The Speakeasy

By SEG3

The Speakeasy is a podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at your favourite sports, entertainment and gaming brands - giving you a glimpse into the deals, strategies & innovations that are helpi... more

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FAQs about The Speakeasy:

How many episodes does The Speakeasy have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.

The Speakeasy episodes:

April 16, 2026 The Era of Immersive Marketing
00:00 – Introduction
03:00 – Nic's journey from indie filmmaking to Fortnite builds
06:00 – Why meeting players inside the experience itself matters most.
08:30 – The real benefit that today's biggest platforms offer to brands.
10:00 – Why certain brands should opt for owned, always-on experiences vs integrations
13:00 – Inside Sawhorse’s biggest brand partnerships.
15:45 – What made the How to Train Your Dragon activation a success?
18:45 – What can gaming learn from music when it comes to fan relationships?
24:00 – The pitfalls of building for your brand, not your audience.
28:40 – What does the future of in-game advertising look like?
33:00 – Why the gamification of entertainment matters for brands trying to reach younger generations.
35:00 — Closing thoughts.
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
36min
April 02, 2026 Investment, Innovation & Growing Bandai Namco’s Franchises
00:00 – How connecting with fans leads to monetisation.
03:00 – What does a winning IP strategy look like with legacy franchises?
10:30 – What does a typical day look like across partnerships, licensing, and venture investing?
13:50 – How the Zero to One Fund helps Bandai Namco to keep ahead of the industry.
16:40 – Should gaming companies invest in content or technology?
19:50 – Where does the best deal flow come from in gaming?
21:40 – How to decide whether to build, buy, invest, or partner?
25:00 – What gives a company a competitive edge in gaming in 2026?
27:30 – Where is the next generation of gamers playing?
30:45 – The strategy to generating long-term success in a hit-driven entertainment and games business.
35:00 – How is the industry adapting to UGC and shifting platform models?
39:00 – Why fandom and community engagement more important than ever.
42:30 – How do legacy IPs like Pac-Man and Gundam stay relevant for decades?
44:30 – Closing thoughts.
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
46min
March 19, 2026 Star Wars, Emerging Technology, and Immersive Storytelling
0:00: Introduction
01:00 Why being okay with failure is the key to innovation.
4:00: What does it actually take to build a franchise?
6:00: How do you grow an iconic franchise without losing its core fans?
8:50: The secret to keeping your IP cohesive across films, series, games, and merchandise.
12:00: The steps to avoiding franchise fatigue.
14:00: The challenges translating IP into immersive experiences
19:30: How do you measure success on emerging platforms?
27:00: Why knowing what platform to choose is as important as the story itself.
35:15: What does it take to build and sustain a franchise for generations?
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
42min
March 05, 2026 Building at the Frontier: How AI Is Reshaping Games, Creativity and the Future of Play
00:00 – Introduction
04:00 – How mobile gaming and traditional gaming really differ.
06:00 – What it takes to make a 'mega hit game' and the commercial opportunities with mobile-first companies.
11:10 – Fitting AI into gaming and its impact on content, production, and development.
14:45 – How AI addresses the biggest bottleneck: the ability to produce high-quality content.
17:30 – What an "AI-native game" looks like, providing a failed prototype example.
23:00 - Finding the balance between IP Protection & use of AI.
25:50 – How AI can accelerate designing of games?
30:40 – Where the divergence of "games as art" and "games as a business" comes in.
35:00 – What are the capabilities in AI beyond LLMs?
40:00 – Managing investment downturns and negative consumer sentiment around AI adoption in games.
43:30 – Final thoughts.
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
45min
February 19, 2026 The Economics of Fandom: Sports Loyalty Programs Explained
00:00 – Intro
02:30 – From selling attention to building relationships
Sports has always monetised eyeballs. But what happens when attention alone isn’t enough?
06:00 – Why loyalty in sport feels underdeveloped
How a category built on fandom often lacks a proper, year-round engagement layer.
09:00 – What modern loyalty could look like
Moving beyond one-off promotions to something that runs 24/7, 365.
12:00 – Making it simple for fans
Why any new technology or system has to feel easy for consumers to use - and where blockchain failed to start with
15:00 – Why “cool” ideas using blockchain aren't enough anymore
How teams are getting more strategic in their use of blockchain to drive revenue, efficiency and engagement.
18:30 – How Starbucks & airlines do loyalty
What sport can learn from preloaded value, points and rewards models that already work in consumer & travel
22:00 – The Cleveland Cavaliers case study
How the Cavs approached loyalty — and what the physical and digital experience looks like for fans.
26:00 – From passive watching to active participation
How predictions, rewards, and experiences are giving fans a reason to engage beyond game day.
30:00 – Why sponsors care about this shift
The move from impressions to measurable participation and attribution, and the commercial value of those metrics.
34:00 – Owning the fan relationship
Why long-term value comes from having a direct connection — and how to rebuild that relationship.
37:30 – What's the commercial potential of loyalty programs?
The timeline towards loyalty becoming a core revenue line for most sports properties
40:00 – Final thoughts & wrap up
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🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
42min
February 05, 2026 The Clipping Economy: Driving Social Proof at Scale - Yuriy Yarovoy
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00:00 – Welcome & the rise of the clipping economy
Why the way people discover and engage with games is fundamentally shifting - from exposure to advertising to shared moments between friends.
03:00 – Attention is earned, not bought
How modern audiences filter out traditional marketing - and what it means for user acquisition when youth audiences are now ad-blind by default.
06:40 – Belonging as a growth strategy
Why players who discover a game, sport or film through a friend arrive with higher trust, better retention, and a stronger sense of community from day one.
10:20 – From funnel to leapfrog
How socially shared content can short-circuit traditional acquisition steps and land users straight into a community.
13:45 – The psychology of shared moments
The rationale behind why small, authentic clips are outperforming polished promos - and how identity is formed through participation, not consumption.
17:20 – Designing for trust-based discovery
What it takes to build products and campaigns that facilitate organic sharing without feeling engineered or extractive.
21:00 – Community building in low-friction environments
How simplicity and familiarity create more shareable behaviours - and why intentional friction often kills valuable momentum for brands.
24:15 – The Three R's to measure growth beyond views and clicks
How to think about retention, resonance, and relationship-building as core metrics in community-led growth.
28:00 – Designing campaigns that create culture
The content formats and activations that encourage players to contribute over consume - and how successful brands and game developers are rethinking growth loops.
32:30 – Rethinking brand presence in gaming
Why younger audiences reject interruptive formats, and how brands can show up in ways that align with player behaviour and context.
36:00 – Lessons for anyone building community-led platforms
Insights into what scales trust, and why growing slowly (but meaningfully) often wins long-term.
40:20 – Final reflections
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🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
43min
January 21, 2026 Inside Dentsu: A CMO's Guide to Investing in Gaming - Brent Koning
00:00 – Intro & welcome
Joe and Tiago introduce the show, and welcome Brent Koning, Global Head of Gaming at dentsu.
02:00 – Brent’s background & career journey
From early work with Microsoft and Xbox to EA, FIFA esports, and eventually leading gaming strategy at dentsu.
08:30 – What dentsu’s gaming role actually looks like
How gaming fits inside a global agency, what dentsu does differently, and why strategy comes before media.
14:30 – Why gaming has been misunderstood by marketers
Generational shifts, education gaps, and why gaming is finally being taken seriously as a channel.
21:00 – Gaming’s role in the modern marketing mix
Why gaming should sit alongside TV, social and sport — and why time spent matters more than formats.
27:30 – How brands should think about entering gaming
Segmentation, platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, and avoiding surface-level activations.
34:30 – Brand integrations, culture & UGC
Examples that work (and don’t), Fortnite, Minecraft, and why culture fit is everything.
41:00 – IP, fandom & the future of games
UGC platforms, transmedia storytelling, GTA VI, and where attention is heading next.
47:30 – Final advice for brands & CMOs
Why “test and learn” isn’t enough anymore, and the importance of real commitment.
50:00 – Wrap-up & closing
Final thoughts and sign-off.
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
51min
January 08, 2026 Inside NASCAR: Innovation & Gaming in Sports with Mitch Rasmussen
Inside NASCAR: Innovation & Gaming in Sports with Mitch Rasmussen

00:00 – Intro & Mitch’s role at NASCAR
Mitch Rasmussen joins the show to discuss his role leading interactive strategy at NASCAR, and what “interactive” really means inside a modern sports organisation.
03:10 – The pace of innovation
How integrating technology has changed decision-making inside NASCAR, and how Mitch and his team prioritise where to focus amid constant disruption.
06:40 – Small wins vs big swings
Balancing incremental improvements with high-risk, high-reward bets, and why both are essential to long-term innovation.
10:15 – Where NASCAR is investing attention right now
The platforms, channels and technologies NASCAR is actively exploring, and where Mitch believes brands are still under-investing.
14:20 – Youth audiences vs traditional audiences
Why innovation can’t come at the cost of legacy fans, and how NASCAR experiments with new formats while bringing its audience along for the ride.
18:10 – NASCAR’s UGC gaming strategy
A deep dive into NASCAR’s history in UGC gaming, including NASCAR Speedhub, Driving Empire and Rocket Racing.
21:30 – Driving Empire: breaking down the numbers
Why Driving Empire became such a standout success, the strategies behind it, and what made the experience resonate with younger audiences.
25:40 – Integrating sponsors authentically
How NASCAR weaves brand partners into gaming and interactive experiences without breaking immersion, and what most brands get wrong with in-game advertising.
30:05 – NASCAR's Broadcast work with FOX Sports, Meta & Xtadium
The evolving role of broadcast partners, experimentation beyond linear TV, and why XR represents a massive opportunity for live sports.
35:10 – How to evaluate disruptive tech
Mitch shares a practical framework for evaluating new platforms or technologies - how NASCAR decides what to test, what to scale and what to pass on.
41:20 – Lessons for other brands and rights holders
What other organisations can learn from NASCAR’s approach to innovation, audience growth and digital experience design.
44:30 – Closing thoughts
Final reflections on the future of sports, fan engagement and where interactive experiences are headed next.
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
48min
September 25, 2025 Inside Abstract: Fans, Culture & Consumer Crypto with Michael Lee
0:00 - Intro and Michael's background
An insight into Michael's career and his journey to Abstract.

12:00 - Building a blockchain and the UX & UI problems in web3
Why the industry has struggled to onboard retail consumers and how to design a consumer-facing platform.

14:00 - Abstract's early traction
Where Abstract is finding success since launch, and the audiences and markets they are targeting.

19:00 - Oracle Red Bull Racing collaboration and fan engagement
Michael discusses how Red Bull Racing used Abstract to launch the 'In the Moment' digital collectible series

21:00 - Consumer brands and their approach to web3
What are the three key things that brands care about, and how to get buy-in to innovate

32:00 - Web3's killer use case: loyalty and rewards
How ORBR and consumer brands are using digital collectibles to reward fandom, understand their fanbase and engage new audiences.

39:00 - Simplifying the fan experience of using web3
Streaming, social and the creator economy, and how consumers discover apps and experiences through the Abstract terminal.

47:00 Advice for Global Brands
Michael shares his thoughts on how major brands should (re)enter the space, and the right approach for anyone experimenting with emerging tech.
55:00 - Close
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
56min
September 11, 2025 Inside Coca-Cola: The Key to Culture Marketing with Stefan Rothenbuehler
00:00 – Intro & Stefan’s background
Career journey and the path to Coca-Cola.
03:20 – Coke’s philosophy on partnerships
How the brand decides which properties, music, and cultural moments to get behind.
07:45 – Balancing heritage with staying relevant
What it means to future-proof one of the world’s most iconic brands.
12:10 – Activating partnerships authentically
Blending life, digital and product experiences, and his view on gaming and emerging tech's role in future campaigns.
18:35 – Case Study: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice x Fanta
Behind the scenes of the Warner Bros. Discovery collaboration.
25:15 – Why Halloween matters
Making Fanta central to a cultural moment and engaging Gen Z & youth audiences.
31:40 – Chalk Talk
What rights holders, event organisers and IP need to know to attract a partnership with Coca-Cola.
38:50 – Closing thoughts
Final reflections and key takeaways.
🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy
🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com
📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/
📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3
💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: [email protected]

© 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.
...more
38min

FAQs about The Speakeasy:

How many episodes does The Speakeasy have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.