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Max Gets a New Name: Its Old One; Fast-Growing Chicken Chain Chases Fame With Care and AI; The Skinny Confidential Became a Wellness Empire
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Good morning. Today, Warner Bros. Discovery decides “HBO” is valuable branding after all; Slim Chickens tries to make itself a household name; and Lauryn Bosstick’s blog grows into consumer-product hit.
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Casey Bloys unveils a new-ish name for Max at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront. PHOTO: DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES FOR WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY
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The big news from Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation yesterday was the rebranding of the streaming service Max….back to “HBO Max.”
The service was previously called HBO Max from its 2020 introduction until 2023, when it dropped the well-known “HBO” to the confusion of fans.
The company initially defended that decision by saying the HBO brand was too premium for a streaming service that offers not only prestige programming but Discovery shows such as “Dr. Pimple Popper.”
The backtracking yesterday by HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys was met with laughs from the audience, Megan Graham writes from the scene. But it was no joke: The rebrand is happening this summer, he said.
Shauna Spenley, global CMO for streaming, played up the service’s positioning now as “less is more.”
“Streaming has become a lot like fast fashion,” Spenley told ad buyers. “People are saying, ‘I'd rather have one great sweater than five that fall apart.’ The desire for cheap, long-form, episodic volume is waning.”
One big question: Is the re-rebrand a hint that Warner Bros. Discovery is headed for a split? [THR]
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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How Do Recent De Minimis Changes Affect Retailers?
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Changes to the tariff exemption for low-value imports from China could affect strategy, supply chain, and pricing for some retailers, while presenting opportunities for others. Read More
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Slim Chickens is using AI to help reorganize its menu and take orders at drive-throughs. PHOTO: SLIM CHICKENS
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If you don’t know Slim Chickens yet, it’s Patrick Noone’s job to make sure that changes—at least, if you shop near one.
Noone earlier this year became CMO at the Fayetteville, Ark.-based restaurant chain, which has opened about 300 locations, up from 100 in 2020, and 1,000 more in development in the U.S. and abroad.
“We’re nationwide, but we’re not highly penetrated in every market we're in,” Noone told Megan Graham. “So certainly it's not gonna make sense to go buy a broadcast schedule in every market that we're in.”
The chain is targeting ads to people who visit retail centers near its stores.
“It's much easier to influence that person to come in than it is someone who is 7 miles away and you think maybe eats at quick-serve restaurants three times a week,” Noone said.
Other tools in the box include AI (naturally) and a recording studio at headquarters.
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Lauryn Bosstick’s blog has spawned a blockbuster podcast and a product line built on her own experiments in self-care. PHOTO: ELLEN FEDORS FOR WSJ. MAGAZINE
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Lauryn Bosstick, the founder of The Skinny Confidential, has built a multi-pronged business from the blog she started in 2011 partly by making herself a self-professed human guinea pig, Sara Ashley O’Brien writes.
She’s endorsed salmon-sperm facials, raw milk and reiki as a way to flip a breech baby, based on a do-your-own-research approach to self-care. “I’m like a bloodhound dog,” Bosstick said. “I’ve tried everything.”
She has capitalized on her steadily growing audience with two books (a third is on the way) and a video podcast, “The Skinny Confidential: Him & Her Show,” which has hit the top of Apple Podcasts’ Education category.
The Skinny Confidential started selling its own products in 2021, starting with a thick, pink facial ice roller inspired by Bosstick’s past jaw surgery.
“I took a dildo to a manufacturer and I was like, ‘This is how I want it to feel,’ ” Bosstick says of designing the product, which has done more than $15.8 million in sales.
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Walmart said more high-income households chose the retailer for groceries, and overall shoppers flocked to its low-price store brand and temporary deals. PHOTO: DESIREE RIOS FOR WSJ
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Walmart said sales grew during the quarter ended May 2, when President Trump enacted steep tariffs and consumer confidence plunged. [WSJ]
Dick’s Sporting Goods agreed to buy Foot Locker for roughly $2.4 billion as the big-box retailer seeks a bigger global presence with shoppers. [WSJ]
Why Trader Joe’s is sitting out the retail media boom. [Retail Wire]
Drunk Elephant is trying to regain momentum after teenagers’ infatuation with the clean beauty brand fizzled out. [Business of Fashion]
The EU said TikTok appears to be breaking its rules on providing information about ads to users. [WSJ]
TikTok’s content advisory panel for the U.S. has added members with more expansive views of free speech on social platforms. [BI]
Microsoft is shutting down its ad-buying platform, which was known in former lives as Xandr DSP and AppNexus, saying ad tech’s new era will be dominated by generative AI. [AdExchanger]
The NFL’s Thanksgiving Day game between the Chiefs and the Cowboys on CBS is all but sure to break viewership records. [Front Office Sports]
Max medical drama “The Pitt” will run on Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT network, becoming the latest streaming hit to pop up on traditional TV. [Variety]
Netflix is rebooting the ’80s hit “Star Search” as a live competition series. No word yet on who’ll try to fill Ed McMahon’s shoes. [EW]
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