By Association

Netflix is opening its first-ever restaurant featuring food from ‘Chef’s Table’ and ‘Iron Chef’ stars in LA, but won’t be allowing a meet-and-greet with the chefs. We’re sure this great digital to physical move is still missing a trick by making it more about the food and less about the people. We consider why this restrictive choice has been made when the event itself is set out to build and showcase benefits of the physical VS digital entertainment experience. 

Lionel Messi has turned down $1.9 billion to play in Saudi Arabia and instead moved to Inter Miami for far less. We think this might be the most genius business and personal brand move he’s made so far. But is he following in the footsteps of a British player who also said no to short-term money gain in aid of longer-term success in Miami, too? 

Maurice wrote a Linkedin post with key takeaways from Jacquemus’s brand exposure and awareness tactics. This luxury fashion brand is everywhere right now and in all of the best ways. We’re impressed by Simon Port Jacquemus’s ability to use his own personality, personal life and exposure in building a well-known, extremely impressive luxury brand as quickly as he has. In particular, we look to their Le Bambino bag sailing across Lake Como as a tease to their latest pop-up opening. 

And finally, Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School Professor specialising in the business of entertainment, media, and sports - told Maurice, this week, how Harvard is being sued for discrimination against Asian-Americans. We discuss her summer program for minorities who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to be involved in such an institution as something made possible because of the ‘Affirmative Action’ which is a sets of policies and practices within a government or organisation seeking to include particular groups based on their gender, race, sexuality, creed or nationality in areas in which such groups are underrepresented - of course, education and employment are big on this movement. Historically and internationally, support for affirmative action has sought to achieve goals such as bridging inequalities in employment and pay, increasing access to education, promoting diversity, and redressing apparent past wrongs, harms, or hindrances. We can’t believe it’s being challenged and consider the onslaught and affect to the world thereon. 

In the week where Apple have launched the Apple Vision Pro to bring the Metaverse (and beyond) to life, this naturally takes our focus first and foremost.

For the cost of $3,500 this headset allows users to interact with Apple apps and experiences many of us know and love in a way that is far more immersive and advanced. However, there’s a disconnect between the eye-watering price of Apple’s new ‘spatial computing’ gadget and the promise of it – but it has some genuinely novel features we're loving much more than its Meta 'equivalent' that recently relaunched named Quest 2.

In other news, Maurice has become quite the word-wizard (Emma writes the copy here, this isn't him bragging) as he's sharing more of his thoughts on Linkedin than ever before. Brand experiences, marketing and tech advances have become even more of a critical focus for him. We discuss some recent shares he's made and relay his thoughts on The Hoxton's hotel opening in Brussels he attended last weekend.

We end this episode with a personal and professional interview with Maurice, hosted and crafted by Emma.

A special interview episode, this time with a friend and fellow hospitality brand creative, Jason Steere.

Jason is the Managing Director of Brand & Experience at The Social Hub, formally The Student Hotel. After studying Economics, Jason's career began as a Store Manager for Gap and Eddie Bauer, leading him to a position at Nike as Visual Presentation Manager - of course, the birth and success of Nike Town is a subject we're all keen to talk about. Following his success at Nike, Jason launched his own business. His agency, Storage was formed to create memorable brand experiences. 17 years later he took the leap to head-up design at The Student Hotel. Now, as Managing Director, Jason has worked on a huge re-brand to formulate what we now know as The Social Hub.

We delve into the re-brand process itself alongside any difficulties and reasons for this shift in the first place. We discuss how he will continue to build brand loyalty with this new look and service, as well as what makes The Social Hub a great personal and professional venture for him.

And finally, AI or Elon? Jason discusses some business/tech advances where everyone has an opinion right now.

Sexual wellness brand Roam from London have launched a range of condoms in four different skin tone colours. Is this an incentive for men to buy and use condoms more? We love the branding but what is the real message behind this creation and why is it important?

Fifa have revealed their new logo. To us, it feels lazy and a missed-opportunity to highlight themselves as a global brand with a need to represent diversity, sport and many communities especially following their recent Russia & Qatar high-profile corruption cases.

Emma has an audition for voice acting at Quinn, an audio porn subscription service with the female gaze in-mind, replacing the traditional male-focussed visual porn. We're forever hopeful the voice and therefore this podcast gets more exposure too. Aside from that, this business started 3 years ago and we're curious to see this community and business continue to grow.

Getting to know Emma better, Maurice takes to Chat GPT to select 12 quick-fire questions with both personal and professional focus.

As we celebrate one year of recording together, the subject matters take more of a informal, personal turn.

We totally wing it and touch on the subjects below:

The King Coronation brought many memes, AI takes, drama and discussion around attendance and the performance and monarchy overall.

Mo came back from his holiday and rated his hotel stay a little less than 10/10. When the hotel team checked back, insider hospitality chat ensued.

The Oura ring is serving Emma well, key findings about health following the monitoring of sleep in particular lead to more talk on what really matters to us as humans when it comes to happiness.

"Skill stacking" and so much more has stuck in Mo's mind following his latest book read. Something valuable and important to consider in both work and personal life. Mo talks about his career progression and different skills and experiences along the way that lead him to where he is now at citizenM in branding.

Books mentioned:

Happy Sexy Millionaire - Steven Bartlett

Top Five Regrets Of The Dying - Bronnie Ware

This week we look to a mix of subjects, all based around branding and marketing masterpieces or fails.

First up, Bud Light’s VP of Marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, has taken a leave of absence after the brand was criticised and boycotted by right-wing transphobic influential personalities following a partnership with transgender TikTok star, Dylan Mulvaney. Conversation naturally leans to how other large mass market brands have dealt with similar situations - only far better. Forgotten by Emma (all for good reason) but conveniently remembered by Maurice.

Rapper Latto denies photoshopping people into her Coachella crowd to appear more popular. Though a quick pinch at the screen shows she has, we ask was there anything else she could have said? Did she make the right decision in doing this in the first place - is she in fact any different to anyone else on social media?

Starving artists aren’t willing to give up on luxurious, health-foods from Erewhon. The Cut shared an interesting feature article this week on an increasing LA phenomenon they call “Erewhon addicts”. We discuss how the consumer mix is quickly becoming blurred and how this can and does interpret itself into our own lives, too.

LVMH HQ in Paris was stormed by protestors after the legal retirement age was extended by 2 years. Demonstrations have been going on for weeks in reaction to the new pension reform - but have now turned to the luxury conglomerate as the company disclosed record high share prices. Of course LVMH aren't to blame for government decisions such as pension age, but we suggest rage against the luxury industry taking the cream from the crop (so to speak) will always be something berated in times of social struggle.

For the first time ever, we're recording in person. In a studio. Here's how it went down.

Amsterdam have launched a 'Stay Away' campaign. As a Brit, is Emma upset by this? No. Does Maurice agree it's a valuable, simple mass marketing move? Definitely not. We talk of how this campaign came about, why it's important and how it maybe could have been done better.

Meanwhile, Prada have launched a brand-led luxurious lifestyle cafe in Harrods. This makes sense for the target customer but does it really hit it with profound marketing movements we've seen more recently in luxury branding?

The Woolly Mammoth meatball. It's something one of us would love to try and the other couldn't bare the thought. Either way, Bas Korsten of Wunderman Thompson is making movements when it comes to meat and marketing masterpieces.

When it comes to ChatCPT daily advances, Jackson Greathouse Fall inputted "you have $100, and your goal is to turn that into as much money as possible in the shortest time possible, without doing anything illegal". The directions seem obvious. The result? $500 of success. But is this really a success or more of a social media frenzy?

There's no doubt we both love Rimowa for providing a great product, service, marketing mixes in great collaborations or partnerships. They're a leader in the suitcase travel industry and an inspiring example of branding at it's best. Their most recent initiative to increase footfall in stores by offering complimentary passport photos is another example of greatness. Tried and tested, it worked on Emma while she walked by in London and now she's hooked. Though Maurice is in love with his Away suitcase set he shares his take on this idea from an outside perspective. 

Managers and leaders are two different things, it's true. But, where do the real differences lie? Successful CEO and mentor, Clifford Bailey says leaders “influence, inspire and empower” and never micromanage. He claims that managers deal with the present while leaders deal with the future. We look to our own experiences to share how and where we believe this to be true as well as how a good leader reveals deeper positive output in a team and ultimately results in great work and happy people. 

A cereal company named Surreal have used quotes from celebrity-named (but everyday) people who enjoyed their cereal in their latest OOH advertising campaign. “Michael Jordan loves our cereal” and “Official cereal of Ronaldo” are just two of the proud emblazoned claims to take stage on bus-stops, tube signs and billboards around London. Of course, each of these quotes is legally followed with a small print reality check such as “he’s just a normal bloke who lives in St Alban’s but he really does like it”. What do we think - genius or madness? 

Finally we talk of how Creative Director Eric Groza has crafted a viral collaboration between Ikea and Patagonia using generative AI. We're consistently impressed with how AI develops into something valuable in the world of branding and this advance continues to delight. 

Has Meta CEO, Mark Zukerberg quietly buried the Metaverse? We think so. As he shifts his attention to a shiny new AI toy, it seems the rest of the world is too. But can these advances replace our jobs in the creative, brand marketing industry? For those who are willing to embrace it - we think it could actually be a huge benefit to their career, skill and use of time. 

The Financial Times have reported on a study that suggests that a four-day working week benefits both staff and employers. On this point, we considering different industries with varied input and output needs, as well as if this makes sense for the future of any workplace. What truly defines a work-life balance nowadays? We look back to pre pandemic and how our perception of this term has altered. 

Several British stars have turned down the offer to play at King Charles’ coronation concert on May 7th, including: Elton John, Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls & Harry Styles. Is this a snub at the new King, or do the stars really have other engagements they have to tend to? Conversation also turns to the non-disclosure around Harry & Meghan's attendance, despite being invited.

And finally, Cocaine Bear is a new film to hit the big screen, and people too. The backstory is based on a real-life story where a drug smuggling plan went wrong in the 1980’s, resulting in a bear hoovering up a duffel bag of abandoned cocaine and dying shortly after. This film is basically - for those who look into it enough - the bear having its own back on humanity but what do we think about that? Snakes On A Plane and Jaws come up in conversation. 

Burberry has revealed a new logo and campaign under the creative direction of Daniel Lee. Re-introducing thin lettering and an illustrative take on the horse emblem. We're huge fans of this new look for the brand, listen to find out why. 

Pharrell Williams has been appointed as Menswear Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, replacing Virgil Abloh after he passed and held the position last year. What does this mean for an industry that seems to be suddenly taken over by the famous (seemingly) outside of it? 

Elon Musk is obsessed with the amount of engagement his posts are receiving. He fired two engineers after they told him his tweets are lower in the algorithm due to a lower interest in him generally, the problem is 'fixed' by other workers at Twitter and he's bumped back into high reach on the platform. Is this ethically right? Of course not. But we look into how this really is all around us and in fact a much wider issue entirely.