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We’re back with all popular culture references, topics and opinions this week.
Everyone’s been talking about the Robbie documentary so we guessed we’d do the same. It’s a hit - but not for the reasons we might have thought when pressing play on Netflix. There’s so much more to this celebrity being interviewed in his huge LA home wearing his pants and we’re enjoying it.
We couldn’t continue recording without a mention to The Crown final season, with 8 more episodes to come this month. Fantastic acting and cinematography, but what’s missing for us both?
3D faux product placement ads, heralded by Jacuquemus, lends to conversation over copycat brands creating digital content that exploits the hard work of traditional Gorrila marketing. We see the good and bad in this one, especially as marketers ourselves, need more unique ideas and activations.
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Victoria’s Secret hasn’t been a winner for Emma, at least for the last 8 years when she woke-up to their dangerous showcase and lack of diversity. This brand isn’t impressing with it’s new look and tactics and luckily for us all, Gen-Z hates it too. The lingerie company’s rebrand simply isn’t hitting the mark in any sense, we discuss how and if they ever could, either.
However, there are positive movements in the world of lingerie to report on this week. Who is doing it right? SKIMS. Kim Kardashian continues to work wonders at her shapewear brand - everything from the product itself to the marketing masterpiece it’s become. Emma is invested, quite literally. But the real question is, will Mo buy a pair of SKIMS underwear considering their NBA partnership? We talk on key differences in marketing to men VS women in this sector and how the right marketing channel makes all of the difference when it comes to building the right audience.
Lastly, we talk subscriptions VS memberships and how brands and consumers often meld or confuse these two terms. There are so many opportunities to leverage on consumer habits and needs, as well as work in sneaky extras - and that’s where the real magic is, Mo says.
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Fehlende Folgen?
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A week where Business of Fashion CEO Imran Amed says Uniqlo has more luxury when it comes to store stock experience than Chanel - well, at least when it comes to time and treatment. We look at how other brands from many tiers of luxury and non-luxury treat their consumers in-store when something isn’t readily available.
We’ve been loving the Beckham three-part documentary on Netflix. Appreciation from both of us goes out to their honesty and dedication to the truth throughout.
Adobe has launched a digital dress, we’re less than impressed and think they’re missing a trick that could have been a great collaboration.
We end this episode with a discussion around media outlets leaving “X” and how and why this seems to be happening not only with large news outlets globally, but global brands too.
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In this episode Emma interviews Barth Rougier, the 26- year-old entrepreneur who is redefining success and making waves in multiple industries, but with a key focus on hospitality. He’s the mastermind behind DNA, a cutting-edge 360 Marketing & Talent Management agency representing over 75 influential talents globally, working closely with luxury brands to create impactful campaigns and elevate their reach.
We talk to Barth about what motivates him, where his joy comes from and what it takes to achieve such success at such a young age too. -
Autumn is here, and so is Paris Fashion Week. Sarah Burton steps down after a wonderful showcase of designs that lean more to Alexander McQueen’s more confronting style design and performance-wise. We wonder who will join as Creative Director herein after her wonderful 26 years in the position - someone young, female and maybe from a different creative industry altogether? We hope so.
A second creative subject in focus, closer to home (for us at least) at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. A collaborative exhibition designed to encourage a younger audience debuted last week Pokemon X Van Gogh. But souvenirs and merchandise from the exhibition quickly sold out and quickly started exploiting its audience with high resale prices. Great initiative but not so much of a smart output plan. What could and should they have done differently? Furthermore, what do we think their marketing team should do now?
Our final subject is on Megan Markle’s adoption of the anti-anxiety patches becoming more and more popular, created by a company called NuCalm. We talk about placebo effects, alongside positive mental health awareness, but also how wellness leaders Goop have tried and failed to do this before.
Mo interviewed Sharan Bal, she’s the founder of Van Sha - a distilled dark spirit inspired by her Indian roots, and the best thing of all? You won’t have a hangover.
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This week we kick-off with a look at terms in the workplace when it comes to learning, growing and altering work - “feedback” is out, and “feedforward” is in. Well, at least when it comes to teams within Microsoft. A lot of brands and businesses are now following-suit to allow a more positive, receptive way of working. Do we think this a little OTT? What really is at play here? Discussion takes us to our own experiences with feedback as well as why we think this is becoming a thing.
Next up, we talk on how Russell Brand has been accused of sexual assault and yet pledges a conspiracy against mass media. We look to journalistic professionalism at The Times, The Sunday Times & Channel4 Dispatches who have all spearheaded this story, having worked behind the scenes on it for four years now. Russell challenged the allegations with his own social media platforms, and so we both discuss the value of mass media in a modern world of freedom of speech online.
Finally, Erwin Olaf passed away last week. Maurice is a fan of his art in photography (mostly) and Emma isn’t - there’s one key reason why.
At the end of this episode we cut away to an interview between Maurice and Frances Shoemack who founded Abel Fragrances: a brand disrupting the perfume industry with a focus on clean, sustainable ingredients.
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The worlds of technology, sports, and luxury collide in this week's episode of By Association. First on the agenda, we delve into Tesla's newly-approved Supercharger in West Hollywood—a nostalgic throwback complete with a '50s style diner and a drive-in movie theater. Is Elon Musk onto the next big thing or is this just another chapter in the Elon ego saga?
As summer football sizzles, Lionel Messi has set the MLS on fire, scoring 11 goals in just 9 games for Inter Miami. We explore how his presence is sending shockwaves through the league, attracting royalty and Hollywood elites to the stadium.
In a parallel universe, the Women's World Cup has achieved unprecedented success, but not without its share of controversies. We discuss the achievements and the overshadowing negatives, from new records in viewership to the unfortunate incident involving Spain's now-suspended football federation president Luis Rubiales.
Luxury brands are also entering the sports arena in a big way. We examine the impact of luxury players like Louis Vuitton and Gucci on the game of tennis, and discuss whether luxury brands should stick to their traditional lanes or venture into new territories.
Emma shares her insights on the class dynamics at play in tennis, especially as luxury brands make their way into the sport. Meanwhile, as summer comes to a close, we take a look at how luxury brands have staked their claim on beach clubs around the world, setting new trends for the seasons to come.
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This week we kick-off with the designs and potential of the rollable iPhone, soon to be released by Apple. Do we enjoy this new hardware update and what consumer would really need what this new mechanism provides?
We couldn't run this episode without talking about Carlos Alcaraz's win at Wimbledon. As the youngest man to ever win, he's also knocked the consistent three king tennis hitters out of their helm. We look to his sponsorship deals and which brands have aligned themselves with his success.
AppleGPT is in the works, used only internally at Apple right now. Could this be the push Siri needs to evolve and offer a more dynamic and intelligent user experience? We imagine a world where AppleGPT is integrated into our smartphones, Airpods & Apple watch everyday lifestyle.
Cowboy have launched ‘Bikey’ - an app showing their commitment to uncertain users of their competitor VanMoof who are closing business. The app assures and allows consumers to be able to unlock their bike should the servers close down following bankruptcy. We're impressed with this cheeky move but Emma wishes Cowboy would focus more on their current customers.
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In this special episode, Maurice has a conversation with globally recognized business executive, Ryan Patel, about diversity, personal branding, communication, digital platforms, and the potential of healthcare for disruption.
Ryan begins by emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in fostering innovation. He then highlights the transformative power of technology on businesses and nations, while addressing cybersecurity threats.
As the discussion turns to leadership, Ryan underscores the significance of team empowerment and trust for superior execution. He then speaks about personal branding, defining it as a tool for intentionally shaping one's impact and legacy.
We later explore LinkedIn, where Ryan appreciates the platform's evolution and shares his vision for its future enhancements. He particularly focuses on the site's potential for fostering meaningful connections and conversations.
Finally, Ryan dives into healthcare's potential as an industry ripe for disruption. He discusses the urgency for innovation and the worldwide impact it can have, especially in mental health and wellness.
Join us for this enlightening conversation with Ryan Patel as he shares insights on key areas from diversity to healthcare innovation.
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In a week where Maurice has powered through a double daughter birthday bonanza, Emma started a new job at Nike and recovered from her festival fantasy land at Glastonbury - a few other things happened outside of our own worlds too. You don’t have to ask us twice to “please, discuss”. Points below:
Three US Supreme Court rulings: Rejection of the affirmative action, Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is blocked & ruling in favour of a web designer refusing to work on a same-sex marriage supporting website.
In brand marketing news, there’s been an impressive plethora of brand exposure - some pretty pink, some of killer MCD milkshakes.
“Kris Jenner works hard, but Barbie's marketing team works harder” seems to be a running quote we’ve noticed alongside a round of applause for the Barbie marketing efforts ahead of the new film launch this month. There’s a physical Air BNB Malibu dream house open for business, pop-up cafes and roller skate rinks in Chicago and even an interesting political Barbie flag spotting at Glastonbury. We’re pretty impressed and look forward to the film release where we might just share an exclusive deep review episode.
A microscopic handbag was sold for $63,750 - it’s the size of a speck of dust. But what is really interesting is how this was sold at Louis Vuitton’s Creative Director’s own auction house, Jupiter. Has Pharrell Williams missed an obvious opportunity for brand partnership and some luxury much-loved satire? And further to this point, who actually bought the bag?
McDonalds have added a purple milkshake to their menu in celebration of their brand character Grimace’s birthday. In response, Gen-Z have taken to TikTok in a natural community project #grimaceshake gone viral (1.3billion views) that we’re in love with.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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