Trust issues

Trust issues

Wisdom💡: AI companies may have a messaging problem. As one branding expert told Business Insider, the industry is starting to evoke comparisons to “Big Oil” and “Big Tobacco,” while consumers remain far more worried about job security and misinformation than the race to dominate AI development. The disconnect highlights a growing communications challenge for the category. While tech leaders continue selling an AI-powered future, audiences are looking for proof that the technology can actually improve everyday life. As Hannah Robbins, VP at Peppercomm, recently wrote, companies risk sounding “efficient but empty” when communication becomes too polished or over-optimized. As businesses embrace AI, the companies that build trust may be those that focus less on futuristic hype and more on delivering tangible human value.

Skincare express

Wit😁: The Ordinary is now in the transportation business. The skincare brand launched a free shuttle between Domino Park and Prospect Park, solving one of Brooklyn’s most annoying commutes while handing out free products to riders along the way. The move follows a string of culturally savvy activations from the brand, including selling low-cost eggs during last year’s price spike and parodying luxury skincare marketing with absurdly overpriced produce. It’s a reminder that the brands breaking through right now are not just marketing to consumers, they’re finding ways to be genuinely useful to them.

Clocked in and viral

Wisdom💡: The rise of the “employee influencer” is creating a new headache for brands: what happens when your best marketing asset also works the register? After Ashley Furniture employee Stefan Todd went viral for freestyle raps filmed on the sales floor, the company reportedly fired him before eventually rehiring him into a creator role. The mixed messaging highlights a growing tension brands are struggling to navigate. Consumers increasingly trust employee-generated content because it feels more human and less polished than traditional advertising, but many companies still lack clear guardrails for what happens when workers become creators. The challenge for brands is figuring out how much authenticity they’re actually comfortable with once it stops sounding corporate.

Pepper Pick

So nice, we had to pick it twice. As the 2026 midterms approach and the communications landscape grows increasingly complex, Peppercomm’s 6/9 fireside chat will bring together experts from Dartmouth, NYU, and UNC to discuss how brands can navigate political uncertainty, protect reputation, and communicate with clarity during moments of heightened scrutiny. Sign up HERE.