I talked to the creator behind my favourite Are.na board
This Week: Ryan shares his favourite marketing resources and moments + ad agency & brand news. 🧇
A new monthly series where I interview some of my favourite creators, marketers and strategists with Agency and Brand news segment.
If you like my work and want to receive the best of marketing every week, You can join my paid newsletter to support the work + get access to our discord & WhatsApp & archive.
What’s on my feed as of now
Pinterest Is courting TikTok Advertisers. Read its pitch deck.
Instagram launches Video App ‘Edits,’ a near-clone of TikTok’s CapCut.
CapCut is live again in the US.
Walmart will now let suppliers test products in its customers’ homes.
Trump, a populist president, is flanked by tech billionaires at his inauguration.
Netflix: Record number of customers and another price increase in the USA.
When Google altered its ad Rules, charities paid the price.
TikTokers offered $5,000 to join Facebook and Instagram.
Gen Z’s new rules for appropriate Office Wear.
Trump tells Justice Department not to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days
United Airlines lands a record profit to close out 2024.
The Creator
Who do we have here?
My name is Ryan, an entrepreneur based in Singapore building in the supplement space. My first venture is DrinkAid, a pioneer in the alcohol wellness category that aims to make drinking a better experience by reducing the negative side effects of alcohol. As the market leader in markets such as Singapore and the Philippines, we have sold over a million doses to date in the past four years, and are sold countrywide in convenience stores and pharmacies.
My next venture is still currently in stealth mode, though it will be in a similar vertical (supplements) and slated to launch by 2Q 2025.
Personally, I graduated with a law degree in 2020 and passed the bar a year later, but made the hard decision to eschew a law career to pursue DrinkAid instead. It didn’t occur to me how much I am interested and intrigued in branding and marketing until I was in the weeds with DrinkAid, as I never encountered marketing in a formal academic setting.
Marketing books
Quintessential marketing books:
How Brands Grow Parts 1 & 2 (Byron Sharp)
Better Brand Health (Jenni Romaniuk)
The Long & Short of It (Les Binet & Peter Field)
Effectiveness in Context (Les Binet & Peter Field).
On Brand Management:
The Brand Book (Daryl Fielding)
The Smart Branding Book (Dan White)
Building a Story Brand (Donald Miller)
The business of aspiration (Ana Andjelic)
Eat Your Greens (Wiemer Snijders)
On Advertising:
The Advertising Concept Book (Pete Barry),
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! (Luke Sullivan)
Where does the Pedlar Sing? (Paul Felwick)
Lemon: How the advertising brand turned sour (Orlando Wood)
Look Out (Orlando Wood), How Not to Plan (APG)
The Copy Book (D&AD)
Can’t Sell Won’t Sell (Steve Harrison)
Paid Attention (Faris Yakob)
Online Tabs/Bookmarks
Sean’s Cultural Calendar - found this cultural events calendar that might be really useful for marketers
‘It’s game over for facts’: how vibes came to rule everything from pop to politics - interesting POV from Guardian about the increasing allure of “vibes”
Scaling up without screwing up - the continued relevance of TV advertising despite the ubiquity of social media
Creative Salon - The home of commercial creativity
Imaginology - We need a new kind of approach to learning that shifts imagination from the periphery to the foundation of all knowledge
Skimfeed - the best news aggregator out there
Ypulse - Getting up to speed with Gen Z
LinkedIn - A highly underrated resource to acquire knowledge and connections. Follow the right people and you’ll be duly rewarded!
Springboards AI - I’ve heard so many things about this but I’m not able to get a demo because I’m not from an agency background! Can anyone help? Hahaha
Grace Clarke’s 2025 personal annual planning - the template everyone is talking about.
Starter Concepting Cards - useful thought-starters for advertising concepts
Connected Archives - alternative source for beautiful stock images.
Newsletters/substacks
On Internet Culture:
Current Affairs/General Business:
Marketing/Branding:
Favourite marketers/people to follow
Mark Ritson
Isabella Burley
Nadia Lee Cohen
Andrew Tindall
Dan White
Faris Yakob
Richard Shotton
Rory Sutherland
Shlomo Genchin
Nick Susi
Kat Cole
Alex Morris
Prof. dr. Koen Pauwels
Les Binet
Praveen Vaidyanathan
Dr Marcus Collins
Tom Roach
Joe Burns
Harry Salmons
Dr Grace Kite
Grace Clarke
Zoe Scaman
Favourite marketing moments of the month:
I always lose my mind over how good Gentle Monster’s PR sets are. I won’t be surprised if most of them aren’t paid posts - influencers just want to show off that they’re deemed worthy enough to receive a full-on PR box from Gentle Monster
Topicals video campaign for their newest product - CLEARLY. I think it might be an effective campaign as it communicates the product’s value in a creative way, and it’s not too far-fetched like how some brand campaigns can be (ahem Jaguar…)
Luxury brands usually set the tone for worldbuilding and their popups are testament to that. The LV x Takashi Murakami pop-up is happening now (as of 8 January 2025) in several key markets like New York, Shanghai and Singapore.
Apple Mac Campaign refreshing to see Apple engaging in more “grassroots” campaign, eschewing their usual directorially-polished ads
This social campaign by Loewe. Their social team is really killing it, especially on Tiktok, when it goes against the norms of what most luxury brands would do.
A Single Like Transforms Dance Duo Brutalismus 3000's Lives in Tinder Campaign - an unlikely pairing! You might not just find your next love on Tinder - you may even move on to be one of Europe’s hottest acts in dance music!
A huge thanks to Ryan for sharing these resources and insights. You can find him on Linkedin, Instagram, Are.na and follow his business, DrinkAid.
Agency News
Changes:
Mischief US has been quietly building a media department.
Aldi launches multimarket media review.
Morrisons reviews media agency requirements.
160over90 restructures leadership after parent company Endeavor acquired On Locatio.
Dentsu Americas CEO Michael Komasinski is out.
GroupM CEO Brian Lesser revamps global leadership structure.
Irn-Bru departs Leith after 30 years for Lucky Generals.
Indie agencies seek a competitive edge as Talent rejects WPP office mandate.
Deutsche Telekom drops Saatchis as lead European agency.
Mediahub Global CEO John Moore to exit in March.
Wins:
Assembly appointed by SXSW London as first ever Media Partner.
PG Tips picks New Commercial Arts for creative account.
MassMutual selects 72andSunny as Creative AOR.
Citizen Relations named AOR for Nespresso Canada.
Indie agencies seek a competitive edge as Talent rejects WPP office mandate.
Dr Vegan appoints Ark Agency for creative duties.
The Corner wins more from Treasury Wines.
SunRice appoints Nunn Media as strategic media agency in Australia and New Zealand.
Zoe enlists The Specialist Works for inaugural TV campaign.
Porsche Australia appoints Dig as creative agency.
Panera Bread hires 72andSunny as creative agency.
National Lottery operator appoints M&C Saatchi as global comms agency.
Uncommon wins Aer Lingus brief from IAG.
McDonald’s Australia adds Wieden+Kennedy to its agency roster.
The Report of the day
Brand News
Trending:
Uber’s latest airport marketing campaign is hilarious and emotional at the same time.
Childrenʼs charity Barnardos releases a thought-provoking film to highlight the challenges some children in Ireland face.
Craft Sportswear: 10 Print Ads across 10 Weeks prove the immediate effect of a running routine.
OREO's playful audio experience invites fans to decode cookie combinations.
Llamas sing Rihanna in kooky Monday.com ad campaign.
Gordon Ramsay finds his calm in new Hay Day campaign.
McDonald’s Australia reunites its original characters ‘Down Under’ ad campaign.
Saweetie drops exclusive Collection With Smirnoff.
Ford launches the electric Capri by ‘rewiring’ vintage Capri ad spots.
ZipRecruiter and Norelco tap into the Shadowy Severance World For new ad spots.
Food & Drinks:
Burger King Brazil is giving free burgers to Lawyer to defend originality of BK Taste Burger.
Jordans cereal launches punk-inspired TV ad campaign.
Grand pursuit – quest kicks off to catch and deliver tennis champion Andy Murray.
The campaign aligns well with the brand message of Uber can deliver anything.*
Barilla brings back ‘Love Pasta’ for the season of love.
Pepsi hires Vini Jr. and Jack Grealish for its Quirky Football-Forward Campaign.
Progresso Soup Drops “soup you can suck on,” quickly sell out.
Today The Brave celebrates 'Drinks For Drinks' Sake' in StrangeLove's first-ever ad campaign
Anheuser-Busch and 1st Phorm to launch new Energy Drink partnership.
Kellogg’s showcases ‘healthier’ cereals in new campaign.
Pepsi pops off with a new flavored cola and announces flavorful Super Bowl food activations in NOLA.
Beauty:
Rare Beauty expands its bestselling Soft Pinch franchise — and launches first creator campaign
‘The Sun Is Not Your Friend’ in newly launched Australian SPF brand SLATHER’s ad campaign.
Jen Atkin’s two Brands, Ouai and Mane, are collaborating.
Fashion:
Gucci marks Lunar New Year with heartwarming film campaign.
Trump and AI help inspire a Prada collection for challenging times.
Rosé fronts Skims Valentine’s Day campaign.
Other:
ITV celebrates Saturday ‘Nights In’ with star-studded ad campaign.
Featured stars: TV presenters Ant and Dec, comedian Mo Gilligan, Love Island host Maya Jama, actor Lee Mack, singer Alesha Dixon, and presenter Holly Willoughby.
Havas launches creator-led docuseries ‘Shape Shifting’ backed by doctors and scientists.
Questrade’s ‘Get Yours’ ad campaign challenges Canadians to reclaim Financial Freedom.
Jim Beam comforts grieving football fans with Keegan-Michael Key.
Cognizant and McDonald's renew strategic partnership to transform global enterprise systems.
"Every Story starts with a Yes" is Serviceplan's emotional advertising debut for Lufthansa.
IKEA Canada extends price cuts with C$50m investment.
Audible highlights wellbeing titles with 'zen carriage' at King's Cross station.
Aura
we heard that shoutout all the way at the bottom of the ocean 🦀🌊
Shoutout Ryan for the shoutout 💝