Welcome! If you found this video, or my recent posts Age of Potency or Five Ideas That Won’t Leave Me Alone to be useful, I invite you to become a free subscriber to get more of my articles on the intersection of strategy and culture.
Something is germinating underneath the chaos of culture.
Last month I was invited to give a keynote at Amazon’s global design summit about how the future of branding will be shaped by cultural vacuums, creative power, and the pursuit of meaning.
Yes, there is a lot falling apart on the surface of culture, but don’t get distracted by the chaos. What is germinating beneath all the noise is rich and powerful. We’re building new cultural systems that will define the next era of value and open entirely new markets for those who can see them early.
If you’re a brand or a builder of the future, this might just change your mind of what that future actually is.
The folks at Amazon were generous enough to let me share my 40-minute keynote with you today, and I can’t wait for you to watch it. I hope it helps you see that we’re at the beginning of a new renaissance.
And every new renaissance is a chance to flip the rules in your favor.
[If you want a deeper dive, read the full report here.]
A lot of people’s most important behaviors are actually tradeoffs, and the tradeoffs women are making in sexuality right now are especially revealing. The romantasy genre that first rocketed on TikTok is one of the brightest spots in the publishing industry, and when you take a closer look you realize two things.
First, romantasy and its related genres are really safe spaces for women to explore intimacy and sexual desire when the real world, for many women, has become a less safe space to do that in. Desires do not go away, they just move and transform.
But second, when you really get into these books, you see they are often not primarily about lust and desire - they’re about power and vengeance. What many of us may be seeking in the alternative reality of these books is a sense of justice.
When we cannot find the comfort of justice in the real world, we’ll still find a way to feel it somewhere.
Sex + power is a heady mix. Power + justice is maybe even more satisfying... and that’s what women want.
I discuss more in this video of my keynote from Stocksy’s ‘Signs of Life’ event:
Yours,
I’m Jasmine Bina, and I’m a brand strategist and cultural futurist. If you love this newsletter and need more:
My private community Exposure Therapy is where my team and I share our best original research, have provocative conversations, special dinners, and lots of fun.
My brand strategy agency Concept Bureau that works with some of the most powerful cultural brands in the world today.
My LinkedIn where I post my ideas daily, before they turn into reports or articles. Come connect or follow me on TikTok and Instagram.
My public speaking, where I bring my energy and enthusiasm to life with people who are deeply curious about culture, strategy, and the future.
