Did Wendy's just rebrand as Wednesday?
📰 NoGood News | Vol. 99
Hi NoGoodies,
Before we jump into another round of the NoGood News, here's a quick TL;DR of what's below:
Netflix taps Wendy’s to promote Season 2 of Wednesday
Pop Mart isn’t just a toy brand anymore…
Learn about Pop Mart’s marketing strategy beyond the Labubu doll
Coldplay walked so Gwyneth Paltrow could run
Read on about Astronomer’s strategy to save their brand reputation
Is Google AI search reshaping how we use the internet?
Join our FREE introductory course to master Google's AI Search strategy
Ready? Let's get into it.
🍟 Netflix taps Wendy’s to promote Season 2 of Wednesday
Read on about Netflix’s latest co-branded campaign
Did Wendy's just rebrand as Wednesday?
Not exactly, but with Season 2 dropping next week, the Netflix series has partnered with Wendy's for a limited-edition "Meal of Misfortune".
They also turned their iconic mascot into an almost identical copy of Wednesday.
After all, both Wendy's and Wednesdays have bangs and braided pigtails…
Then, Thing broke loose and ran all over the Times Square billboards, leaving behind a trail of Cheeto fingerprints on NYC streets, taxi cabs, and newspapers.
Netflix TV show campaigns are getting more clever and immersive, and we're seeing a clear rise in co-branded campaigns like this.
The latest co-branded campaign for Wednesday is similar to the "Emergency Pizza” campaign Netflix did with Domino's.
Instead of opting for the traditional strategy of in-show ad or product placement, Netflix is flipping the script to bring shows to life through collaborations with real-life brands.
What's more effective: bringing brands into TV show universes, or bringing fictional universes to life in the real world?
Audiences are sick of blatant product placements and interruptive ad breaks, so this shift is a clear answer to that.
What are your thoughts on the latest Wednesday marketing stunts?
🧸 Pop Mart isn’t just a toy brand anymore…
Learn about Pop Mart’s marketing strategy beyond the Labubu doll
Pop Mart’s physical storefronts may draw lines around the block, but the real power behind the brand lies in its digital ecosystem.
App-First Experience: their mobile app is a gamified collector hub designed to make every interaction feel rewarding, personalized, and repeatable.
Digital Collection Tracking: every purchase unlocks a new digital card, giving users a visual of which figures they do and don’t have.
Daily Check-Ins & Surprise Rewards: users are encouraged to open the app daily to earn small perks, discounts, points, or limited-time offers.
Membership Tiers & VIP Access: the app rewards frequent buyers with a tiered membership system.
Drop Countdown & Reservation System: upcoming launches are highlighted with timers, teaser art, and users can reserve figures ahead of time through the app.
Social Layer & Community Feel: some regional versions of the app enable reviews, photo uploads, and community interaction directly in the app.
🎶 Coldplay walked so Gwyneth Paltrow could run
Read on about Astronomer’s strategy to save their brand reputation
What do you do when your brand becomes the internet’s latest joke?
Call Gwyneth Paltrow. 📞
After Astronomer’s Kiss Cam “Coldplay incident” went viral, the brand responded with one of the smartest PR decisions we’ve seen this year.
Turn the ex-wife of Coldplay’s Chris Martin into a temporary spokesperson.
They got Gwyneth to star in a satirical follow-up ad that makes light of the moment and subtly resets the narrative.
It shifts the tone of the conversation without erasing accountability.
When we see brands face backlash, trying to defend every detail doesn’t always work.
But showing self-awareness can save face and protect brand equity.
Astronomer didn’t backpedal – they took control of the story, neutralized the tension, and built trust:
👉 Acknowledged what happened
👉 Used humor to de-escalate the situation
👉 Brought in a cultural figure who plays into the internet joke
👉 Reaffirmed who they are and what they stand for
We’ve seen brands like HBO lean into the same strategy when the internet roasted their endless rebrands.
Instead of ignoring the chaos, they tapped into the inside joke and memed themselves on all their social platforms.
Not every crisis deserves a Notes app apology on their IG story.
Sometimes the smartest move is satire – proving that they can laugh with people, not just be laughed at.
What are your thoughts on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Astronomer ad?
🤖 Is Google reshaping how we use the internet?
Join our FREE introductory course to master Google's AI Search strategy
Google is moving from being a provider of links to a comprehensive AI assistant.
This new direction changes how people interact with Google and find information online.
Every answer engine now runs these same four steps:
User asks a question → AI crawls and indexes web content → AI processes with natural language processing → AI generates an answer
This means brand visibility is not just a skill but a priority.
Learn more by joining our FREE introductory course on mastering Google’s AI search strategy.
The course will cover:
👉 The impact of AI Mode & AI Overview on organic growth
👉 Learn Goodie’s AI search visibility & ranking strategies
👉 How to track & measure AI search performance
📅 August 8th at 12PM EDT
Secure your spot or fall behind.
🎙️ Q&A with an expert
A bi-weekly interview series with the best in the game
Q: For Pop Mart, why was marketing to behaviors more impactful than marketing to demographics?
A: Behaviors reveal why people buy, not just who your customers are. Pop Mart didn't just decide to target millenials and Gen Z, but instead tapped into the "collector" mindset: the trill of surprise, desire to complete a whole set, and the joy of self-expression. They designed around these behaviors (limited drops, blind boxes, display-worthy design) to create their brand experience that speaks directly to human motivation.
Q: How can brands adapt Pop Mart’s model to spark more community-driven content?
A: Make your product shareable by design. Pop Mart essentially engineered for UGC with TikTok-ready packaging, surprise mechanics, and emotional product stories that fans (i.e., customers) want to show off. Even if you're not selling toys and collectibles, other brands can achieve the same by spotlighting fan content, giving early access or rewards to creators, and building little rituals (think unboxing, customizing, trading) that naturally fuel a community and ongoing conversation within that community.
✍️ We wish we wrote this
Articles that caught our eye these past 2 weeks:
Here’s how to ACTUALLY stand out on someones FYP
Astronomer saved their reputation with this one move
Is dopamine the newest design trend?
👀 Keeping up on the socials
Because IYKYK is better than FOMO:
Is American Eagle selling great jeans?
Why did Crumbl launch Dirty Sodas?
How did the song Golden by Huntrix become an internet sensation?
Is Apple copying Samsung’s foldable phones?
🔥 Trend Radar: Blow up or fall behind
The trending topics, sounds, and formats to keep an eye on:
overlay text: “that’s my baby, she’s iconic” then finish the sentence in a rhyme about what someone does
overlay text: “the summer I” then finish the sentence with something comedic, wholesome, or unfiltered
perform your favorite magic trick to this Princess and the Frog song
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