2PM - No. 367: The Type House

Unlocked member brief: the duel

Streaming Economy / 2PM: In 2018, Quibi was an idea validated by every McKinsey or Bain study on millennial and zoomer consumers. Consider each of Quibi’s public relations campaigns, its brand’s voice, the app’s new take on viewability, the company’s initial $150 million in Gen Z-friendly advertising partnerships, or even the company’s talent acquisition and content ideation. In each case, they seemed to reflect what we knew two years ago about younger consumers and their media consumption habits. Today’s months are yesterday’s decades.

The polymath playbook

Deep Generalism / Salman.io: The key advantage that polymaths hold is their ability to develop mental models from different fields and apply them to solve problems in a unique way. This enables them to differentiate from their competition. Further, it creates opportunities for them to find truly meaningful work by pursuing their passions.

Editor's Note: Deep Generalism is a capstone belief here at 2PM. Learn more about 2PM's Polymathic.

Why slashing product prices is usually a terrible idea

Retail Economics / Fortune: Pricing is an undervalued discipline. No one in the C-suite has “price” in their title. Research by the Simon Kucher & Partners consulting firm finds that “only 12% [of companies] believe they can boost profits by adjusting prices.” Pricing is worth far more attention than most managers give it—especially now, when you need every advantage you can get.

Target's gig workers will strike to protest switch to algorithmic pay model

Last Mile Logistics / Vice: On Friday, Shipt announced to workers on its Facebook group and through notifications on its app that the pay model would take effect in at least 38 new metro areas in the United States in coming weeks. For gig workers in 12 of those metro areas, including Chicago, Indianapolis, Tampa, Denver, Portland, and Richmond, Virginia, the algorithmic pay model will take effect on July 15.

Why Instagram influencers are unionising

New Media / Vogue Business: The Creator Union’s (TCU) aim is to ensure that influencers have proper protections in place as the influencer marketing industry matures. It joins the American Influencer Council, which is not a union but an invite-only, nonprofit trade association launched by Qianna Smith Bruneteau in June alongside a founding group of 12 influencers organising to create a fairer global industry.

The role simon property group may play in the 'Retail Reset'

Retail Real Estate / Forbes: The real estate advisory firm RCLCO just released its mid-year 2020 real estate projections, which includes opinions of hundreds of high-level real estate executives. And to no one's surprise, they stated that "the retail sector was mostly seen in full decline in June."

Editor's Note: Two reasons that DTC M&A activity will grow. Mall retail developers are becoming private equity firms. Retail conglomerates are becoming buyout funds. One needs great retailers present within its halls. The other needs DTC brand development in its product pipelines.

Post pandemic eCommerce changes, challenges and opportunity

eCommerce / Tamebay: eCommerce merchants should be prepared for ever more change in the second half of 2020. If things were busy online during the pandemic, if there is a second wave then when the Black Friday season comes around the levels of online trade seen during the lock down will be dwarfed when the Christmas present shopping season starts.

A thriving digital space for Willi Smith, streetwear genius

eCommerce / New Yorker: What's a museum to do when it launches a show about a late genius of streetwear, and no one can walk up the street to see it? On March 13th, as the coronavirus swept through New York City, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum had to close the retrospective "Willi Smith: Street Couture" at the end of its opening day.

Scale and Loyalty are more important online than offline

Practical Knowledge / Gavin Baker: Online businesses are also more sensitive to changes in competitive intensity than offline businesses given that the Facebook and Google auctions are second price auctions, which are inherently chaotic and nonlinear in terms of sensitivity to changing auction pressure. i.e. It is almost impossible to significantly change the “CAC” of a scaled offline retailer, but it is possible to significantly alter the CAC of a scaled online retailer if the challenger spends enough money. 

The next great consumer companies won't be exclusive clubs. They will be inclusive cults.

Sociology / Laura Chau: The New York Times has already reported on the rise of TikTok cults and Josh Constine points to influencers wanting cults, not fans — a la the rise of Step Chickens. So what does it look like for a tech company, not just a single influencer, to lead a cult on the internet? Well, it might look something like MSCHF. Dubbed the “Banksy of the Internet” or “the most infamous internet brand you’ve never heard of,” MSCHF has built up a massive cult following through their subversive products and content.

Excerpt: The value of prolific writing and creativity is that you’re always in a pattern of thought. You’re constantly assessing beliefs and designing paths to further your understanding of a topic. When entrepreneurial thinkers begin a newsletter on the platform of their choosing, they are doing so out of sheer passion. Their minds are always thinking of enrichment, improvement, development, and progress. Like the YouTube videographers of yesterday, or the TikTok minds of today, or any creator of tomorrow, the art is rarely contained by the platform. The great secret of creativity is that it can evolve. Many of today’s brightest businesses were yesterday’s projects-turned-ventures.

Read the memo here