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If you were one of the millions of children who grew up reading Goodnight Moon before bed, chances are its iconic green bedroom is permanently seared into your memory. Now, for the next four months, you have the opportunity to sleep in the Goodnight Moon room IRL. The Goodnight Moon room has been faithfully re-createddown to the red balloon, bowl of mush, and cow jumping over the moonfor a new immersive suite at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. The room can accommodate up to two adults and two children, and a booking in the suite comes with perks like four tickets to the View Boston observation deck, a $150 daily food and beverage credit, complimentary moon and star cookies, and even the supplies to make your own bowl of mush. Its available to book now through February 28, 2026, starting at $399 per night. [Photo: Marriott] The activation is part of a broader campaign for Marriott Bonvoy’s Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Marriott partnered with representatives of the late Goodnight Moon author Margaret Wise Brown and illustrator Clement Hurd, alongside ad agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, to create a new ad inspired by the bedtime ritual in the book. Creating a real-life version of the Goodnight Moon room as part of this campaign is a savvy strategy for garnering engagement, given that other companies like Airbnb and Skittles have recently found success through similar activations. In 2025, peak nostalgia fodder looks like revisiting the cultural icons of our childhoods. [Photo: Marriott] Why themed stays are the next frontier of social media marketing Real-life versions of pop cultures most recognizable locations have become a kind of niche tourist destination (and social media gold mine for brands) over the past few years. In 2023, Airbnb created a rentable version of Barbies Dreamhouse, complete with a giant pool and an outdoor disco. The house garnered more than 13,000 press hits and more than 250 million social media impressions. It was so successful that on an earnings call CEO Brian Chesky told investors it attracted twice as many impressions as the companys IPO announcement. [Photo: Marriott] The following year, Airbnb introduced a dedicated Icons feature, which lets users choose from pop-culture-inspired locations like the house from Disney-Pixars Up, the X-Mansion from X-Men 97, or Princes Purple Rain house. Other brands have also jumped on board the themed-stay concept: In May 2024 Skittles unveiled an ultra-colorful Manhattan apartment inspired by the candy itself; and in July of this year Olipop launched a series of hotel rooms in Austin inspired by its soda flavors. Marriotts take on the trend taps into Americans near-universal memories of one of the most comforting bedrooms ever illustrated. [Photo: Marriott] How the Sheraton Boston re-created Goodnight Moon Goodnight Moon was published in 1947, and is based on Browns own childhood memories of wishing good night to the items in her room alongside her sister, Roberta. As of 2017, it had sold more than 48 million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages. The books repetitive structure is one reason for its choke hold on the psyche of so many young children, but its illustration style is also undeniably part of its staying power. The surrealist, almos uncanny maximalism of the work feels somehow ahead of its timeand its inspired plenty of artists, including more than a dozen contributors to a 2021 art exhibition at the New York City studio Fort Makers. To replicate Goodnight Moons iconic setting down to the smallest detail, Marriott tapped Favour Agency, a company that specializes in building immersive experiences. According to Rebecca Payne, Favours senior director of experiences, the process started with color-matching every element of the space as closely as possible. While she says it was easy enough to pull accurate Pantones for the yellow furniture and green walls, elements like the complementary green blanket on the bed and red carpet needed to be chosen carefully. [Photo: Marriott] There was certainly some trial and error because time did not allow for every single piece to be fully customized, Payne explains. But without that level of detail, the final result would have fallen flat. It needed to be perfect. For more whimsical parts of the design, Paynes team sought out bespoke solutions. The red balloon, for example, is actually a sculpture affixed to the ceiling, while the fireplace is custom-built out of wood pieces and LED lighting. The most important element of the project, Payne says, was to capture the familiarity and warmth of the original illustration. What a cozy space Clement Hurd created in his illustrations, Payne says. The crackling fire and oversized bed just make you want to curl up and fall asleep. [Photo: Marriott]
Category:
E-Commerce
If youve ever taken a sick pet to the vets office, you know the pain of seeing your four-footed family member hurting. Then, of course, comes the secondary anguish of figuring how to pay for their veterinary care, which may have you wishing you’d ponied up for pet insurance. While Insurify reports that the average cost of a routine vet visit is about $138 for a cat and $214 for a dog, emergency veterinary care can run the gamut from $300 to $10,000, according to Marketwatch. The insurance industry touts pet insurance as the financial solution to the high cost of veterinary care. Like human health insurance, you pay monthly premiums so that your pet insurance will help cover veterinary bills for your dog or cat (and in some cases for your exotic pet) when you make a claim. But is pet insurance worth the money? And does it truly help lower the cost of pet ownership? Heres the skinny on pet insurance so you can decide if its right for your fur babies, reptile pals, and/or feathered friends. Coverage options Typically, there are three types of coverage options for pet insurance: accident-only, accident and illness, and wellness coverage, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Just like it sounds, accident-only will pay for veterinary care when your pet needs treatment because of an accident. This is the least expensive type of pet insurance coverage. Accident and illness coverage will cover treatment for accidents and also any other injuries, disease, or changes to your pets normal health. This might include some kind of embedded wellness coverage, but that is usually a rider or add-on to an accident and illness policy. Finally, wellness coveragewhich most insurers will not sell as a standalone planis a preventative or routine care plan. It generally includes coverage for things like vaccinations, tests, and dental work. This is the most expensive type of pet insurance available, in part because its usually purchased alongside an accident and illness policy. Coverage limitations If this sounds a little too straightforward and lacking in insurance industry shenanigans, dont worry! There are shenanigans aplenty. To start, every insurance company gets to decide which specific ailments, conditions, and veterinary services it will cover, and of course not everything is covered by every plan. Coverage can vary depending on the specific breed of your pet, since some breeds are prone to hereditary and congenital disorders that insurers will not cover. Additionally, diagnostic exams for illnesses generally arent covered, even if treatment for the illness itself is. And then theres the exclusion for pre-existing conditions. Just like human health insurance, pet insurance wont cover any preexisting health problems. Many pet insurers define preexisting pretty liberally, too, considering any health issue that occurs within a year of purchasing the policy to be a preexisting condition. Premium expectations To receive the pet insurance coverage, youll pay a monthly premium, just like with your human health insurance. Paying these monthly premiums makes it possible to afford the high cost of veterinary care for your pets. NAPHIA found that in 2024, accident-only pet insurance premiums cost an average of $16.10 per month ($193.29 annually) for dogs and $9.17 per month ($110.03 annually) for cats. Accident and illness coverage cost an average of $62.44 ($749.29 annually) for dogs and $32.21 per month ($386.47 annually) for cats in 2024. But the operative word here is average. Just as health insurance companies may increase premiums each year, many pet insurers may raise premiums as your pets age, since the likelihood of filing a claim increases as Zeus and Jasper age. That can make pet insurance premiums more difficult to keep up with as your furry companions are more likely to need age-related medical intervention. Add in the potential higher premium prices for hereditary or congenital conditions for certain breeds, and premiums may be out of reach for some pet owners. Premium affordability Thats not to say that you have no control over the cost of premiums. Just like with other types of insurance, making tweaks to your policy can help lower your premium prices. For instance, increasing your deductible is an easy way to lower your premiums to a more affordable level. Just make sure you have a plan for meeting the higher deductible if you need to make a claim. Alternatively, you could increase your coinsurance amount, which refers to the amount of money the policyholder must pay toward the cost of a claim. Most pet insurance offers a default coinsurance amount of 80%, meaning the insurer pays 80% of the claim, while the policyholder covers the remaining 20%. Choosing a coinsurance amount of 70% or less can help reduce your monthly premium costs. Claims process One important difference between your health insurance and pet insurance is how the claims process works. Pet insurance almost universally requires you to pay your vet out of pocket and file a claim with your insurer for reimbursementafter you have met your annual deductible. In other words, even though pet insurance can make eye-watering vet bills more affordable and make heart-wrenching medical decisions for your beloved animal less fraught, its not as though this kind of insurance relieves you of the immediate financial stress of a vet visit. Even if you have pet insurance, you still need to have either the cash or the credit available to pay the vet before you can be reimbursed. Whats best for Bella and Loki? Considering the coverage gaps, reimbursement requirements, and potential caveats, you might be thinking pet insurance is more trouble than its worth. If you have the financial discipline to make it happen, put aside an amount equal to a monthly premium into a savings account for your pets future veterinary care. But if that doesnt sound like something youre likely to do, pet insurance can be a good way to protect your animal companions without having to make heartbreaking financial decisions. Make sure you understand what coverage options are available from various pet insurance providers, as well as the coverage limitations. Even if the premiums are relatively low for your pets now, find out if they may go up as your pets age. Remember, you can help keep your premiums affordable by increasing your deductible or your coinsurance amount. And whether or not you decide to get a pet insurance policy, remember that the claims process is based on a reimbursement model. Even with insurance, you need to pay the veterinarian out of pocket for covered care and get reimbursed, so youll still need to have accessto funds to pay for kittys kidney stone removal at the time of care. Which means its a good idea to beef up your emergency fund whether or not you opt for pet insurance. Then you can enjoy the wagging tails and throaty purrs without worry.
Category:
E-Commerce
Every workplace seems to have one. A manager who goes silent for days, then suddenly reappears in the team chat the moment senior leadership checks in. Theyll swoop in to take credit for the work they hadnt touched, and say, “Oh yes, weve been addressing that.” This type of boss shows up when theres an audience, then vanishes as soon as the higher-ups leave. Ive started calling them the performative manager, because thats exactly what they are. The rise of the performative manager To performative managers, actually leading isnt really the point. All they care about is looking like they’re leading. Performative managers care more about optics than outcomes, and their favorite project is themselves. It sounds like something out of a bad office comedy, but its a reality thats become easier to spot as more work happens online. A Resume Genius Report found that 62% of Gen Z employees face high performance expectations but little support, and more than half rarely get feedback from their managers. That’s not a small problem. Gallup research shows that managers shape roughly 70% of how engaged a team feels, which means one bad boss can drag an entire department down. Think your boss might be a performative manager? Here are five signs to watch for: 1. They promise support, then ghost you the second you need it If your boss is great at saying “Im here for you” but never proves it, you might be dealing with a performative manager. They love looking supportive, but rarely follow through. One of my friends, lets call her Sarah, learned this the hard way. During her first one-on-one at a banking firm, her manager said all the right things, such as “If theres a problem, well work through it together.” It sounded reassuring at the time. But when client requests started piling up and Sarah was drowning in email, that same manager was nowhere to be found. Sarah eventually figured things out on her own and sought help from her coworkers instead. What to do: When your manager disappears, get scrappy. Ask teammates for insight, look for past examples, or test a solution yourself. The more resourceful you become, the less youll need to wait around for someone elses “guidance.” 2. They only come to you during performance review season If your boss suddenly remembers you exist right before review season, chances are theyre preparing for their evaluation, not yours. Youll recognize the signs: more one-on-ones, warmer Slack messages, and maybe even a surprise “training session” that conveniently proves how engaged theyve been all along. What to do: Use that sudden burst of attention to your advantage. Bring up projects youve led, the impact youve made, and what kind of support would help you grow next. Document your achievements (and keep them visible) so theres a clear record of your work. If your success makes them uneasy, dont shrink back. Instead, play it smart: share wins in ways that highlight the whole teams progress, for example, mentioning how your idea helped everyone hit a deadline or made a process easier. 3. They repeat your solution verbatim in meetings You share an idea with your manager, and its crickets. Later on, your manager repeats the idea word for word in a meeting, and suddenly its “brilliant.” Its not that they dont hear you. They just save your insight for when it benefits them most. What to do: As tempting as it might be, resist the urge to confront them mid-meeting. Instead, start putting your ideas in writing where you have a clear trail in emails, shared docs, or Slack channels. If your idea suddenly reappears in a meeting, jump in with calm confidence: “Yes, thats exactly what I was exploring earlier, and heres how we could take it further.” Its respectful, direct, and makes it clear that the idea started with you. You might also want to consider looping in higher-ups and collaborators so that it becomes more difficult for anyone else to take credit for your contribution. If you can, build relationships with other managers or team leads who notice your work. Good leaders can spot performative ones, and having someone credible to back you up helps protect your reputation. 4. They never admit they’re wrong My former colleague Dan used to lose his mind over his previous manager. “Hed ask what I thought about a problem,” Dan told me, “then immediately cut me off with, No, thats incorrect, even when I was literally describing the right solution.” Performative managers cant stand being wrong because they see it as a threat to their authority. They prioritize looking competent over actually improving. And when something does go wrong, theyre quick to turn the spotlight elsewhere. If higher-ups are asking questions, that miscommunication or missed deadline suddenly becomes your fault. Over time, this can slip into gaslighting. You might start replaying conversations in your head, trying to figure out if you really missed something. You didnt. What to do: When disagreements come up, reframe your input in neutral terms, like: “Lets test both options and see which one works best.” Staying outcome-focused protects your time and mental health. If your manager pins the blame on you, respond factually and calmly. Reference what you had agreed on or shared: As mentioned in the update last week, I followed the plan we discussed. No one really wins an argument by losing their temper, but you can by keeping receipts. 5. They turn mentoring into a show of ego If “never admitting theyre wrong” is annoying, this is its final form. My friend Sarah called her manager “a walking pop quiz” who acted like everything was already his idea, and “everyone else was just trying to catch up to his galaxy brain.” For Sarah, every one-on-one started the same way: “So, what do you think went wrong here?” followed by a smug Nope, regardless of what she’d say. Performative managers enjoy playing teacher to remind everyone how smart they are. Beneath the surface, its less about teaching and more about control. What to do: Try to make these interactions short and focused. If they interrupt your work with “learning opportunities,” politely acknowledge them, give a brief update on your progress, and find a natural way to end the conversation. You can always wrap things up with a soft exit like, “I need to prep for my next meeting, but Ill send you an update later.” Performative managers rarely fool people for long. The corporate world has no shortage of them, and knowing how to navigate them without losing your sanity wll help you work smarter. Your power move isnt calling them out. Let them perform. The real professionals are too busy getting things done.
Category:
E-Commerce
After Viagra came to market in 1998, women began clamoring for a drug of their own. But it has taken decades for the medical community to take women’s sexual health seriouslyand even longer to develop and approve a drug that improves women’s libido. A new documentary called The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs, and Who Has Control, premiering at the DOC NYC film festival, explores the fight to launch Addyi, a drug known as the female Viagra. Directed by Aisling Chin-Yee, the film follows Cindy Eckert, the founder of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, who worked for five years to bring Addyi to market, which she managed to do in 2015. But just as fascinating, the film explores society’s perception of women’s sexuality and whether women have a right to sexual pleasure. The film also has an unusual backer. Knix, the underwear startup known for its period panties, provided the capital to bring this film to completion, and Knix founder Joanna Griffiths serves as an executive producer. It’s an interesting strategy that allows Knix to be part of a broader conversation about women’s rights while also potentially introducing the brand to new consumers. Joanna Griffiths [Photo: courtesy Knix] The Governments Effort to Block Addyi Low libido is a widespread problem among women. In this film, women talk about how their desire for sex can suddenly dry up, harming their romantic relationships and lowering their quality of life. But while men’s loss of sexual desire is treated as a medical problem, women’s sexual problems have been dismissed. Women describe their doctors telling them to drink some wine or read a steamy romance novel to get themselves in the mood. Then, in 2009, a German pharmaceutical company stumbled across a breakthrough. A medication originally developed to treat depression was found to improve women’s sexual desire. But when the company tried to bring it to market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the drugciting concerns about its effectiveness and side effectsand it was abandoned. Enter Eckert, a pharmaceutical executive who had struggled with low libido herself. She believed it was worth taking on the FDA. She bought the drug from the German company for $5 million and went back to the federal agency to ask what trial data was required to approve it. But as she met the FDA’s demands, it kept coming back to her with new issues. Chin-Yees documentary makes the case that the FDA had a higher standard for Addyi than it did for other drugs because it was meant for women. For instance, one side effect of Addyi is sleepiness, which is true of many medications on the market. But the FDA wanted to block Addyi out of concern that a woman might take the drug at night, then fall asleep while driving her kids to school the next day. In response, Eckert poured more than $1 million into a driving study that showed women actually drove better after taking Addyi, likely because they slept better. “[Their concerns were] very much about protecting women because they might not make good choices,” says Dr. Anita Clayton, an OB-GYN professor at the University of Virginia whose clinical practice and research focus on womens mental health and sexual dysfunctions. Eckert was confronted with other FDA roadblocks for five years, and kept working to meet the organization’s requirements. During this period, the fight to launch the drug became a broader movement around a woman’s right to experience sexual pleasure, with many women’s organizationsincluding the Black Women’s Health Imperative and Jewish Women Internationaladvocating for the FDA to approve Addyi. There was also backlash. People argued that the drug wasn’t necessary because women are physically capable of having sex even if they aren’t aroused, whereas men cannot. Others argued that its normal for women not to enjoy sex after its no longer required for reproduction, such as after giving birth or entering menopause. In the end, however, Eckert managed to jump through every last hoop, and the FDA approved the drug for use in 2015; it became widely available in 2017. But the drug has had disappointing sales and has not become as successful as Viagra. In December 2024, however, Eckert’s company received $45.6 million in late-stage VC funding, and is currently generating revenue. So there’s hope that more women will feel comfortable talking to their doctors about low libido, and that doctors will prescribe Addyi. [Photo: courtesy Knix] When a Brand Becomes a Film Producer Knix founder Griffiths fell in love with The Pink Pill when it came across her desk two years ago when Chin-Yee was in the final stages of filming it. “It raises so many important questions about women’s sexuality,” she says. “It sparks so many further conversations about everything from our political climate to the role that sex plays over the course of a woman’s life.” In 2023, at the Banff World Media Festival, Griffiths announced that Knix was partnering with production studio Catalyst to launch Docs for Change, a project that would identify promising female documentary filmmakers and finance, develop, produce, and distribute their films. A large number of filmmakers applied, but The Pink Pill stood out because it shed light on an area of women’s health that has long been overlooked. The topic of the film isn’t directly related to Knix’s business, which is selling high-performance underwear and clothing, like period panties and teen bras. But over the years, Griffiths has tried to weave the brand into broader conversations that affect women. In 2021, for instance, the company launched Life After Birth, an art exhibit and book that documents how women’s bodies change after childbirth. Projects like this aren’t necessarily designed to market products, but rather to associate the brand with broader ideas. “We want our customers to know that we are advocating for them,” she says. [Photo: courtesy Knix] Frida, a brand for babies and new moms, did something similar when it recently commissioned a statue of a postpartum woman that is currently being exhibited around the world. Griffiths believes funding films and art is more rewarding than many of the other things that consumer brands spend their marketing budgets on, like expensive dinners and influencer trips. “You can spend $90,000 on a fancy dinner with beautiful florals for just small groups of celebrities and influencers,” she says. “But a film is by definition designed for a mass audience. The goal is to get as many people as possible to watch it.” To that end, Knix will help disseminate The Pink Pill via free movie screenings in the U.S. and Canada, and is working to find streaming services to carry it. Knix is also going to launch “screening kits” so people can host parties in their homes where theyll watch the movie with friends and then have a conversation about it with discussion questions. It’s a novel approach to marketing, but Griffiths believes its already paying off. “We’re already part of so many big conversations about women’s health,” she says. “We want to continue doing so.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Aaliyah Arnold, the 21-year-old founder of BossUp Cosmetics, goes live on TikTok a few times a week. Each livestream will last anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. Thousands tune in to watch her pack mystery boxes for customers, give away products, and teach makeup tutorials. I mix in music, jokes, giveaways, and real product demos so people feel like theyre hanging out with me while shopping, Arnold tells Fast Company. Livestreaming now makes up 60% of her companys total sales. Her biggest livestream to date hit $170,000 in sales, with more than 1 million viewers tuning in. Arnold is one of many solopreneurs on platforms like TikTok leaning into live selling to get ahead in the ecommerce industry. Dubbed Gen Zs answer to QVC, live selling has been big in China for almost a decade, but somewhat flown under the radar in the U.S. That is, until recently. The number of online shoppers who purchased during a livestream, across different platforms, jumped 29% to 41 million in 2024, according to eMarketer. From household name brands like Crocs to small businesses like BossUp Cosmetics, more brands are getting in on the action. For smaller businesses and solopreneurs, live selling levels the playing field and allows them to compete against bigger brands in todays attention economy. Take a scroll on platforms like TikTok and livestream shopping app Whatnot and you can shop for just about anything, from makeup tools to sweets to collectibles. Energetic hosts pitch their wares, hooking consumers with limited-time deals and chaotic entertainment that triggers sales. I started livestreaming in 2022 because I wanted a real way to connect with my audience, Arnold says. I wanted people to see the girl behind the brand, the story, and the products in action. She adds, It started as a fun way to build community, and it quickly became one of the most important parts of my business. Whatnot is another platform popular with solopreneurs. The platform hosts more than 175,000 hours of livestreams every week, according to its 2024 State of Livestream Selling Report, which calls that figure 800x more than QVCs weekly broadcast hours. Here, independent sellers conduct live auctions or flash sales as shoppers bid on items and interact in the chat. One in five solopreneurs say live shopping has at least doubled their annual revenue, according to statistics shared with Fast Company. Vinyl records seller Amy Eskeberg, 35, who sells under the handle eskeeknowsvinyl, has been livestreaming on Whatnot at least twice a week since 2023. In a typical livestream, which lasts an hour and a half, Eskeberg will make around 75 sales. Which might not sound like a lot, Eskeberg tells Fast Company. But is a lot when considering how many records a physical store might sell in that time span. What was supposed to be a side hustle quickly turned into her full-time gig. Although it was foreign at first to be on camera, I recognized the major benefits livestream selling offered versus other methods, Eskeberg says. Mainly, the ability to sell at a much faster pace, versus waiting around for sales with the quick auction feature. She also likes the social aspect of livestreaming that creates community with viewers. For solopreneurs, that is the unique selling proposition. By going live, founders can communicate directly with their customers, responding to their questions in real time, all without having to invest thousands in a brick-and-mortar store or pop-up. Instead of relying on organic foot traffic for exposure, TikTok has a built-in audience of 170 million American users ready to stumble across your small business. Whatnots monthly active users also increased 180% year over year in 2024. Consumer trend forecaster WGSN has found that conversion rates for live shopping are 10 times higher than those for traditional e-commerce. Eskeberg says she generated around $500,000 from livestreaming on Whatnot in 2024, accounting for almost all her record businesss overall sales. She currently does not sell anywhere else. Just as many solopreneurs lean heavily on personal branding and a strong social media presence to attract new customers, the same principle applies when going live. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I livestream from the same spot on my vintage floral 1970s couch that could have belonged to your grandma that has become a centerpiece of my image, Eskeberg says. I also try to include several giveaways every show to keep casual viewers, she adds, noting that she hopes they like the vibe and decide to bid on a record or come back to a future show where a record they want might be listed. Social shopping is set to change the way we buy things forever. Nearly half (47%) of U.S. consumers have made a purchase through social media, while 6 in 10 (58%) are interested in doing so, according to data from market research firm Mintel. A further 46% have made a purchase through a livestream event and would do so again. Going live, a solopreneur has the chance to meet those shoppers and sell to them . . . from the palm of their hand.
Category:
E-Commerce
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