INSIGHTS
Skechers and the Power of Aligning with Real Life
Not every brand reshapes culture loudly. Some simply align with it more honestly. Skechers is one of them. With nearly $9 billion in annual sales and strong growth driven in part by the 50+ market, the brand has built its success around comfort, accessibility, and everyday use—not aspiration. It has leaned into “comfort technology,” targeted […]
Burger King and the Shift from Brand to Participant
Burger King’s latest campaign does something few brands are willing to do. It gives up control. By retiring its long-standing King mascot and placing the crown on its customers, the brand signals a deeper shift—one built over years of operational change, listening, and response. Burger King is putting its guests in the spotlight with a […]
Paris, Texas—and the New Geography of Relevance
JCPenney has spent years trying to find its way back into relevance. Not through a single campaign, but through a series of decisions—each one suggesting a brand that understands it must change not just what it sells, but how it shows up in culture. Its latest moves are deceptively simple. And that’s exactly why they […]
What If Marketers Could Test Strategy Before Launch?
Synthetic personas offer a new way to model how different audiences interpret meaning — before investing in production and media. Marketing insight has traditionally been retrospective. Campaigns launch. Audiences respond. Researchers analyze what worked and what did not. But a new generation of AI tools may begin to change that sequence. Synthetic personas — computational […]
Signals of a Changing Media Landscape
Media Innovation Awards 2026 Finalists… This year’s finalists for The Internationalist’s 18th Annual Awards for Innovation in Media reflect more than strong execution—they offer an early read on how media is evolving. If recent years proved that media could perform, this year’s finalists suggest it can participate. Across markets, categories, and approaches, a few clear […]
Silver Stagnation: When Demographic Reality Outpaces Marketing Strategy
Dow Jones Consumer Goods Index reveals the economic power of consumers over fifty. For decades, consumer growth has been framed largely through the lens of youth. Marketers talk about “emerging generations” or “youth culture” as the primary engines of brand momentum. Yet the demographic and economic reality of today’s marketplace tells a very different story. […]
The Evolution of Purpose: Ten Years of Marketing Signals Under Pressure
An INSIGHTS analysis from The Internationalist. For more than a decade, the marketing industry has debated the role of purpose. At times the concept has been celebrated as the future of brand building. At other moments it has been criticized as performative, political, or unsustainable. Both interpretations miss a more important reality. Purpose has never […]
Mr. Clean Comes Out of Retirement: A Lesson in Ageless Brand Advantage
A 68-year-old brand icon briefly retires—then returns with new product ideas and a social media comeback. The message for marketers: longevity and reinvention are not opposites. When Mr. Clean announced his retirement last month, the internet reacted the way it often does when a familiar figure steps away: with nostalgia, curiosity, and a little disbelief. […]
Longevity Is Reshaping Brand Strategy — Not Just Representation
Marketing has spent years treating demographic aging as context. It is not context. It is structure. The first phase of The Internationalist’s GenMORE+ Index — based on 268 cross-generational evaluations of 40 curated ads featuring people over 50 — suggests that longevity is not a niche consideration. It is redefining the architecture of brand growth. […]
What “Near Me” Search Trends Reveal About Brand Power in Fast-Casual Dining
In marketing, we often look at sales data to understand momentum. But search behavior tells us something earlier. Between November 2023 and December 2025, My Telescope search data shows a dynamic reshuffling of attention in U.S. fast-casual dining — with one brand dominating volume, several surging in growth, and others quietly losing ground. The story […]