OK COOL

So grateful for our absolute lightning bolt of a team and an incredible 2024. 2025, let's goooooo 💥 💥 💥

A couple of weeks ago our co-founder Jolyon Varley spoke at Meta HQ about the future of the creator economy, and his unique perspective as both an agency founder and a content creator. Read the insights below 👇 Being both an agency founder and content creator has given me a unique lens on this space. I've lived both sides. Running campaigns for the world's biggest brands. And building my own audience from scratch. The punchline? Creating content yourself gives you deeper empathy for what actually works. Not just in theory. But in practice. The wins. The fails. The endless iteration. It makes you a better marketer. Because you stop thinking like a brand. And start thinking like a creator. This is KEY to win in 2024 & beyond. Agree? ✌️ p.s. Huge thanks to the Meta team for having me. Always stoked to geek out about the future of marketing with fellow enthusiasts ✨

Hoping to see all your beautiful faces at the first ever SXSW London in June. You have until 19th Dec. to cast your votes for OK COOL's talks – do your duty and revel in the good karma 😎

Duolingo's done it againnnnnn. Our co-founder Jolyon Varley breaks down their latest collab and why it's absolutely genuis: Duolingo's chaotic humour meets the high-stakes energy of Squid Game, motivating fans to learn Korean before S2 drops on Dec 26. Here's why it's the perfect brand collab: (Even more so than you think) When Squid Game S1 dropped, Korean learners on Duolingo jumped 40%. So for S2, they've gone ALL IN: - Content of Duo the Ownl as a Pink Guard - A K-pop track "Korean or Get Eat - ⁠Interactive TikTok filters for Red Light, Green Light - ⁠LA/NYC billboards warning "learn Korean to stay safe" - ⁠40+ phrases from SG added to their Korean course I'm stoked about this campaign for 3 reasons: 1.⁠ ⁠They tapped into existing cultural behaviour 2.⁠ ⁠They matched the show's intensity & dark humour 3.⁠ ⁠They fused entertainment and education seamlessly. 3.⁠ ⁠They created multiple paths for organic engagement (music, social, gaming) This is marketing operating at peak cultural relevance. Both brands understand culture deeply enough to become part of it. And are brave enough to take creative risks. The ultimate test? It doesn't feel REMOTELY forced. The perfect brand collab. Booom !! 💐 ♻️ Repost if you loved this too. _

📢 💚 Friends of LinkedIn 💚📢 Want to see OK COOL in action at the FIRST EVER SXSW London in June? We've submitted our team to share their expertise the following topics: ✨ Anti-Cool: How the fringes of culture are dictating mainstream marketing ✨ RIP Demographics: Mourning the loss of traditional audience segmentation ✨ Gatekeeping Information is SO Boomer Coded! Inspired by our trend report ✨ Social Media Isn't Important (gasp!) Here's how: – Login or create an account: https://lnkd.in/edfGZzAm – Search by our titles ☝ – Give us a 🖤 Hope to see you all in June 🫶 Thanks everyone.

SO proud of the team for this one 🐝 💛 Bumble has been a client of OK COOL's globally since 2020. Jolyon Varley breaks down our recent re-launch for them... Bumble came to OK COOL with a clear goal: To make dating feel authentic again. To speak to Gen Z and millennials. To go from brand to bestie. So, here’s what we did: 1️⃣ We kept it real Dating’s messy. It’s hilarious. It’s honest. We leaned into that, sharing the highs and the lows. No polish - just relatable, laugh-out-loud content. 2️⃣ We went where culture lives Out with the ads, in with creators. Memes, comedy skits, UGC Reels. The stuff that people tag friends in. 3️⃣ We drove culture From memes to bold dating advice. We sparked convos that got people talking and sharing. Bumble didn’t just join the culture, it drove it. And the results? 📈 +10 million impressions 📈 +9 million video views 📈 555% increase in engagement Bumble isn't just an app. It's a part of the cultural conversation. It’s the friend who gets it, right there in the feed. That's what we dooooooo 🤷♂️ Forever proud of the OK COOL team. And grateful that our sh*t hot clients trust us to do the work of our lives 🔥💐 ♻️ Repost if you loved this.

What's the future of cult sneaker collabs? OK COOL Co-Founder, Jolyon Varley shares his take with Jing Daily. https://lnkd.in/ef2eirDX

This stunt exemplifies true culture-shaping. Our co-founder Jolyon Varley shares the story of Marc Ecko... Before TikTok trends, before virality, before "guerrilla marketing" was a LinkedIn buzzword... THIS stunt set the bar. 2006: A graffiti artist rents a Boeing 747. Paints it to look like Air Force One. Films himself tagging "STILL FREE" on the engine. Uploads it to YouTube... The world loses its mind. Even the Air Force had to check if their actual presidential plane got hit. That artist was Marc Ecko. Before Supreme's fake newspaper ads. Before Balenciaga's destroyed sneakers. Before every viral marketing stunt you've seen... This guy wrote the playbook. He understood something most brands still don't get: Culture isn't bought. It's hacked. And the best marketing doesn't look like marketing at all. Ecko went on to build a streetwear empire and co-found Complex, shaping a generation of pop culture. The OG of turning disruption into dollars 👏 ♻️ Repost if you loved this too.

Lancôme's challenge? Appealing to the younger generation. Their solution? The biggest teen icon since Miley. 😮💨 Read more from Jolyon Varley... Lancôme just made their smartest move in years. They signed Olivia Rodrigo. Yes, the Gen Z pop icon who: 🔥 Topped charts globally 🔥 Sold out 95 arenas 🔥 Has 4.1B Spotify streams 🔥 Built Fund 4 Good for women's rights But here's what makes it brilliant: The luxury beauty industry has been desperately trying to crack Gen Z. Most attempts? Painfully forced. But Rodrigo represents something different: 👏 Raw talent meets genuine activism. 👏 Cultural impact meets commercial success. The comments are telling: "Suddenly obsessed with Lancôme" "Never bought Lancôme before, but I will now" This isn't just a celebrity partnership. It's a heritage brand buying cultural relevance without sacrificing its luxury positioning. That's rare. And that's how you bridge generations without losing your soul ✌️ Agree/Disagree? ♻️ Repost to share with marketers in your network. _

Have you secured your Bluesky handle yet? OK COOL co-founder Jolyon Varley shares why you might want to move quick when it comes to this new X competitor... Bluesky (Twitter competitor) just hit 20M users. Here's what every CMO needs to know about Gen Z's mass exodus from traditional social platforms: Young audiences are done with traditional social media. The mass migration tells us 3 key things: 1️⃣ Trust is everything Gen Z would rather start fresh on a new platform than stay where they don't feel heard. They're not loyal to platforms. They're loyal to authenticity. 2️⃣ Community > Scale Bluesky's appeal isn't its size. It's the quality of conversation. Your audience would rather be part of a smaller, engaged community than lost in a sea of noise. 3️⃣ Control matters more than convenience Gen Z will trade easy content discovery for better content control. They want to curate their experience. Not have it curated for them. This is a HUGE signal for brands: ❌ Stop chasing platform metrics ✅ Start building genuine communities Platforms will come and go, but culture is constant. That's why the best brands don't chase platforms, they chase culture 🤷♂️ And let their audience lead the way 🫡 Agree? ♻️ Repost to help a marketer in your network.