[WELLNESS & INFLUENCE] 💡 Buttermilk’s MILKDROP02: Do Not Disturb – On Selective Visibility, Digital Calm & The Soft Reset
Why switching off, setting boundaries and curating connection is shaping the future of wellness and digital culture.
Hello Tech Powered Luxury listener, and now reader!
🎙️ Today, we’re sharing an exclusive look inside Do Not Disturb: The State of Wellness, Influence, and ‘The Soft Reset’, a thought-provoking event hosted by Buttermilk’s MILKDROP02 series. It’s a conversation that feels especially timely as we navigate the shift from always-on hustle to the new luxury of selective visibility, curated connection and digital calm.
We explored how leaders across wellness, fashion, and culture are redefining success - not by being everywhere, but by showing up intentionally and meaningfully in the right spaces. ✨
🌟 Are you new here? Welcome to our amazing community - keep reading to discover everything about Tech Powered Luxury, our Community Rewards and how this newsletter came to life.
💎 I’m Laoise O’Connell and I’m very excited to welcome you to today’s edition!
Last week, I attended Buttermilk’s MILKDROP02: Do Not Disturb - The State of Wellness, Influence, and ‘The Soft Reset’ at their London headquarters. The event was a timely deep dive into one of the most important cultural shifts shaping the creator economy, wellness industry, and digital spaces right now: the power of switching off. 💡
In attendance were some of the most thoughtful voices in the space:
Olivia Otesanya, Health & Wellness Marketing Lead Europe at Liquid I.V.
Lucy Maguire, Senior Trends Editor at Vogue Business
Laura Swinburne, Senior Marketing Manager at Hertility
Lucy Robertson, Global Head of Brand Marketing at Buttermilk
Together, they unpacked how being ‘selectively reachable’ is becoming the ultimate status symbol. 💫
We’ve spent the last decade glamorising hustle culture, constant availability, and hyper-visibility. But now? The real power move is knowing when - and how - to log off.
👩🏽💻The Soft Reset: From Always-On to Intentionally Off
Lucy Robertson opened the session by painting the current landscape:
"We’ve been obsessed with being always on - visible on every platform, constantly performing. But today’s consumer is craving something else: more boundaries, more calm, and more meaningful, two-way connections."
This isn’t about deleting Instagram or disappearing from the grid. It’s about curating your presence, choosing your spaces, and valuing focused reach over mass exposure. ✨
We’re seeing creators quietly migrate to smaller platforms - think Substack (you’re in the right place!), broadcast channels, and micro-communities - where selective visibility creates more value, not less.
💸 Calm Is the New Currency
Olivia Otesanya beautifully captured the cultural reset we're in:
“Gone are the days where health and wellness is just for the Goops of the world, or you have to wear a particular brand or pay for a particular membership to be involved. This is something for all.”
Wellness is no longer a luxury accessory - it’s becoming a non-negotiable strategy.
Brands that push relentless hustle aren’t landing the same way. Instead, consumers are drawn to those that mirror their own desire for balance and sustainability.
And Gen Z is leading this shift. 63% of them took digital detoxes in 2024, but not because they’re rejecting social media. They’re simply using it differently - with more intention, more privacy, and often, in smaller, safer circles. 🧘🏽♀️
🫂 Inner Circles > Infinite Reach
Lucy Maguire pointed to this migration toward quieter, more controlled platforms.
Broadcast channels, invite-only groups, direct DMs and most notably the comment section of Tiktok are becoming the new hotspots for meaningful engagement. It’s not about shouting to the masses anymore — it’s about whispering to the right people.
Consumers increasingly want depth over breadth. And brands? They’re learning that smaller circles can drive bigger impact.
📲 Gen Z Has Broken the Funnel
Lucy Maguire also pointed out that Gen Z has completely broken the traditional marketing funnel. The linear path from awareness to purchase no longer applies. Instead, the research phase is now driven by nano- and micro-influencers, trusted voices within small, tight-knit circles where real influence happens.
These are the people consumers turn to first when considering a brand or product - not billboard influencers or celebrity campaigns. It’s peer-to-peer, real-time research.
📖 Brands that understand this shift are already moving accordingly. A brilliant example is Miu Miu’s book club, a micro-community that’s less about selling and more about creating genuine cultural connection. It’s proof that nurturing niche, interest-led spaces can drive far more meaningful engagement than trying to appeal to the masses.
👩🏿🤝👩🏽Listen to Your Community
Laura Swinburne from Hertility reminded us that the real insights aren’t in the metrics - they’re in the conversations. 💎
“Your customers and communities - their voices are the most powerful.”
She emphasised that the most valuable feedback often comes from the frontline, from customer service teams, from in-store staff - not just from campaign data.
“There will be people in every business who speak with your customers - use them to understand where there are concerns, what they love, and what’s missing.”
When a brand is listening, not broadcasting, it builds real trust. It becomes part of its community’s inner circle. 💓
👀 The Key Takeaway
The key message from Do Not Disturb? The soft reset is here.
✨ We’re entering an era where switching off is an act of power, where wellness isn’t just personal - it’s professional, and where creators and brands who prioritise resonance over reach will win.
The most influential people in the room are no longer the loudest. They’re the ones who know exactly when to step back, protect their energy and show up with intention.
📵 Sometimes, the smartest move is knowing when to put your phone on silent.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Laoise 🖤
🎁 Community Rewards
Your skin deserves a treat! 💆♀️ Seoulista Beauty® is giving 20% off to our subscribers through the code TPL20* on checkout. Known for its dermatologist-tested bio-cellulose facials, the products infuse potent serums deep into the skin, delivering salon-grade results in 20 minutes.
*TPL20 is a one-time-use code, with no minimum order purchase and valid across the range on seoulistabeauty.com. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
💫 Who are we and what led us here today?
🎙️ Launched as a podcast on November 1st 2022 by Ashley McDonnell, Tech Powered Luxury has since nurtured a vibrant community of experts passionate about the evolving synergy between technology and luxury. We have reached over 20 million people through the podcast, social platforms and media, and have hit +500K downloads.
🪄 This season, our weekly newsletter will be curated by Laoise O’Connell, a luxury marketeer with experience in client relations and communications at fashion houses and global brands Chanel and Givenchy in Paris. Laoise has been a proud contributor to Tech Powered Luxury since Season 1 and we are excited to have her guide our content for the newsletter this season and look forward to the insights she will bring. 💎
 |
|