Business
Why brands like Chipotle, JetBlue are spotlighting employees in ads as they seek Gen Z talent for fall. “By showcasing their employees’ experiences and perspectives, these companies aim to resonate with the younger generation, harnessing the authenticity and relatability of firsthand testimonials to build a stronger connection and appeal to the Gen Z talent pool. For example, Chipotle is looking to recruit potential Gen Z employees for its fall season — the food-chain wants to fill more than 7,000 open career opportunities across the United States — and has started to highlight its employees with its short form content.”
Atlanta News Outlet Aims for Half a Million Digital Subscribers in Under Four Years. An interesting read on Atlanta Journal-Constitution and in general, the local news business.
A golden era of airline status is ending. The new changes that Delta makes to its loyalty program status should be a case study at business school. Airline status programs are notoriously complex for consumers to understand. Sometimes, too complex and limiting. Hence, I do think that it is beneficial to simplify how statuses are earned and to give customers more flexibility. Of course, you can’t please everyone. There will be some folks that already religiously earn high statuses through flights, instead of qualified spend and they will understandably be upset that the new changes are not in their favor. But Delta is banking on the assumption that this trend will continue at other airlines and passengers will not be as upset any more once they realize the new reality is here.
Streaming Is Changing the Sound of Music. “To keep the “skip rate” as low as possible, musical artists are increasingly moving a song’s hook or chorus to that initial 30-second sweet spot. Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding, the hosts of the “Switched on Pop” podcast, have coined the term “Pop Overture” to describe a new trend in which a song “will play a hint of the chorus in the first five to 10 seconds so that the hook is in your ear, hoping that you’ll stick around till about 30 seconds in when the full chorus eventually comes in. For a musician, getting a song on Spotify’s popular Today’s Top Hits playlist means real money. A study by researchers at the University of Minnesota and the European Joint Research Centre found that songs on the list gained an average of 20 million streams, worth up to $163,000 in royalties. As songs get shorter, albums are getting longer. “Culture II” by the hip-hop group Migos, the number one album in America in February 2018, included 24 tracks and clocked in at an hour and 45 minutes, almost double the length of Migos’s previous Grammy-nominated release.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook on creating a clean energy future. Going through all the trouble to have carbon-neutral products must have incurred a lot of expenses for Apple and I don’t think pushing sales is the reason behind it. Let’s be real, when people decide to buy personal computing products, how many consider impact on the environemnt as an important factor in the decision making process? Yet Apple chose to follow through with what they believe is right. They are honest about carbon credits; which is not the case with a lot of big corporations. They want others to copy their playbook. And they actually do the hard work. Look, I am not going to speculate whether Steve Jobs would have done as good a job as Tim has since taking over the CEO job. But look at what Tim has done for the company. It’s tremendous. It’s inspiring. He is absolutely the right person for the top job and he will go down as one of the best CEOs.
Apple is Doomed, Revisited. Spoiler alert: Apple is stronger than ever and there is no competitor even close to match its strengths.
Zoom and Grindr return to office: Tech’s surprising remote work U-turn. The tide has turned. Remote work is no longer popular as it was during the pandemic. Companies are forcing employees back to the office. Like it or not, the smart move in the future for office workers is to look for an in-office position or at the very minimum a hybrid one.
Other stuff I find interesting
Superorganism: Behind the Brand. A very good read on how a brand identity process should be done.
This China Trade War Isn’t About Semiconductors. “As China’s cosmetics companies are booming, imports of cosmetics are wilting under regulations that the country imposed on foreign manufacturers during the pandemic. “I’m not talking about peanuts,” said Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister. “For many French companies,” he added, China “represents between 30 and 35 percent of their total revenues.” Under rules that China introduced in 2021, companies must divulge every ingredient in their products and the precise quantities used. They must upload to a Chinese database the addresses of all ingredient suppliers as well as where the ingredients are assembled. Foreign companies fear that divulging those details could allow low-cost Chinese manufacturers to copy their products. One of the most contested Chinese mandates is that many products, such as hair dyes or sun creams, must be tested on live animals before they can be sold to Chinese consumers — a practice that many global cosmetics companies have stopped.“
The U.S. is racing to source chips from Vietnam — but engineers are scant. If I had the authority, I’d make this one of the top priorities in the next 10-20 years for Vietnam. Being part of the semiconductor value chain and having some sort of domain knowledge in this critical industry will play an important role in the country’s future and independence from China. That’s a big IF, though. Deep down, I know the guys in charge don’t share my opinion
In Egypt, Society’s Well-Being Is Reflected in the Mangoes. “Egypt is now home to more than 200 varieties of mangoes, each with distinct flavors and appearances. Alongside citrus fruits, mangoes also make up a significant portion of the country’s agricultural output and its exports. According to recent statistics from the Economic Agricultural Affairs Sector at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the amount of land dedicated to mango cultivation in the country is roughly 320,000 acres, with a total production of more than 1.2 million tons per year. Yet recent shifts in temperatures and weather patterns associated with climate change are threatening Egypt’s agricultural landscape, including the country’s beloved mango season.”
Stats
An index-tracking fund by State Street, with the ticker symbol SPLG, lowers fees to 0.02%
Annual cost of car ownership reaches $12,000
Metal-mining pollution impacts 23 million people worldwide
Minh Quang Duong 
Leave a comment