The Good Comms Edit - Issue 15 - 25.05.26

A weekly edit of the stories shaping PR, marketing and modern storytelling

For a long time, brands were taught to aim for mass appeal ... be broad, be universally relatable and avoid narrowing the audience. Ironically, the internet rewarded the complete opposite.

The brands building the deepest connection right now aren’t trying to speak to everyone. They’re becoming more specific and far more intentional about who they’re for and how they communicate that.

This week’s edit looks at three examples of brands leaning into exactly that.

1. Audience fluency is replacing mass appeal

Example: Letterboxd and the rise of culturally fluent communication

Letterboxd continues to grow not through traditional broad-market messaging, but through an unusually deep understanding of film culture and internet behaviour.

Its tone assumes the audience is intelligent, the references are rarely over-explained and the humour used feels community-led rather than workshop-tested. Crucially, the platform never seems frightened of specificity and because of that, users don’t just use Letterboxd, they identify with it.

What this reveals

We’re moving into an era where audience fluency matters more than reach optimisation.

Audiences can detect outsider energy instantly and therefore brands that genuinely understand the language, references and behaviours of a community build something much more powerful than visibility, they build belonging. Or to put it another way, specificity is now a form of hospitality.

Practical takeaway

Audit your communication for over-generalisation and ask ...

• Are we simplifying?

• Are we flattening personality?

• Are we speaking clearly?

• Are we sanding off everything distinctive?

  
  

The goal is not to appeal to everyone equally, it’s to resonate deeply with the right people.

2. Brands are increasingly behaving like editors

Example: Airbnb and the shift from platform to publisher

Airbnb’s recent host storytelling, local recommendations and city-based editorial content continue to follow the trend of blurring the line between brand and media company, but the most interesting thing isn’t the content itself, it’s the role Airbnb is positioning itself to play. Increasingly, the brand behaves less like a booking platform and more like a lifestyle editor curating taste, atmosphere and ways of living. The underlying message is no longer “book somewhere to stay” it’s “we understand how people want to experience the world.” and that’s a very different kind of brand positioning.

What this reveals

In a world saturated with information, curation is becoming a premium service and the strongest brands are no longer just selling products or services, they’re helping audiences filter, navigate and interpret culture itself. This is a subtle but important communications shift from persuasion, to guidance.

Practical takeaway

Ask yourself ...

• What are we curating for our audience?

• What are we helping them discover?

• What confusion are we reducing?

  
  

Because increasingly, the most valuable brands don’t create more noise for the sake of noise, they create clarity.

3. Consistency is becoming a luxury signal

Example: Uniqlo and disciplined brand communication

While much of fashion continues to chase micro-trends and endless reinvention, Uniqlo remains remarkably restrained and the same principles repeat again and again ...

• simplicity

• quality

• longevity

• functionality

• 
  

The visuals are calm and uncluttered, the messaging is stable, the tone rarely changes and paradoxically, that consistency now feels distinctive.

What this reveals

In overstimulated markets, consistency creates psychological safety. Audiences increasingly associate calm, disciplined communication with confidence and quality. Meanwhile, brands that constantly reinvent themselves often weaken memory structures and dilute recognition. To put it more simply, consistency is becoming a luxury signal.

Practical takeaway

Look back at the last six months of your communication and ask yourself, could someone clearly identify ...

• your tone?

• your core message?

• your values?

• your visual world?

  
  

Or does every campaign feel like it belongs to a different organisation? Consistency is not repetition without thought, it’s cumulative trust-building.

The Pattern This Week

Across our three examples, one principle keeps surfacing ... The strongest communication today feels intentional. Intentional in tone, in audience and, crucially, in what it chooses not to say.

The brands building long-term relevance right now aren’t trying to win every room, they’re building resonance with the right one.

At Everything & Nothing, these are the kinds of signals we keep noticing, communication that feels specific, disciplined and deeply aware of the people it’s speaking to.

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About Everything & Nothing

Everything & Nothing is a PR, marketing and communications studio working with organisations, artists and brands who care deeply about how they show up in the world.

We help people find the signal in the noise shaping clear, credible stories that build trust over time. Our work sits at the intersection of strategy and storytelling, combining sharp thinking with calm execution, and a belief that good communication should feel human, considered and purposeful.

We’re interested in work that lasts, not just what lands loudly, but what lands well.

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