#86 The Least Boring Weekend Newsletter

May 07, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Good Morning Readers! ☕

Have a great and pleasant weekend!

The internet acquires data to transform it into a 2-D image that people can see and interact with, such as playing a video game 🎮 on a television. On the other hand, the metaverse takes that same data and configures it into a 3-D image that heightens peoples' senses by making the experience immersive. This time instead of just playing that video game on a screen, the metaverse allows them to put themself into the game for a greater, better, BIGGER gaming experience. 

What makes it special is the immersive user interface and interaction that the metaverse allows. It’s one thing to see an image; it’s another to engage with it.

We’re excited about the metaverse becoming the Internet 2.0, and we hope you are, too. 

Almund's newsletter will let you in on all kinds of tips for D2C brands and much more.

Alright, so let's get right to it!

This newsletter is going to dive into:

🚗 Elon Musk hints that some may have to pay to use Twitter

👨‍⚕️ Better Mental Health Practices For Your Workspace

👟 Brand of the week

🤝 Brand deals of the week

📖 Top reads for this week

👩🏻‍💼 Plenty of jobs awaiting you!

So, scroll down already to THE VERY END & read up on what's yet to come your way!

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DTC X METAVERSE

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO reached an agreement with the company last week to purchase every share of the social media giant for around $44 billion, promising a more lenient approach to the way content is broadcasted.

The world's largest and oldest fraternity, says that it will never charge fees for casual Twitter accounts but may implement a "slight cost for commercial/ government users", said Elon Musk. He has previously stated that he plans to make Twitter private.  If he does, the company will no longer be beholden to shareholders or publicly report its financial results, which has been the standard practice since the company went public in 2013.

"I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy." Musk said in an SEC regulatory filing. "However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."

Musk has said if he's able to lead the company, he would be far more cautious about deleting tweets and enacting permanent bans. He said it would also be his goal to be more transparent about when tweets are emphasized, flagged, or taken down.

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Better Mental Health Practices For Your Workshop

To continue riding the wave of Mental Health Awareness, as promised, we bring to you some great real-life examples of practices that are bound to keep your workforce happy and healthy.  Whether service-or-product-based, the beauty of DTC brands is that they can implement learnings from any organization of any industry into their business processes. After all, that’s the advantage of being an entrepreneur, trying to make a difference through their product and work environment.

So instead of having to worry about how a workplace practice might pan out, you can rest assured and implement it as some of these corporate giants across several industries have already done it!

#1 Creating A Health Care Plan Or System

Ernst & Young (EY) is a professional service-based organization that houses several departments, all catering to different industries. Of course, one of them happens to provide a full-stack platform to DTC businesses. But how does this corporate giant take care of its employees well?

They offer a full suite of mental health resources for employees as well as their families as a part of their health care plan for their employees. They offer up to 25 psychotherapy sessions for free, and mental health aid for their registered family members. They also give their employees access to mental health coaches to cope with burnout and stress. This prevents loss of employee pool, overall satisfaction with the work environment, and a great boost to productivity. 

#2 Routine Checks & Feedback

Creating a system for your employees to routinely drop in their feedback on the current healthcare plan and the policies designed to cater to their mental health can be a great way to keep in touch with them. With their constant feedback being registered, it would make them feel acknowledged and satisfied, thus, improving morale. 

A great example of its implementation is at F5 Networks. They are a company that designs products for application security, multi-cloud management, online fraud prevention, and more.

#3 In-Person Counselling Sessions

Unilever, a British-origin consumer goods company, that set foundations in the DTC industry a while back is great at taking care of its employees. They organize in-person workshops and mental health training sessions to help train their employees to manage their stress better.

Instead of stigmatizing mental health help or leaving your employees to fend for themselves as they look for help, it is ideal for you as a DTC business to cater to their needs personally.

#4 Digital Help, Apps & E-Counselling

Another great way to help your employees is by providing digital aid, especially since remote working is still a must in several regions. 

Barclays and Unilever have rolled out mental healthcare apps for their team members to make the process of seeking help a little easier and better.

Microsoft launched several digital campaigns to battle the stigma against mental health problems and stir a humane touch to it by featuring their team members’ stories. 

Of course, taking care of your employees’ mental health is difficult but taking the first step shouldn’t be. Start with slow, easy steps as a business, when trying to implement policies for your employees and ensure to keep in check with them to know what works for them best. 

If you continue to be an employee-first workplace, you’re sure to have a higher employee retention rate in the coming future.

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BRAND OF THE WEEK

As Reebok 👟 settles into new ownership, the brand has been lining up operating partners and expanding wholesale deals with major retailers.

In December, Authentic Brands announced a partnership with JD Group that would put Reebok in more than 2,850 stores across its Finish Line, JD, Shoe Palace, and other banners. That deal also involved giving JD Group a broader assortment of Reebok products starting this fall. In February, Reebok expanded its relationship with Foot Locker. Much like the Macy’s partnership, Foot Locker will receive an assortment of Reebok products as part of the deal and will also receive exclusive footwear from the brand starting this fall.

President Matt O’Toole told Retail Dive earlier this year he saw opportunities to expand the brand’s wholesale deals to cover its apparel offering. Macy’s seems to be one of those.

Reebok’s operations in the U.S. are run by Sparc Group, Authentic Brands’ joint venture with Simon Property Group, which could mean deals with Simon-or-Sparc-run retailers in the future. In announcing the tie-up, Authentic Brands noted that the Macy’s deal furthers its strategy of “assembling a network of leading partners” for the brand “who are committed to offering quality products and upholding the brand’s integrity.” ABG’s Chief Brand Officer Jarrod Weber said Reebok was experiencing a “resurgence” and that “its greatest days” were ahead. 

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BRAND DEALS OF THE WEEK

Adidas is hosting a fantastic collaborative archive sale, announcing up to 50% off.

American Eagle Outfitters is letting you enjoy the DEAL OF THE YEAR—up to 40% off on women’s clothing range and an extra 25% off on their rewards program.

50% off AND free shipping? Athleta is spoiling us all.

The baby apparel range doesn’t get better than Carter's! (Up to 605 off on essentials starting from $4.50). 

Clarks is letting you savor the season with the code: SPRING for a flat 25% off.

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TOP READS OF THE WEEK

United by Blue started in wholesale, expanded to DTC, and is now selling other sustainable brands.

Madison Reed raises $33M to expand store footprints.

Twitter expands tweet replies and ad placement to all app advertisers.

TikTok takes the first step towards improved creator monetization with the ‘Pulse' program.

Meta announces new business messaging tools, including improved WhatsApp ad creation.

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IN NEED OF A JOB? WE'VE GOT A PLENTY AWAITING YOU!

Growth Marketing Manager - Dun & Bradstreet

Digital Marketing Manager - Monster Energy

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CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great weekend! Get that D2C business runnin'.