HOLIDAY AD CHAOS — Sephora, Calvin Klein, Subscription Boxes (Ep. 019)

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From Sephora’s “striking” elves to Calvin Klein’s viral thirst traps — Joanna and Michelle unpack how brands are losing (and winning) consumer trust this holiday season. Plus, how you can turn this chaos into marketing gold.

What You’ll Learn:

• What the Sephora x Mariah Carey ad got wrong — and how to avoid tone-deaf marketing during hard times
• Why humor, relatability, and repetition are the real keys to shareable content
• How subscription boxes became a $40B business model (and how coaches and creators can steal their strategy)
  
  

Timestamps:

 00:00- Introduction
 03:35 – The controversial Sephora holiday ad: “elves on strike”
 07:50 – When “no press is bad press” doesn’t work anymore
15:20 – Uber Eats and Calvin Klein: ads that actually nailed storytelling
25:30 – Double standards in advertising: Sydney Sweeney vs. Calvin Klein
27:45 – Why people share content: the psychology behind “contagious” marketing
31:10 – Real estate agents and car dealerships making viral, personality-driven content
39:10 – Subscription boxes: recurring revenue, retention, and brand loyalty goldmine

References & Resources:

• Sephora — Mariah Carey holiday ad
• Calvin Klein — Jeremy Allen White & Jungkook campaigns
• Contagious by Jonah Berger (book)
• Wildgrain — subscription bakery doing $31M/year
• HelloFresh, Stitch Fix, ButcherBox, Above the Bar
• HubSpot’s The Hustle newsletter

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📩 Michelle: hello@michellepualani.com
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Transcript

Joanna Newton: Welcome to another episode of the Click Tease podcast where we break down everything that happened each week in marketing, branding, and content. Today we are going to talk about the controversial Sephora ad that came out this holiday season. Talk about ways that you can entertain in your content to increase shares and break down why subscription boxes are a great way to grow your business. I'm Joanna Newton, co-founder of Millennial Marketer and Agency that helps creator create their own digital products.

Michelle Pualani: And I am Michelle Pulani Houston, founder of To Be Honest Beverage Company. It's a non-alcoholic, functional spirit line, as well as business mentor and consultant. Let's dive in. 

Joanna Newton: Today I'm sipping on plain water. Very exciting. have lately, I think I've told you this, Michelle, but I have like light food allergies, pretty mild food allergies, but over the past couple of weeks they've been like more intense and I will eat [00:01:00] something and have like immediate allergic reactions, which is not normal for me.

So. Today I was like, I just need to eat very simply for a few days to get whatever it is out of my system. Um, so water, it's.

Michelle Pualani: I love that. Yeah, sometimes you just need to get back to the basics. Just super simple. I have done a lot of that before when I've dealt with digestive health issues and things like that, so I hope you sort it out. 'cause that sucks. It's so hard to deal with food stuff like it's just never

Joanna Newton: Yeah, and I like, I've always had like sort of like a very mild, like one, one example is like mild nut allergies. Like it doesn't put me in crazy, but I'll have like itchy gums or something like that and then it'll go away pretty fast. Well, yesterday we got ice cream and I tried a sample of this like sweet potato pie ice cream, and it had a pecan in it and I ate it.

And as soon as I. Like, I got hives and ISI was like, okay, this is like, this is extreme.

Michelle Pualani: Wow, that's pretty bad. [00:02:00] I'm so sorry. Thankfully I like don't do dairy and I, there's a long, there was a long time I didn't do legumes, but again, it was all more like digestive stuff. It was never like a reaction issue. Jeremy, my husband's actually allergic to poppy seeds of all things.

Joanna Newton: Oh, that's very random.

Michelle Pualani: random.

We were at a wedding once and he had a poppy seed dressing. Same thing. Broke out into hives and like we had to leave. It was a whole deal.

Joanna Newton: It was the whole thing. I know it's kind of scary. I mean, luckily mine aren't that in intense, like I don't have to be hospitalized, but, but now I'm like, this is even more intense. Um, we also match again, weeks ago, I think we both wore maroon and now we're in green and black.

Michelle Pualani: I find it. Just kidding. It's the, uh, the energetics. Um, I'm drinking. It's the energetics. I am drinking yerba mate latte. So cashew milk, a little bit of map bowl and yerba mate.

Joanna Newton: Yum.

Michelle Pualani: Mm-hmm. It's earthy. It's one. We

Joanna Newton: yeah.

Michelle Pualani: about it before. I'm super earthy. I like the mushroom drinks and the [00:03:00] matcha and the iba mate.

Very earthy.

Joanna Newton: All, all of that. Um, so, so funny. So I wanna start off today with a controversial ad. I feel like since we switched the focus of this podcast where we provide weekly updates every week with what is going on in marketing, there has been an increase in controversial offensive ads.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, either we're paying more attention. So it's like the RAS, the reticular activating system, right? So now we're actually seeing red cars, 'cause we bought a red car, but it could be, or we're just at a time where that is the new norm. And I think that's part of our conversation we typically have on the podcast is.

What is the new, what are the things that people are doing in marketing, advertising, uh, content creation, digital platforms, and how people are getting people's attention and converting them into clients and customers. And so that's, you know, our whole focus. But I do feel like [00:04:00] we're, at this time, I don't know if it's like a universal thing or just a US thing, but things are getting outta hand across the board.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, things are really getting out of hand and this week of all brands to do something problematic. This week it was Sephora.

Michelle Pualani: Oh,

Joanna Newton: seen the latest Sephora holiday a.

Michelle Pualani: I have not, no.

Joanna Newton: So it's, it's kind of wild. So first of all, Sephora got Mariah Carey, who is the Queen of Christmas. There's a whole big deal every year when she defrosts and sings, its time in her whistle tone and says, it's Christmas season, right?

Because she's one of the biggest Christmas songs of all time. All I Want for Christmas is you. So the add is starring her and. It, it, it's interesting to say the least. So in the ad, she starts saying it's time and then [00:05:00] freezes because all of her makeup is gone. And she's like, where is it? And an elf is stealing the makeup and running off. And then this elf, she's like, where are you going? Like, it's Christmas. We need you and the elf. Says that he's going on strike because of living through past Holiday hills and that him and all the, the head elf quit and he's going on strike and all of the elves are going on strike. And, Mariah Carey essentially is like, well, you can't quit and cancel Christmas.

And then does her, like, it's time chant and he turns into a snowman and then begrudgingly works like that is the ad.

Michelle Pualani: We're gonna have to Google this. We're gonna have to Google it and watch it and figure this out. You know what kind of cracks me up? This makes me think of a lot of Super Bowl commercials. You know when you sit down, you watch the Super Bowl and the commercials are like, and they're their own thing. The companies are spending so much money for such a short period of time to get in front of all of these people who are then, [00:06:00] you know, also interested in the ads because it's become like such a thing as the the com Super Bowl commercials and you watch some of the ads and you're.

People got paid to come up with this. Like people actually took time a long time. A lot of people, tons of resources and lots of money, and this is what they're putting out

Joanna Newton: this.

Michelle Pualani: this.

Joanna Newton: Mocking, boycotting and workers' rights is a really weird topic for a Christmas ad. then like when you add in like what's going on in the US And now to be fair to Sephora, I think. They probably made this ad six months ago. Right? They didn't know they would be literally airing it right? As tons of Americans were losing like snap benefits and literally people are [00:07:00] talking about. Boycotting Black Friday shopping and Black Friday kinda week shopping because we're in a government shutdown and people are, aren't getting their benefits and people don't have money to spend on Christmas. Right? I realize that six months ago they couldn't have guessed that that is where we were going to be.

So I think like the timing of it is like incredibly horrible for them. I think. Um. So, so that's part of it. And they got Mariah Carey, they made the ad saying like, oh, let's just not run it because of what's going on in the world is, would, would've been a tough decision. But I even think the concept conceptually, even without everything that's going on in the world, is like really strange.

Like it's just like a strange topic where I feel like they could have done so many better things that wouldn't have been problematic. And I just, you right Michelle, I just don't get it how time and. They come up with these ads that get this backlash, and the only thing that I can [00:08:00] think of is that they know that it's going to get the backlash, but know that the payoff from the conversations is worth it.

That's the only thing that, because I cannot imagine they didn't think about that.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, the concept that no press or no press is bad press is like any type of attention, but I don't think we're in that era anymore. Like we are seeing issues with either celebrities or brands that are either going bankrupt or losing. Um. Brand partnerships, right? Sponsorships and things like that. Like as an athlete or as a celebrity, an actress, a musician, et cetera.

There are repercussions to the type of content that's being put out. Whereas I feel like we used to be is, I mean this, this, the conversation we had last week is that the consumer is driving, the consumer's driving attention, the consumer's driving what is happening, and you can think all you want in terms of like.

Back alley [00:09:00] deals and Okay puppet media type deals. And that may may still be the case, that there are a select few who are still making moves behind the scenes. But we are in a very different era where the mass of consumers have the control, they have the say, they're the ones who are speaking up. It's like the issue that we brought up with the bakery incident of the influencer and how.

That influencer was, is severely impacted and held to a different standard because of audience members and because of the people who are consuming the content. So with an ad like that, it just makes me wonder, I mean, we're headed into holiday season, we're. Like Christmas is such a beautiful thing, Mariah Carey, that song, there's so much like emotional storytelling that you could have done that would've been positive.

And it makes me think of the Super Bowl commercial deal. It's like Budweiser. So [00:10:00] Budweiser always has some type of like horse drawn carriage with the Clydesdale and the dog. And the sentiment of those commercials is always one of like. Like peacefulness, like American Homecoming and family or something of that nature.

Same thing with Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola typically has this just like. Positive, energetic, like, and it brings you to the question of what are you trying to communicate in your marketing? Like what are you trying to communicate and what is Sephora communicating? By having a setup like that, that is likely done poorly because it's in such a short period of time.

It's not like a full on movie with like character arcs and where you, you're not, you.

Joanna Newton: And if it was Mariah Carey would be the villain. Like if it was a full on movie with character arcs Carey forcing the elves to work so that everyone else can have a Christmas, would be the villain in that story, which [00:11:00] is.

Michelle Pualani: Like what's, yeah, what, what were you thinking? What was the directive and who are you talking to? Like who, who are your customers? Who is your target audience, and what are you trying to say to them? And we get lost in. The messaging, we get lost in the camera setup. We get lost in, where do I have to sit when I'm talking to the camera?

We get lost in the scripts. We get lost in, oh, I have to have the greatest hook. But it usually comes down to, what am I trying to say to the person that I wanna say it to? If I just pick one person out of my audience, my ideal client, the person that I wanna bring through the door, what am I like communicating to them?

Do I wanna make them feel bad? Do I want to have them feel guilt? Do I want them to. See this as a struggle, as a pain, or do I want to inspire? Do I wanna motivate? Do I want to make them feel connected to the messaging that I'm putting out? And so I just think, I don't understand, like it makes me question, I'm like, why am I not making the [00:12:00] kind of money to develop commercials?

Because you guys obviously are terrible at it. Terrible.

Joanna Newton: bad, so bad, and, and there's always the reality that. doesn't exist in a vacuum. So you have to, when, when you're creating things, part of it's knowing your audience and, and knowing that huge, huge part. But then you also have to take into account what is the overall conversation happening going on in the world, right?

And then the time that we're facing right now, you have to keep that in mind. I've seen a lot of local businesses handle this really well. Um, one of my like. A local supermarket grocery store right now with, with SNAP benefits going away this month for Americans losing some support when it comes to shopping for groceries. They're like reducing costs on some basic pantry staples and like talking about that and saying like, Hey, we'll keep you [00:13:00] updated. We're gonna reduce costs on these things this week and those things next week so that like you can get through this time. What a great positive way to contribute. And promote your business at the same time, right?

Because people are gonna come in and shop, they can save money on those staples, and then they'll likely buy other things as well. And that's just such a great way to be part of that, that conversation. Um, rather than hitting people while they're down or essentially mocking people who. Are unhappy with the way things are.

They're, they're coming in and kind of being that pillar of the community and I think a lot of businesses could be, could be doing that. Right? Right now, going into the HO holiday season where money is tight, are hard. There are, you know, with the government shutdown, there are lots of Americans working with no pay right now. Like, and they're going into the holiday season with that. So if I were a big business or I was a bus, my business doesn't really [00:14:00] do holiday sales or, or holiday shopping. We're just not that kind of business. But if I was, I would be finding ways. To be showing goodwill, providing discounts where I can and like helping people, right?

Because then they're gonna come back to me. And I think a lot of local, small businesses have an opportunity this holiday season to essentially save the day, right? So if people are boycotting some of the big box stores or if everything's too expensive, how can you save the day as a small business for your community who might be struggling right now?

Michelle Pualani: Yeah. On the flip side of the advertising scheme is there are some companies that you just feel sometimes they just like do it. Right, and I've always found that Uber Eats does really, really great commercials. There's actually a commercial once if you're a friends fan. I grew up watching friends and so like friends is a big part of my family and our identity in a big way.

But Uber Eats did a commercial where Ross ran into Rachel, but in like [00:15:00] real life, like Jennifer Anon and, and, um. I'm blanking on his name. David Schwimmer. That's what it is. David Schwimmer. Yeah.

Joanna Newton: I.

Michelle Pualani: Ross and Rachel. They're like on a thing and he like, he's like, Hey. And he like goes into a hug and she's like, well, like hi.

And he is like, come on, it's, it's me. And she's like, she doesn't recognize him. And that's the commercial where he is like, God, I can't believe it. And she's like, God, that guy is so weird. But Uber Eats, and I think there's one too with, uh, the Beckhams. That's a hilarious one. But this commercial this year won an Emmy and it features Brian Cox, who's like, if you're not familiar, is like, I forget actually what his whole role was and why he's so popular, but he's like an older kind of stouter white, um, man.

And so he's got, you know, like a white mustache, white hair. And the, the, it's kind of set almost documentary [00:16:00] style, like storytelling. But he goes back to college, so he like shows up to go to college as a student and he checks in and he's of course like everyone else is like in their early twenties or 18, 19 and like this older guy and he, he has a roommate and.

He's just being old and grumpy and he has all these different interactions of like introducing himself. And then the other students are like talking to the camera like, yeah, Brian's, you know, he's not your typical student, but he's a great guy and it's this whole thing. Uh, but he does it because the advertising is around student discounts for Uber Eats.

And it won an Emmy and you watch it and it's just funny and relatable. It's not making, it's not like tearing someone down. So it doesn't lead to a sense of like, Ooh, that didn't like quite feel. Right. It's a very approachable topic 'cause it's just about being a student. It's not really like a political or controversial topic.

And I think [00:17:00] brands have the opportunity to present themselves in a way that people. Like break down the barrier with the humor component and then connect with them on that, like human to human. Like it's just being a student, like going to school. It's not some crazy adventure with like blowing things out of cannons or there's no fireworks.

You know, a lot of the times there's a lot of like over the top type. Ads and marketing that again, give you that feeling of like, what? Why? Like there's no connection. But anything that just comes back down to like storytelling, humor, relatability, and conveys, like a very clear message wins. And I think some brands just get it and some don't.

You know?

Joanna Newton: Yeah. And to be, to be in those meetings, I think it would be so

Michelle Pualani: Yeah.

Joanna Newton: to just sit in, hear the ideas, hear the ones get thrown out, and the ones that are kept, and being able [00:18:00] to win an Emmy for your commercial because your story is that good, I think is the thing we should aspire to in our content. Right. Like, not obviously like we're not gonna be eligible for Emmys, but when we sit down to connect, to create, to talk about what we do, to take that, that care and that thought and that, that understanding of like telling a really good story.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, and we're actually, I mean like even thinking about it, like there are creator award ceremonies now across the globe that celebrate creators at different levels and ultimately, like I've seen, you know, your influence. Content creator type where it's just like entertainment value. But then there are other people who have their own products and offer their services and they do coaching, and similarly are getting awarded for the type of content that they're creating.

So I think there's opportunity. Uh, another ad that I actually wanted to talk about is the Calvin Klein commercial series. I think, and I, I don't wanna pronounce [00:19:00] this correctly, but it's Jung Hook or Jung Hook. Have you seen.

Joanna Newton: I haven't seen it.

Michelle Pualani: You're gonna

Joanna Newton: have

Michelle Pualani: Google it. So you remember when, oh, I'm gonna forget his name. Off the top of my head.

It was so popular. It was a Calvin Klein ad that came out. He's like in just the white boxer briefs. He is the bear. There's something about the bear.

Joanna Newton: the Bear, like, what's his name? He is, he is an actor.

Michelle Pualani: an actor.

Joanna Newton: The Bear's a really good show.

Michelle Pualani: I'll look it up. So in any case, he's this, anyway, it's this very sexy Calvin Klein ad with him and like Boxer brief and stuff. So then Calvin Klein, I'm pretty sure it was recently, at least I'm seeing the content around this recently come out with another ad with this young hook and he's like a, an age a dancer.

And um. It's just like a very cool, edgy vibe, but it's also, you know, very sexy and men. And I think it's interesting because we have previously talked about on the Click Tease podcast, and if you aren't yet, hit subscribe every [00:20:00] single week. We talk about updates around marketing, personal branding, and content creation.

But we've talked about Sydney Sweeney and the abysmal advertising campaign that was jeans. Um, and what was, what was this phrase that she used? What was the thing that was so bad?

Joanna Newton: Well, it was like

Michelle Pualani: Has great jeans.

Joanna Newton: great jeans.

Michelle Pualani: Has great jeans. Okay, cool. So, so that was a colossal fail. Now the other thing, and the tough part about the Sydney Sweeney deal is that it was a slight, slightly over sexualized advertising campaign, particularly aimed at younger women.

Right. And so there was a little bit of a disconnect. Now, I do think that we have a bit of a double standard in how women are, quote unquote, allowed to be sexy or seen or over sexualized versus how men are allowed to be seen sexy over sexualized, especially when it comes to [00:21:00] clothing. So, Jeremy Re No, no, no, it's, it's Jeremy something.

I swear to God, I've gotta Google it. You talk for a second. Hang on.

Joanna Newton: Talk for a second about what? That's a lot of pressure. Now I have to

Michelle Pualani: Talk about the double standards for men and women.

Joanna Newton: Thank you. I appreciate you. Yeah, and I, I think we see it all the time, right? Like, women are expected to be super, super sexy, but not sexy if you're too, like there's this a really fine line and men tend to be. Like they're either kind of very sexualized or this like goofy trope, right?

We

Michelle Pualani: Yes.

Joanna Newton: those more extremes.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, we, we want to fit people into categories. Tangent. Uh, Chris Pratt, he, when he first started in acting, he wanted to do like funny roles, but he was actually ripped and like in good shape at the time and couldn't book or land the roles that he wanted. So when he actually landed Parks and Rec, he had.

[00:22:00] Made himself overweight and dumpy in order to get that role. Now, of course, over time, of course, he got was more recognized and could curate roles better so he could integrate humor into being like a, a ripped, sexier type, handsome man. But we do kind of want to compartmentalize people into these roles.

So it's Jeremy Allen White. Jeremy Allen White is the actor who did the Calvin Klein campaign. Um, and he, it was very sexy. It was like a big deal when it came out and he's like doing pushups and like running on this roof and he's just in like white boxer briefs and we're talking like ripped abs, strong torso, very sexy.

Now people see that advertising and the conversation typically around it is like, oh my gosh, that's so sexy. That's so amazing. We love that. A little bit different with the Young Hook because he [00:23:00] is more fully dressed. Um, but he does, I think, have his shirt off at one point, and so it's just kinda like that sexy energy.

I don't know, it's just one of those interesting things in terms of response that I feel like, especially within such a short timeframe, we're seeing this very. Different. And Sydney Sweeney is like fully clothed in jeans. Now, of course, the, the larger conversation is what she said. But just visually, if you're looking at it, you people are basically hating on Sydney Sweeney for being oversexualized in that look.

But she's predominantly. Clothed, and then you look at an advertisement for something like Calvin Klein where very unclothed, and the response is so, so different.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, it's so different. And I think we have like, it's partially due to male, female, uh, like double standards. Right. But I also think to do with the content of the copy. [00:24:00] If C Sweeney had done that ad, it was overly sexualized and. say what she said. We probably wouldn't have had that conversation. But also too, like an audience mismatch, American Eagle was often fresh, young, going to, you know, a lot of their looks were more like college age kids and like what might be appropriate to wear at a college campus. Um, and then. younger kids buy that, right? A lot of times, like what you see in the advertising is really for a younger age.

So there was like this mismatch when Calvin Klein, I haven't seen these ads, but they're much more like editorial highbrow, like, you know, Vogue Magazine versus that. So when you have this mismatch and then you add in this double standard, and then when you add in the copy because the words in the image and the audience.

All need to go together or else something feels off. And when the words and the images and the audience go together, it's great. And when they [00:25:00] don't go together, you have a mess and you can have or in an ineffective ad.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, I think it comes back to, right, is like, who are you, who are you talking to and how are you gonna communicate that? Like it, it really. It gets, it feels complex and complicated when you sit down and you think about it and you try to take in everything at once, but at the end of the day, again, who are, who is that one person that you're trying to communicate with and what are you telling them?

You know, Calvin Klein is, is speaking to that edgy. More sophisticated, like elevated type look and feel and vibe and very cool and very trendy. Um, and, and how that's communicated. Uh, so yeah, super, super interesting indeed. Do you have anything on content creation this week? I have a couple of things.

Joanna Newton: You go for it then. I don't have anything specific.

Michelle Pualani: Okay. So. I lost it [00:26:00] last Friday when I was going through content. I know that everybody's algorithm is different. My algorithm right now on social media is off the charts hilarious. Like hands down, I am. I've always had a love hate relationship with social media, and if you are someone who is a service-based business owner, a coach, a creator, and you feel like you have to be on social media, but you don't necessarily.

Love it, but you've gotta figure out how to make it work. You probably have a similar sentiment of like, oh, I hate that I have to do this and show up and like talk to the camera and do these things and or dance, you know, when it was originally translate transitioning to that so you can kind of resent social media.

And then of course there's all the like double standards and things aren't always as they look and oh my gosh, it's so fake. So there's all that too. I used to feel that way and now. I don't get on social media very, very often. I get on it specifically to do what we do on this [00:27:00] podcast to look at like what's trending, what's up to date, anything that kind of seems relevant and topical to right now.

And while I was doing that on Friday, I could not stop laughing because. All of the content was so, so funny. So I'll let you chime in. And then I have, I have two, two particular types of businesses right now that I think are crushing it with their content creation that are not content creators or influencers.

Joanna Newton: Yeah. Well I love it, Michelle. You just kept like sending me, you gotta watch this one, you gotta watch this one, you gotta watch this one. And that's something that, I mean, Michelle is sending that to me to look at for this podcast. But that's something that when you're creating content that you have to think about is like, how do you make something someone will want to share? Right?

Michelle Pualani: Yeah.

Joanna Newton: a lot of times, people. they talk about this in in the book, um, contagious that we've talked about on this podcast before is like, what will people share? Like what is it that makes [00:28:00] someone share something? And of the reasons people share is one is if like. They can like, provide some good news to someone, make them laugh.

Like that's like a big, a big thing. You wanna, it made you feel good. You want your friend to feel good. You want the social capital of being someone that makes someone feel good, right? So how do you create content that people want to share? And I think being surprising, being entertaining, doing something different.

Doing something, um. Special and unique is what's gonna get you. That's part of, there's a lot of that goes into getting people to share things, but that's part of it.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, absolutely. People at, there's a certain sense and in this contagious book, which is so good, if you haven't read it yet, honestly I need to reread it because it's been like a year or two. And so people, the social cal. That you're talking about, people want to be perceived a certain way. So I like the [00:29:00] analogy of cars is if you have a guy who is driving a Ferrari, he wants to be perceived in a certain way, and you think like, Ugh, that's so ridiculous.

Or okay over the top, or whatever else. But if you have a mom who's driving. A safe minivan or some type of SUV vehicle. It's the exact same concept and perception that people want of other people for them. That was a stupid way to say that, but the point is.

Joanna Newton: I think you've got the point across.

Michelle Pualani: I got the photograph. People wanna per be perceived a certain way.

The way that we dress, the way we do our hair, our jewelry, our makeup, our cars, our homes, our jo, like, there are all these things in which we want people to perceive us in a certain way. And so when people think about sharing content. It's the same thing. They wanna be perceived in a certain way. Either they're sharing something funny and they're bringing that joy to someone else.

They're sharing something informative [00:30:00] so that it tells the other person, Hey, I'm in the know about this and now you know that I'm in the know. Or it's something that like is, you know, a luxury thing or, I don't wanna say snooty thing, but like a thing that. Allows someone else to see them in, again, a certain light.

They're perceiving them as someone who is, oh, I'm paying attention to this artwork or this literature, or, I am smart or intelligent in this way. That's what they're communicating subconsciously or consciously, which I think is a really powerful thing. So reading that, 

anything. I have two. I still got my two things for content creation. They're so bad at segues. Joanna, I got nothing. I got nothing to segue. I just wanna talk about one topic and then I'm gonna talk about another topic and I don't care how they relate. Okay, so this is back to content creation. So I think that the two [00:31:00] groups, one, two of the groups that I've seen killing it, not the only ones, but are real estate agents.

And dealerships. So we're in again, a place of social media where if you look at content from an educational perspective, now, if you were a real estate agent, you would wanna tell people, these are all the technical details of the house. These are the steps that we need to take, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

But as a consumer, you don't really care about those things, and for each real estate agent, there isn't actually that big of a distinction about their process, the technical paperwork that they have to do, how they're gonna move you through it. So what does matter? It matters about their personality, their values, and whether you can trust them or not, whether you relate to them.

And this is the crux of personal branding. So real estate agents, [00:32:00] there are a couple of instances that I've seen in content creation where they're showing up and being themselves. There was this woman who did this content piece where she's like. A little bit more what I would call like Dowdy. She's not like a stunner, she's not trying to be anything.

She's not. She's just like a slightly older plain Jane type woman. But she's like whispering into the mic and talking about playing hide and seek in the house. Let's see if you can like find me in the rooms. And so then you, they. Pan through the room, and she's like, I bet you can't tell where I'm hiding.

You'd think it'd be behind the curtains, but guess what? And then she pops out and she's like, I'm actually here. And she does that in each of the rooms. But it's so funny, it's so relatable. It got so much fricking traction, and people absolutely loved it because she was authentically being herself and creating content in a way that reflected what it is that she does as a real estate agent.

But in a unique, dynamic way. [00:33:00] There's another one where there's these two girls, uh, two women where they stage themselves like paused in a room. Like one of them is like getting out of the shower, and the other one's like in the mirror or they're in the kitchen like pouring wine, but they're, you know, that challenge.

It's almost like the mannequin challenge where they're. Posed, but the camera is panning around them. So it's showing the dynamics of the space. It's showing them in action so that people could relate to being in that space. And it's another way that as a real estate agent, as a very technical thing, they're demonstrating in marketing their personality.

The location and putting the consumer in the place of where they want them to be from a desire perspective in living that life. So that's the type of personal branding and marketing that I think is incredibly powerful right now, and that people are connecting with on such a deep and fun level, you know?

Joanna Newton: Yeah, and it's so, it's so interesting to watch when you [00:34:00] find these examples of people doing something really cool and creative. A lot of them will have some sort of video formula where they're doing the same concept over and over again, but just in like different locations or different places or with the different message, but it's the same kind of content formula. Something I always think about. Is that like as a creator, you might have an idea to do something like that. Something creative. The hide and seek thing or, or anything. Right. You do something creative, you do it once, it doesn't take off, so you never do it again, and then it never gets traction because you never gave it.

Chance to get traction. Sometimes if you have a video formula idea, you might have to do it a hundred times and then it's that hundredth time where it really takes off, but you're slowly building, you're solely building, you're slowly building, and then it finally takes off. I watched this one creator, I actually have no way I should go look and see like how ever she's planning on monetizing. She watches through like, you know, on [00:35:00] TikTok when people are like. They're at like a party. They're at a potluck and they're like, my name is Sarah, and I brought the deviled

Michelle Pualani: Oh yeah.

Joanna Newton: name is, you know those, well, she takes those videos and gives people. Uh, like she judges them based on what they've brought, and she just does it in this very funny way where she gives them like really funny, weird punishments if they bring something bad or she gives them something funny and good if they bring something good. And every video is that formula she's watching and she's reacting and she's judging everybody for. What they're bringing and it's absolutely hilarious. Every video is the same. I don't know how many she did before she took off, right? But she did that over and over and over again. I think sometimes like we try something, it doesn't work, and we just change. And then we change and we change and we stay in our comfort zone instead of really being surprising and just. in our content formula and [00:36:00] instead of like completely changing, just tweaking, just changing the hook, just changing the content, just changing the hashtags or the captions or something like that.

But sticking to your formula,

Michelle Pualani: Yeah. Next week I'll talk about the Mercedes. Uh, have you seen the, like bat in a Benz series with this Mercedes dealership?

Joanna Newton: ma'am.

Michelle Pualani: Okay, we'll talk about that next weekend because I love it and it's so great. Again, it's like it's creating a personal brand around something that isn't technically personal, like Mercedes is an international company.

It's huge, but this particular dealership has created a personal brand and identity around. Their local dealership and the type of person that they're looking to attract. It's so specific, it's so on point and I frigging love it. So we'll talk about that next week. But dealerships as a whole, I've been noticing, have been creating content that I just think is hilarious.

And for example, there have been a couple like this where it's like, you know, [00:37:00] text on screen of like, okay, we gotta bring in new customers. And they're like. Enough said, or like me, and then it's these guys who are not for, you know, again, just like normal guys in the back of the truck, like the truck bed comes down, there's a chair and they've got like this Beyonce song and then they start like dancing or like doing a dance, you know, around the chair and they, they have like competition things or they have something going on.

I just think that. Marketing, like social media marketing right now has become so clever and funny, and I think the people who are gonna win and drive people to their location of business are people who are embracing that and having fun and being entertaining and starting conversations and speaking to their person and being relatable.

It's again like. The consumer has never been more informed than they are today, so you don't have to try to trick them. You don't have to try to explain everything in [00:38:00] one go. You don't even have to, again, like in this content, you are not even talking about the dang truck. You're just showing the truck in action, or you're just demonstrating in a way that makes.

Sense, you know, um, or like going for a test drive and like the, the sales person is like freaked out in the passenger seat while the other person's using it, but you're still talking about the features of the vehicle. But it's just like this entertaining format. And I just think that, again, we're headed in that direction.

There is no more just like. Hey, welcome to my dealership. Like we have these types of cars available and you can get these types of things we're, that's just, that's that type type of type of content isn't gonna go anywhere. There's zero distribution to it, and so there's no point behind it anymore.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, it's, it's gone and it's over and, and in some ways, whenever those shifts happen, that's someone else's [00:39:00] opportunity to gain market share.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah.

Joanna Newton: when there's a shift, the people who go there will win. So keep an eye on it. That's what we're here for. That's why you should follow us, because we are going to tell you what's happening. So you don't have to do everything we say. But when something speaks to you and connects to you, you say, okay, I'm gonna jump on that. I'm going to do that. And that's when you can see that growth in your business. Now, one thing that we promised last week. We would talk about today are subscription boxes. so we, we briefly brought up subscription boxes and how we felt about them. I'd love to know, have you used any subscription boxes, Michelle?

Michelle Pualani: You know, I definitely get subscriptions. We have had subscription boxes in the past when it comes to food. Um, but I haven't personally gotten any other level of like subscription box.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, I've used a couple. Uh, oh, my mic just fell over. Woo. [00:40:00] Um, I've used a couple, um, we did HelloFresh for a while, which my husband didn't like because the protein sizes weren't enough, and he was always like, this isn't enough protein, but. did HelloFresh for a while, which was super convenient, um, for cooking, meal planning, all of that. Um, I currently do Stitch Fix because I do not have the time to like go shopping or think about things. Um, and that's really cool. Um, and I've used a couple others, like I've tried a few others, but they're often a very super convenient way to get products, to get the things that you need and all of that. What's really surprising to me is the subscription box. currently sell is worth about $40 billion.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah.

Joanna Newton: billion, and it's projected by 2033 to be at, I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget. billion by by 2033. So that's the projection [00:41:00] of where people think subscription boxes as a model will.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, I think so. Subscription boxes are incredibly interesting. What spurred, I think part of this conversation for me is, I read this on the hustle, HubSpot Media. I get their emails and read this on one of their blogs recently is there is a bakery called, I swear to God, there's a fricking fly around me and it's driving me bongers.

I cannot, oh my gosh.

Joanna Newton: this moment.

Michelle Pualani: It gets me every time. I just, I want them gone. Okay. Wild Grain is a subscription delivery service for baked goods. They do 31 million in annual revenue. And they started in 20 20 12. Pastries. Every single month you get to pick your pastries. The pastries come half are frozen, um, par baked, so you don't have to bake them for that long.

And they [00:42:00] do 31 million in annual revenue. Now subscription boxes like ButcherBox. You're getting meat delivered. There's above the bar, which is a mocktail company. This is like my industry. So I see them and pay attention to them. So they do, uh, different drink options and recipes every single month that you can get subscription boxes, can be wearable clothes, those types of things.

Um, consumables are good, right? Because you want people to get through them. Something that is more like, there are self-care boxes for sure out there. I know. Makeup, um, that kind of thing, but you wanna think of something that can be consumed rather fast, right? Like pastries. I can eat 12 pastries in a week.

In a day, if I could actually, Jeremy, my husband is, I got him a couple books for his birthday, um, from this creator who is phenomenal. The loopy whisk, she does baking like science stuff, but she [00:43:00] really specializes in like vegan, gluten free, like all alternative options. And I'm gluten free and dairy free.

So hubby has been making. Uh, some different gluten-free things. He's about to make me gluten-free. Cinnamon rolls. So yes, we can eat some serious baked goods here, but the subscription box thing is really smart. You're getting people on a recurring revenue model, and if it's not gonna be a subscription service, in terms of like.

SaaS software as a service or some type of like, again, entertainment. You've got Spotify, you've got Netflix, you've got like, that's like money, money. But if you're looking at delivering some type of e-commerce, some type of physical product, a consumable, I think subscription is a really, really great way to go.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, and, and it solves so many problems, I think both for the consumer and for the business, right? So like, there's like the level of, as the consumer, for someone like me, I don't have a lot of time to shop, plan, do those things. So getting some of the things I need on a recurring [00:44:00] basis is super, super helpful.

And having it in an app and being able to make adjustments and, and all of that, um, is super convenient. kinds. There's something for everyone, which is, which is really cool from a business perspective, building that recurring revenue and finding ways to keep customers surprise and delight customers in some ways, like lock them in, right?

Like they're in there, they're gonna. Buy from you now every month, you're part of their routine is huge. The other thing that's really important here to note when it comes to subscription boxes is from a company valuation standpoint. So if you are looking to sell your company or looking to leverage.

Like borrowing on your company to grow other things from that standpoint, that puts you in a really good position to have a higher valuation of your business. So a lot of times when you, when you do company valuations, there's multipliers that look at different things to decide what your actual [00:45:00] company value is, and some of those multipliers.

Are multiplied by two to three times. When, when, when actually calculating your company valuations, when that's a recurring revenue basis. So if you wanna sell, if you need to borrow against your, your company's, um, value to grow and expand, that really, really helps. Another thing too, that I think people don't think about and a lot of these recurring models, um. Companies use. If you're in a subscription based model, companies use that money to invest. So this isn't, this isn't

Michelle Pualani: Oops.

Joanna Newton: model as an example, but Starbucks as an example. When you use their app and you load money onto your app, say you have $20 to buy Starbucks on that, Starbucks takes that $20, invests it to make money on your money, and then when you use that money it. Then gets recognized, right? So it's kind of like a complicated financial [00:46:00] puzzle. businesses, oftentimes, if you're paying a monthly subscription fee, technically don't rev recognize they've. Used that money until they've sent you the product. So there's this window of time where they have your money to invest it, which is like wild to think about.

But that's what a lot of these businesses do when they're getting that recurring revenue. They are investing it until it gets spent. Um, and it's a really smart way. for them to make money and continue to grow as a business. So there's lots of benefits to coming up with some sort of subscription based part of your business, even if it is digital, right?

If it's physical products or digital products or something. Having that recurring revenue model can be really good for your customers to keep, to like give them what they need in a very convenient way and can be good for you for your business stability and valuation.

Michelle Pualani: Absolutely. So keep in mind who are you talking [00:47:00] to? Think about the different ways that you can serve that person and communicate. Look to other examples of what's happening. Get inspiration. Get motivated by what's happening in content creation and marketing as a whole. And remember to align like your values type of person that you are and bring that into your personal brand, you know?

Joanna Newton: Yeah. Well, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Click Des. We covered some really great topics that I think will get you ready for the holiday season with your marketing branding needs. Make you. Like this episode, subscribe, share it with a friend who could use it. And if you haven't already, check the show notes and get to our substack.

If you subscribe there, we send a weekly update that's a digest of all the topics that we've covered that give you super actionable things that you can apply to your business this week.