Happy Thursday from the beautiful PNW,

I’m in Lake Oswego to cover Friday Night Lights for MaxPreps again this week.

Speaking of the PNW…There was a bit of chatter on the timeline about how Seattle is the prettiest city in the country (the only caveat being the weather).

It’s hard to argue against that - or Portland - when you have high school football fields that look like this:

Let’s talk about professional sports for a sec though - plus a two other trends I’m noticing that all lead to the same thing…IRL.

Baseball is Back

In case you missed it, MLB ratings are the highest since 2010.

A sport that was only recently written off as a distant 3rd behind football and basketball is coming up strong this year.

Obviously, the star power of Ohtani/Judge helps - but beyond that, let’s consider: what else actually feels real, authentic, and unscripted anymore besides live sports?

Not So “Digital” Creators

We know digital creators are the new celebrities. Especially streamers like Kai Cenat, iShowSpeed.

Their format is the perfect representation of today’s media consumption barbell. Long form streaming that can easily be clipped into short form oblivion.

However, today’s Future Party email caught my eye:

Creators. In Real Life.

Screens and online content might be the launchpad, but in-person events are the end-game.

Sure, this type of entertainment might not be as unscripted as live sports, but experiencing it in the flesh just hits harder than ever before in today’s world.

Ramp

Maybe a bit more B2B Saas niche, but Ramp’s marketing team has been capturing the tech/startup zeitgeist all year with their refreshing approach to content + virality.

The culmination? IRL.

Case in point: Live-streaming Kevin from the Office in a glass box in the Flatiron District for over 6 hours while he processes expense reports. (Ramp automates company finances).

This one hit because it was immersive, interactive, culturally cohesive & physical…it felt real because it was!

Something that digital advertising can’t say or do.

Human-Proof Experiences

What do baseball ratings, in-person creator events, and street marketing all have in common?

You guessed it: they’re all forms of (or results of the power of) Human-Proof Experiences.

Each carries it’s own element of physical reality, unpredictability, relatability and physical interaction.

They are a breath of fresh air from scrolling and swiping.

Whether you’re actually at the game or in NYC for a marketing stunt matters less than the knowledge that what you are consuming is real.

Made by humans, for humans.

No algo. No “slop”.

Regardless of genre or industry, I expect this trend to continue as a pushback against “AI doom”…and look forward to documenting it all here.

This Week’s Playlist

Donna Summer, WhoMadeWho, Gunna…just a taste of the musical magic this week.

RP WEEKLY!!!!