š, Iām Kimberly. Iāve been creating obsession-worthy brands for the past fifteen years. And now, Iām giving away my secrets every week in this newsletter.
We all have weeks that are *a week*
For me, itās been one of those.
So, instead of my traditional long-form newsletter content, Iām mixing it up with something new and more succinct.
Here are five things Iām currently loving + learning from that you might love too.
Writer Iām Loving
Jessica Delfino and her newsletter The Unpublishable
A beauty journalist for The New York Times, Vogue, WWD, Allure ā Jessica uses her newsletter to post her most āunpublishableā content
She calls out all the massive BS in the beauty industry, in the most readable of ways. Articles like āInjury as a Beauty Idealā and āSkincare as Extractive Capitalismā dive deep and will help keep anyone who works in beauty grounded, lest we get too swept away in our own marketing hype
Writes a weekly āDonāt Buy Listā of all the brands doing crazy-weird-not-right things
Research Iām Loving
In-depth research reports on a variety of topics across industries
Lots of FREE reports (wahoo!!! yes!!! thank you!!!). Here are a few of my top reads: The Future 100: 2022 (annual forecast of 100 trends to watch in the coming year); Regeneration Rising (Emerging Trends Unlock Opportunities for a Sustainable Future; and Generation Z: Building a Better Normal
Weekly emails with new content that covers topics trending around the world
TV Show Iām Loving
The Dropout on Hulu
Dramatization of the Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos debacle
Tons of talk about the branding of Theranos ā and of Holmes herself!
Favorite moment so far: Holmes tells her pricey creative team they might need to change the tagline from āJust one dropā to āJust a few drops.ā Hmmā¦
Brand Iām Loving
Makers of āinactive wear for being indoorsā
Took the Japanese Hanten (a garment discovered by my husband that is literally the coziest and most practical thing you can wear inside) and made it fashion
I love the brand name (it sounds cool and modern, without trying too hard ā just like the brand) and the visual vibe. *Chefās kiss* to their creative team.
Website Iām Loving
Originally started by a VC who tested new DTC brands and wrote about them
Iāve followed her original Instagram account since it started as a way to keep an eye on new and emerging brands
Itās now a robust site where anyone can test brands. They also send great weekly emails and create content around whatās happening in the DTC consumer products space.
If youāre finding this newsletter valuable, considerĀ sharing it with friends, or subscribing if you arenāt already.
About Me
I help early stage founders create the kind of brands that get customers so obsessed,Ā theyāll do your advertising for you.
Based on my experience founding my own consumer brand, I developedĀ The Branding Sprintāa uniquely collaborative, streamlined, and agile approach to brand creation.
Click here to learn moreĀ about The Branding Sprint, orĀ schedule a call with me.