Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture Post Meh-ification
Feb 6, 2025
46:16
When algorithm flattens cultural markets, how to create against this backdrop? When everything is “meh,” winners are the surprising, the unexpected, and the different. The problem is, these things succeed in niches - offline communities, small groups, and subcultures. They are created in niches, and usually stay there. In the winners-take-all markets, scaling requires algorithms. Can brands bridge this dichotomy? What are the success stories of innovation in the meh world? Is it even financially possible for a brand to disrupt itself before someone else does? In this episode, Rei and I use once-innovative brands as examples of what happens when disruption goes analog.
Follow Ana here:
- Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
- New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"
Follow Rei here:
- Rei's LinkedIn
- Newsletter "The Intersection"
- Rei's global innovation firm I&CO