Gov’t Labels, Upcycled Malls, and Flip Phone Revival: What Year Is It Again? 🤔
The Weekly from The Liquid Lunch Project, Issue No 123 | June 21, 2024
Full Moon Frenzy: Did you know that a full moon can affect everything from ocean tides to human behavior? If your to-do list has been a chaotic hellscape or you’re awake at 3 AM wondering if you should pivot your entire business model, blame it on the lunar madness. They say a full moon can bring clarity and vision, but let’s be real—it’s probably just the universe’s way of screwing with us. So, if things get a little weird today, relax—you’re not alone…or crazy.
ON TAP THIS WEEK
🤞🏽 Dodge, Duck, Dip, & Dive: Staying nimble in the ever-changing business world.
📺 From Sears to Cheers: Netflix is taking over your mall.
💀 Chrome Gets the Boot: Stellantis shifts gears for safer cars.
👑 The New Kings of Summer? Regional parks try to chip away at Disney's crown.
📱 Swipe Left on Sanity: Surgeon General wants warning labels for social media.
🥷🏽 Turnover: The Silent Profit Assassin - here’s how to stop the bleeding.
🌐 Around the Web: Soccer Slacking, Flip Phone Comebacks, and Popping Washington’s Cherries. 🍒
📢 Want to Turn Emails into Dollar Signs? Don’t miss next week’s Happy Hour!
THE CLASSROOM
Adapting to Change: How Small Businesses Can Stay Agile
by Luigi Rosabianca
We all know that the only constant in life (and business) is change. Whether it's a sudden shift in market trends, a new tech innovation, or evolving customer preferences, staying agile is the name of the game. So, how can small businesses roll with the punches and thrive amidst all this change? Let's dive into some fun and practical strategies to keep your business nimble and ready for anything!
HEARD ON THE STREET
🎬 Cinema Cycle Comes Full Circle
Streaming almost assassinated the cinema business, so it’s only natural that Netflix is turning former department stores into entertainment centers. The empty space that used to be a Sears at your local mall could soon turn into a spot to enjoy the latest season of Stranger Things.
The streaming company just announced it’s opening two 100K+ square-foot entertainment venues (one at the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania and the other at Galleria Dallas, Texas). It’s Netflix’s latest and grandest foray into live experiences, which are less about generating revenue directly and more geared toward drumming up fan interest in its content. Each ‘Netflix House’ will have food, drinks, exclusive merchandise, and more. Netflix has consolidated its market position, so now it's solidifying its brand!
❌ Bling, Bling No More
At least with some cars! Chromium’s century-long reign, as that added a bit of bling and glamour to new cars, may be coming to an end. One major automaker has raised environmental and serious health concerns over the status quo aesthetic appeal. Carmaker Stellantis (manufacturer of Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, and Maserati vehicles) is rolling out ‘Death of Chrome,’ a plan that will stop chromium 6 - a carcinogen 500X more toxic than diesel exhaust - from being used to plate new vehicles across its brands.
Hexavalent chromium, or chromium 6, is the form of the element chromium involved in the plating process and is an aggressive cancer-causing agent. Hexavalent chromium is a carcinogen that is the second most potent toxic air contaminant identified by the state, as per the California Air Resources Board. It is 500 times more toxic than diesel exhaust and has no known safe level of exposure.
Alternatives abound, but…Polished stainless steel looks a lot like chrome, but it’s expensive. Satin steel with a dull finish looks refined and is less expensive. Mixing different tones and textures can create smooth lines. Chrome peaked in the ’50s with the big American land yachts and stuff with giant chrome bumpers and giant chrome grills. American manufacturers couldn’t use enough chrome back then. They threw as much chrome onto the vehicles as they could, and we’ve been weaning ourselves from it ever since. What’s next? The ban on the fuzzy dice and tree-shaped air fresheners!
🎢 Playing Cat and Mouse
Disney theme parks have been setting a high bar for summer-lovin' kid’s entertainment for decades. But now, it's becoming increasingly common for regional theme parks to chip away at the Mouse's market share as consumers look to travel more and pay less.
Six Flags Entertainment and Cedar Fair had an $8B merger in 2023, joining their combined 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resorts. In the 12 months leading up to Q3 '23, the companies saw 48M guests.
British theme park operator Merlin Entertainments opened a Legoland Park in New York in 2021 and is working on a Peppa Pig Park in Dallas-Fort Worth after opening one in Florida in 2022.
Great Wolf Lodge has 20 indoor water park locations across the US and Canada, with more planned. By 2025, ~90% of the US population will be within a four-hour drive of a park. The chain has ~8.7K rooms, up from 4.3K in '14, and the average occupancy rate is ~80% annually, up from 65% ten years ago.
Some of this success might be due to deep-pocketed investors. In 2019, the Blackstone Group acquired a 65% stake in parent company Great Wolf Resorts and holds a majority stake in Merlin Entertainments.
The demand seems to be gaining momentum as the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions estimates a 2%↑ increase in theme park attendance this summer, totaling 300M+ annual visits. Smaller players are also trying to ride the trend. Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho opened the 'longest dueling water coaster' in the US this month, and Maine's Funt'wn Splashtown USA added its first new ride in 20 years laMaine'ser. Of course, the major players are on it, too. Universal broke ground on a kids' resort outside of Dallas, and Mattel is opening Adventure Parks in Arizona and Kansas. Enjoy the options, kids.
🖥️ Swallowing It Whole
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said social media should come with a warning label – similar to a pack of cigarettes - to warn teens and parents of associated mental health risks.
Considering the foibles associated with government-inspired health advice, perhaps parents should call their own shots.
We have the faulty FDA food pyramid that mandated top heavy carb diets and low protein intake for generations, only to realize it led to trends in obesity and diabetes. Oops – just turn that pyramid upside down.
The insidious part of the guidelines is that they were the standard used for school nutritional support programs such as WIC and SNAP and meal planning in nursing homes and other institutions. (Basically, any food program that involved government money.) That’s why your child can be served potato chips in the school lunch program and have them count as a vegetable or be given a glass of orange juice (concentrated sugar) and have it count as a fruit. It’s also why milk, which is high in sugar in the form of lactose, and flavored yogurt, containing both lactose AND added sugar, are pushed in school cafeterias. Official government nutrition recommendations lay the groundwork for later nerve damage.
Something very similar happened with lard, once a staple fat for cooking. Scarcity, expense, and adulteration were problems with lard. When a solid white shortening known as Crisco became available in 1911, it caught on quickly. That it, like margarine, was very high in trans fats wasn’t seen as a problem until decades later.
Or was there a lack of consistency when handling the pandemic threats and limitations? We are great champions of the notion it helps to be skeptical but hurts to be cynical. But when big gub’ment offers news like this one, it is tough to distinguish between the two.
THE MONEY MINUTE WITH MRM
Unlocking the Real Cost of Employee Turnover – And How to Stop It
with Matthew R. Meehan
Ever wondered just how much employee turnover is costing your business? Spoiler alert: it's a lot. Like, a LOT, a lot.
The article "A Step-by-Step Guide to Calculating the Exact Cost of Turnover" breaks down the nitty-gritty, from disengagement to recruitment and every wallet-draining step in between. This guide, along with their handy calculator, makes it easier than ever to ditch the guesswork and arm yourself with precise figures. If you're ready to stop the bleeding, hit the link below to read more.
AROUND THE WEB
Euro Trash: Hey managers, if productivity has been down this past week, check for those second monitors and hidden iPhones. The Euros soccer games are on all day, every day. If that’s not enough to affect your team’s performance, Copa América, the South American soccer tournament, began yesterday. We humbly recommend you avoid coming into the office wearing your favorite team’s jersey!
Flip Phones - The Anti-Screen Revolution: Sick of endless scrolling and brain-melting screen time? Flip phones are making a comeback, letting people reclaim their lives one nostalgic clamshell at a time. Say goodbye to doomscrolling and hello to figuring out how to text with T9 again!
A Sweet Find: Turns out George Washington didn’t just chop cherry trees; he pickled them, too. Archaeologists at Mount Vernon unearthed 250-year-old bottles of perfectly preserved cherries and berries, showcasing the culinary skills of the enslaved chefs who ran the kitchen. Who knew Washington was into artisanal fruit preservation?
📢 Happening next week!
Join marketing expert Anne Laffin for a fun and informative Happy Hour Masterclass on unlocking the power of email marketing! Learn email basics, design tips, list-building tactics, and key metrics to transform your email campaigns into revenue-generating tools. *Use code EMAILMARKETING at checkout to get this training FREE. (Applies to monthly membership only.)
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