Citizen Rundown: Vol. 1

Introducing Rundown, your new monthly round up of conversations that count by Citizen. We’re offering bite-sized big thinking on recent headlines from around the world to help keep you in touch for your next water cooler, virtual boardroom or dinner party chat.

Moonrise

Fleece, hoodies and… crackers? Patagonia recently purchased a cracker company, Moonshot, as part of its commitment to counterbalancing a food system that is “extractive and destructive”, and we love to see this unexpected move. Moonshot uses regenerative agricultural practices, and buying them represents a chance for consumers to help catalyze a market shift. As we all know and appreciate, Patagonia doesn’t always follow conventional thinking – and this proves once again that brand values will always win.

Fly away

Remember news without Twitter? Neither do we. In a powerful move, NPR, BBC and CBC have all “paused” or left Twitter completely in an effort to assert editorial independence. With the platform’s valuation at half of what it was last year, blue checkmarks have disappeared and advertisers are now required to pay for verification even to run an ad. Losing major users is no doubt a hit to the platform’s reputation and legitimacy, and we’ll continue to watch this space to help brands navigate it.

Youth Is Wasted On The Young

We’re in the midst of a cultural shift towards age inclusivity. Whether it’s talking about menopause with radical openness, speaking out against age discrimination, age ambivalence is getting its moment in the zeitgeist. April’s edition of Vogue Philippines features Apo Whang-Od, a 106 year old Indigenous tattooist and community leader, on its cover. For the fashion world, notorious for perpetuating a singular notion of beauty, the move (along with this one!) shows that Vogue is still vanguard, and signals a call for change.

The New Breakfast Club? 

File under “don’t knock it til you try it”. Our US client, Nissin Foods, launched its Cup Noodles Breakfast flavor and it’s taking the US by storm. That’s right, it’s breakfast – sausage, eggs, pancakes and maple syrup flavoring – in a cup. With noodles. As firm believers that a little maple syrup can make almost anything better, we love to see it. Check it out here.

Want to know more? Get in touch at marketing@citizenrelations.com