Taylor Swift’s Marketing Playbook: The Life of a Showgirl
How social strategy, storytelling, and merch made “The Life of a Showgirl” a masterclass in modern marketing When Taylor Swift announced her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, via a surprise appearance on the New Heights podcast, she didn’t just drop news—she set off a cross-platform ripple that lasted all week. With just […]
How Dexter: Resurrection Rewrote the Social Playbook for Legacy Franchises
Early investment, fan-first thinking, and real-time strategy turned a sequel into a streaming standout When Dexter: Resurrection premiered in 2025, it wasn’t just a revival. It was a reinvention, designed to reconnect longtime fans while onboarding a new generation of viewers in a completely different digital landscape. The stakes were high. Dexter’s original run helped […]
Starbucks’ Drop‑First Playbook
Guest post by John Langan, Solutions Consultant at ListenFirst Starbucks’ Marketing Strategy 2025: How to Turn Product Moments into an Always-On Social Engine Starbucks’ Marketing Strategy is a masterclass on brand growth and evolution, one that is not afraid to pivot as needed without fear. The cafe chain was founded in 1971 at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, […]
Cannibalization vs. Expansion: When Brand & Social Growth Eats Itself
Why unchecked growth can backfire and how smarter segmentation, rollout, and social strategy help brands scale without self-disruption. In the race to grow—more stores, more content, more formats—brands often overlook a critical risk: internal cannibalization. Expansion promises reach and relevance, but without a cohesive structure, it can displace revenue, confuse audiences, and erode brand equity. […]
Sydney Sweeney’s Good Jeans
Sydney Sweeney’s Good Jeans or Good Genes? The Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle Ad That Blew Up the Internet What do you get when you mix a blue‑eyed bombshell, a pun about genetics, and a denim ad with the subtlety of a 2000s perfume commercial? Apparently: a social media firestorm, a retail stock surge, and […]
Krypto & The Dog Adoption Trend
Guest post by Molly Street, Account Manager at ListenFirst Krypto stole hearts in Superman (2025) — and triggered a national spike in dog adoptions. But history warns us: not every on-screen pup leads to a happy ending. When Superman (2025) hit theaters this July, audiences expected action, nostalgia, and cape-worthy heroics. What they didn’t expect was […]