Overall, the irony of the deal is hard to miss. Recurrent spent three years moving away from commerce, and it just sold one of its most commerce-friendly brands to a buyer making the opposite bet.
eFormed is hoping that with better tools, more focused ambitions, and no pandemic, it will succeed where others have failed.
Talking Heds
ABG Media (EXCLUSIVE): On Monday, the licensing company Authentic Brands Group hired Lark-Marie Anton as its chief communications officer, a newly created role. The firm, which acquires companies and licenses out the rights to operate them, owns an expanding library of brands, including media titles like Sports Illustrated. Its decision to hire Anton, who was previously the chief communications officer at USA Today Inc., signals its interest in growing its media business, which makes up around 20% of its revenue currently, according to CEO Matt Maddox. The company generates $1.8 billion in earnings on $2.2 billion in revenue—an astounding 81% margin, owing to its low-cost business model—and is preparing to join the public markets next year. Among other responsibilities, Anton will be tasked with presenting a cohesive corporate narrative to investors—no small feat given its grab-bag of brands, which include Reebok, Brooks Brothers, and the IP rights associated with Elvis Presley.
Breaking and Entering and Dating: The creator duo behind Breaking and Entering, a social franchise dedicated to covering the advertising industry, have launched an outlandish campaign to promote their upcoming live show. Working with the out-of-home provider Quan Media, Geno Schellenberger and Jack Westerkamp plastered images of themselves on billboards and taxi hoppers across the city. The tagline, which reads We Need Dates for an Event on Nov 4th, also includes Westerkamp’s real phone number (630-346-3494). The stunt is just the latest in a series of gimmicks the duo have concocted, including one memorable out-of-home ad that featured their faces grafted onto the bodies of weightlifters that I passed several times while walking through Nolita. The stunt is further evidence of my theory that out-of-home marketing is on the rise, as well as a testament to the lengths the B&E guys are willing to go to fill seats. Of course, I plan to attend.
Fabulous Person: My wonderful friend Mary Bryce, a musician and writer in Austin, writes one of my favorite newsletters, called Diary of Mary Bryce, and this week she featured me in it as part of her Fabulous Person series. You can read the small profile here, but I would encourage you instead to read her writing—here is her latest missive, memorable both for its upsetting detail and its unflattering portrayal of my favorite restaurant in Austin. For all the professionalization of the newsletter space, many of my favorite Substacks are diaristic, small vignettes from the lives of people I know mostly from afar. Aside from Mary, two of my other favorites are Angel Cake and Wishlist. Of course, Emily Sundberg has grown Feed Me to its current heights in part due to its memoirish qualities. I imagine this has some relation to the increasingly parasocial nature of social media, but who knows.
