March Madness is fully here. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will unleash 16 games worth of chaos today, followed by another 32 games between the men’s and women’s tourneys tomorrow. Big day for hoops fans, bigger day for fans of hearing people say, “Let’s punt this to Monday.”
In today’s email:
Living a fantasy: A growing industry brings books to life.
Pickleball: Courts are back in session, and so are the noise complaints.
Weird patents: Never be left hanging again.
Around the web: A strange legend, ranking time-travel movies by accuracy, and more.
👇 Listen: The “romantasy” genre is taking off.
The Big Idea
Young women are all in on real-life fantasy events
Immersive events are charging top dollar, largely thanks to TikTok’s BookTok.
2024-03-21T00:00:00Z
Juliet Bennett Rylah
When you’re a kid, you escape into books. When you have money, you apparently pay to attend real-life immersive experiences based on books.
PerCNN, the last two years have seen several companies deliver nights in another realm to millennial and Gen Z audiences who love fantasy and romance novels, using TikTok’s BookTok to sell tickets ranging from $60 to up into the thousands.
Texas-based Eudantria Events sold all 420 tickets to its first fantasy-themed ball in 2022, priced at $175 each.
UK company Hushfable sold 1k+ tickets to its first event, inspired by Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series, for $230-$320 each.
What’s the appeal?
It’s a chance to dress up, meet fellow fans, and maybe even interact with characters or follow fun storylines.
After spending all week in your sweats working from home or commuting to a job where it’s inappropriate to wear a ball gown, why not trade banal conversation for mystery and intrigue?
Plus, Maja Djikic, a psychology professor who researches adult development, toldCNN that these role-playing opportunities can offer important emotional and mental health benefits.
Is this a new thing?
Nah, there have long been Renaissance fairs, murder mystery dinners, live-action role-playing games, and immersive theater performances like Sleep No More. Pre-pandemic, it seemed like every company was scrambling to market an “immersive event.”
What’s interesting is BookTok’s role, and that women make up the bulk of attendees, especially considering genres like fantasy have a long history of being male-dominated.
But as it’s crossed over into the mainstream, thanks to media like “Stranger Things,” “Critical Role,” and “Baldur’s Gate 3,” demand has increased among a wider audience.
And when paired with romance, it’s clearly a winning formula — Maas has sold 38m+ copies of her books worldwide.
Free Resource
The 4-step formula to winning over anyone
Attention: “What is it?”
Interest: “I like it.”
Desire: “I want it.”
Action: “I’m getting it.”
It’s a simple framework for plotting content and converting strangers into paying customers. Apply the AIDA system to your brand with this business-ready worksheet.
It definitely feels like we’re paying more for streaming services than ever before, but Deloitte’s annual report confirmed it: American households that pay for streaming entertainment now spend, on average, $61 per month across four services. Last year, that number was $48 per month.
SNIPPETS
The US government will give Intel up to $8.5B to boost US chip production. Intel said it plans to invest $100B+ more to build new US plants, which is expected to create 30k construction and manufacturing jobs.
MacKenzie Scott donated $640m to 361 US nonprofits after receiving 6k+ applications in an open call for funding. It’s the latest step in her promise to donate at least half of her wealth to charity.
The Environmental Working Group released its annual Dirty Dozen list of nonorganic produce with the most pesticides. Claiming the top spot this year: strawberries.
Lenmeldy — a new gene therapy to treat MLD, a fatal genetic disorder — has been FDA approved and is now the world’s most expensive medicine with a wholesale price of $4.25m.
Chick-fil-A is America’s 3rd-largest restaurant chain by sales, thanks to its popular chicken sandwiches. But it may have a new trick up its sleeve: The chain’s innovation kitchen, where it tests possible new products, is now serving pizza.
Bentley Motors is the latest carmaker to hit pause on its EV plans. The luxury auto brand said its first EV model won’t arrive until 2026, and that its plans to be entirely electric by 2030 — a $3.4B investment — will also be pushed.
All is not Gucci: Luxury stocks took a little tumble yesterday on news that Gucci’s sales are down 20% YoY. The market was least kind to Gucci parent Kering, which saw a ~12% drop Wednesday.
Hermes is being sued for requiring shoppers to buy other products before they can get a Birkin bag, a practice apparently common among luxury retailers regarding status symbol buys.
“Popcorn bucket” was searched 4.9k times per day on eBay in February thanks to AMC’s Dune popcorn buckets. Originally sold for ~$25, hustlers are now asking for hundreds on the resale platform.
Don’t miss this…
Facebook is still king — at least when it comes to advertising. So, how do you craft a powerful ad strategy on the platform? We sat down with Meta’s director of ads for his top tips.
A real ballbuster
Get your earplugs ready: Pickleball courts are thawing out
Spring is officially here, and while that’s great for most everyone who doesn’t have a pollen allergy, there is another crowd that’ll grimace at the arrival of warmer weather: those who live next to pickleball courts.
Pwock. Pwock. Pwock.
The soundscape of America’s fastest-growing sport is causing problems:
The decibel level of a fiberglass-covered paddle thwapping a plastic ball is almost as loud as a vacuum cleaner.
Pickleball hits have roughly the same high-pitch frequency as the beeping noise from a garbage truck backing up.
And it’s happening, on repeat, hundreds of times per hour in communal spaces.
Noise complaints are one of the biggest hurdles facing the sport’s growing prosperity and its cult following. Can one business — and its makeshift lab outside Pittsburgh — hold the solution?
There are thousands of companies valued at $1B+. How many clues do you need to identify today’s billion-dollar brand?
Clue 1: Next month, it’ll celebrate its 99th birthday, but this company almost didn’t exist at all. Two competitors merged out of necessity following WWI, when the US military’s need for hauling power changed the industry’s trajectory.
Clue 2: There’s an alternate world in which machinery enthusiasts wear “mud turtles” merch around — that’s what people used to call this company’s cornerstone product before another living creature took center stage.
Clue 3: Gray with red trim? No way. This company changed its standard machine color to “Hi-Way Yellow” with black trim in 1931, just in time to look its finest while helping the construction of the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge.
👇 Scroll to the bottom for the answer 👇
Weird Patents
Gimme five: You’re watching a basketball game alone and the team you bet on just won — your office March Madness win is closer than ever. It feels so good, but something is missing. A sweet high-five, that’s what. Inventor Albert Cohen could not agree more, which is why he patented an “apparatus for simulating a ‘high five’” in 1994. Cohen imagined that the rubber-coated, padded hand would be realistic and life-sized — perhaps even an exact replica of your favorite player’s hand, wearing their jersey. There’s also space for the incorporation of a sound system, making it easier to blast “We Are the Champions” directly through your fake wall-mounted arm. Go team.
AROUND THE WEB
🎸 On this day: In 1952, the Cleveland Arena in Ohio hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball — considered the first rock concert — though cops quickly shut it down due to overcrowding. Performers included Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers and Tiny Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders.
👻 That’s interesting:Unpacking a local legend that has long haunted the Bay Area.
🗞️ Newsletter: Over 59k marketers trust Stacked Marketer, a daily read for the latest advertising hacks, insights, and breaking news. Sign up for free.
⌛ Haha:Ranking time-travel movies by a balance of scientific accuracy and entertainment value.
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