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Brandthropology is executive-grade analysis of culture and commerce through brands: how they evolve, what they signify, and what their trajectories reveal about our moment in time. Join our mailing list for our Brandthropology Weekly Newsletters.


From Content to Cart: How Bibigo Rewrote the Rules of Product Placement in Streaming
Bibigo’s Culinary Class Wars strategy shows how product placement is evolving into content-to-cart—where streaming credibility drives post-show commerce.
5 days ago


Retail as Content: Luxury Retail Shifts from Flagship Spectacle to High-Velocity Brand Content in 2026
Luxury brands are shifting from permanent experiential flagships to agile, content-led retail in 2026, favoring modular activations over monumentality.
Jan 26


Mont Saint-Michel’s Brand Identity Signals a Shift from Postcard to Public Infrastructure
Mont Saint-Michel’s new brand identity marks a shift from tourism imagery to system-led public branding, built for governance, legal clarity, and long-term stewardship.
Jan 20


At CES 2026, Robots Are the New Brand Ambassadors
Discover why CES 2026 marked the shift to robots as the new brand ambassadors. See how Hyundai’s Atlas and Physical AI are replacing human influencers.
Jan 8


Omnicom acquires IPG: Advertising’s New Age of Scale
Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG creates the world’s largest ad group and signals a new era where scale, data, and AI reshape the global advertising industry.
Dec 2, 2025


Visa’s “Road to Ruby” with Jennie Taps Into Pan-Asian Cultural Capital to Win Next Gen Travelers
Visa’s “Road to Ruby” campaign uses Jennie’s pan-Asian cultural capital to engage mobile-first young travelers across APAC, blending travel identity with digital payments.
Nov 29, 2025


Inside Amazon’s ‘Leo’ Rebranding: From Affordability Promise to Enterprise Play
Amazon rebrands Project Kuiper as Leo, dropping affordability messaging and targeting enterprise connectivity with AWS-integrated LEO broadband.
Nov 22, 2025


CES 2026’s New Power Layout: Samsung Relocates as Chinese Brands Take the Center
CES 2026’s floor map is being rewritten as Samsung relocates off-site and Chinese tech giants take over prime central-hall visibility, signaling shifting industry power.
Nov 19, 2025


CHAGEE Supercharges Tea Culture with $6 Billion Scale
CHAGEE’s $6 billion rise from a single Yunnan teahouse to 6,000 stores shows how modern Chinese brands are merging design, culture, and efficiency to redefine the global beverage landscape.
Nov 1, 2025


L’Oréal Acquires Kering’s Fragrance License as Beauty Market Recalibrates
L’Oréal acquires Kering’s fragrance license as the beauty market recalibrates, reshaping luxury beauty strategies amid resilient global demand and shifting retail channels.
Oct 20, 2025


Microsoft 365 Icons Get a Makeover for the AI Age
Microsoft has refreshed its 365 icons for the AI era, introducing softer gradients and unified geometry across apps. The update signals a deeper brand transition—from individual productivity tools to a connected, intelligent ecosystem.
Oct 18, 2025


Zara at 50: Fast Fashion’s Milestone Moment
As Zara marks its 50th anniversary, we examine how this fast-fashion giant is using the milestone to pivot toward design leadership, global flagship experience, and circular-economy commitments
Oct 1, 2025


Frieze Seoul 2025 and Brands Transform the City
Frieze Seoul 2025 showed how brands from LG OLED and BMW to Chanel, adidas, and LEBEIGE transformed not only the art fair but Seoul’s retail, hospitality, and cultural scene.
Sep 5, 2025


For Brand Korea to Turn Soft Power into Hard Returns (a case for Coordinated Cultural Capitalism)
With K‑Pop Demon Hunters, Korea’s cultural prestige has never been higher, but lasting economic impact will require aligning entertainment, brands, and industry into one export strategy. The path forward lies in Coordinated Cultural Capitalism.
Aug 1, 2025


St. John the Divine: A Heritage Rebrand Done Right
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine has completed a comprehensive rebrand that offers a practical case study in heritage institution branding. Designed by Brooklyn studio Selman, the project demonstrates how typography-led design can solve operational challenges while respecting institutional legacy.
Jul 8, 2025


From Prompt to Primetime: PJ Ace’s AI Breakout
PJ Ace (Accetturo) created a viral NBA Finals ad for just $2,000 using AI tools like Gemini and Veo 3. A case study in art-directing AI for attention-grabbing, unforgettable results.
Jul 4, 2025


The CBO Favorites from Cannes Lions 2025
The 72nd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity came to a close. Here are The CBO favorites.
Jun 24, 2025


Google Bets $100M in Gentle Monster for XR Glasses
Google to invest $100 million in South Korean fashion eyewear brand Gentle Monster, securing a 4% stake in the company that is co-designing its upcoming extended reality (XR) smart glasses.
Jun 22, 2025


K-Pop Star G-Dragon’s Sora AI MTV "Game-Changer"
G-Dragon's Azure OpenAI Sora collaboration for MTV demonstrates how enterprise AI partnerships can transform creative content production, indicates video AI has crossed the threshold from experimental to commercially strategic.
Jun 6, 2025


Google's Gradated Approach to Brand Unification
Google's first G icon update in 10 years uses gradient design to unify its AI portfolio. Analysis of the strategic rollout and industry reception.
May 15, 2025


Estée Lauder Cuts Jobs in Digital Catch-up
Estée Lauder's elimination of 7,000 positions and external hiring for digital marketing and data roles signals that traditional beauty marketing executives face existential pressure to reimagine their organizational models or risk obsolescence in an increasingly digital-first consumer landscape.
May 4, 2025


Hollywood Mogul Ari Emanuel Acquires Frieze in $200M Deal
Ari Emanuel's acquisition of Frieze signals further convergence of premium market sectors--entertainment, fine art and luxury experiences.
May 2, 2025


Possible 2025 Bets on Curated Connections
Possible 2025, drawing 5,400+ attendees, proves face-to-face networking remains invaluable in marketing's AI era. Hyve Group CEO Mark Shashoua's transformative curation model eliminates random encounters, engineering strategic connections between marketers and tech leaders.
May 1, 2025


LIV Golf & Coupang: Content Marketing Playbook for E-commerce
With LIV Golf Korea, Coupang Play engineers premium sports content to defend market share against incoming Chinese e-commerce competition.
Apr 30, 2025
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