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When Iga ¦wiatek breezed to victory in this years Wimbledon womens final, little mention was made of the head-to-toe On kit she was wearing. The reaction was testament to the “softly, softly” approach used by On these last few yearsbut the victory and subsequent exposure cemented its place among the fastest-growing challengers in a category long dominated by household names like Nike, Adidas, and Puma. Together, these legacy brands still command a significant portion of the global athletic footwear market, but their grip is loosening. Between 2021 and 2023, challenger brands like Hoka and On (sometimes referred to as On Running) grew their revenues by 29%, compared with just 8% for the incumbents. Hoka recently posted record quarterly sales of $653 million, up 20% year-on-year, despite raising prices and expanding globally. On made roughly $2.6 billion in sales in the 2024 fiscal year, tripling its net profit from the previous year. Sportswear is a difficult category to enter, let alone disrupt. A strong product isnt enough. To grow in this space, you need a brand strategy thats clear, consistent, and built for scale. Challenger brands like On and Hoka are showing how its done. Here are five lessons for others looking to follow. It’s more than a look, you need a brand On launched with a very focussed and modest product range, some proprietary cushioning technology called CloudTec, and a focus on performance. It leveraged its Swiss heritage with a Swiss engineering marque on each pair of shoes. But while its products were technically excellent, it’s also given the brand an emotional feel. Whereas Nike leans into power, pushing limits, and being the best, On has taken a softer, more inclusive stance. The brand celebrates the pleasure of physical trainingtogetheras well as beating a personal best. Its products look good socially and casually, but they also perform. They were inspired by serious athletes, and despite their mass fashionable appeal, serious athletes still wear them. The companys mission has been to ignite the human spirit through movement. A brand that wants to scale needs to understand who they are and what they offer, and build that into everything: design, advertising, and tone. Creating that well-articulated brand from the outset helps guide them as they grow. Know how and when to broaden appeal Performance can take a brand only so far. At some point, emotional connection becomes the growth driver. But scaling up and becoming a lifestyle brandwhich Nike did decades ago and On has done more recentlyis about timing and relevance. The mistake brands looking to broaden their appeal often make is to try to appeal to everyone too early. Starting small, with a focused core, is what builds credibility. Mass appeal should come when the foundation is strong enough to support it, and methodically. For those looking to grow, the challenge is to expand without losing what makes them distinctive. Technical credibility builds trust, but identity and feeling shape long-term loyalty. They need to consider how their product makes people feel. Do they inspire confidence? Belonging? Aspiration? And are these perceptions powerful enough to shape purchasing decisions during that crucial time when a customer is in buying mode? Build a brand beyond the logo For smaller brands, its essential to clarify which brand assets are fixedlogo, symbol, color, toneand which can evolve. Nike can play with its assets because it’s so recognizable. But for brands still establishing themselves, repetition and consistency are key. Ons early identity focused solely on the “On” symbol. It became their most visible asset through sheer repetition, despite many customers still reading the symbol as QC. In its perfectly pitched series of ads with Roger Federer and Elmo, On used this identified confusion to charming comic effect, proving that theres still room for creativity, but within parameters. Younger brands must also be bold in how they deploy these assets, in fast-moving, crowded markets they have to stand out. Identify which brand elements are fixed, which are flexible, and ensure theyre applied with purpose. Dont get lost chasing growth Rapha revolutionised cycling apparel by capturing the emotion of the best of the sports history and matching it with uncompromising quality and design. But in recent years, it has lost its way. In October 2024, the brand reported an operational loss of 21 million ($28 million) over the year, the seventh loss-making year in a row. The brand had grown quickly but seemingly lost control of its core offering. The Rapha Cycling Club sounded smart but hasnt added much: Subsidized bike hire at global hubs isnt relevant to most riders. Over the same period, its club membership dropped by 4,000 to 18,000 members. A flood of newer competitors now mirrors Raphas original proposition, often at lower prices. For scaling brands, its important to recognise that the opportunities you turn down are just as important as the ones to take up. When a brand gets distracted by growth, it risks losing sight of what made it special in the first place. Holding your ground and not chasing every trend is a strength, not a weakness. Ons “Soft Wins” is more than a slogan, its a signpost to a core brand behavior. Communities cant be forced For smaller brands building their market presence, communities are incredibly valuable. They increase loyalty and create fans who share and showcase the brand, helping wider audiences to grow organically. From the outset, On, for example, developed a really core fanbase by telling stories that people wanted to hear, often about the joy of the activity, with kindness and a positive outlook. However, as Rapha shows, you can create the conditions for a community, but you cant dictate it. In the case of bike brand Brompton, brand communities look totally different in different markets. In the U.K., its bearded tech-heads commuting across London. In China, its color-themed Sunday ride-outs in the park. A brand has to know when to step back, but at the same time it can watch, listen, and learn. Scaling without losing your edge It is one thing building a brand and a product that does well, its even harder to be that challenger brand looking to scale up in a crowded market. Growth adds pressure to diversify, monetize, and be everywhere at once. However, brands like On and Hoka prove that it is possible to reach those taller heights. They are succeeding because theyve built something clear, valuable, and repeatable and then scaled it with focus and a great deal of attention to detail. To be a successful challenger, dont dilute what makes you distinctive, and resist the urge to say yes to everything. Define your brand early and scale on your own terms.
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The US government has announced controversial guidance on the prevention and treatment of autism in children. New health recommendations aim to discourage pregnant women from taking the painkiller paracetamolalso known as acetaminophen and by the brand name Tylenolto prevent autism. The recommendations also include using the drug leucovorin to treat speech-related difficulties that children with autism sometimes experience. So what is leucovorin and what does the science say about its ability to treat autism? What is leucovorin? Leucovorin is a form of folic acid, a B vitamin our bodies usually get from foods such as legumes, citrus fruits, and fortified grains. The medication is most often used in cancer treatment. Its typically used alongside the chemotherapy drug fluorouracil, a cancer treatment that stops cancer cells from making DNA and dividing. Leucovorin enhances the effects of fluorouracil. Leucovorin is also used to reduce the toxic side effects of methotrexate, another chemotherapy drug. Methotrexate works by blocking the bodys use of folate, which healthy cells need to make DNA. Leucovorin provides an active form of folate that healthy cells can use to make DNA, thereby rescuing them while methotrexate continues to target cancer cells. Because methotrexate is also used to treat the skin condition psoriasis, leucovorin can also be used as a rescue agent during treatment for this autoimmune condition. Why is folate important? Because folate is essential for making DNA and other genetic material, which cells need to grow and repair properly, its especially important during pregnancy. This is because insufficient folate is linked to the development of spina bifida, a condition where a babys spine does not develop correctly. For this reason, women are advised to take folic acid supplements before conception and during the early months of pregnancy. Folate is also important for supporting the production of red blood cells and overall brain function. Why is it being considered to treat autism? The recommendation to use leucovorin to treat autism seems to stem from a theory that low levels of folate in the brain can lead to a condition called cerebral folate deficiency. Children with cerebral folate deficiency dont usually display symptoms for the first two years. Then they show signs of speech difficulties, seizures, and intellectual disability. As the signs of autism are similar and it usually presents at around the same age, some people have proposed a link between cerebral folate deficiency and autism. What does the evidence say? So can giving children folate, in the form of leucovorin, help them to function better with autism? The evidence says maybe yes, and heres what we know so far. A review of the evidence in 2021 analysed the results of 21 studies that used leucovorin for autism or cerebral folate deficiency. Children who took the drug generally had improved autism symptoms. But the authors also said more studies were needed to confirm the findings. Since then, a small 2024 study involved about 80 children aged two to ten years with autism. Half took a daily maximum dose of 50mg of folinic acid (similar to leucovorin), the other half took a placebo. Children given folinic acid showed more pronounced improvement when compared with those who took the placebo. A similar 2025 study examined the same dose of folinic acid given to Chinese children with autism. Those given folinic acid had greater improvement in a type of social skill known as social reciprocity when compared with children given placebo. While promising, none of these trials are at the level to change medical practice. Wed need further, larger studies before doctors can make a proper recommendation. Like all drugs, leucovorin has side effects. The most serious or common are severe allergic reactions, seizures and fits, and nausea and vomiting. In a nutshell Overall, the latest health recommendations are not yet backed by sufficient evidence. While the US Food and Drug Administration will now allow doctors to prescribe leucovorin to treat autism symptoms, the Australian government should not change its prescribing guidance. Support for people with autism should continue to follow evidence-based best practice until the data from clinical trials of leucovorin is more robust. Nial Wheate is a professor at the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University and Jasmine Lee is a pharmacist and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Following unprecedented threats from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, major affiliate station owners Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting pressured Disneys ABC to pull Jimmy Kimmels show off the air over his comments related to Charlie Kirks killing. The suspension is a harbinger of what could happen under a fundamental restructuring of U.S. media that will take place if the proposed Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger is approved by the Trump administration. The deal, first revealed on September 11, 2025, would erase one of the five remaining movie studios and concentrate oversight of two of the countrys most prominent newsroomsCNN and CBS, both targets of the Trump administrations ireunder one owner with strong ties to Donald Trump. Based on research from the Global Media & Internet Concentration Project, our analysis shows that Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery would gain control of more than a quarter of the US$223 billion U.S. media market, along with influence over film, television, streaming and the cloud infrastructure upon which digital media increasingly depends. The combined entity would acquire nearly half of the cable television market, including HBO and CNN. The merger would nearly double Paramounts share of the video streaming market, uniting HBO Max, Paramount+ and Discovery. By combining two major Hollywood film studios, it would also capture nearly one-third of the film production market. This is exactly the type of merger that U.S. antitrust agencies have historically scrutinized because of concerns that excessive market concentration gives too much power to a few companies. In media markets, such concerns are pronounced: Concentration threatens media diversity and increases the risk of media bias and ideological manipulation. A mega-conglomerate like Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery would control a vast share of U.S. viewership. Subject to pressure from or, worse, alignment with the Trump administration, the merged company could promote and protect the administrations interests. Donald Trump has made no secret of his distaste for Jimmy Kimmel. Donald Trump account, Truth Social Cloud control By combining media production and valuable brands such as Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Barbie, the merged giant would gain great negotiating power with competing streaming companies, advertisers and distributors. The merged companies could also secure more lucrative streaming deals, better licensing windows, and higher per-subscriber and ad rates with cable providers. The 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strikes opposed the exploitative impact of streaming and AI on creative workers compensation. The new media giant would wield significant bargaining power over those media workers. The mergers potential detrimental impact extends beyond film and television industries. Paramount is helmed by David Ellison, and the merger is backed by his father, Larry Ellison. Ellison senior owns the worlds fifth-largest cloud provider, Oracle. Cloud providers are the critical infrastructure for streaming platforms, ferrying digital content from streamers to viewers. As streaming becomes the dominant mode of media consumption, the Ellison familys control over this infrastructure could give Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery another lever of power over its competitors. Diversity denied With potential size and reach to rival Disney and Comcasts NBC Universal, Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery could become another massive media outlet with right-wing ties. The proposed deal follows the Trump administrations $1.1 billion cuts in public media funding. These cutsaffecting PBS, NPR, and more than 1,500 affiliated local news stations across the country, all accused by Trump of partisan bias effectively accelerate the ongoing demise of local, independent news. Concurrently, Rupert Murdochs Fox Corp. has settled its dynastic succession, ensuring Fox remains a core channel for the American right. If the merger is approved, Fox Corporation, the conservative Sinclair Broadcasting, and Paramount-Warne Bros. Discovery would control one-third of all U.S. media. This consolidation would further cement the partisan media model driving deepening political polarization in the U.S., as public and local news media lose funding. The deal also would undermine already declining media independence, fundamental to holding the powerfulwhether corporations or politiciansto account. Wielding regulation The Trump administration has not shied away from using antitrust law and communications regulation to exercise political control over media. Before initiating its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount was acquired by David Ellisons Skydance Media. Ahead of the governments merger review, amid regulatory signals it could affect the review process, Paramount-owned CBS paid $16.5 million dollars to Donald Trump to settle a lawsuit Trump filed based on allegations of deceptive editing of an interview with his political opponent Kamala Harris. Editing of interviews is a standard editorial practice. Shortly after, the merger was approved by the FCC with strict political conditions: hiring an ombudsman to oversee CBSs reporting and eliminating all of the networks diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. David Ellison accepted these conditions, promising to eliminate all of Paramounts U.S.-based DEI programs. For the ombudsman role, he hired Kenneth Weinstein, former CEO of the conservative Hudson Institute and ambassador to Japan under the first Trump administration. Since then, the Paramount CEO also has pursued Bari Weiss, a prominent conservative voice, to guide the editorial direction of the CBS news division. Ellisons moves signal that editorial independence at CBS, and soon perhaps CNN, may be subject to ideological oversight. Meanwhile, Ellisons father, Larry Ellison, has ties to Donald Trump going back to the first Trump administration. The New York Times in an April 2025 profile said that Ellison may be closer to Mr. Trump than any mogul this side of Elon Musk. The senior Ellison has been playing a key role in negotiations over the future ownership of TikTok. His ties to Trump run deep enough to likely make him one of the main beneficiaries of the TikTok deal currently in negotiation between the United States and China. Trump has shown an appetite for coercing media companies. For instance, ABC settled a Trump lawsuit in late 2024 with a $15 million donation to the as-yet-unbuilt Trump Library. By placing two major news outlets in the hands of a family with ties to Trump, the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger would facilitate such control. What Orbán didbut faster This is the Hungarian model on speed. Viktor Orbán, Hungarys authoritarian leader, spent a decade asserting increasing control over that nations media. The Trump administration is poised to accomplish the same in less than a year and at greater scale. In addition to helping allies buy a growing share of U.S. media, in his first eight months Trump also has managed to score conciliatory overtures from the nations tech billionaires, who fired fact-checkers at major social media platforms, curbed moderation of hateful content and asserted rigid editorial control over the op-ed pages at The Washington Post, one of the countrys most prominent newspapers. If the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger is approved and Larry Ellison joins Andreessen Horowitz as part of the impending TikTok deal, a movie studio, CBS, CNN, Fox, 185 Sinclair-owned TV stations and a major social media platform will have owners with strong ties to Trump. We believe the promised benefits of a Paramount-Warner Bros. Disovery merger, including lower streaming prices, pale next to the damage it would do to media diversity and pluralism. By acquiring greater control over film production, TV and streaming, the merger would dramatically reconfigure the very media institutions that shape U.S. culture and politics. The Trump administrations review of this merger may further cement the administrations political control over the U.S. media. This story has been updated to reflect developments in the status of Kimmels show. Pawel Popiel is an assistant professor of journalism at Washington State University. Dwayne Winseck is a professor of journalism and communication at Carleton University. Hendrik Theine is a postdoctoral fellow at Johannes Kepler University Linz and the University of Pennsylvania. Sydney Forde is a postdoctoral fellow in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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