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Twelve years ago, I was interviewing with Suzanne “Suz” Gibbs Howard for a role at Ideo. Suz had been a partner at Ideo for about 20 years and had built her career as a human-centered consultant. I was a young, aspiring designer who didnt fully understand the enormity of the brands name. I just knew how to design learning experiences. I was 25 years old and had previously worked as a grassroots organizer, where I designed experiences to bring people together. After that, I found myself at an online university startup in San Francisco. As fate would have it, Suz had an idea to build a learning platform (which would later become Ideo U), and she needed a junior instructional designer. Yes! I blurted out when she asked if Id be up for a six-week experiment. But in the hours after the call, the fear started to creep in. Sure, I was at a fast-paced, fairly chaotic startup, but it was still a steady job. Id also just finished grad school with student loans. I also lived in a city where people paid $1,200 to live in a walk-in closet. I paced around my living room and called her back. Hey Mark, she said. Hi Suz, I said nervously, but still unaware that the question I was about to ask was ridiculous: If this doesnt work out . . . will you have my back? Suz said yes. But shed later tell me that her yes carried a weight for her. That night, she brought it up with her husband: Should I have said yes? I mean, I dont know if it will work out. And hes taking a risk. Great leaders have your back Suz never once went back on her word. She had my back from that day forward. She mentored meeven when I was probably being difficult. She invested in me, signed me up for sessions with a leadership coach, and connected me with mentor after mentor. Even years after I left Ideo to move to Berlin, shed go out of her way to see me and respond to all my notes within a day. She knew the gravity of saying shed have my back. She didnt take it lightly. And she surely didnt owe that promise to a 25-year-old kid. She wasand still isa giant in the field of design innovation. But thats her style of leadership: she walks alongside you. That experience taught me just how important it was for leaders to have their peoples backs. And that requires the following: 1. See the whole person Supporting your people begins with seeing the wholeness of those you lead. The Japanese term sei-katsu-shawhich describes seeing a person in the fullness of their lifestyle, dreams, and aspirationscaptures this beautifully. Everyone is uniqueget to know their specific flavor. What makes each person tick? What makes their heart sing? What motivates them? 2. Be the net When they take risks, let them know youre there to catch them. When they stumble, dont just criticize themyou also need to offer support, resources, or time to help them recover and learn. It shows them you believe in their potential, even in tough moments, especially in tough moments. What are their fears? How might you help design the conditions for them to lean into those with bravery? 3. Cocreate Yes, I know. Its such an overused word. But having someones back means inviting them into spaces where you can roll up your sleeves together, spaces that are about work and growth. Set goals together that align with the teams mission. Find out what their long-term career aspirations and North Stars are, and figure out how you might be able to help them stretch in a way that gets them closer to that goal. 4. Tell the truth with care Now, I get that this doesnt always scream Ive got your back. When youre young (and a little naive, like I was), it can feel like a critique. But the leaders who truly had my back showed me that my blind spots werent just flawsthey were part of what made me whole. For example, my ability to light up a room and unlock people could also suck a room dry if I was burned out or stressed. 5. Show up, dont just say so Dont just say the thing, do the thing. The most inspiring leaders dont wait for the perfect momentthey create it. They understand that words are hollow without the weight of action behind them. They know that action is where purpose meets the real worldand where real growth begins. Whats one small step that you can take to show up? Whats something you can do that they might remember forever? Suz changed my life. We both believed in the sanctity of those words: I have your back. Back then, I only understood them in the context of friendship. Now I know what they mean by leadership. And heres what Ive learned: its not just about giving. Theres something profoundly reciprocal about it all. The real gift is getting to witness someone else grow, thrive, and leave their mark on the world. Thats the beautythose relationships, built on mutual care, end up shaping you just as much as you shape them.
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E-Commerce
Late-night Zillow scrolling just got a little easier on the eyes. The residential real estate platform announced that dark mode is now available on its iOS app. Just tap your profile icon in the top-right corner, then tap app settings, select the dark app theme, and voil, you can scroll through listings more comfortably in the dark. “Your midnight move starts here,” Zillow says. Dark mode has been one of Zillow’s most requested features, the company says, and before the update, the best fans of dark mode could do was use a browser extension that offered a three-month free trial. Dark mode is popular for reducing energy consumption (and saving battery life), and Zillow says it’s about more than just aesthetics because it reduces screen glare and eye strain in low-light settings. [Image: Zillow] The reason Zillow dark mode took so long to arrive is because the companys app has many content-rich screens, including interactive maps, listing photos, and financial tools. Designing a dark mode wasn’t as simple as applying a dark theme across the board, Zillow tells Fast Company. Extra attention had to be paid to elements like color-coded map pins that show different listing types and statuses such as rentals, for sale, new construction, or homes youve already viewed. Zillow has 227 million average monthly unique users. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zillow usage surged as Americans on lockdown dreamed of moving to a new place. Today, scrolling Zillow without any purchase intentionknown as Zillow doomscrolling (or Zillow therapy for some)is how many people use the app since mortgage rates remain high and home sales are softening. At least with dark mode, there’s one less reason bedtime Zillowing will keep you up at night.
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E-Commerce
How do we tell our story? That’s a familiar phrase in brand marketing. Its a decent question, but heres a provocation to challenge this conventional wisdom: Storytelling and marketing are no longer reliable ways to build and grow a brand. To understand whats to come, its useful to look at what gets awardedand what doesntat the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Based on what we saw last week, the patterns indicate that marketing, storytelling, and, in particular, the marketing funnel, in a conventional sense, have become less dependable. This framework has long been defined as: Company builds brand (awareness) Brand attracts customers (interest and consideration) Customers buy product (purchase) [Image: I&CO] In the past decade, three factors have emerged and dominated human psyche, culture, and marketing: short-form video, people as brands, and heightened consumer expectations. These shifted the power dynamic between brands and consumers, rendering the traditional marketing funnel doctrine less relevant. As marketers and brand builders helping companies grow, what we should be asking now is this: How do we build trust? Trust has always been essential for any brand, but it’s becoming a new, essential currency. The premium on trustworthiness has increased as the line between what is real versus generated or what is true versus not becomes indistinguishable. Here are the four steps of Trustnomicsthe new currency for brand growthin an algorithmic, agentic, and synthetic world. Identify your key product moment A key product moment is a distinct feature that makes the product value visible and readily understandable. Weve been obsessed with storytelling and marketing and overlooked the power of key product moments for brands. Look to the French insurance company AXA to see the power of a key product moment with measurable impact. Home insurance policies typically guarantee emergency relocation for fire and flood victims. AXA added de violences conjugales (and domestic violence) to contracts for its customers. It is a promise to help survivors of domestic violence escape by providing emergency housing relocation. Three Words is a profoundly simple key product moment that makes AXAs product value immediately tangible and morally differentiated. Within six months of adding domestic violence coverage to its policies, AXA provided emergency relocation assistance to more than 500 families. Customer trust metrics increased by 27%, and brand consideration among women ages 25 to 45 rose by 34%. The German discount supermarket Penny created another example with its Price Packs initiative. After redesigning packaging to display fixed prices in bright colors and big fonts, and showing its commitment to price stability, Pennys store traffic increased by 22% and market share grew by 3.2% in key regions, despite broader market volatility. In customer surveys, 78% of shoppers cited price transparency as a key factor in choosing Penny over competitors. To earn the currency of trust, dont tell why your brand is better. Show why its different in the product. Treat product as content Theres a brand that was on everyones mind and lips but didnt win any Lion inside the Palais: OpenAI. The company has grown by treating product as content. OpenAI publishes product-related press releases and articles several times a week. There is little effort in creating an emotional connection with consumers through marketing or storytelling. CEO Sam Altman understands that products are the make-or-break for any business. In an information era that is becoming agentic, the best way to earn attention and trust is through the products themselves. The brand that understands product as content best iswait for itApple, the Grand Prix winner of Creative Effectiveness for its decade-long Shot on iPhone initiative. At the ceremony, everyone was hoping for an emotionally driven, brand-led campaign. Quite the contrary, Shot on iPhone is technically a product demo, which creative judges and types often look down on. As appealing as brand marketing has been, a better way to earn trust, build a brand, and drive business now is by treating product as content. When you do this, though, you have to have a point of view and stick to it. Kudos to the Apple team for being highly disciplined and single-minded with their Instagram page and not littering it with product ads. Dont confuse product ads with product as content. [Screenshot: Apple/Instagram] Repeatable system > Scalable campaign Using Apple as a guide is aspirational but unrealistic. Most marketers and brand builders dont have $48.5 billion sitting in our bank accounts to spend on huge campaigns, media buys, or expensive productions. The Japanese streetwear brand Human Made, founded by the ultra-hip Nigo and supported by Pharrell Williams, was established in 2010. Despite its celebrity status, it had modest growth for more than a decade, and its revenue hovered around 1.7 billion yen (roughly $11.6 million). When Rei Matsunuma, a longtime Uniqlo executive, joined in 2021 as Human Mades COO, he created a 52-week product planning calendar and addressed supply chain issues. Then, he started Daily Tsdaily drops of date-stamped white T-shirts, making each days T-shirts unique and exclusive. [Image: Human Made] These were not shiny, scalable campaigns that would see much limelight at marketing industry events like Cannes. Instead, they were repeatable systems that generated consistent demand among brand fans and prospective customers. In less than four years, Human Mades revenue grew sixfold to 10 billion yen (nearly $70 million), with a presence in more than 80 countries and minimal investment in storytelling or marketing. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit, wrote Will Durant in his 1926 book, The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers (paraphrasing Aristotle). Repeatable systems beat scalable campaigns. Flywheel of Trust By the time a business problem reaches marketing, its too late. When culture moves in real time, no marketing funnel can save a business. We need to turn our funnel mindset into a flywheel. [Image: I&CO] The flywheel of trust framework is based on the product itself, which is now the main driver in attracting customers. Company creates product Product attracts customers Customers trust brand Brand differentiates company In the past decade, this phenomenon has increased. Besides the aforementioned examples, others like Stanleys Quencher or Uniqlos Round Mini Shoulder Bag became sensational hits without relying on emotional storytelling or brand marketing. These brands gained traction not because they asked How do we tell our story? They asked, How do we build trust? If we translate this flywheel into tangible action, the four steps of Trustnomics are: Identify your key product moment Treat product as content Build a repeatable system Kick the flywheel of trust into motion As the world shifts from the information era to the agentic era, the marketing funnel doctrine is giving way to a new flywheel framework focused on earning and building trust. Trustnomics is not just an ingredient of your brand. Its the currency that powers brand growth.
Category:
E-Commerce
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