Claire’s rebrands away from Millennial-mall chic

Welcome to the latter half of July. Summer is speeding right along, so let’s hop right into what the brands are up to.

Claire’s Gets a Brand Makeover

Claire’s—yes, that Claire’s from your local mall, Millennials—is leaning into its piercing business for its new visual identity: “Pierced by Claire's.” The new strategy targets the microgeneration “Gen Zalpha” while also relying on ’90s nostalgia for the Claire’s brand. Customers are encouraged to tag their piercing photos with #PiercedByClaires on Instagram. And they’re giving away a free year of earrings as a promo to anyone who purchases “a piercing starter kit in-store from July 13, 2023 until August 13, 2023.”

Shopify to Launch Built-In AI Chatbot

Shopify is launching its own AI chatbot—built directly into Shopify—to help entrepreneurs with all-things Spotify. Named Sidekick, the AI chatbot can help Shopify users design their page, run promotions, and analyze past performance data. In the words of CEO Tobi Lutke, “Entrepreneurs are superheroes, and superheroes need a Sidekick.”

FIFA + TikTok = Women’s World Cup™ Hub

For the upcoming World Cup™, TikTok and FIFA have created a digital hub on the platform to “bring fans closer to the action, featuring exciting content from FIFA, official broadcasters, participating teams, and players.” The new collaboration will also have creators from around the world at the tournament, giving TikTok users a “behind-the-scenes look at moments from the FIFA Women's World Cup™ through the eyes of their favorite creators.”

Disney CEO Says Cable TV Decline Was ‘Faster Than Expected’

Disney CEO Bob Iger doesn’t think Disney’s cable TV presence is the “core” of the company and even hinted at selling off properties like ABC and cable networks such as FX and National Geographic. He also said cable TV had “declined faster than [he] expected” and that streaming “has a bright future.”

Around the Web

• Could the Hollywood shutdown disrupt the ad market? Perhaps.

• On Saturday, Elon Musk tweeted about Twitter, “We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.”

• Want to build a UGC pipeline and creative testing framework?—Enter Insense, the all-in-one platform to source a lot of raw assets + edited content, find the perfect UGC creators in minutes, and run influencer ads.*

• Barbie promos have now infiltrated your Roku device.

• Delta Air Lines saw a record $1.8 billion profit as summer vacationers revenge travel.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

Just Can’t Get Enough

Shopify’s hate for Zoom meetings—or any pointless meeting.

• First, Shopify eliminated all recurring meetings and encouraged employees to decline meeting invites.

• And now, Shopify’s created a cost calculator for how much money a Zoom meeting would waste.

Do you think Claire’s rebrand will have a new set of pre-teens, teens, and young adults headed to malls for their first piercings? Will the ensuing Millennial and Gen X nostalgia resurrect the mallrat era? Will the fall of Disney’s cable TV offerings and the rise of TikTok partnerships help put an end to linear TV once and for all? Reply and let us know all of your thoughts!

Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you Thursday!