» HADOUKEN « the cultural currency and halo effect of hyped product on gen z
A pre-pandemic presentation.
We had our last check in call on March 6, 2020. Well, it was less a check in call and more a check out. I was in the unenviable position of having to tell a client that I would not be able to deliver the agreed upon presentation: a look into Gen Z buying behavior, specifically exploring how hype-driven products are merchandised and marketed.
“They’re saying it’s going to be a worldwide pandemic. Maybe we can do the presentation over Skype?”
Zoom had yet to take over the world, and my client had yet to reduce its global workforce by 10%. A few days later, my client would set in place a no-travel policy that is, 14 months later, still in effect. To this day, I have yet to deliver, and most likely will never deliver, the presentation. The only money that has changed hands was from my own to Delta’s — thank the Lord for status, I wouldn’t want to be in the red for a project that went undelivered.
Undelivered…until now!
For your viewing pleasure, you can find the above-mentioned redacted and trimmed down presentation here. Beware: it’s 214 megabytes, so you’ll have to download it off Google Drive — there is no preview mode.
The presentation begins with an overview of the hype model — a look at its anatomy before moving on to a few macro trends that are driving hype vis-a-vis youth culture: return of the yuppie, the rise of digital scarcity through gaming and how ephemeral messaging drives an insatiable hunger for more. From there, I jump into the bulk of the presentation, Nike and Gucci cases studies: a look at how (again, pre-pandemic) these global youth-driven brands deliver hype through meticulous merchandising and collaborating. I wrap things up with a tidy Key Takeaways slide.
Again, this 60-pager is actually a (heavily) redacted and abridged version of what was set to be delivered before the world was dumped on its head. Notably, the interactive workshop, complete with a Price Is Right-inspired breakout session, is not included!
It goes without saying: I hope you find this presentation useful. And for those who want to go deeper — whether that’s because Gen Z is keeping your marketing and design teams up at night or because you simply miss chatting with your favorite Keyboard Cowboy (that’s me) — holler.