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 […]
The Rise of Labubu
Guest post by Xiaoman Chen, Senior Social Strategist at ListenFirst How Pop Mart’s collectible character captured the internet’s heart through UGC, scarcity, and style-savvy storytelling What happens when you mix fashion’s love for quirk, social media’s obsession with surprise, and a collector’s hunger for scarcity? You get Labubu — a small, wide-eyed creature, quickly becoming […]
Diving In: Post-Cringe & Gen-Z
Gen-Z’s Post-Cringe Revolution: From Digital Caution to Cultural Reclamation Born online, Gen-Z grew up wary of public embarrassment, but as they age into adulthood, they’re reclaiming cringe as authenticity, connection, and nostalgic joy. For Gen-Z, the first true digital natives, the internet has always been a stage. Every moment, from middle school fashion choices to […]
Diving In: Music Marketing
How Artist Partnerships and TikTok Are Reshaping Music Marketing Inside 2024’s biggest performance levers across social platforms In 2024, the competition between Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music revealed more than just follower counts and engagement rates. It offered a window into what actually moves audiences in today’s fragmented digital ecosystem. Two forces stood out: […]
Diving In: Deloitte Digital 2025 Social Playbook
Why social-first brands are doubling down—and how your brand can keep up As we all know, social media is no longer the “fun” channel. It’s the frontline for brand strategy, customer experience, and measurable business growth. In Deloitte Digital’s 2025 State of Social Research, and across ListenFirst’s platform data, three patterns emerge that separate thriving […]
Diving In: Video Game Industry
Gaming Isn’t Just a Fandom—It’s a Force By Brooke Argentum Let’s be honest: for most people outside the gaming space, trying to understand the video game industry can feel like being dropped into a sandbox game with no map. There’s jargon, subcultures, studio names you’ve never heard of, and more genre types than you can […]