The Brave Bison team sit down to decode what’s next — from search and social to technology and experience. No jargon. No fluff. Just unfiltered insights, bold opinions, and the real stories behind the strategies shaping growth today. Whether you're scaling campaigns or rethinking the funnel, if it moves the needle — we’re talking about it.

Hit follow to be the first to listen to Decoding Discovery — a two-part series diving into how AI and social are reshaping the way people search, discover, and decide.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brave-talk-podcast/id1813356507 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PrZpvQgYz9qqylkF20N7u

Show your support! Vote for Eve, your SocialMinds host, to win Creative Trailblazer in the Prolific North Creative Awards here: https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/creative-awards-cast-your-vote/ 

This week, SocialChain strategist Chelsea Noronha joins Mil in the studio to unpack the latest, greatest, and up-and-coming social media features you need to know about. That includes an update to TikTok Ads and its new moderation feature, native reposts on Instagram, and new creator collaboration tools on YouTube. We also cover one LinkedIn feature brought back from the dead, and Pinterest’s latest foray into AI with a smart recommendations-based shopping feature. Got a question or suggestion for the Social Minds podcast? Get in touch at [email protected].  

Platforms change, trends come and go. Brand fundamentals must remain. That’s the opinion of this week’s guest, Kathryn Swallow - worldwide head of Unilever’s deodorants category, previously the global VP for Rexona (Sure) and Dove. Among all of Unilever’s brands, the deodorant category stands out thanks to the global success of those brands as well as Lynx (Axe), and their success is owed in part, Kathryn says, to a deep understanding and respect for a brand’s positioning, purpose and and proposition.  

In this, we ask how brands can stay true to their core - and communicate that - among fast-moving tech, endless data, modernising audiences and, of course, social media. And we find out how Unilever’s deodorant brands approach the above to ensure they don’t just stay relevant, but are revered.  

Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at [email protected]  

In a space where failure is hidden from a wider audience, Surreal embrace the imperfect. A challenger brand within the staid world of cereal marketing, Surreal have emerged as a distinct voice.

John Thornton, Senior creative at Surreal breaks down the process of embracing your marketing bluffs and peeling back the veneer of the social economy.  

SocialChain strategy and innovation director Gareth Harrison joins Mil to unpack this month’s Social in Six updates.

This time, that’s an update on TikTok’s ban in the US, which has been extended again; a handful of updates from Meta to improve social SEO and make creator partnerships easier; and LinkedIn’s new Trends page that curates videos based on trending workplace topics.

Elsewhere, Snapchat has launched a new ad format in Sponsored AI Lenses, while YouTube Shorts has changed the way it measures views.  

Got a question or suggestion for the Social Minds podcast? Get in touch at [email protected].  

“Have you had your Weetabix?” is an iconic ad slogan as any. But post-pandemic, though Weetabix had become part of online conversations, it wasn’t necessarily translating to consumers’ shopping baskets. In this episode, Lorraine Rothwell, head of marketing at Weetabix, shares the story of how the brand reconnected with its core demographic while remaining relevant to younger audiences. Discover how social informed ad creative, the power of nostalgia in marketing, and how Weetabix continues to surprise and delight without losing its heritage roots. 

AI is the hot topic on everyone’s lips. One which, if you ask most creatives, will be spoken of with some level of selfish scepticism. But what do you do when a company built on the good of tech has their own department of creatives? This conversation is full of honest questions, thought-provoking answers, and candid discussions on how Ai is actually impacting creativity inside and outside of our studios, Don’t expect another narrative on how “AI is coming for our jobs” (it might yet) but come away feeling educated on how to make it work for you. 

Social is changing the face of search and, with that, the impact on how brands and products are discovered has also shifted. Reddit is among the platforms capitalising on this - tapping into consumer habits of adding ‘Reddit’ to the end of every search term, making the brand name the 6th most-Googled term in the US.

In this episode with Hannah Walker, Reddit’s Head of Mid-Market for the UK, we find out why platforms are leaning on AI to elevate their search offerings, how brands can benefit from Reddit’s curious community through both paid and organic, and what their behaviour tells us about what Redditors want from the brands they buy from.

Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at [email protected]

Every time you order a Domino’s pizza, you’re interfacing with countless data-driven touchpoints – whether it’s suggested items or Dom the Pizza Tracker telling you your Pepperoni Passion is in the oven. In this episode, Nick Bamber, digital and data director at Domino’s, unpacks why the brand sees itself as a data company first and a pizza business second. He reveals how leveraging smart data and AI resulted in 10 million app users, the learnings from Domino’s’ journey to become “the Netflix of pizza”, and the future of food delivery in an increasingly digital world. 

TikTok Shop has taken over everyone’s For You Page in the last 12 months, and that’s in no small part down to the commerce ambitions of the business. Layer onto that the way TikTok has (and continues to) change the creator economy, and you’re left with an extremely actionable conversation for brands and marketers that will leave you empowered and educated to perform on your commerce objectives whilst still prioritising creativity and content – crucially, how the two must work together if brands are to compete in 2025 and beyond.