On exhaustion, influencers + authenticity
Hi friends, I was hoping to get this letter to you earlier today, however, in Toronto, we were hit with a power outage for most of the day. So this post is informed by that experience. I hope you enjoy it, and a warm welcome to my new subscribers! Thank you for joining me on this journey of making sense of the world through the lens of culture. -KV
Yesterday, in downtown Toronto, we were hit with a massive storm that knocked out the power, Internet, and phone lines for a good 10 hours. And it was, honestly, kind of… refreshing? To be unleashed from my phone, social media and emails for a few glorious hours was wonderful, actually. It was a sublime (yet somewhat weird) feeling of being tethered to nothing and with nothing to do.
Amidst the silence (and sirens responding to emergency calls), I could hear kids playing hoops outside and the sounds of the ball dribbling on the pavement. As it went on longer than a few hours, and none of us could get in touch with each other (because: no cell service), and sunlight turned to dusk, things got a bit eerie and apocalyptic. But even as I write this, I’m reminiscing about yesterday, the ability to do a lot of nothing, and how things were before the Internet, AI, and social media.
It got me thinking about a piece the excellent writer Amy Odell wrote for
a while back about the impending “Great Exhaustion.” Based on research from trend forecasting firm WGSN, we’re all very burnt out from just about everything—our jobs, technology, AI misinformation, politics, the cost of living crisis, and being barraged by marketing messages online 24/7. WGSN is reporting on this as a major trend for 2026, but in my estimation, The Great Exhaustion is already here. How else can we explain the rise of “dumb phones” among Gen Z? Honestly, I want one.
Just a few of the behaviours The Great Exhaustion will give rise to include a withdrawal from an always-online lifestyle, prioritizing purpose, self-care, and community, embracing more mindful consumption habits, and placing a greater value on brand transparency and honesty rather than slick storytelling.1
So, what does this all mean for brands? Basically, it calls for a radical rethinking of their strategies. To reach ever-more-elusive consumers, they will need to meet them where they are, step up as good corporate citizens, and show that they prioritize people over profit.
Brands are going all in with social media and influencer marketing, and with good reason: it’s effective because it’s where everyone, especially millennials and Gen Z, congregates. But with platforms becoming saturated with paid content and some influencers not disclosing paid partnerships, brands will have to tread carefully. This week, The Business of Fashion ran a recent clickbaity piece called “The End of Unfiltered TikTok.”
While the headline is a bit of a stretch, this stat floored me: In the last year, 49 percent of 475 billion views of beauty brand content was sponsored. Let that sink in.
Paid influencer partnerships can work well if they feel authentic, but they often feel like scripted ads. Brands need to get out of the way and let creators do what they do best: create.
On the flipside, another option is to focus more on boosting organic content (which BoF recommends) or partnering with micro or nano influencers with smaller audiences (who tend to have a more intimate relationship with their fans). The secret to authenticity: focus on storytelling, not product, as consumers can spot an ad a mile away, and they will become increasingly aware when they are being sold to. B-S detectors will be, and currently are, set to “stun.”
Reaching people where they are also means brands can’t have all their eggs in one basket by focusing on influencers and/or social content alone. The answer, according to WGSN, is creating offline spaces or social environments where people can connect and build community. We’re already seeing this with the rise of organic running clubs (though technically not “spaces,” this taps into a similar idea) and brands like Hoka, On, and Outdoor Voices getting in on the action. Unsurprisingly, people are looking for camaraderie post-pandemic, and the brands that do well will keep the focus on the social aspect rather than the “selling” aspect.
Another way to reach media-fatigued consumers: through the enduring power of merch, especially if it’s connected to joyful experiences.
just wrote a very timely piece on the topic, “The Ultimate Cultural Artifact.” If you thought merch was dead, think again.Update: Speaking of joy, Gap is launching a collab with streetwear brand Madhappy, known as “clothing for a community of optimists.” While it’s not out in the wild yet, influencers have been teasing the hoodies, totes, and sweatpants, (all with the brand’s signature contrast stitching), on social media, generating buzz ahead of the launch. (Thanks to fellow Substacker
for bringing the collab to my attention).2
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Madhappy is at the forefront when it comes to creating meaningful spaces for connection. I first read about Madhappy in the Vogue Business article “Gen Z Broke the Marketing Funnel,” essential reading for anyone marketing to Gen Z. The purpose-built brand, which centres joy by creating products and experiences designed to uplift, directs one percent of all proceeds to mental health initiatives. Setting Gen Z clearly in its sights, Madhappy’s L.A.-based flagship is one part traditional retail space, while the other is a conversation pit designed for IRL meet-ups. A cafe, outdoor courtyard, and an immersive multimedia room called the “Local Optimist Space” with rotating artist collaborations round out the “intimate gathering spaces.”
Meanwhile, the brand has a print and digital magazine called Local Optimist showcasing the work of like-minded creatives. Along with selling tees and dad hats, Madhappy also offers mental health resources and programming to engage with its consumers. As Vogue Business mentions, to connect with Gen Z, brands need to create “universes” of touchpoints, forcing them to think beyond products and more like the Marvels of the world.
Regarding purpose, and countering the notion brands are all about selling, (similar to the note about building community), brands should refocus on give-back efforts. In my last post, I wrote about MAC Cosmetics and how it has successfully steered itself back into cultural relevance. But it has also renewed its commitment to its Viva Glam social impact fund, whose mission has broadened beyond supporting HIV/AIDS to include gender, sexual, racial and environmental equality. The brand has so far raised $500 million towards the charity, and in its 30th anniversary year, its goal is to raise $1 billion. Highlighting the notion of “care” and supporting the community through very tangible ways will become ever more important in connecting with consumers.
Lastly, on the notion of misinformation and the imperative of honesty, I’ve long thought there’s a massive opportunity for the world’s tech giants to support the dying mainstream media instead of dinging them. Here in Canada, most news headlines have been wiped from view; due to Canadian government legislation (which was well-intentioned), big tech platforms have to pay media outlets for their content. In November, Google reached a deal with the Canadian government to pay up, but Meta has yet to follow suit. As a result, amidst an already beleaguered media industry, the news media has largely been buried on social platforms. There has to be a better way.
Maybe it’s Pollyannaish of me to think that the big brands would step up and help the little guys. But the breakdown of the mainstream media and the ensuing pileup of journalism job losses seem too much to bear, especially in an era where getting the facts right is more crucial than ever.
Brands, won’t you step up? The time is now.
Readers, let me know what you think - I’d love to hear from you!
This is a very broad synopsis of the report, as I was not able to download it in full unless I hopped on a sales call with WGSN.
Post updated: July 28/24
I felt terrible for not taking my family entertainment company online during the pandemic, but I cannot believe how much people have shown up and booked better & more experiences in the last 2 years!! And we sell so much merch at our IRL events!
I have been thinking a ton lately about the great exhaustion that Amy wrote about and my hopes for what will come from it. I remain optimistic about some of the things you wrote about when it comes to IRL experiences and a changing way of working with influencers. Then again, part of me feels annoyed thinking of how brands can better reach customers when what we really need is people to have richer offline lives.