Squarespace Refresh
The premise of Squarespace's new advertising campaign, Icons, is - The world's most creative minds building on the world's most expressive website platform.
On the surface, the product being advertised is a set of new website templates, codesigned with standout creators who are featured in the campaign.
The first new template to ship is by/with Icelandic alt-pop artist Bjork.
That choice missed for me because when it comes to musicians from Iceland, I would have preferred Hildur Gudnadottir (cellist, film-score composer) or Vikingur Olafsson (pianist).
But the rest hit.
Why?
Because the templates are just a small part of the new features in Release 2022.
“Release” is what Squarespace calls the annual package of updates and capabilities that it, um, releases to platform users. It’s a little like version numbering for software, like "macOS Monterey 12.6" combined with a developer event like Google I/O.
Squarespace's Release 2022 includes something like 100 new capabilities in commerce, marketing and distribution to help entrepreneurs, creatives and SBO's find and monetize their audiences.
A few that I intend to spend more time on, along with Squarespace-provided descriptions are ...
Bio.Sites. Share your entire world in one link. Whatever you do—share it, earn from it, engage your audience with it, all from your link in bio. Accept tips from supporters and collect funds for your projects with crowdfunding options. Make multiple Bio.Sites under one account, so it’s always easy to customize featured links for your audience and brand.
UnFold. Make videos for social media in minutes. Pick an exclusive Reels template, add clips and photos, and let UnFold do the rest. Create, sell, and promote your own art as digital collectibles (NFTs) all within the Unfold iOS app. No experience required.
Custom Merch. Sell high-quality, custom merch in your Squarespace store. Production, inventory, and shipping are covered for you, so you can focus on your business.
And there are many more. It took me several hours just to read through the features included in Release 2022.
Perhaps there are too many, but one can't blame Squarespace founder and CEO Anthony Casalena for pushing hard on new, commerce-oriented capabilities. Competition in the space is fierce, and Squarespace is disruptable from neighboring categories like cloud computing/hosting providers, graphic/digital design apps, digital payment services, etc.
But ... Squarespace is for artists. And to me, the Icons campaign is right on.
This audience WANTS to hear stories about creative geniuses and design, but they NEED tools to help them develop high-functioning websites and apps. Thanks Squarespace.
More here ...
https://www.squarespace.com/refresh/2022
