For New Yorkers, fashion inspiration can be found on a walk through Central Park or a ride on the subway. For those outside the city, there are street-style social media accounts like Watching New York, NYC Looks, and OOTD showing the trends emerging in New York and beyond.

“People like a New York City voyeuristic experience,” Johnny Cirillo, photographer and creator of Watching New York, told us.

Brands are taking notice. In recent months, Watching New York, which has more than 2 million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined, has worked with brands like Aerie, Lego, and JD Sports. OOTD, which has more than 400,000 followers across both platforms, has also posted organic-looking street-style content with brands like Free People, Rothy’s, and Cult Gaia that have generated thousands of likes on TikTok and Instagram.

Informal, documentary-style depictions of everyday style seem to be a hit with consumers, whether or not the content is branded. “People want that relatability,” Cory Muroff, co-founder of OOTD, told us. “We’re seeing a big shift in the way that people consume content, and this style is working very well.”

Stacey McCormick, CMO of Aerie, agreed: “Street-style photography is the ultimate trend report,” she told us via email. “The rise of creator-led content and the shift toward organic, community-driven marketing make this an area with significant potential for brands looking to connect with their audience in a fresh, engaging way.”

Continue reading here about how street-style accounts are working with brands.—KH

Everything is an ad network. Even…automobiles?

In February, a Reddit post from a Jeep owner showing their car’s center console screen transformed into a digital billboard promoting an extended warranty went viral. In reports, a Jeep spokesperson called the pop-up ad a “temporary software glitch,” but the attempt to show ads on any screen available seemed entirely believable.

Glitch or not, some automakers are already following in the footsteps of brands ranging from grocery stores to financial institutions in their efforts to sell ads to captive—and, in the case of cars, trapped in transit—audiences.

In September, Ford filed a patent application for tech that would transform the center console into an ad network capable of selling ads based on vehicle location, destination, and “user preferences.” Filing a patent application, of course, does not necessarily reflect a company’s intent to use the tech in its products.

Retail media experts have said they would not be surprised to see automakers eventually serving ads. “Before the end of June, we are going to see an auto manufacturer announce their media network,” Sean Cheyney, head of retail media at Vistar Media, told Adweek in January.

“Most cars now are connected, so auto manufacturers are going to be trying to figure out how to tie it all in without annoying their customer base, and do it in a way that is engaging,” Cheyney said at the time.

Read more here about how ads are already creeping into car rides.—RB

Suave has been selling personal care products for nearly a century, and in recent years has existed as a well-known, if not particularly innovative, brand. “A little bit sleepy,” is how its SVP of Marketing Rachel Behm describes its last decade under Unilever. But now, just under two years since it was divested from the CPG giant, Suave is embarking on a fresh start.

The brand began in 1937 marketing hair tonics, and has grown to become a multi-category brand selling products for women, men, and children, with 250 million units sold annually and nearly $700 million in annual retail sales, according to Suave. Unilever owned Suave for nearly 30 years, buying then-owner Helene Curtis Industries in 1996 for $770 million. In 2023, it divested the brand, selling to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners in an effort to “shift our portfolio towards strategic growth spaces,” Unilever’s then-president Esi Eggleston Bracey said in a statement. Suave now operates as a standalone company under the Suave Brands Company, led by Unilever vet Daniel Alter.

After the divesture, Suave started from scratch to “reinvigorate” the brand, Behm told Retail Brew, culminating in 33 product launches set for the first half of the year, starting in mid-February, that key into consumer trends while offering low-price products in categories that’ve seen rising prices.

“If you think about all the things that can get stale when a brand is kind of left alone for a number of years, those are the pieces we’re really trying to ratchet up,” she said.

Read more on Retail Brew about Suave’s post-Unilever brand refresh.—EC

The future of sports media is here! Join Emeka Ofodile, Apple’s global head of sports marketing, as he breaks down how Apple and MLS are revolutionizing the game with MLS Season Pass. Don’t miss it—join us in NYC or virtually for this can’t-miss conversation.

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