GOOD THINKING Brands are refusing to scale and it's working
We’re back with another edition of GOOD SIGNS—a monthly round-up of 4 letters, looking at what’s bubbling up.
Again, these aren’t trends (yet!). That’s way too heavy for a month’s worth of content. These are signals, patterns, counter-trends. Stuff that’s emerging, continuing, sticking out, or simply what we’re finding interesting in the last month.
Enjoy! And let us know what you think in the comments.
Skip to the bits you fancy
1.
01:00 — ANTI-SCALE BY DESIGN // We’re watching brands quietly reject growth-for-growth’s sake. In a moment where almost anything can scale instantly, value is accruing to experiences that don’t. The limit isn’t artificial. It’s structural.
Places it’s showing up:
* A watch that’s only available to buy when it’s snowing.
* 113 Spring’s 1.5-hour mind-scent experience to create a single fragrance.
* Invite-only, no-phone parties in Ibiza capped at 300 people.
Pendulum swing → At the same time, we’re getting a giant as we’ve never seen. OpenAI is introducing ads. It is already the new health infrastructure (see below). And automated replies, instant, and everyone being able to ‘mass communicate’ features like “comment XXX for a DM” mean we have scale like never before, from individuals to potentially the biggest juggernaut we’ve ever witnessed.
2.
08:10 — ZERO BARRIER ECONOMY // The cost of making something has collapsed. Shipping is easy. Tools are everywhere. But speed alone isn’t defensible. And feature most certainly are. If building isn’t the advantage, what is? A perspective.
Places it’s showing up:
* A custom run-tracking app built in ~30 minutes with a Claude Code subscription.
* Alphas and young Zs moving from influencer dreams to fast-built entrepreneurship.
* OpenAI opening ads, reshaping discovery, and monetization.
Pendulum swing → Acquisitions take time, and speed is at an all time high. Expect more strategic partnerships this year. See: OpenAI–Pinterest rumors. Olive Young landing inside Sephora. Apple and Google are getting friendly again.
3.
16:45 — NO SAFE BETS, THX // We want difference. We want originality. But the systems we’ve built reward sameness. Community becomes a weakness when it only gives you more of the same and doesn’t stretch you.
Places it’s showing up:
* Patrick Kho called out “community” in favor of scenes built on intersection and contrast. It might sound like semantics, but it’s actually just pointing out what we’ve diluted in our push for getting closer to our consumers.
* 222 Place selling chance encounters with no profiles, no DMs, no swiping.
* Casting Connor Storrie is an argument against overly algorithmic decision-making.
Pendulum swing → We want difference, but, unfortunately, it’s not safe to be different (obviously, you can see this in a very macro way in the news lately). Algorithms reward consensus. Institutions avoid risk. But humans still crave surprise. And we crave debate. Zoe Scaman, using AI as a sparring partner, is telling. We need safe places to say the ‘thing.’
4.
24:30 — LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU // We’ve talked about high-effort content a lot. But the lens is zooming out. It’s not just content. It’s seeing your brand as an entertainment engine. We want reasons to invest in you, to remember you, and buy you. And that’s requiring investment.
Places it’s showing up:
* Gap and Dick’s hired Chief Entertainment Officers.
* Bissell turned a vacuum into a mini-series where the product is essential to the payoff.
* Guess and a flash drive brand ran absurd ads that require us to think differently.
* W Magazine made a film, then elevating the BTS to be the actual ‘work.’
* Luxury brands like Tiffany & Co are leaning into relevant stories. Recognizing that gloss can come with a side of real.
Pendulum Swing → Influence is shifting from polished sellers to real participants. Brands are giving the power to the people.
5.
33:20 — STACK OF RECEIPTS // Wellness has moved from belief to evidence. What used to be dismissed as “soft” now comes with data, continuity, and proof.
Places it’s showing up:
* Eli Health’s saliva-based hormone testing or a Rythm on you arm monthly makes testing constant.
* Recovery is becoming sport—from toe spacers to sensory shoes—because we can not only feel the value, we can track and measure it.
* ChatGPT Health is connecting records, habits, and biometrics into one system. It’s now the operating system of wellness, and you can search it, query it, and better yet, let it get proactive.
* We unpack this more on this pod.
Pendulum Swing → The softer side grows in parallel. Fun, friendship, posture, nights out are becoming revalued. And while now we COULD track them, that’s entirely not the point.
The letters referenced in this episode:
* Louis Vuitton is making houses
* Banana Republic has a speakeasy
ABOUT
Chris and Kirsten are the founders of IN GOOD CO, a consultancy that ignites challenger brands with fearless and proactive positioning.
Chris writes a weekly newsletter for +16K subscribers that shares the best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What she's dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands | Follow her on Substack
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