On August 5th, the team behind Gin Lane announced that it was shutting down the agency and launching Pattern Brands. I put together a thread on how it’s creating a Meta-NIC, and Pattern’s CEO, Nicholas Ling, replied to add his thoughts. I’ve re-posted the thread and reply below:
With its pivot into @patternbrands, @ginlane is attempting to create a Meta-Natively Integrated Company
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
👇🏻🌳🍑👇🏻🌳🍑👇🏻🌳🍑👇🏻🌳🍑👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/p1RAOF2kzV
Background on Gin Lane:
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
Over the past decade, Gin Lane has built a deep understanding of how consumer brands work as the creative agency for, and investor in, companies like @harrys @quip @sweetgreen @wearehims - in total, its clients are worth over $15 BILLION pic.twitter.com/TiJqZgYUI3
Gin Lane took notes.
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
Yesterday, it launched Pattern: a multi-brand consumer goods company owned and operated under one roof, with each of its brands working together toward one mission: To help our generation find more enjoyment in daily life.https://t.co/wsxe6Zb5tP
How is Pattern a Meta-NIC?
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
Natively Integrated Companies:
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
1. Leverage tech to integrate supply, demand, and ops from Day 1
2. Build relationships with customers to build products that resonate
3. Take principal risk to achieve 1 & 2 + capture a larger share of profitshttps://t.co/rRQacfM5O7
1. Gin Lane has been a master of demand. With the launch of Pattern, and its first brand, @getequalparts, it is integrating supply & operations - creating its own products, providing personal guidance via tech, and even doing live events. https://t.co/qDvh5iXpfu pic.twitter.com/C6zy5II5Cg
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
2. Pattern CEO @nickjling told @adage:
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
“We’re trying to build a business that thinks a bit longer term about more meaningful relationships with people.”https://t.co/WYRNM1BUcO
2. cont. In fact, Pattern is reimagining the DTC space with a “DWC,” or Direct *With* Consumer model. So NIC. https://t.co/to5jFHT7uL pic.twitter.com/sD53N0zzfI
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
2. cont. The team has proven that it knows how to build relationships with customer for its clients. Now, the test will be whether it can leverage that relationship-building skill to create products that resonate. pic.twitter.com/l5Xzp2ziwl
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
3. Gin Lane was an incredibly successful service business. It created work and clients paid for that work. With Pattern, it is betting that by risking its own capital on developing its own products, it will be able to capture more of the upside than it could as an agency. pic.twitter.com/jIT928CGCk
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
3. cont. @rezakhadjavi captured #3 perfectly: “Gin Lane was the best in the business at helping build brand equity and now they're going to capture all the upside 👏”https://t.co/115Rwi1lxw
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
Those are three things that you can’t do as an Aggregator, and that you can’t do as an Agency.
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
Why Meta?
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
Pattern is based on the premise that its knowledge of, and relationships with, customers, it can create not just one Natively Integrated brand, but a *family* of them.
The Holy Grail of DTC: P&G 2.0 pic.twitter.com/3aTUJpykkD
Or as @web put it, “Brand equity is the core KPI.”
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
(The whole convo under this tweet between @web @sarthakgh @helena @HenryLMcNamara @staringispolite on the family of brands approach is worth reading)https://t.co/PVjtZLJINP
Pattern isn’t the first time an agency has launched its own brand. @DecodedCo launched 42 Birds & put the phrase that may as well be the NIC motto on its landing page: pic.twitter.com/WoZgSztnwb
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
But by launching a family of brands, @patternbrands is making the most ambitious attempt yet, and trying to prove the old adage:
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) August 7, 2019
If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. pic.twitter.com/dUzBGgVzYy
Pattern CEO Nicholas Ling responded to the thread to add his thoughts and motivations.
@patternbrands felt like a natural step for us. It's been 2 years coming
— Nicholas Ling (@nickjling) August 7, 2019
We were drawn to the combo of finding daily enjoyment, building a new co. with a team that's been together for 5 yrs and a strong POV on how the next gen of brands should be built (direct with consumer)
@emmettshine and I have always cultivated an entrepreneurial and risk-taking culture at @ginlane, and fully focusing on @patternbrands has been incredible
— Nicholas Ling (@nickjling) August 7, 2019
We've also each felt the impact of our gen's addiction to tech, workism and productivity had on our well being. The mission of "enjoy daily life" is the central guiding force behind every decision we're making
— Nicholas Ling (@nickjling) August 7, 2019
