Gossip Girl to Game Day
This week, my for you page felt like a thoughtfully composed collage including bits of nostalgia, culture, and curated moments. During my bits of guilt-free screen time, I found myself watching Gossip Girl cast reunions, segments from the NFL draft (specifically for Fernando Mendoza), and always ending up back in the champagne-tinted world of Acquired Style’s bachelorette weekend in St. Barts. What I began to notice is that the underlying theme is not necessarily what I am consuming, but how it is made to reach me.
The Gossip Girl reunions, for example, are full of nostalgia for me, but I was not presented with lengthy interviews or articles. I instead found out about it just through bits and pieces, first with a picture of stars Leighton Meester and Chace Crawford, followed by short videos of Ed Westwick and Kelly Rutherford reconnecting. It was all I needed to see to spark the recognition and keep me interested. On the other hand, the NFL draft is all about the anticipation. I am definitely not invested enough to sit down and watch the whole event, but am instead taking it in little by little. I enjoy the fact that it becomes a narrative that I can take in casually, yet somehow still feel involved in.
My personal favorite content of all this week has been keeping up with one of the most lavish bachelorette parties I have ever seen. If you know anything about Acquired Style (Brigette) and her sister Danielle, you would know that the word ‘casual’ is not in their vocabulary. At first, the content seems effortless and like I just happened to stumble across it (which makes sense considering this is the type of content I live for), but at the same time, it is hard to ignore the fact that it is clearly curated. Every clip is beyond tasteful and has a way of being real yet slightly elevated at the same time. It honestly felt like I was not only watching it, but like I was there for a short time.
Across the board, none of what I consumed this week really asked for much of me in return. Each story, while completely different from one another, still somehow fits seamlessly into my day. For me, that is the most interesting part. It is not about the fact that my interests are all over the place, but that they have been quietly organized for me behind the scenes. What I may think of as being personal taste is really just a response to what has been designed to catch my eye
From a PR standpoint, this shift changes everything. It is not just about being able to get a message out, but by shaping how the message is able to show up in the quick and scrollable moments. Brands and influencers that stand out are usually not saying more, but what they do share feels impossible to ignore.