Soft power and other lessons
… on growth, community, and strategy
If you are in New York City on April 24th, join Will Cooper of William White and I as we talk about Hitmakers (it’s a book signing!) and about how storytelling built Will’s brand (there will be spritzes and beautiful things!). Let us know if you are coming here.
And, if you are in Miami on April 28, join Brian Morrissey of The Rebooting and me for a private dinner and conversation about tastemaking and algorithm. RSVP here.
Over the weekend, there has been a flurry of TikTok videos in which cheeky and very confident Chinese influencers appeal to American consumers to “listen to their reason” and buy luxury goods directly from them. Luxury brands’ soft power — desirability of items that protects their high prices and powers demand — has already wobbled with 2024 peak price increase. Exposing luxury production and touting luxury goods in a DTC manner is a full blown PR crisis.
When luxury brands don’t have the culture to protect them and make them special, what are they actually selling? The same goes for countries. American soft power is in its culture — movies, entertainment, celebrities, lifestyle, retail, innovation, tourism. With changing mood, soft power can also decrease (Tesla sales across Europe have dropped, with sales in some countries falling by 60–70% compared to the previous year.) US is also a less attractive travel destination, and there are fears that the changing atmosphere will impact the US fast food chains, which rely on international markets, and have only recently recovered from the pandemic losses.
Slow power matters on the macro-level and brand-level. It also matters on individual level. Read on.
Read the rest on the Sociology of Business.
