Brandfathers

This week, Oren, Ashwinn, and Jordan debate whether building a brand account is still worth it and what brands should do instead.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Brandfathers are back

01:38 The US Open influencer backlash

10:43 Do creators need real-world expertise?

15:49 Why outrage keeps winning

21:54 What legacy media gets wrong about creators

25:04 Your competition is the entire feed

28:36 Is building a brand account still worth it?

31:16 Building a creator network around your brand

33:48 Good Good, Callaway, and creative freedom

36:06 Why traditional agencies are falling behind

42:52 Growing Sun Powder and moving faster

48:17 Why everyone should start a business

49:54 AI tools that actually help

55:47 Threads vs. X

59:54 What’s happening with TikTok?

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The Brandfathers break down how the sponsorship bag got so big nobody's ashamed of taking it and why AI can't win the culture war it's already losing. Plus: why a top 0.5% AI user still can't explain what an agent does, and the one category that finally makes normal people care.

0:00 Back after the break

1:30 World Cup vibe check

3:45 The open grift era

6:30 Why the bags got huge

7:45 OpenAI's brand trip backlash

10:00 AI's two unbeatable memes

12:00 AI is the new politics

14:00 Nobody's adopting agents

15:00 Top 0.5% can't explain it

17:30 The laddering problem

20:00 Health is the killer app

21:50 Wearables are botching it

Follow the hosts:

Jordan — @jordanrogers

Ashwinn — @Shwinnabegobrand

Oren — @orenmeetsworld

Newsletter: https://www.Brandfathers.org

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game.

The CMO job became impossible this year. AI killed the work. Search killed the funnel. And the best marketers are now saying no to million-dollar offers.

00:00 World Cup buzz, MIA

02:45 The anti-AI vibe shift

06:00 The corporate execution gap

10:00 Saucony's bot-defense playbook

13:40 Salomon's tiny car + Bima's van

16:30 Why Messi can't sell a drink

27:00 The brutal CPG launch math

31:50 Bob's Red Mill killed Bob

36:00 SEO is dead

41:00 Why $1M won't buy a CMO

44:00 The new hottest marketing hire

46:30 OKC vs Spurs

Follow the hosts:

Jordan — @jordanrogers

Ashwinn — @Shwinnabegobrand

Oren — @orenmeetsworld

Newsletter: https://www.Brandfathers.org

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game.

Nike's "walkers tolerated" ad broke aspirational marketing. Hoodie brand CMFRT is doing $1B with 10,000 creators on retainer. And if your content's flopping it's not the algorithm, your content just sucks. Inside the new marketing playbook:

0:00 — Intro

0:18 — Live from Dallas

5:00 — Ideal home size + the Gen Z myth

7:00 — Nike's "walkers tolerated" ad

10:30 — Nike, Lulu & the mushy middle

14:50 — Framework for staying relevant

18:50 — CMFRT's billion-dollar creator army

21:00 — Why big brands won't hit the gas pedal

22:50 — Distribution is the new product

25:30 — Under Armour blew middle America

28:30 — Why your content sucks (not the algorithm)

30:00 — How meta ads actually work

Follow Jordan: @jordanrogers

Follow Ashwinn: @Shwinnabegobrand

Follow Oren: @orenmeetsworld

Newsletter: https://www.Brandfathers.org

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game.

Mercedes shipped 600 cars to Augusta, Phoebe Gates offered a creator $400 for a brand deal, and we speed-rated every Coachella billboard. Plus... is marketing being rebranded so men can do it?

0:00 Masters marketing & brand activations

14:30 Marketing is being masculinized

22:03 Phoebe Gates' influencer lowball

31:22 Threads, algorithms & creator complaining

37:46 RFK launches a podcast

41:40 Coachella billboard speed round

Follow the guys:

@JordanRogers2626

@Shwinnabego

@orenmeetsworld

Sign up for the newsletter: https://www.Brandfathers.org

OpenAI just bought TBPN for a reported $200–300M — and almost everyone is misreading why. The Brandfathers break down what the deal actually means for new media, why 800 live viewers can outvalue 2 million, and the monetization model creators are sleeping on. Plus: the NYT called a GLP-1 dropshipper an "AI-built business," and Nike just hit an 11-year stock low.

0:00 Intro

0:30 TBPN acquired by OpenAI

3:30 Why niche audience beats mass reach

5:00 The live show model vs. traditional podcasting

7:30 Speed and dedication in new media

9:30 What it takes to scale a podcast

11:00 Creator-in-residence: what actually works

15:00 Monetizing media beyond ad reads

20:00 The NASCAR ad model for creators

24:00 Medvi: the $1.8B "AI-built" GLP-1 company

30:00 Why journalists can't cover business

35:00 Nike earnings and the 11-year low

40:00 Niche brands eating Nike alive

Follow the guys:

@JordanRogers2626

@Shwinnabego

@orenmeetsworld

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.Brandfathers.org

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game.

This week we break down why creators have replaced the entire PR industry — from Jordan's YouTube golf tour launch that outperformed traditional press, to Alex Earle building 500K followers before dropping a single product, to the programmatic ad fraud no one's talking about.

0:00 - PR is dead

0:40 - Edelman panel recap

3:07 - YouTube golf tour launch

7:00 - The embargo rant

10:56 - Shopify's organic PR playbook

13:22 - Alex Earle vs. Beyoncé

18:16 - Michael Rubin's flag football spectacle

24:20 - Shoptalk / Klaviyo Composer

27:00 - Why brands are firing their agencies

30:09 - Programmatic ad fraud exposed

36:12 - Retro hardware / Brick auto-bricking

As always, thanks for watching. Let us know your feedback in the comments.

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game: ‪@orenmeetsworld‬ ‪@Shwinnabego‬ & ‪@JordanRogers2626‬

Sub to our Newsletter: ⁠https://www.Brandfathers.org

Paul Graham finally admitted what marketers have known for years: we're in the Age of Brand.

We break down why the founding marketer is now worth more than the engineer, why McDonald's CEO went viral for all the wrong reasons, why the Staples Baddie won't last 30 days, and the employee creator playbook no one's talking about.

If you're a creative strategist, your worth has never been higher.

0:00 Intro

0:30 Paul Graham's "Age of Brand"

4:30 Silicon Valley vs. Marketers

10:00 Why Creatives Have Never Been Worth More

16:30 McDonald's CEO Goes Viral (For the Wrong Reasons)

22:00 Why Creators Can't Exist in Corporations

25:00 The Staples Baddie Problem

30:00 Ulta's Employee Creator Playbook

37:00 Siloed Teams Kill Everything

42:00 Expo West Goes Full Culture

45:00 America's Next Top Snack

50:00 Licensing Expo and What's Next

As always, thanks for watching. Let us know your feedback in the comments.

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game: ‪@orenmeetsworld‬ ‪@Shwinnabego‬ & ‪@JordanRogers2626‬

Sub to our Newsletter: ⁠https://www.Brandfathers.org

We walked past an agency activation in Venice that no one was using. That kicked off a full conversation about why agencies keep selling ideas that die on arrival.

Plus: the internet lost its mind over a hockey photo, designers are spiraling, and we explain why you should go news sober immediately.

0:00 Intro

2:02 Storytelling Hooks That Work

5:48 H&R Block's $500K Green Screen

9:39 VaynerMedia Made This

12:00 Why Armra's Billboards Don't Work

17:36 Gucci's AI Backlash

23:35 Jack Hughes and the AI Photo War

31:00 Designers Are in Shambles

36:15 The Internet Creates Fake Problems

41:10 Claude Built This Unprompted

44:00 The $75K Brand Sprint Model

As always, thanks for watching. Let us know your feedback in the comments.

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game: ‪@orenmeetsworld‬ ‪@Shwinnabego‬ & ‪@JordanRogers2626‬

Sub to our Newsletter: ⁠https://www.Brandfathers.org

From the Frida Baby packaging crisis to the billion-dollar business of brand licensing this episode covers it all. We brought on Steve Starobinsky, Head of Partnerships at Pudgy Penguins and 25-year licensing veteran, to break down how licensing deals actually work: the royalties, the minimum guarantees, the 18-month calendars, and why most brands get into it too early. Plus, the Eileen Gu debate, when brand humor crosses the line, and why "sales is a contact sport."

0:00 - Intro

0:18 - Frida Baby controversy

7:00 - Edgy copy gone wrong

10:35 - Werner Herzog on rumors

16:00 - Eileen Gu debate

20:00 - Meet Steve Starobinski

22:30 - Licensing 101

30:30 - Licensing vs. collabs

35:50 - Pitching IP holders

41:00 - Best value in licensing

44:30 - Biggest licensing mistakes

47:00 - Licensing Expo in Vegas

49:45 - Where to find Steve

As always, thanks for watching. Let us know your feedback in the comments.

Subscribe for unfiltered marketing breakdowns from the most trusted fathers in the game: ‪@orenmeetsworld‬ ‪@Shwinnabego‬ & ‪@JordanRogers2626‬

Sub to our Newsletter: ⁠https://www.Brandfathers.org