Step 1 of 6 · Social Media
Briefing
Brand, audience, week-one mission
Social Media Marketing · Hour
Your hour. Their feed.
You're taking over social for Hour — a $2.4M functional wellness beverage brand in its second year. The category is crowded, the audience is skeptical, and the brand's voice today is generic. Over four rounds you'll define what Hour sounds like, where it lives, who carries its message, and how it survives the inevitable crisis.
The Founder
Nadia Khoury — @nadiaonhour
Former product manager at a wellness app where she shipped a meditation feature used by 4 million people. Diagnosed with chronic insomnia in her late twenties; built Hour out of frustration with the wellness industry's pseudoscience and expensive supplement stacks.
Voice: Earnest, sometimes self-deprecating, scientifically literate but not preachy. Knows the difference between a randomized trial and a TikTok claim. Reluctantly online.
The Core Mechanic
A pre-round plan, then a simulated week
Each round you build a plan — voice, platforms, content pillars, cadence, paid budget, creators. Then you watch a compressed 7-day window play out. Cultural moments drop on specific days; you choose how to react. A crisis fires. The math rewards voice coherence over volume, and fast, on-voicecrisis response over a perfect one that arrives a day late.
Voice first
Three sliders (tone, stance, polish) + an archetype lock define how Hour sounds. Whiplash penalties when you drift mid-sim.
Day cursor
Moments drop on day 1-5; their windows close on a half-life. React in-window or watch the value evaporate.
Crisis fires
Every round has a crisis. Speed × voice fit × choice quality determines whether it cuts or it scars.
Voice Archetypes
Pick one. Hour will be it for the whole sim.
Round 1 locks the archetype. Round 2-4 sliders can move ±10 per round before whiplash hits. Pick the one you can defend with content for four rounds, not the one that sounds most fun.
The Sage
e.g. Athletic Brewing, Olipop, Magic Spoon
Authority through knowledge. Educates the category. Wellness brand voice anchored in expertise and data. Strong on long-form, credible on claims, slow to react.
The Jester
e.g. Duolingo, Wendy's, Aviation Gin
Plays. Trolls the category. Wins through delight and bit-density. Strong on TikTok, weak on conversion-without-personality. Loses if it punches down.
The Outlaw
e.g. Liquid Death, Dollar Shave Club, Lululemon Mirror (early)
Rejects the category's rules. Wins through contrarian thesis. The Liquid Death pattern: irreverent, anti-establishment, polarizing. Loses when the rebellion is performative.
The Caregiver
e.g. Glossier (early), Rare Beauty, Patagonia
Earned trust through service. Wins through community and consistent kindness. Strong on retention, weaker on viral acquisition. Best for wellness brands that mean it.
The Platform Map
Pick 2 primary, up to 2 secondary
Six platforms, each with its own native format and audience. Spreading thin loses to investing deep — but a missing platform on the right round can cost you a moment that lives there.
TikTok
short_video
32.0k baseline followers
reel
38.0k baseline followers
YouTube
short
6.5k baseline followers
X
text
4.5k baseline followers
text
2.5k baseline followers
static
1.5k baseline followers
How Reach Becomes Revenue
The funnel
Reach
impressions × ER
Engagement
likes, saves, shares
Follow
audience growth
Consideration
DTC site clicks
Purchase
ROAS × revenue
Voice coherence is the multiplier at every step. A 90-coherence campaign at half the budget outperforms a 60-coherence campaign at full budget. This is the lesson the simulation is built to teach.
Who You're Up Against
The category
Cleanwater
weak socialCategory incumbent, slick packaging, big retail footprint, weak social.
Threat: Retail wins; social shows up as press releases. Easy to out-voice on TT/IG.
RAW Ritual
mid socialErewhon-coded wellness, $$$ price point, aspirational lifestyle.
Threat: Steals the aesthetic-conscious customer if Hour photographs as cheap.
Loud Inc.
strong socialLiquid-Death-style irreverent voice, no functional claim — pure brand.
Threat: Owns the contrarian voice play. If Hour goes outlaw, must out-irreverent them.
Sleep Drink Co
weak socialDirect competitor on sleep sub-line. Lower price, weaker brand, more retail.
Threat: Price floor pressure on Sleep Hour. Wins on price-sensitive segments.