TheFutureParty
A Community-based Media Company
Comcast’s potential plan to spin off its cable channels into a separate, “well-capitalized” company is sending positive shockwaves to Wall Street that could reshape the business next year. The Big Picture: Streaming killed the cable star as consumers cut the cord and went a la carte with their entertainment offerings. But, economically, cable has been a good business… so media […]
A new startup called Cafeteria is hoping to disrupt the consumer insights and marketing industry with an app that connects brands with the opinions of its most hard-to-pin-down customers — teens. Why It Hits: There’s a growing number of protections around the ability to harvest the data and insights of younger users, which is the sector most prized […]
Top streaming services are teaming up with grocery giants and on-demand delivery platforms to cook up a new kind of bundle for subscribers. The Big Picture: Streamers are plagued by ever-rising rates of churn — people subscribing and unsubscribing month to month — so Hollywood’s latest strategy is mixing what’s considered an expendable expense, entertainment, with […]
A crop of startups are trying out-of-the-box packaging to stand out in a sea of products on store shelves. Why It Hits: Becoming a conversation starter is the goal of marketing. But when you don’t have the marketing budget, making the product itself the marketing may be a key to reaching consumers. Between The Shelves: […]
Arkansas looks to be home to enough lithium — the raw material used to make electric batteries — to meet the entire world’s demand. Now, energy companies are swooping in. Why It Hits: Lithium is a super in-demand material as the world hopes to switch to electric and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Establishing lithium mining […]
Consumer product brands are experimenting with absurd humor to stand out from the crowd and craft marketing campaigns that leave a lasting (or, at least, bewildered) impression. So far, it seems to be working. The Big Picture: Crafting marketing that doesn’t offend consumers has become a tightrope, especially after a decade of message-driven, serious campaigns. By leaning into […]
Space startup Vast has unveiled their flagship project — the world’s first commercial space station that will launch into low-Earth orbit in 2025, where guests will have the opportunity to be ferried to the station for an all-inclusive 10-to-30-day stay. Why It Launches: The modern space race is the privatization of space, turning the stars into a frontier that can […]
For the launch of a single menu item, McDonald’s opened up a “dupe” version of its fast-food restaurant called “McDonnell’s.” The Big Meal: Large-scale activations have become a crucial way to create buzz around products and devise a marketing moment with the potential for virality… something that McDonald’s, more so than any other chain, has recently embraced. Between The Buns: Partnering […]
Cultured, curated, glossy magazines are making a comeback… this time backed by brands that want to use them as an out-of-the-box way to build community. Why It Hits: There have been endless headlines about the death of print media over the past decade (which only fueled more decline), so the resurgence of print — from publishers like […]
Instacart is disrupting grocery shopping with games, meal suggestions, ads, store maps, and in-cart checkout — all on its smart Caper Cart. Why It Hits: There’s probably nothing as lo-tech as the humble shopping cart. So, if Instacart can scale its smart cart to groceries nationwide, it could become one of the hottest companies around. Between The Aisles: The […]