, differentiated marketing strategy -- I recently dug into their collaboration strategy, which is just one part of their marketing strategy, but an important example of how they endear themselves to a Gen Z audience (and have resulted in them posting 22 consecutive quarters of sales growth). As their senior manager of brand marketing Neiv Toledano told me, the goal with these collaborations -- and all of these marketing efforts -- is to establish E.l.f as a "brand that's rooted in culture." Exclusively for Modern Retail subscribers https://lnkd.in/e22y2Y2a

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🌟 Brand moments that came across my desk recently that I can't stop thinking about: 📚 Miu Miu's Summer Reads pop-up complete with books and popsicles – A great example of tapping into consumers' parallel interests to gain their attention (and leave a lasting impression!). https://lnkd.in/e3RJc8CS 🎤 Travis Kelce x Livvy Dunne's behind-the-scenes video of their Accelerator Active Energy shoot, using trending audio to bring Taylor Swift into the conversation – Could this one TikTok have been more impactful than the full brand campaign shoot? We'll see! This serves as a reminder that content should be made FOR social, and not be force-fitted onto the platform. https://lnkd.in/euVAW5kC ⛺ Camp Saie brought effortless beauty to life through glamping trip complete with nostalgia, GRWMs, and fireside fun. Beyond this, they had their employees present who created content themselves and provided attendees with even more brand immersion – furthering the ongoing trend that employees can be your best advocates when they are set up for success. https://lnkd.in/eyVvXYbz 🛍 Krystal Bick + Courtney Halverson delivering one of the most creative #ads on behalf of Banana Republic – Another reminder to trust your influencer partners, allow them the freedom to create and the structure for how to position your brand, but step back and watch the magic happen! https://lnkd.in/ekiKNUnz #influencermarketing

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👉 We're sharing four key takeaways for brands looking to lean into #circularity (which is quickly becoming a consumer expectation and a business growth opportunity) from The Cool Down's Business Newsletter this week, gleaned from my #ClimateWeekNYC panel at The Nest Climate Campus: (If you're not already subscribed to our business newsletter go here: https://lnkd.in/g7i2Hzzg) ♻️ “What’s in it for me?” is the first question to answer. Research from NYU Stern School of Business highlights that when companies promote products like, say, their resale offerings, sustainability claims on their own (e.g., “less waste,” “good for the planet”) aren’t heavy hitters — but when paired with the personal benefits a sustainable product will offer customers (e.g., “saving money”), it creates a one-two punch for successful messaging. Example: IKEA's "as-is" furniture marketplace saves people $$ and gives them access to unique finds. ♻️ Technology can make resale easy. App and browser extensions like Beni and websites like Patagonia now offer customers a seamless way to see the secondhand options of items they’re shopping for, and digital native brands like Poshmark are leveraging #AI to reduce friction around listing and selling items. ♻️ Gen Z is more loyal to brands with a sustainability plan. While sustainable messaging alone often fails to break through (see the first insight), for Gen Zers, it actually does make an impact on its own. ♻️ Policy may change the game sooner than we think. Massachusetts already has a landfill ban on textiles, and California just passed new legislation putting the responsibility on apparel companies to game-plan how they’re going to collect, repair, and reuse their products. Circularity startups like TERSUS Solutions and Trashie will be key to the transition. Thanks Charlotte Salley on the great write up -- and you can watch the panel featuring with Randi Kronthal-Sacco, Dacie Meng, Javier Quiñones, Shideh Hashemi, Steven Tristan Young and Drexlar Attram here: https://lnkd.in/gzvbenZB #circular #circularsolutions #climate #climatesolutions

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As many of the folks in my network gear up for #ClimateWeekNYC, I wrote about the importance of storytelling for the weekly 17 Communications impact newsletter. DM me if you'd like to be added to the distribution list! See below for an excerpt and read the full newsletter at https://lnkd.in/eGPCPckD I’ve attended Climate Week NYC for each of the past two years and have always come away feeling excited, inspired and curious. There are so many people doing such interesting things to address climate change, even if the news cycle most days seems apocalyptic. News stories about heat waves, droughts or natural disasters don’t seem to have quite the same effect as they used to – perhaps because we’ve all become numb to the tragedy. But there are still some mediums that are capable of breaking through the numbness and motivating changes in people’s behavior. Books. On my train ride to last year’s Climate Week NYC I read “The Ministry for the Future,” a climate sci-fi book that explored what it might look like if the world got its act together in time. The author, Kim Stanley Robinson, recently gave an interview to the FT in which he said that people are attracted to the book because it can replace “feelings of futility or despair” with “relatively justifiable hope.” As for his motivation? “You tell the story in an attempt to forestall it by informing people in advance.” My take is that the book found a way to balance blind optimism and cynical pessimism in a way that felt refreshingly human. Most news coverage these days tends towards the dark and stormy, but long-form writers like Robinson are able to take a step back and offer a more balanced perspective that feels more real and accessible for a general audience. TV. Like many of my colleagues who work in finance, I’ve become enamored by the steady stream of excellent TV series that bring viewers into the wacky world of finance. Billions is the most obvious example, but even hit shows like Silicon Valley and Succession explore complex financial themes that are integral to the narrative. The new show that should be on everyone’s watchlist is Industry, which explores the inner workings and general tomfoolery of an investment bank in London. While their episodes focused on the ESG craze have been cringeworthy, I appreciate that a major company like HBO would green-light a project that offers a somewhat realistic view into how the finance world works, and why it sometimes doesn’t work. The 3rd episode, which is primarily set at a major climate conference, shows how the worlds of finance and sustainability interact, with profit rather than purpose motivating most decision-making. The link between these examples is storytelling... Stories are what power human ingenuity and creativity, and are how we are able to connect across racial, cultural and economic divides. 

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Great post from Grace Carney Union Square Ventures on The Fragmentation Of Search: https://lnkd.in/egwnR95D Are consumers willing to pay for Search? We'll be able to answer that question in a subset of what current search excludes, when we launch our edtech MVP of MakeLoveNotPorn Academy in a few months' time: https://lnkd.in/e3jbrak6 - the aggregator hub for the best of the world's #sexed, searchable by age-appropriateness, cultural sensibility etc. At a time when open healthy #sexed is being censored and deplatformed everywhere (including deliberately in search), parents and teachers have told me for years, we'll pay anything for this service (while VCs/investors have refused to fund anything to do with this topic). We'll see - watch this space 😎

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Can you spot the real from the fakes? 👜 To raise awareness about fashion's counterfeit crisis, Mythology partnered with The RealReal to create a unique installation on NYC's Canal Street: a perpetually closed fake luxury handbag store. This disorienting concept challenges people to question what's authentic in the world of luxury goods. And it's not just about spotting fakes; it's about understanding the real impact of counterfeits on people and the planet. Did you know that counterfeit goods are linked to unethical labor practices and environmental harm, as low-quality materials often end up in landfills? 🌎 Check out the full story on Dezeen to see how Mythology is using experiential retail as a powerful storytelling medium, and how this effort has helped spark much-needed dialogue about consumerism and authenticity in the luxury market. https://lnkd.in/gqTwhBBz #LuxuryRetail #Sustainability #ExperientialMarketing #CanYouSpotTheFakes

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Ally Weiss, founder and inventor of Grip Baby writes about #childrensprivacy and embracing #ethical #marketing on ADWEEK today! Way to go Ally! I encourage everyone to check out and share this great article. It’s an important topic. #digitalprivacy #privacy #AI https://lnkd.in/gXrqyYfb

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Our CEO, Amanda Sturgeon, FAIA Sturgeon, will be speaking at the Fusion Fashion Tech Summit - an official Climate Week NYC event occurring during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79), hosted by the Fusion Fashion Tech Society. Join the event on September 23rd at 10AM ET at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Katie Murphy Amphitheater. She’ll be sharing insights and lessons learned from the Biomimicry Institute’s two-year pilot study, Design for Transformation, showcasing how biomimicry can reveal a world where textile waste is metabolized into next-generation materials, accelerating the transition to a more ethical, transparent, circular, and resilient fashion industry. It's a must-attend event for anyone interested in building a more sustainable future for fashion, especially during this pivotal time at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79). Let us know if you'll be there! Get your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/gkHR_NVT #FusionChangesClothes #FusionFashionTechSummit #FusionFashionTechSociety #ClimateWeekNYC #FFTS #UnitedNations79thGeneralAssembly #CircularFashion #SustainableFashion #CreatorEconomy #Blockchain #AI #SupplyChainManagement #UNGA #CircularEconomy #CloseTheLoop

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Pinterest's fourth-quarter revenue forecast failed to impress investors looking for a boost from the upcoming holiday shopping season, at a time when bigger online ad sellers largely outperformed, sending its shares down 11% in extended trading on Thursday. The San Francisco, California-based company also announced a new stock buyback program of up to $2 billion and canceled the September 2023 program under which $500 million were left for repurchase. Its results follow quarterly reports by digital ad bellwethers – including Google-parent Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Reddit and Snap – which posted upbeat third quarter revenue, helped by robust ad spending. #Pinterest #Advertising #SocialMedia https://lnkd.in/gZTcH2qS

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