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Eric Migicovsky has barely started working on a successor to the Pebble smartwatch, and hes already talking about being finished with it.Eight years ago, Migicovsky shut down the smartwatch startup he founded, having sold its software assets to Fitbit, which later became part of Google. But all this time, he and thousands of Pebble die-hards have continued to wear their watches, aided in part by a community thats kept Pebbles app store and core services alive. Last month, Migicovsky persuaded Google to make Pebbles software open source, and now hes started a company to build new watches. (They wont be called Pebbles, though, since Google still owns the name.)While theres plenty to do before new watches can ship, the longevity of current Pebbles taught Migicovsky a lesson: Not every gadget needs an annual release cycle, a steady cadence of software launches, and a change-the-world mindset. Instead, its possible to release a finished product that stays in its lane. This is an atypical approach to consumer tech, but it will be a defining trait for Pebbles successor.Pebble has not had a firmware update in eight years, and it still isfor me, at least, for the features I wantthe best option on the market, which is crazy, Migicovsky says. Before that, we were updating every month . . . and I never once realized, or thought, or even considered: What if we were done?Why Pebble is specialAs one of those last remaining active Pebble users, I understand where Migicovsky is coming from. Ive worn a Pebble Time Steel on and off ever since it launched in 2015, and I even bought a couple more as backups in case of hardware failure (both of which I eventually had to start using).[Photo: Jared Newman]While Ive dabbled in Apple Watches and Androids WearOS models, I always drift back to Pebble. Im not big into quantified health, so the increasing fitness focus of other watches doesnt resonate with me. A watch that delivers notifications, music controls, and timers is good enough, and Pebble arguably does those things better than any modern smartwatch. The battery lasts for a week, so I can leave the charger at home on weekend outings, and side buttons let me control music or dismiss notifications without even looking at the screen.Meanwhile, Pebbles lo-fi design has become part of its allure. The Game Boy aesthetic, fun animations, and thousands of installable watch faces give Pebble a geeky charm, made all the more novel by how many people wear identical Apple Watches on their wrists. Migicovsky says the aesthetics help explain why Pebble has maintained its enthusiastic community of users.[Photo: Jared Newman]It was retro when it started, because of the black-and-white feel, and so I think it didnt become dated because it was already dated, Migicovsky says. That stuck around in peoples memories, and on a lot of peoples wrists.Bringing Pebble backYou can still find Pebble watches on sites like eBay, but getting them to work is a challenge. Pebbles iPhone app departed the App Store in 2021 because no one kept up its Apple Developer account, so you have to sideload it using work-arounds like AltStore. On Android 15 and above, new security requirements make direct sideloading impossible, so you have to push the app to your phone from a computer.Even if you get the app installed, it wont do much on its own because Pebbles servers shut down in 2018. Fully reviving the watch requires a tool called Rebble Web Services, which hijacks the setup process to provide its own version of Pebbles app store and online features, such as weather and voice dictation. Its a miracle that any of this works, but the end result is a product that still fulfills its original purpose.[Screenshot: Rebble Store]All of which means that Migicovskys work is largely about delivering a functional product rather than a reimagined one. Existing Pebble owners will get a new app that works without any rigmarole, and newcomers will get modern hardware that preserves Pebbles apps, watch faces, and core features, including an always-on e-paper screen and physical buttons.As for new functions, Migicovskys plans are surprisingly low-key. His to-do list includes things like adding more notification icons for apps that didnt exist a decade ago and providing a standard weather API for watch face makers. He expresses some admiration for the complications features of Apple Watches but is noncommittal about bringing the idea to a Pebble successor.Meanwhile, Migicovsky flatly rejects some more ambitious concepts for Pebble that never came to fruition, like wristbands with extra features built in. (Pebbles original attempt at that idea, called SmartStraps, went nowhere.) In a blog post following up on the original announcement, he warned people to temper their expectations.Please dont get your hopes up that the new watch will have X/Y/Z new featre, he wrote, noting that Pebble will be almost exactly as users remember it, except now with open-source software that can be modified and improved.The open-source doorPebble was always amenable to tinkering by outside developers. Even before adding its own health features, Pebble allowed apps like Misfit to track steps and sleep in the background. And when Katharine Berry, a third-party developer, built a web-based tool for making watch apps, Pebble hired her and started recommending the tool itself. (Berry, who now works at Google, later became instrumental in developing Rebble Web Services and getting Google to open-source the Pebble operating system.)Now that anyone can use and modify Pebbles source code, the door is open to even wilder modifications. While Migicovsky will stick to what sounds mostly like a Pebble rerelease, hes content to let outside developers experiment.We were an amazingly hackable smartwatch then. Now that the OS is open source, theres nothing you cant hack on it, he says. You can build new hardware. You can add new features. You can write a new mobile app.Regardless of how much hacking actually happens, the approach at least gives Pebbles successor a clearer identity. By Migicovskys admission, one reason Pebble failed is that it never settled on who it was for. The watch began as a geeky gadget, but later pitched itself as a productivity tool, then pivoted toward fitness features in a last-ditch attempt to compete with Fitbit and the Apple Watch.This time, Migicovsky wont make that mistake. If you had to take one of those three, he says, Ill take geek every day.
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E-Commerce
Super Bowl ad spots range from just 15 to 60 seconds, but their impact lives on through social media for the days, weeks, and sometimes even years that follow. Although around 50 brands bought broadcast time, less than a week later, only a handful are still being talked about. So how can brands best transform their (very expensive) ads from momentary entertainment to long-lasting conversation pieces? Data from Metricool, a social media analytics tool, shows that the Super Bowl ads with the largest reach and impact are ones that use social media to turn their seconds-long time slot into an all-encompassing experience. Brands should focus on full-scope coverage, rather than putting all their eggs in a TV ad, says Anniston Ward, a specialist at Metricool. It takes a full experience to really create a lasting effect. Poppis influencer marketing tactic, for one example, scaled beyond its brief TV spot to make a lasting post-Super Bowl impact. In the week leading up to the big game, the health-focused soda brand launched a series of giveaways, collaborations with influencers, and a high-profile stunt involving the brand sending neon pink branded vending machines to more than 30 influencers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Poppi (@drinkpoppi) Days later, people are still talking about Poppis tacticsthough not all of the reception has been positive. Many online called Poppi out of touch for giving large amounts of free product to already wealthy influencers. And now, Poppi is in everyones mouths, whether it’s good or bad, Ward says. Metricool observed that Poppis Instagram engagement reached 4%which might seem a paltry figure, but Instagrams industry average is 0.7%, and anything higher than 1% is considered a strong performance. The brands Instagram post likes spiked by nearly 100%. Carls Jr. also turned its Super Bowl ad spend into a weeklong online experience, featuring a scantily dressed Alix Earle biting into a Carls Jr. hangover burger to promote a free burger day on February 10. The company shared behind-the-scenes footage leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, and even released a snippet of the ad on Reels the Wednesday before the game. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carls Jr. (@carlsjr) That reel secured the fast-food restaurant chain a 91% increase in Instagram followers and a 47% engagement ratethe top engagement of any Super Bowl social media promotion, Metricool observed. When an ad campaign is successful, the conversation around it can last for weeks. For Apple, the conversations been going for decades. Yes, more than 40 years later, Apples 1984 adwhich redefined Super Bowl commercials and permanently launched the company into the international spotlightstill sets the bar for branding brilliance. Last years best-performing Super Bowl spot also garnered international attention. Beyoncés announcement of her Cowboy Carter album, in collaboration with Verizon, is still having a positive ripple effect today: The album broke Spotify records upon its release, and Beyoncé paired up with Verizon yet again this year to announce her Cowboy Carter tour. The Super Bowl is one of the largest marketing events of the year, Ward says. It can give us a footprint to how marketers can craft their campaigns for the next year, and use it as kind of a reference to what has worked well.
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E-Commerce
When workers repaved part of Interstate 94 near Minneapolis last fall, it looked like they were pouring ordinary concrete. But instead the highway was the first to use a new, near-zero-emissions material. Its one of a series of large projects to use material from C-Crete, a Bay Area-based startup. Shortly, the highway was repaved, and the company poured slabs and foundations at San Francisco International Airport. Earlier in the summer, it also poured a floor slab in a super-tall skyscraper under construction in Manhattan, the future headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. Other projects are underway now. [Photo: courtesy C-Crete Technologies] Producing cement, the glue that holds concrete together, is a major source of global emissionsaround 8% to 9%, or three times as much as the aviation industry. But as startups are racing to bring low-emissions alternatives to market, some of those new products may be at a tipping point. This is cost-competitive, says C-Crete CEO Rouzbeh Savary, who began working on a more sustainable cement alternative as a PhD student at MIT. Were making binders that are the same cost, same performance, and no CO2. Typical Portland cement, which has been in use for the past 200 years, is a big polluter for two reasons. First, its made by heating up limestone, which releases CO2 as the limestone breaks down. The process also uses a lot of energy, which is usually run on coal and other fossil fuels. JPMorgan, 270 Park Ave. [Photo: courtesy C-Crete Technologies] C-Crete replaces limestone with other rocks that dont contain CO2, such as granite or zeolite. Some other startups are taking a similar approach. Brimstone, for example, a startup backed by Bill Gatess Breakthrough Energy Ventures, uses calcium instead of limestone. Sublime Systems, another startup, dissolves calcium silicate with chemicals. (Sublime first poured concrete for a building in Boston a year ago, and won a DOE award in December to build a new, clean-cement factory in Massachusetts.) C-Crete says that it has a simpler process: Rather than extracting a single element from rocks, requiring multiple steps and creating waste, it found a way to use the full mix of materials inside granite and other rocks. The team spent years developing a process that worked. We had thousands of failed formulas, so this didnt come overnight, Savary says. In the final process, rocks are pulverized, and then the company adds a mix of chemicalscalibrated for a particular rocks compositionto reform a new, strong material. The process uses far less energy than making Portland cement; if it’s made renewable energy, the binder can be zero-emissions. (The other materials in concrete, like sand and water, are only a minor source of emissions.) The poured concrete also acts like a sponge, capturing CO2 from the air as it cures. [Photo: courtesy C-Crete Technologies] When the binder is used to make concrete, the material is as durable and strong as conventional concrete, the company says, meeting ASTM performance standards. It also flows and pumps like typical concrete, so construction methods dont have to change. In its initial projects, C-Crete now produces cement itself. But the startup is now in discussions with ready-mix concrete companies around the country that can use its approach. Those companies already have quarries where they mine rocks like granite for aggregate. They can buy off-the-shelf equipment to pulverize the rocks, and then use binder materials from C-Crete; the changes can easily integrate into the existing construction industry without needing large-scale investments in manufacturing. San Francisco International Airport [Photo: courtesy C-Crete Technologies] Unsurprisingly, the construction industry is cautious about adopting new materials. But as a growing number of real-world projects demonstrate the performance of the concrete, it could scale up quickly. Some building owners might choose the material for sustainability reasons, but the biggest factor in its favor will likely be the affordability. While the material already competes on cost, it has the potential to become even cheaper than conventional concrete, since it’s more efficient to produce. “We believe that what we are doing is the most scalable, simplest, nd most affordable way of decarbonizing concrete,” says Savary.
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E-Commerce
During the Great Resignation, employers offered signing bonuses at unprecedented rates and, while the labor market has since cooled, the cash incentive remains popular, especially among in-person roles. According to a recent study by Indeeds Hiring Lab, the one-time bonus was included in less than 2% of job postings on the platform before the pandemic, and skyrocketed to a peak of 5.6% in September of 2022. Though the labor market is largely back to pre-pandemic norms, signing bonus offers remain nearly twice as common as they were in 2019, and are now attached to 3.7% of U.S. job postings. In the last couple years, the trend line has actually diverged, explains the reports author and Indeed economist Cory Stahle. In other words, we saw wage growth start slowing down really fast, and signing bonuses started slowing down too, but not nearly as fast. According to the study, the jobs that are most likely to come with a signing bonus require a physical presence and tend to be in a medical field. Veterinarians, for example, have seen a nearly 50% spike in signing bonus frequency since February of 2020, with 12.1% of roles now offering one. The nursing profession also offers signing bonuses at similar rates, while the physician and surgeon, beauty and wellness, and medical technician fields round out the top five, with the bonus offered with roughly 10% of jobs in each. Signing bonuses are most prevalent in jobs where employers are still actively recruiting people at really high levels, and if we look at where those jobs are, we see that those tend to be in healthcare, with a lot of in-person, skilled labor, hands-on jobs, Stahle says. On the flip side, signing bonuses are much less common in traditional white-collar, knowledge-work roles. A Substitute for Flexibility? The elevated frequency of signing bonuses in roles that require a physical presence may suggest that in the age of remote work, employers that are unable to offer location flexibility need to find other ways to sweeten the pot. (The Indeed report did not collect data on the average size of signing bonus, but it varies depending on the role and industry.) According to a study conducted by Owl Labs, more than half of American workers prefer hybrid work, and more than 38% would not accept a role that required them to be in the office full time. The data suggests that many employees value a work-life balance and are willing, in certain instances, to draw lower salaries if they are allowed the option to work remotely or hybrid, says Owl Labs CEO Frank Weishaupt. If employers want their employees to work in person, they will need to offer new and improved benefits. Weishaupt adds that in-person requirements come with real financial costs to employees. According to the study, workers spend an average of $61 each day on commuting, food, and other expenses related to coming into the officea 20% increase from 2023and save about $42 each day they work from home. We found that, on average, U.S. workers would sacrifice 8.3% of their annual salary for a flexible or remote working location, Weishaupt says. Since our report found that coming into the office can be more costly than working from home, a signing bonus, more than ever, is an acknowledgment that an extra incentive may be needed to fill those in-person roles. Why Employers Should Proceed with Caution While the added upfront cash might help lure candidates, Weishaupt warns that a one-time payment may not be effective at retaining them over the long run. Signing bonuses are short-term solutions for issues that will arise again; namely the desire by employees for work-life balance, he says. Society for Human Resource Management CHRO Jim Link agreed that its risky to use a one-time payment to secure a long-time commitment. That is why he recommends attaching a few conditions to the increasingly popular perk. If the employer is intending to pay those [bonuses] upon the start date, we encourage them to have a fallback agreement that says if that employee leaves after a specified period of time, they are due to pay back all or part of it, he says. Thats option one; option two, if you dont want a claw back agreement, is to make that lump sum payment go into effect at a specified time, like after 90 days or 120 days, assuming certain conditions are met. Skills Gaps and Economic Uncertainty The widespread desire for hybrid or remote work among employees may help explain why more companies are leaning on the signing bonus to lure workers into less flexible roles, but that doesnt tell the whole story. After all, the bonus is just one of many tools employers could use to attract employees, and not a historically popular one in mostmore sectors. The signing bonus, however, is unique for presenting employers with a one-time cost, rather than an ongoing commitment, which may be particularly appealing in the current economic climate. Employers in 2024 were very cautionary in their overall financial management, particularly as it relates to things that they would have to pay again and again, like substantial pay raises, explains Link, pointing to both economic and political uncertainty. Furthermore, while the labor market has cooled, Link suggests certain roles remain in extremely high demand. There’s a significant gap between what employers are looking forwhether it be in healthcare or other industriesversus what’s immediately available out there on the market, he says. We don’t see in the short-term anything coming that’s going to lessen that gap. While those gaps remain, and with lingering uncertainty in the long-range economic forecast, Link believes employers will continue to choose the lump sum bonus over other employee perks for the foreseeable future. My best guess is that this current rate overall that we’re seeing of employers across industries utilizing it, there’s nothing that I see forthcoming that would make me think that that number is going to either substantially increase or decrease, he says. This is the new normal.
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E-Commerce
Chilis is celebrating National Margarita Day this month with a new romcom Lifetime holiday movie. The casual-dining restaurant chain and cable network will debut a 15-minute TV short film, called Ill Be Home For National Margarita Day, first airing on Lifetime on February 19 and available on Lifetime.com, YouTube, and social platforms. Starring actors Maria Menounos and Taye Diggs, the new flick hits on all the classic Lifetime tropes, including a big-city-dwelling woman returning to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who happens to be a bartender at Chilis. The reunited lovers must work together to save a small towns National Margarita Day celebration from the villainous big-city developer. Hes like a bad guy right out of a Lifetime movie, says Diggs during one of the films self-referential moments. I think there are parallels between why people look to Lifetime and the great content they create, as well as why people look for a night out at a place like Chilis, says Chili’s chief marketing officer George Felix in an interview with Fast Company. Its a reliable source of comfort. The project also presents an appetizing marketing opportunity for Chilis, which sold 25 million margaritas last year, more than any other restaurant chain in the U.S. Chilis worked with creative agency Mischief on the film, which is a core pillar of the restaurant chains largest-ever marketing campaign for National Margarita Day, a holiday that is celebrated on February 22. ‘We need excuses to laugh’ Chilis is also offering several margarita promos, including a one-day $5 margarita special called the Tequila Trifecta, which combines el Jimador Silver, 1800 Reposado, and Jose Cuervo Gold. When people are thinking about margaritas and a place to go out, Chili’s is really the first choice, says Felix. Menounos, who plays Liz, is already well known to the Lifetime audience having previously appeared in the networks films including Christmas at Plumhill Manor and The Holiday Dating Guide. The actress says she is so charmed by the genre that she cofounded a holiday movie production company in 2024 with her husband, writer and film producer Keven Undergaro, called We Heart Holidays. Life has gotten so hard and so challenging, we need excuses to laugh, and smile, and have fun, and have margaritas, says Menounos. [Photo: Chili’s] Menounos has also been a devoted fan of Chilis for well over two decades and even hired a former Chilis waiter to work at her company. Menounos says she tends to prefer appetizers including the chips and salsa, nachos, and the fried mozzarella. Beyond her love of holiday flicks, Menounos says she was lured to the project to work with a friend, Diggs, who plays Sam in the film and also previously starred in Lifetimes Terry McMillian Presents: Forever. Diggs says hes a more recent convert to the Chilis cuisine. We all knew these characters, but at the same time, its a little bit tongue in cheek, because were talking about Chilis and mozzarella sticks and margaritas, says Diggs. A bar and grill on a roll The chain has become a star performer for restaurant operator Brinker, which also owns the Italian-themed Maggianos. Comparable restaurant sales, which tracks the performance at locations that have been open for more than 18 months, have increased steadily over the past several quarters. For the most recent fiscal second quarter, comparable restaurant sales jumped 31% at Chilis, growth that astonished Wall Street analysts, who have praised the chains comeback as one of the strongest ever in the restaurant industry. Felix says the chain has benefited from reinvesting in national TV advertising after a long pause during the pandemic, as well as a streamlined menu with 25% fewer items than two years ago. The core focus is now on five categories: burgers, chicken crispers, fajitas, margaritas, and the triple dipper. [Photo: Lifetime] The triple dipper, which allows diners to select from a range of three different appetizers, has been a particular popular dish. Last spring, Chilis began to notice some social media chatter, especially on TikTok, that frequently featured the combination of sliders, honey chipotle chicken crispers, and fried mozzarella. TikTok users were particularly drawn to performing whats known as the cheese pull” as they bite into the fried mozzarella. This item really lends itself to the way that the TikTok food world works, says Felix. Chilis cultivated interest in the dish by partnering with social media influencers. The triple dipper has amassed over 200 million views on TikTok in just he past six months. The Lifetime film presents yet another opportunity for Chilis to lean into pop culture. While the networks audience tends to skew more female, Chilis says the brands overall strategy is fairly gender balanced. Recent partnerships include launching the espresso martini with the female cast members of Bravos TV show Vanderpump Rules, but other recent activations with NASCAR and the comedy group Dude Perfect lean more male. The fact that Chili’s is a brand that really appeals to a wide demographic gives us, as marketers, a wide range of partners that we can play with, says Felix. Lifetime hits one of our big audiences in a big way.
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E-Commerce
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