The Stories That Shaped Our Year

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Welcome to, we Built this brand where we pull back the curtain on the people,

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the ideas, and the wonderfully messy process of building something that matters.

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As I look back over this past year, there's one thing I've

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realized, and honestly I probably should have learned it sooner.

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This whole thing only works if you can find joy in

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it, and I don't mean forced Instagram ready joy.

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I'm talking about the kind of joy that sneaks

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up on you in the middle of a conversation.

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The kind that shows up when something

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finally clicks or when a guest drops a truth.

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So clean and unexpected that you just sit there and go, well.

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All right then 2025 pushed us, all of us founders,

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marketers, creatives, to rethink what we're doing and why.

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And I discovered in these conversations that joy

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isn't something that waits for perfect circumstances.

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It's not the reward of the end.

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Joy is the fuel.

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It's what keeps the work human.

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It's what keeps the work honest.

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So today I wanna share some of the moments

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that shaped my year, and maybe yours too.

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And we're starting with a theme at the heart of our show.

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The human side of brand building

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behind every strategy deck and campaign launch is a real person

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navigating doubt, inspiration, identity, values, and sometimes emotions.

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We don't always admit out loud, and no one captured this better than James Bray.

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When I first started out, I was incredibly curious.

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I was super inspired.

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I was super passionate.

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Then I became jealous.

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Um, and I think jealousy is a, an an interesting thing, like jealousy.

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Um, I just came back from can, right?

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And I went into that and you go into that going, I know

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what this is all about, whatever, whatever, whatever.

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And you, you might ppo certain things and you know, and it industry's changed.

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It's all about data or it's all about media.

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It's all about the gamesmanship that's played in these award shows.

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But I'll be damned if I didn't walk out of there jealous.

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Um, if you're not jealous, um, then you don't want to compete.

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And I think if you don't want to compete, then you're, you're not

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curious enough, you're not inspired enough, you're not passionate enough.

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And I think, um, however you find your way

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to get to inspired mine just became jealousy.

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Um, and that in some ways, that's like, that

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may not, it may not be the most productive form.

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I, I mean, if, if you're a part therapist, you probably tell me that it

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isn't the most productive way to approach anything is through jealousy, but.

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For a big part of my career, jealousy is what drove me to kind of push harder.

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And you know, when I went off to Fallon, I was jealous of the

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incredible talent in the, in the work that was being done there.

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And I wanted so desperately to be somewhere on the same page with those guys.

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Um.

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And so like, you know, I think the key to any young person who's out

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there looking for a way to, to be inspired or to find that thing is just.

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Be honest with yourself, and it took me a long time to be honest.

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And the honest thing was I'm just a jealous person.

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What I love most about that moment from James is how honest it is.

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Creativity isn't always pretty and sometimes it starts

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with the uncomfortable stuff, the ambition, the insecurity,

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the spark that says I wanna do better, and that honestly.

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Connects beautifully with our next story, one about love loss, legacy,

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and the meaning we attach to the things we keep and the things we let go.

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This is for richer jewelry.

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You, you said something that I, I found really interesting.

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You said pre loved rings.

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How does that positioning play into it?

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And, and I think I know the answer, but I wanna know

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your perspective on saying things like pre loved.

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In your marketing and messaging,

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I think it's important to acknowledge that the ring itself,

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like just because something ended, it doesn't make it bad.

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Like what?

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What all has happened?

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And so to call something, I think that there's this idea

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that the ring becomes damaged or it's like there's this

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negativity associated with it and like that's just not true.

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Rings are.

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They are things independent of the meanings that we give it, that we give to it.

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So we, we call it free loved because it was pre loved it, it was

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loved, it, it symbolized this love for this couple at this time,

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and it no longer does, but now it can create that symbol for you.

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And it still, it, it can continue to have a happy ending.

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Just as you know, you are, you're creating this happy ending.

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Pre-war or preed, it's pre loved and you can continue to love it.

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And we also just as a side too, that's, I love that Brittany.

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I'm like, let's use that in our social this week.

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That was so good.

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Um, we also don't only get rings, you know,

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that are the product of a divorce, right.

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We've had several that are the product of an upgrade, which means like.

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Pre loved, like your spouse is gonna upgrade your

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engagement ring, which means there's a lot of love there.

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We get some that the folks, maybe they just didn't like the

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style for themselves, but they're still planning on getting

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married or they still are married or even, you know, they might

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have inherited it from somebody else and it isn't their style.

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So we do source from a bunch of places and that kind of encapsulates that.

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Like there isn't bad juju.

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The ring is.

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It's a gorgeous piece of jewelry.

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Ready for, ready for its forever home,

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I think.

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I think that's a good, um, a good point.

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'cause I could see how people would be maybe off put by it

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if it was just used or if it was, you know, pre-warn just

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doesn't have the same cozy ring to it that pre loved does.

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And.

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I think that's a, that's a great perspective on it too.

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'cause it's not just always a divorce or always, you know,

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someone passing away that you're getting rid of this ring.

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It's other reasons too.

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What I adore about that segment is how it reframes value

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meaning doesn't disappear when circumstances change.

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Sometimes the meaning becomes the bridge into the next chapter.

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And when you think about creative work, problem solving operates the same way.

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The first idea isn't always the right one, but the meaning behind it can lead

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you somewhere unexpected, and that is where Liz Beeler comes in with one of

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my favorite explanations of the creative problem solving process all year.

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When I think about creative problem solving, it's the awareness that

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there are many right ways to a solution, and it's about finding.

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The best solution for that circumstance.

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Okay.

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And so whether that's for a particular brief that a client gives us, um, which

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is interesting because I think that oftentimes we have, I'll call it like the

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negotiation with a client over a brief of what are you actually trying to solve?

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You know, sometimes, um, you know, often when clients come to you

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and ask you like, this is what I need, you, like, paint in this box.

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You go, okay, but why?

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Right.

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What are we trying to do?

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And that's that moment of like, we, you know,

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are, we're accountable to impacting business.

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And so it's important that we ask that question, and

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that's part of the creative problem solving question.

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It starts, or, uh, process, it starts very early from

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that first moment of conversation, that first brief.

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So it's not just that creative output, um, which is,

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you know, ultimately how it's represented in the world.

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But it starts there of like.

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If there is a unique business challenge, like, um, when you look

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at Dairy Queen, which is, you know, they are known, and I mean like

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childhood love for Dairy Queen and, uh, and softer there, but that's

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what they were known for and they've expanded their whole product lineup.

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How do you support a brand that's gone from, you

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know, years and years of being known for treats?

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To expand into other food, you know, like, uh, your, your chicken strips.

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Like how do you support them in that change and without losing your core base.

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And so to me, like what a cool problem to solve, right?

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Because well, who doesn't love both those things?

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I mean, so when I think about it, that's like in particular to a brand,

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there's also creative problem solving of like what to know about.

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Today, I think that we're in a very interesting time

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where you can express and discover your identity in so

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many different ways, and I think it's, it's amazing.

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Ultimately, identity is core to who we are as individuals,

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but it's also, you know, we talk about connection.

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Identity is what brings people together.

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It's how communities form because of some similar, you know, aspect

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of their identity or beliefs or, you know, even just interests.

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Like, Hey, I love sail, so I, you know,

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surround myself with people that love it too.

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All of those things are considerations for how you creatively problem solve.

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There's no kind of two similar problems.

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I love how Liz breaks that down.

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Creativity is exploration identity as a lens.

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It's such a grounded way to think about possibility, but

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sometimes creativity has to scale from an idea in a room to a

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moment that reaches millions and that takes a different kind of.

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Courage, which brings us to Michelle Fisher and one of the

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coolest rebrand stories we talked about all year, and one

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of my favorite hockey teams of all time, the Anaheim Ducks.

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What's really unique about this NHL team is that it started in Disney and it.

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Started as a movie and it turned into a real team and a lot of the

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nation and globally actually, um, there's a lot of ducks fans globally.

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They were brought up on this movie and there's such a strong

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connection with them, uh, with Disney and with that actually

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came with its own kinds of perception of it being this kind of.

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Kid friendly, non-aggressive, him hockey team.

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And uh, they really changed.

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I think they kind of shed that perception a bit,

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um, once they, uh, won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

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And, you know, there was also too, there was a, um, uh, like a handful of years

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they were where they like made it to the Western conference, like championships

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and, you know, there were a very notable name in its own right in the NHL.

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But, uh, in recent years, you know, they've,

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I think it like up until 2018 they were like.

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Really, really competitive.

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And then they came to us, um, at a really interesting time for them.

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They were on the onset of rebranding themselves.

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I don't know if you, you follow hockey or, or not, but I didn't actually.

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Um, I got just really geeking into it.

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So the ducks, they were going through a rebrand

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with the logo and they were creating this.

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Um, amazing kind of mixed use space around it with

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entertainment, restaurants, you know, um, that kind of thing.

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And then, um, they were also in a rebuild period, so they have a really young

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team that is, you know, they're, they're coaching and, uh, and developing.

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They really want to reinvigorate.

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Fandom, the fans and get people into the Arena Honda Center.

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And it's really challenging when you have a team that's

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rebuilding and the players, and that was the challenge.

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Um, it was to get these fans excited for all the foundational

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things that they're, that they're making, like with the in

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game experience, that new complex I was telling you about.

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And then the rebrand, which so many fans.

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I like completely loved.

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They returned back to that like mass duck face, um, versus the web.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I mean, it's so iconic too, you know?

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It also like has the heritage from the movies as well.

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Yeah.

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It's a, it's a good throwback.

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Yeah.

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And then, um, I noticed the color, the color selection

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for this rebrand was heavy on orange as opposed to the,

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the purple and green that maybe we're more familiar with.

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Um, so what, what led to that?

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Mm-hmm.

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Color change, I'm sure that was probably a much more

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lengthy discussion than most people would assume.

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Fans were very much in love with their purple and teal.

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But one of the things that the, the organization really wanted

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to lean into is their, uh, loyalty and love for Orange County.

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And Orange County is known for the oranges,

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like their history is in like orange groves.

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So they really leaned into that color and they knew there

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was gonna be a lot of kind of pushback from fans, but they

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went, they boldly and, you know, with pride went with orange.

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It

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is definitely a good call.

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Um, so, so what has been the response then?

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And you, you said you were anticipating

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some pushback, but how has it been received?

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Oh, well, you know what, um, maybe I can kind of take a step

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back about what like Battery was kind of, uh, partner to do here.

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So they had these kind of pieces in place, but with the big task of

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invigorating, reinvigorating the fans and the players being kind of.

239
00:13:14,235 --> 00:13:15,945
Subject to change all the time.

240
00:13:15,945 --> 00:13:20,955
Like we, we couldn't lean into the players and the team.

241
00:13:21,465 --> 00:13:25,035
So the, the challenge to us was how do we

242
00:13:25,305 --> 00:13:28,305
bring back Pride fandom to our fan base?

243
00:13:28,725 --> 00:13:32,085
And we're like, you know, orange County is.

244
00:13:33,165 --> 00:13:34,305
Where it's at.

245
00:13:34,305 --> 00:13:36,704
Like I'm actually from Orange County.

246
00:13:36,704 --> 00:13:37,725
I grew up there.

247
00:13:37,995 --> 00:13:41,204
I spent some, I spent my weekends in Compton, but lived in Orange County.

248
00:13:41,204 --> 00:13:44,355
And with that, and I know that like the people, the

249
00:13:44,355 --> 00:13:48,675
residents of Orange County, they're such a, such a diverse.

250
00:13:49,260 --> 00:13:53,790
Um, population of people and, but then people from the outside

251
00:13:53,790 --> 00:13:58,199
don't really know that, you know, orange County is often kind of

252
00:13:58,199 --> 00:14:02,714
labeled with, uh, you know, kinda like dated stereotypes of like.

253
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,400
Through the health size of Orange County,

254
00:14:05,459 --> 00:14:07,890
um, Laguna Beach, when that was a thing.

255
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:13,230
Beautiful beaches, very cush lifestyle, OneNote type of people.

256
00:14:13,230 --> 00:14:17,010
And Orange County is very, very, very different from that.

257
00:14:17,459 --> 00:14:20,910
And we want to lean into that and kind of fight off stereotypes

258
00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:26,550
and bring this kind of more edgy, gritty persona to, to the ducks.

259
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,360
So we had this, uh, platform line called You're Entering Orange Country.

260
00:14:30,930 --> 00:14:34,770
That, that that was our kind of brand platform to kind of set off

261
00:14:34,890 --> 00:14:40,560
bringing back fandom, not just core fans, but people from Orange County

262
00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:46,890
who could relate to this and say, yes, we are, or we are Orange County.

263
00:14:46,890 --> 00:14:48,280
There's a lot of things to be proud of there.

264
00:14:48,990 --> 00:14:50,730
If the first theme is about humanity and

265
00:14:50,730 --> 00:14:53,790
identity, then this next theme is about longevity.

266
00:14:54,150 --> 00:14:57,990
Building something that can actually last, sustainable growth instead of hype.

267
00:15:04,110 --> 00:15:06,209
And to kick us off, we're starting with joy.

268
00:15:06,449 --> 00:15:09,959
Not surprise joy, not forced positivity, joy, but

269
00:15:09,959 --> 00:15:12,959
the kind of joy that transforms a job into a colon.

270
00:15:13,350 --> 00:15:14,280
Here's Dale Dupree.

271
00:15:14,790 --> 00:15:17,550
I noticed, you know, you talk a lot about the, the joy of selling.

272
00:15:18,390 --> 00:15:21,720
It's dude sales is not always joyful.

273
00:15:21,780 --> 00:15:22,410
You know that.

274
00:15:22,439 --> 00:15:26,220
And I, I think it's counter-cultural almost to talk

275
00:15:26,220 --> 00:15:28,439
about it being a joy and something people can love doing.

276
00:15:28,530 --> 00:15:30,390
Because for me, like I know through my career,

277
00:15:30,390 --> 00:15:32,459
it's been like, all right, this is the job.

278
00:15:32,459 --> 00:15:33,689
This is the career I chose.

279
00:15:33,689 --> 00:15:35,040
This is the path I went down.

280
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,329
This is what I'm stuck in.

281
00:15:36,329 --> 00:15:37,260
For me, that's a challenge.

282
00:15:37,260 --> 00:15:38,370
So tell me more about like.

283
00:15:38,575 --> 00:15:39,985
That finding of joy?

284
00:15:39,985 --> 00:15:42,925
Like what, what does that mean within sales to you?

285
00:15:42,925 --> 00:15:45,325
And I mean, you've said a lot of it I think here,

286
00:15:45,325 --> 00:15:47,425
but I'd love you to just to kind of like sum it up.

287
00:15:47,485 --> 00:15:47,665
Yeah.

288
00:15:47,665 --> 00:15:50,305
Life is sales and sales is life is the way that I look at it.

289
00:15:50,305 --> 00:15:52,945
I don't box sales into like some kind of compartment.

290
00:15:53,545 --> 00:15:56,335
I see sales as like a literal motion of life.

291
00:15:56,605 --> 00:15:56,695
Mm-hmm.

292
00:15:56,725 --> 00:15:58,135
That in sales.

293
00:15:58,230 --> 00:16:01,710
Just like in my life, I'm gonna meet strangers and have the opportunity

294
00:16:01,710 --> 00:16:07,440
to be impactful to those people, to give them something, which is

295
00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,340
again, going back to the principles of serving leadership, but also

296
00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,640
to the principles of just being a good person and living a good life.

297
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,840
So if we, if we really look at like life is, we wake up

298
00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,320
in the morning, we do, you know, eight cold plunges and.

299
00:16:22,395 --> 00:16:24,585
You know, 7,000 pushups or whatever y'all do, and

300
00:16:24,585 --> 00:16:26,985
roll a banana on your face, smell that banana water.

301
00:16:26,985 --> 00:16:30,855
And uh, and, and then we, we go to work, right?

302
00:16:31,064 --> 00:16:34,814
We eat lunch, we get outta work, we hang out with

303
00:16:34,814 --> 00:16:38,745
friends, watch severance, like yeah, whatever.

304
00:16:38,895 --> 00:16:41,475
Life is very predictable, ultimately.

305
00:16:41,564 --> 00:16:41,655
Yeah.

306
00:16:41,685 --> 00:16:42,975
It's the same thing over and over again.

307
00:16:42,975 --> 00:16:44,265
And it's very simple things.

308
00:16:44,835 --> 00:16:46,485
And those things do what for us.

309
00:16:46,485 --> 00:16:47,385
They bring us joy.

310
00:16:47,625 --> 00:16:47,985
Mm-hmm.

311
00:16:48,285 --> 00:16:49,035
Except for work.

312
00:16:49,980 --> 00:16:51,390
Right, and, and the way that you described it, I think

313
00:16:51,390 --> 00:16:52,890
it's beautiful because it's, you know, it's like.

314
00:16:54,285 --> 00:16:56,265
Life hasn't been good to me, bro.

315
00:16:56,265 --> 00:16:58,035
When I think of what you just said about sales,

316
00:16:58,035 --> 00:17:00,435
like, but I still find joy in life all the time.

317
00:17:00,824 --> 00:17:03,974
I think that the, the real opportunity is finding the failure.

318
00:17:04,034 --> 00:17:05,175
That's what brings you joy.

319
00:17:05,744 --> 00:17:07,935
I love it when somebody says something like, you know what?

320
00:17:07,935 --> 00:17:09,494
I don't like what you're sending me in the mail.

321
00:17:09,494 --> 00:17:10,065
It's weird.

322
00:17:10,214 --> 00:17:10,784
It.

323
00:17:11,010 --> 00:17:11,699
It happens.

324
00:17:11,729 --> 00:17:12,780
It's rare, but it happens.

325
00:17:13,260 --> 00:17:13,919
I love that.

326
00:17:14,339 --> 00:17:17,849
I love to say to that person, sorry that it came across that way for you.

327
00:17:17,849 --> 00:17:21,030
I'll, I'll cease and desist, hang up on them instead of

328
00:17:21,030 --> 00:17:23,490
trying to like do something crazy with them, and then

329
00:17:23,490 --> 00:17:25,740
immediately I'll do a little research, call the front desk.

330
00:17:25,740 --> 00:17:27,030
Hey, what's Jeff's favorite thing?

331
00:17:27,540 --> 00:17:27,599
Hmm.

332
00:17:28,085 --> 00:17:31,475
And then, and then like a ghost or a fart in the wind, right?

333
00:17:31,475 --> 00:17:33,875
Like I'm in and out and no one even knows I existed.

334
00:17:34,055 --> 00:17:34,145
Mm-hmm.

335
00:17:34,415 --> 00:17:37,295
I'll send him something without my name attached to it, nothing, and just

336
00:17:37,295 --> 00:17:39,545
say, Hey, someone out here wants you to know that you're appreciated.

337
00:17:40,565 --> 00:17:42,605
Because when I hear some people say things like that,

338
00:17:42,605 --> 00:17:45,905
I think, man, they don't get enough joy in their life.

339
00:17:46,835 --> 00:17:48,215
They don't have the things that I have.

340
00:17:48,215 --> 00:17:50,429
They don't have a. Incredible wife.

341
00:17:50,969 --> 00:17:53,850
They don't have two amazing kids that I shouldn't even have.

342
00:17:53,850 --> 00:17:54,840
Bro, I should be dead.

343
00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,229
My story is, is that 2014 I should have been gone.

344
00:17:58,350 --> 00:17:58,709
Hmm.

345
00:17:59,610 --> 00:18:00,540
I'm a miracle.

346
00:18:00,899 --> 00:18:02,010
I'm a product of grace.

347
00:18:02,820 --> 00:18:09,000
So when I think of joy, I think, bro, everything in life is joy for me, right?

348
00:18:09,270 --> 00:18:11,580
Again, because of my story, because of the things I've experienced,

349
00:18:11,580 --> 00:18:14,399
because of the fact that I shouldn't be sitting here with you mm-hmm.

350
00:18:14,639 --> 00:18:17,040
Right now, which gives me chills every time when I think about it.

351
00:18:17,804 --> 00:18:22,034
Just how miraculous my existence is, and I totally take advantage of it.

352
00:18:22,334 --> 00:18:23,205
I eat too much.

353
00:18:23,205 --> 00:18:24,074
I play too much.

354
00:18:24,074 --> 00:18:24,225
Right.

355
00:18:24,225 --> 00:18:27,794
But, but I, I love my life.

356
00:18:27,824 --> 00:18:29,745
I love the good, I love the bad.

357
00:18:29,745 --> 00:18:29,834
Mm-hmm.

358
00:18:29,895 --> 00:18:31,094
I love the indifference.

359
00:18:31,094 --> 00:18:32,895
I love the ugly, all of it.

360
00:18:32,925 --> 00:18:33,975
I find joy in it.

361
00:18:34,125 --> 00:18:35,745
Instead of stress and anxiety.

362
00:18:36,135 --> 00:18:37,455
I'm a patient person.

363
00:18:37,814 --> 00:18:41,834
I seek out moments where I, I have to test that and challenge that.

364
00:18:42,105 --> 00:18:43,754
And in sales, I think, like when you make the

365
00:18:43,754 --> 00:18:45,764
commitment to it, what you have to understand is that.

366
00:18:46,290 --> 00:18:47,730
Because it's a part of life.

367
00:18:47,730 --> 00:18:51,840
That's why it's the hardest thing for people to do because me and my preference

368
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:56,490
is I would prefer that my life look like this, but I am not the driver.

369
00:18:56,850 --> 00:18:58,919
And that's the thing that most people don't understand.

370
00:18:59,310 --> 00:19:02,639
Like I might impact the decisions through my action and my

371
00:19:02,639 --> 00:19:05,879
free will if we even have that in the first place, right?

372
00:19:06,389 --> 00:19:09,720
Sometimes it doesn't feel like it, but sure,

373
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:11,939
I have to be the one that makes the decisions.

374
00:19:11,939 --> 00:19:13,980
But man, like if I could just like surrender.

375
00:19:14,925 --> 00:19:16,575
And die to myself every day.

376
00:19:16,935 --> 00:19:17,025
Mm-hmm.

377
00:19:17,264 --> 00:19:19,935
My life would be full of joy and those are

378
00:19:19,935 --> 00:19:22,215
the decisions that I made a long time ago.

379
00:19:22,754 --> 00:19:26,535
You know, so a kid is getting outta hand in the, in at the home front,

380
00:19:26,535 --> 00:19:30,639
standing up in his chair, you know, screaming and yelling at his mom like I.

381
00:19:31,095 --> 00:19:35,175
Sure there's, there's an appropriate way to, to reprimand

382
00:19:35,175 --> 00:19:38,175
that child and to help that child learn versus one that's not.

383
00:19:38,595 --> 00:19:40,245
But you can find joy in that moment.

384
00:19:40,274 --> 00:19:43,395
Just like when someone tells you to F off and never email me again.

385
00:19:43,395 --> 00:19:44,985
You can find joy in that moment.

386
00:19:44,985 --> 00:19:48,254
I'm going to literally, I'm gonna write an email, I'm gonna

387
00:19:48,254 --> 00:19:50,774
print it, I'm gonna send in the mail, and with a little

388
00:19:50,774 --> 00:19:53,534
note of that, says, Hey, you said never to email you again.

389
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,710
So I sent this one in the mail and, and literally when I call back

390
00:19:58,950 --> 00:20:02,610
or behind that guy, I like, either they have a restraining order,

391
00:20:02,610 --> 00:20:09,360
you know, like it's over, or they got a really good moment from that.

392
00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,440
Even if it wasn't like a chuckle, it was more like impressive.

393
00:20:13,530 --> 00:20:13,740
Mm-hmm.

394
00:20:14,010 --> 00:20:17,070
Or intense, you know, I can't believe this guy actually did this.

395
00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:17,460
Yeah.

396
00:20:17,790 --> 00:20:21,060
Which hopefully just opens people's mind to what joy really is.

397
00:20:21,270 --> 00:20:21,510
Yeah.

398
00:20:22,230 --> 00:20:24,270
Yeah, because I mean, the, the way you're describing it too,

399
00:20:24,270 --> 00:20:27,810
it's not just, um, and I've always thought of joy this way

400
00:20:27,810 --> 00:20:32,100
too, of like, it's, it's not just about having fun, joy.

401
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:37,290
Joy is really more than just being pleased with something in the moment or.

402
00:20:37,585 --> 00:20:41,335
You know, something that like what a Marie Kondo, like sparks joy in you.

403
00:20:41,335 --> 00:20:43,255
You know, it's not just something that makes you happy.

404
00:20:43,645 --> 00:20:46,345
Joy can be something that you feel even when things are tough.

405
00:20:46,825 --> 00:20:50,425
And having that, that ability to identify that, I think that, I

406
00:20:50,425 --> 00:20:53,005
think that's a great perspective on it because a lot of people,

407
00:20:53,335 --> 00:20:55,345
including myself, you know, you're gonna get down on yourself.

408
00:20:55,345 --> 00:20:58,165
You're gonna get frustrated, oh, I didn't close this, I didn't close that.

409
00:20:58,165 --> 00:20:59,485
Oh, this didn't go my way.

410
00:20:59,485 --> 00:21:01,675
And all of a sudden things start to fall apart.

411
00:21:01,675 --> 00:21:05,365
And it's really easy to, um, get stuck in those moments.

412
00:21:05,365 --> 00:21:06,420
And then just to give up entirely.

413
00:21:07,425 --> 00:21:07,995
Um.

414
00:21:08,550 --> 00:21:10,470
So I think, I think that's a, that's a really

415
00:21:10,470 --> 00:21:12,240
good perspective on it, so that's awesome.

416
00:21:12,689 --> 00:21:15,659
What Dale says there, that really hit me hard this

417
00:21:15,659 --> 00:21:18,450
year because Joy doesn't eliminate the hard parts.

418
00:21:18,540 --> 00:21:21,480
It redeems them, it gives them shape and meaning.

419
00:21:22,830 --> 00:21:24,929
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421
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428
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429
00:22:06,254 --> 00:22:09,435
And if we're talking about giving meaning to a moment, few people

430
00:22:09,435 --> 00:22:13,335
have done that At the scale of Arne DeGeorge, whose work helped shape

431
00:22:13,335 --> 00:22:17,655
the cultural identity of an entire city, let's head to Las Vegas.

432
00:22:17,895 --> 00:22:19,335
I think the.

433
00:22:21,030 --> 00:22:24,540
The really, really fun stuff started when we, when we started

434
00:22:24,540 --> 00:22:27,870
with the positioning of adult freedom and we worked from there

435
00:22:27,870 --> 00:22:31,380
and, and one of the, one of the early campaigns, even before what

436
00:22:31,380 --> 00:22:33,840
happens here, stays here, you know, was all based on freedom.

437
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,530
We had an ad called Freedom from the Man and Freedom from Reality.

438
00:22:37,530 --> 00:22:39,300
And, uh, a few ads like that that.

439
00:22:39,490 --> 00:22:43,000
That were really, really nice pieces and, uh, and we thought we were

440
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,970
gonna go down that direction and then, and then something happened.

441
00:22:45,970 --> 00:22:48,400
I think nine 11 happened or something.

442
00:22:48,460 --> 00:22:50,320
Uh, you know, something else that disrupts you.

443
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,910
And, and we're, we're very much like when, when something like that happens,

444
00:22:55,180 --> 00:22:58,420
you know, we kind of stop everything because we know people don't really wanna.

445
00:22:58,815 --> 00:23:01,785
People don't really wanna, you know, live the advertising world.

446
00:23:01,785 --> 00:23:04,155
They wanna, they want a more comfortable world.

447
00:23:04,155 --> 00:23:07,005
So we, you know, we, we do something different.

448
00:23:07,005 --> 00:23:09,975
And that made us basically kind of take a look at it again.

449
00:23:09,975 --> 00:23:12,435
And then, then we started going down the road

450
00:23:12,435 --> 00:23:14,745
of, uh, of what happens here, stays here.

451
00:23:14,745 --> 00:23:17,445
And, uh, and, and so it, for us.

452
00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:21,780
Was a very, very, was a very good thing because what happens

453
00:23:21,780 --> 00:23:25,950
here, stays here, um, allowed you to do things that no other

454
00:23:25,950 --> 00:23:29,220
tourism campaign had ever done by, by, by a wide margin.

455
00:23:29,220 --> 00:23:31,920
And, um, we can get into that.

456
00:23:33,180 --> 00:23:35,940
It basically allowed you to not show the destination.

457
00:23:36,390 --> 00:23:38,550
You know, it allowed you to use your imagination

458
00:23:38,550 --> 00:23:41,070
as to what your experience was gonna be.

459
00:23:41,610 --> 00:23:42,180
What happens here?

460
00:23:42,180 --> 00:23:43,530
Stacy, we didn't tell you what happens,

461
00:23:44,100 --> 00:23:44,610
right?

462
00:23:44,610 --> 00:23:45,000
Right.

463
00:23:46,230 --> 00:23:48,750
So you could be, what happens to you, could be

464
00:23:49,020 --> 00:23:51,630
anything you can come up with in your, in your head.

465
00:23:52,470 --> 00:23:55,590
And so that was the magic of that campaign in the beginning.

466
00:23:55,590 --> 00:23:58,560
And, and eventually we started to show some of the destination.

467
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:03,990
And when we did it was great because then we showed it in a way that showed

468
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,160
the, the kind of tricks and games and fun you could have being somebody else.

469
00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:11,010
Or, or doing something couldn't do at home.

470
00:24:11,010 --> 00:24:15,480
And so, so we expanded it down the line and, um, you know, we, we made

471
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,020
it last for a long time by really, really kind of just bringing it along.

472
00:24:19,020 --> 00:24:19,680
Bringing it along.

473
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,560
Bringing it along pretty much as far as we can bring it.

474
00:24:22,890 --> 00:24:23,040
Yeah.

475
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,490
So a place where you can achieve what you want to achieve or do

476
00:24:26,490 --> 00:24:28,860
do that crazy thing you've always wanted to do, which has been

477
00:24:28,860 --> 00:24:33,450
perpetuated by Hollywood and, um, culture just over the years too.

478
00:24:33,540 --> 00:24:36,780
I mean, what happens here stays here is ubiquitous with the city now.

479
00:24:37,085 --> 00:24:39,575
I, that's what I think of when I think of Vegas.

480
00:24:39,965 --> 00:24:44,675
Well, it, it's in, you know, even before we, we kind of took ownership

481
00:24:44,675 --> 00:24:47,645
of it, it was in people's heads as far as traveling went, you know what?

482
00:24:47,645 --> 00:24:49,535
Stay, what happens on the road, stays on the road.

483
00:24:49,535 --> 00:24:54,005
You know, we just knew that it was perfect, that it was a perfect truth for us.

484
00:24:54,005 --> 00:24:56,975
And truth super important in, in advertising because

485
00:24:56,975 --> 00:24:59,615
you gotta get in there and inside people and everything.

486
00:24:59,615 --> 00:25:01,295
And so, so they.

487
00:25:01,615 --> 00:25:05,095
They, you know, they, they bought into that because, 'cause they knew it

488
00:25:05,095 --> 00:25:08,155
anyways and they knew that it, there was no better place than Vegas for that.

489
00:25:08,365 --> 00:25:12,175
So, um, yeah, that's how it really, really took off and it became

490
00:25:12,175 --> 00:25:15,865
part of, of, of what everybody thinks about Vegas and part of the

491
00:25:15,865 --> 00:25:20,245
city and, and part of the culture, which is pretty incredible.

492
00:25:20,725 --> 00:25:24,295
That's one of those stories I will never get tired of hearing a single line.

493
00:25:24,565 --> 00:25:27,205
What happens here stays here reshaped the

494
00:25:27,205 --> 00:25:29,365
way an entire culture thinks about a place.

495
00:25:29,980 --> 00:25:33,010
But not all brand love comes from massive campaigns.

496
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:34,720
Sometimes it comes from something small,

497
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,830
personal, unexpected, meaningful, like socks.

498
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,250
Really good socks aren't good socks if you're being honest.

499
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:43,870
Here's Patrick Collins.

500
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,960
One that immediately comes to mind just because I'm in the

501
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,660
middle of it, um, or I'm in the middle of sort of year or two.

502
00:25:49,660 --> 00:25:53,950
An extension is a campaign that we've been working on, a brand

503
00:25:53,950 --> 00:25:56,860
campaign that we've been working on with a brand called Darn Tough.

504
00:25:57,525 --> 00:26:00,765
And they are a sock brand family owned,

505
00:26:00,765 --> 00:26:03,465
based in Vermont and just extremely beloved.

506
00:26:03,465 --> 00:26:06,795
So it was one of those, you know, sometimes we'll get a, we joke

507
00:26:06,795 --> 00:26:10,065
here, like when we win a piece of New Bays, someone's either

508
00:26:10,065 --> 00:26:12,795
friend or parent, I mean hopefully we're all very excited too,

509
00:26:12,795 --> 00:26:15,885
but there's always that like, oh my God, my dad's freaking out.

510
00:26:16,185 --> 00:26:18,405
You're working with like cat footwear or whatever.

511
00:26:18,405 --> 00:26:21,285
It's this one with darn tough.

512
00:26:21,285 --> 00:26:24,855
We had a lot of, a lot of our team parents.

513
00:26:26,774 --> 00:26:30,075
I said Beloved Sock brand, but it's also, you know, they

514
00:26:30,075 --> 00:26:32,835
sell at REI, they sell at a lot of local independent stores.

515
00:26:32,835 --> 00:26:34,784
It's a big like hiking sock brand.

516
00:26:35,235 --> 00:26:37,905
Um, and they're extremely comfortable.

517
00:26:37,905 --> 00:26:38,445
Comfortable.

518
00:26:38,445 --> 00:26:39,975
And they also have a lifetime warranty.

519
00:26:39,975 --> 00:26:42,254
So there's just like all these great things that check a lot of boxes

520
00:26:42,254 --> 00:26:46,725
and a lot of boxes for like parents of adult children and something.

521
00:26:55,325 --> 00:26:57,365
For their first ever brand campaign.

522
00:26:57,365 --> 00:27:01,085
So they've had just like this consistent, you know, they have a

523
00:27:01,085 --> 00:27:03,905
great marketing and brand team, but in terms of working with an

524
00:27:03,965 --> 00:27:08,285
outside agency, they've just had consistent growth over time.

525
00:27:08,765 --> 00:27:12,455
But they, similar to Chaco, we're starting to reach that sort of like,

526
00:27:12,815 --> 00:27:15,965
you know, we can stay on this path and that's great, but we have such

527
00:27:15,965 --> 00:27:20,405
great product, such great, really incredible internal company culture.

528
00:27:20,825 --> 00:27:21,515
Um.

529
00:27:21,959 --> 00:27:24,959
Just so much brand love that we feel like there's audiences

530
00:27:24,959 --> 00:27:28,530
sitting, like whether it's a town over or you know, they're in

531
00:27:28,530 --> 00:27:31,050
Vermont all the way over in California that just would love us,

532
00:27:31,050 --> 00:27:34,620
project our product if we gave them a chance to learn who we're.

533
00:27:35,370 --> 00:27:37,560
And so, you know, from what I've just said, brand

534
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,320
awareness, obviously a big part of that brief.

535
00:27:40,830 --> 00:27:43,199
And we developed a campaign for them that's called Darn It.

536
00:27:43,199 --> 00:27:45,240
So it's, it ran last year.

537
00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:46,889
Um, and

538
00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:49,620
I love the pun.

539
00:27:51,610 --> 00:27:55,990
Um, and is, you know, within their brand name is already.

540
00:28:02,054 --> 00:28:06,225
We, the big sort of unlock there and, and something that I think

541
00:28:06,225 --> 00:28:09,675
is another really important part of my strategic practice is that

542
00:28:09,675 --> 00:28:13,784
like in person immersion or, you know, not can't always be in

543
00:28:13,784 --> 00:28:17,024
person, but in terms of really getting to know the stakeholders,

544
00:28:17,475 --> 00:28:21,070
you know, it's not just about like absorbing old brand books and.

545
00:28:22,420 --> 00:28:24,430
Like the consumer segmentation that a different

546
00:28:24,430 --> 00:28:26,710
agency did and piecing everything together.

547
00:28:26,710 --> 00:28:27,880
That's a big part of it.

548
00:28:28,330 --> 00:28:32,650
But usually like that, we like to say like hidden gems over here, right?

549
00:28:32,650 --> 00:28:35,200
Like we like to find a brand's hidden gem and usually

550
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:39,250
that's not gonna come reading 500 pages of different decks.

551
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,880
It really requires like those one-on-one meetings, those conversations with.

552
00:28:46,375 --> 00:28:47,850
The employee that's been there for like three

553
00:28:47,850 --> 00:28:49,890
months, and it's like, what drew, what drew you here?

554
00:28:49,950 --> 00:28:52,110
Why, why did you apply for a job at this company?

555
00:28:52,620 --> 00:28:56,100
Um, and so we flew out to Vermont, uh, our

556
00:28:56,100 --> 00:28:58,170
team and spent a couple days with them.

557
00:28:59,114 --> 00:29:00,435
We got to walk around their mill.

558
00:29:00,435 --> 00:29:02,594
They make everything there, it's all, it's all American

559
00:29:02,594 --> 00:29:05,864
made and got to meet the founder, um, and hear about

560
00:29:05,864 --> 00:29:08,415
sort of his vision and how the company organically grew.

561
00:29:09,014 --> 00:29:11,955
And in doing all of that, you know, we knew about the warranty, but

562
00:29:11,955 --> 00:29:14,445
it's something that's just like, it's nice, you know, a warranty at

563
00:29:14,445 --> 00:29:17,475
that point is sort of just like a nice to have and warranties right now.

564
00:29:18,345 --> 00:29:20,775
Within consumer goods are so confusing

565
00:29:20,775 --> 00:29:22,155
because usually they don't mean much, right?

566
00:29:22,155 --> 00:29:26,145
Like there's so much fine print and we, when we were at

567
00:29:26,145 --> 00:29:30,015
their, the mill, we went to their warranty department program.

568
00:29:30,615 --> 00:29:31,785
And it was just incredible.

569
00:29:31,785 --> 00:29:36,705
Like the, we each got to open a, a bag of socks that had been returned to

570
00:29:36,705 --> 00:29:39,645
each of our teammates, and we're sitting and there's like dogs all over.

571
00:29:39,645 --> 00:29:41,115
It's just like the most like picturesque

572
00:29:41,115 --> 00:29:43,275
sort of little place that you'd imagine.

573
00:29:43,275 --> 00:29:45,254
You're like, oh my God, these businesses still exist.

574
00:29:45,254 --> 00:29:46,035
I can't believe that.

575
00:29:46,635 --> 00:29:49,125
And we open them up and in every single one is

576
00:29:49,125 --> 00:29:52,275
like a letter and it's, it's like I bore these.

577
00:29:52,655 --> 00:29:55,835
Through throughout my entire college experience,

578
00:29:55,895 --> 00:29:58,265
and they went with me to three different continents.

579
00:29:58,265 --> 00:30:01,565
And I'm so sad to give them up, but there's a hole

580
00:30:01,565 --> 00:30:04,925
in this one, or it's ripped here, or it burned here.

581
00:30:05,345 --> 00:30:10,265
Um, and I mean, just the most incredible stories of like wearing them, um.

582
00:30:11,324 --> 00:30:17,024
You know, in Afghanistan or like to their wedding and just, just crazy.

583
00:30:17,024 --> 00:30:20,324
So an incredible amount of brand love and they get these

584
00:30:20,324 --> 00:30:24,554
wedding invitations, but within that, they also had in on

585
00:30:24,554 --> 00:30:26,804
the wall in the back some of their favorite letters and.

586
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,810
They had pinned these socks that were like the funniest stories.

587
00:30:30,810 --> 00:30:34,440
So it was like one in particular that was like very disgusting.

588
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,190
But the dog, it was like this, the sock may look

589
00:30:38,190 --> 00:30:41,010
okay, but my dog ate it and then it came out.

590
00:30:41,985 --> 00:30:46,245
The other, and they were like, I don't know if this fits your

591
00:30:46,245 --> 00:30:50,205
warranty guidelines, but I'd love, this is my favorite pair of socks.

592
00:30:50,205 --> 00:30:52,185
And because it's a one sock you have for life,

593
00:30:52,185 --> 00:30:53,745
they're, they're just like, I want the replacement.

594
00:30:53,745 --> 00:30:56,145
I paid for it, you know, I want, I want this sock.

595
00:30:56,655 --> 00:30:58,095
And so we came home.

596
00:30:59,565 --> 00:31:02,625
And in finding and then covering those gems, we're like, okay, so

597
00:31:02,625 --> 00:31:05,625
one thing that's clear, we all felt so inspired being there and the,

598
00:31:06,315 --> 00:31:09,045
and the company culture, which is so important, I think like the

599
00:31:09,045 --> 00:31:12,075
output of a company, you know, the output of a co company culture.

600
00:31:12,075 --> 00:31:14,625
If you could successfully let the world know

601
00:31:14,625 --> 00:31:17,625
that through brand communications, job well done.

602
00:31:18,379 --> 00:31:22,220
And so they had, they checked that box, they checked this like insane rabid

603
00:31:22,220 --> 00:31:25,790
fan base and consumer love and people that like aren't just, you know,

604
00:31:26,210 --> 00:31:30,620
the average return or warranty is like fill out, you know, print out the

605
00:31:30,620 --> 00:31:35,510
return label, send it in, and yet people are, have watercolor paintings.

606
00:31:35,510 --> 00:31:36,710
They've done these socks.

607
00:31:37,159 --> 00:31:41,270
And then lastly, as we sort of looked at like the landscape and the competitive

608
00:31:41,270 --> 00:31:45,500
landscape and the outdoor landscape, we were like, okay, everyone's warranties.

609
00:31:45,915 --> 00:31:48,255
Return policies are crazy.

610
00:31:48,345 --> 00:31:49,815
So much fine print, they're all going away.

611
00:31:50,235 --> 00:31:51,975
And so we sort of like wrapped that up into like,

612
00:31:51,975 --> 00:31:53,865
what's the pointiest campaign we could do there?

613
00:31:53,865 --> 00:31:57,645
And it was darn it because it was, okay, we need to build brand awareness,

614
00:31:57,645 --> 00:32:01,365
so let's get the name in the, in the campaign tagline and platform.

615
00:32:01,365 --> 00:32:01,815
Darn.

616
00:32:02,865 --> 00:32:04,935
We wanna focus on the consumer stories and the

617
00:32:04,935 --> 00:32:07,305
consumer love and make people really feel seen.

618
00:32:07,515 --> 00:32:10,965
So we built it all around these little stories and we've just

619
00:32:10,965 --> 00:32:14,595
filmed three more last week of sort of hyperbolic scenarios where.

620
00:32:15,570 --> 00:32:18,120
Where people are, you know, where their socks are getting destroyed.

621
00:32:18,450 --> 00:32:20,070
But ultimately the most important unlock

622
00:32:20,070 --> 00:32:21,960
was we need to double down on the warranty.

623
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,730
So the whole idea is like, life's tough,

624
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,460
our socks are tougher guaranteed for life.

625
00:32:26,460 --> 00:32:27,510
So it's all pushing.

626
00:32:27,540 --> 00:32:29,460
It's like taking that emotional side of the

627
00:32:29,460 --> 00:32:32,070
strategy and pushing it entirely into like.

628
00:32:32,775 --> 00:32:35,235
Because if you can't go all emotion, you still need to functional.

629
00:32:35,235 --> 00:32:36,345
Like, why should I buy this

630
00:32:37,005 --> 00:32:37,215
product?

631
00:32:37,215 --> 00:32:40,545
I still laugh at how quickly those socks won me over, but Patrick's

632
00:32:40,545 --> 00:32:44,475
bigger point, the emotional truth behind a brand, that's what sticks.

633
00:32:44,475 --> 00:32:47,655
And when you zoom out, authenticity and emotion are inseparable

634
00:32:47,655 --> 00:32:49,935
from culture, which is why this next conversation, which.

635
00:32:50,340 --> 00:32:51,449
Hi Randolph and Katie.

636
00:32:51,449 --> 00:32:54,750
Sue is such a perfect bridge because if you wanna understand modern

637
00:32:54,750 --> 00:32:58,980
brand building, you have to understand niche, community and fandom.

638
00:32:59,220 --> 00:33:03,179
And yes, sometimes that even means listening or watching K-Pop Demon

639
00:33:03,179 --> 00:33:07,230
hunters, as I have at my house probably a thousand billion times.

640
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,770
Which side note is also the top like five songs

641
00:33:10,770 --> 00:33:13,199
in my Apple Music Tops Top music playlist.

642
00:33:13,199 --> 00:33:13,879
And it's not because of me.

643
00:33:14,210 --> 00:33:14,900
Because of my kids.

644
00:33:14,900 --> 00:33:18,410
But regardless, let's just get into the clip before I embarrass myself further.

645
00:33:19,430 --> 00:33:22,160
The biggest trap most founders fall into during these markets

646
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:25,250
is if they start to see success on one side, they think, oh,

647
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:27,980
I should go and launch those three other companion products.

648
00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:33,830
It's like, no, just focus on the one thing, get exceptionally good at it.

649
00:33:34,130 --> 00:33:37,670
Have that be your core business until it can fund your next thing.

650
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,890
'cause then you're going into multiples, then you're really

651
00:33:39,890 --> 00:33:42,260
thinking about the value of the company in the long term.

652
00:33:42,620 --> 00:33:46,915
But yeah, I, I. I think this is like, this is like the kingmaker era, right?

653
00:33:47,125 --> 00:33:50,815
If you can carve out like X percentage of any industry in any

654
00:33:50,815 --> 00:33:54,115
company today, you could technically, you could do anything.

655
00:33:54,415 --> 00:33:55,764
You could do anything, right?

656
00:33:56,245 --> 00:33:59,935
I am absolutely obsessed with K-Pop demon hunters.

657
00:33:59,995 --> 00:34:00,085
Yeah.

658
00:34:00,955 --> 00:34:01,435
Oh my gosh.

659
00:34:01,435 --> 00:34:03,730
And number one, it's incredible.

660
00:34:04,375 --> 00:34:06,535
Like my son can't stop singing the songs.

661
00:34:06,535 --> 00:34:08,125
It is the only thing that plays in the car,

662
00:34:08,514 --> 00:34:10,134
and the thing that's appealing about it is.

663
00:34:10,420 --> 00:34:15,010
Not only is the IP incredibly attractive and appealing to

664
00:34:15,010 --> 00:34:18,100
a multi-generational household, uhhuh, it also has so many

665
00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:21,370
legs for sequels, prequels, product, consumer products.

666
00:34:21,670 --> 00:34:25,090
Um, you're talking about a very rich universe that

667
00:34:25,090 --> 00:34:28,300
has suddenly been created, exploded overnight, global.

668
00:34:28,364 --> 00:34:32,534
He tapped into K-pop, tapped into music, tapped into pop culture,

669
00:34:32,625 --> 00:34:36,194
and has defined this next chapter for a young adult audience.

670
00:34:36,194 --> 00:34:37,754
Think of how many children watch that.

671
00:34:37,759 --> 00:34:38,009
Mm-hmm.

672
00:34:38,149 --> 00:34:39,674
And that has become a core memory.

673
00:34:39,734 --> 00:34:43,904
And for the rest of all of us parents, we will be buying those.

674
00:34:44,250 --> 00:34:45,960
Toys and products.

675
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:46,350
Right.

676
00:34:46,620 --> 00:34:50,489
So to me, I feel like if you can generate a brand or an ip Yeah.

677
00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:52,739
That has that longstanding effect, that

678
00:34:52,739 --> 00:34:56,219
hits that many notes and that many genres.

679
00:34:56,699 --> 00:34:57,720
I mean, that's incredible, right?

680
00:34:57,720 --> 00:34:59,700
Like if you think about it, think about that pitch.

681
00:34:59,850 --> 00:35:00,390
It's about.

682
00:35:01,140 --> 00:35:03,720
Like demon hunters who are K-pop bands saving the world.

683
00:35:03,750 --> 00:35:03,930
Right.

684
00:35:03,930 --> 00:35:03,960
I

685
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:09,750
know if I, if Ty and I were to go and pitch that today, we would, we'd be great.

686
00:35:09,750 --> 00:35:13,259
But like, still, still needs to be like that.

687
00:35:13,259 --> 00:35:13,620
Yes.

688
00:35:14,220 --> 00:35:17,790
But the fact that it landed and it worked to me,

689
00:35:17,790 --> 00:35:19,620
I feel like that's what brands are supposed to do.

690
00:35:19,620 --> 00:35:21,839
They're supposed to affect you, not just emotionally.

691
00:35:22,109 --> 00:35:25,710
There's a lasting impact and you vote with it and you pay for it.

692
00:35:26,009 --> 00:35:26,430
Like.

693
00:35:27,015 --> 00:35:28,935
I know I'm gonna buy a lot of that now.

694
00:35:28,935 --> 00:35:30,645
I mean, I already have those songs living in

695
00:35:30,645 --> 00:35:31,930
my head re absolutely rent free right now.

696
00:35:31,930 --> 00:35:32,250
Right?

697
00:35:32,570 --> 00:35:32,730
Absolutely.

698
00:35:32,745 --> 00:35:35,745
So that to me is an incredible universe that just

699
00:35:35,745 --> 00:35:39,285
got created hyper relevant and all of us are in it.

700
00:35:39,315 --> 00:35:42,945
Like that moment I said that, all of us knew exactly what that was.

701
00:35:42,950 --> 00:35:42,970
Uhhuh?

702
00:35:43,424 --> 00:35:43,665
Yeah.

703
00:35:43,745 --> 00:35:45,424
That is a powerful brand in IP

704
00:35:46,205 --> 00:35:50,285
theme number three, building brands in the age of AI and constant change.

705
00:35:57,005 --> 00:35:58,265
The world is changing fast.

706
00:35:58,265 --> 00:36:01,565
New tools, new expectations, new ways of reaching audiences,

707
00:36:01,685 --> 00:36:04,595
but underneath all of it, creativity is still human.

708
00:36:05,105 --> 00:36:07,714
To close out this best of, I wanna share two moments

709
00:36:07,714 --> 00:36:10,685
from Alex Ganji that helped me make sense of the year.

710
00:36:10,865 --> 00:36:13,714
First, how AI fits into the creative process.

711
00:36:13,745 --> 00:36:16,714
And second why the wonder hasn't gone anywhere.

712
00:36:16,924 --> 00:36:17,734
Now here's Alex.

713
00:36:18,214 --> 00:36:23,525
I think you touched on a really great place where ai, um, is, comes in

714
00:36:23,525 --> 00:36:26,795
handy for a lot of the individuals, is it's in the brainstorming process.

715
00:36:27,305 --> 00:36:29,555
It's in that, it's in that part of the storyboarding.

716
00:36:29,555 --> 00:36:31,775
It's in the part of visualizing, it's in the part of.

717
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,100
Uh, thinking about what you wanna create, uh, you can even

718
00:36:35,100 --> 00:36:38,610
just, honestly, just talking to a chat bot sometimes can get

719
00:36:38,610 --> 00:36:41,850
you a lot closer to, uh, and I'm even talking about text.

720
00:36:41,850 --> 00:36:44,070
I'm not even going into visuals can get you closer

721
00:36:44,070 --> 00:36:47,220
to an idea of what you're trying to sound out now.

722
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:47,730
You know what?

723
00:36:47,730 --> 00:36:48,150
It's right.

724
00:36:48,150 --> 00:36:51,000
I mean, like, there was a, there was a thing

725
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,830
when I was in, I was an English major, right?

726
00:36:52,830 --> 00:36:55,500
And when we were doing writing, a teacher always said to me, you know.

727
00:36:56,760 --> 00:37:00,870
Um, someone can tell you what's wrong, but they can't tell you how to fix it.

728
00:37:01,470 --> 00:37:02,670
And I think AI is the same way.

729
00:37:02,670 --> 00:37:04,740
You know, even if you're working with ai, you know, you can

730
00:37:04,740 --> 00:37:08,850
get to a point where you know, you're like, okay, where?

731
00:37:08,850 --> 00:37:09,540
What is the answer?

732
00:37:09,540 --> 00:37:11,460
The answer is the answer that you come up with.

733
00:37:11,460 --> 00:37:13,170
It's not the answer that AI's gonna come up with.

734
00:37:13,590 --> 00:37:15,720
Once you understand AI is a tool, you can

735
00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:18,300
start to appreciate the imagination it unlocks.

736
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:19,890
Let's go onto that second

737
00:37:19,890 --> 00:37:20,250
clip.

738
00:37:20,670 --> 00:37:22,530
There was so much fun stuff you could do with

739
00:37:22,530 --> 00:37:25,230
it even two years ago because it was this like.

740
00:37:26,310 --> 00:37:30,690
Uh, it wasn't in this area, which has, it was

741
00:37:30,690 --> 00:37:33,240
creating this content that you have never seen before.

742
00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:38,700
It was weird, but it had a, a wonder to it at the same time.

743
00:37:39,270 --> 00:37:39,870
Do you know what I mean?

744
00:37:39,870 --> 00:37:44,759
It wasn't just always, it wasn't perfect, but it was perfect in its

745
00:37:44,759 --> 00:37:48,870
imperfection because there was some really fun stuff you could do, which.

746
00:37:49,980 --> 00:37:53,520
It's now gone almost, you know, especially if we're just talking about video

747
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:57,750
generative content, which I think is like one small aspect of ai and honestly

748
00:37:57,750 --> 00:38:01,020
not even the most interesting aspect, you know, it's, that's just like,

749
00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:04,379
oh, we can make stuff for cheaper, we could read and more people can do it.

750
00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:04,859
Okay, cool.

751
00:38:05,430 --> 00:38:07,570
That's what, that's been happening for years and years and years with like.

752
00:38:07,895 --> 00:38:11,345
Film cameras turning to digital cameras, turning to like,

753
00:38:11,345 --> 00:38:13,505
oh, now I can basically shoot a film on my cell phone.

754
00:38:13,865 --> 00:38:16,235
And now, now it's like, oh, now I can just imagine a film

755
00:38:16,235 --> 00:38:18,185
and type it into a thing and it comes out with a film.

756
00:38:18,275 --> 00:38:19,925
You know, it's like, and then cut it together.

757
00:38:20,255 --> 00:38:22,295
And you still need to have some basic skills to do it.

758
00:38:22,295 --> 00:38:25,595
But of course that's just, that's just the direction

759
00:38:25,595 --> 00:38:27,245
that all this, that content has been heading in.

760
00:38:28,205 --> 00:38:31,055
So none of that is, it's, it's intriguing.

761
00:38:31,055 --> 00:38:36,755
I love seeing AI films, um, and I don't love the ones that replace the.

762
00:38:39,134 --> 00:38:39,345
You know.

763
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:42,240
It's a tool.

764
00:38:42,510 --> 00:38:44,490
It's another tool to create content.

765
00:38:44,550 --> 00:38:51,150
Basically, in my mind, artificial intelligence can really bring a different it.

766
00:38:51,150 --> 00:38:52,740
It can speed up your workflow a lot.

767
00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:56,610
As I think back on these conversations, I keep coming back to the idea of joy.

768
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:00,780
And I know in the year where the economy feels uncertain, politics feel

769
00:39:00,780 --> 00:39:05,250
exhausting, and every phone notification is just one more thing to worry about.

770
00:39:07,620 --> 00:39:11,100
Joy can sound almost silly, but joy isn't surface level.

771
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:11,820
Happiness.

772
00:39:12,090 --> 00:39:13,050
Joy is purpose.

773
00:39:13,110 --> 00:39:13,920
Joy is meaning.

774
00:39:14,190 --> 00:39:16,950
Joy is the thing that carries you through the heavy seasons

775
00:39:16,950 --> 00:39:19,170
and reminds you why you're building anything at all.

776
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,250
Every guest you heard today brought that to the table in big ways

777
00:39:23,310 --> 00:39:26,940
and in small ones, creativity, authenticity, community courage.

778
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:28,650
They all flow from the same well.

779
00:39:28,980 --> 00:39:32,250
So as we wrap up 2025, my hope for you is simple.

780
00:39:32,700 --> 00:39:33,930
Find joy in what you're doing.

781
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,990
Find joy in the people you're doing it with, and find

782
00:39:36,990 --> 00:39:39,030
joy in the stories you're creating along the way.

783
00:39:39,750 --> 00:39:40,830
Thanks for being here.

784
00:39:41,210 --> 00:39:44,180
Thanks for listening and we'll be back soon in the new year.

785
00:39:45,140 --> 00:39:47,930
Thank you for checking out this episode of We Built This Brand.

786
00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:51,740
Don't forget to like, follow and subscribe on your player of choice.

787
00:39:51,980 --> 00:39:56,450
You can also keep up with a podcast on our website at We built this brand.com.

788
00:39:56,865 --> 00:40:00,915
If you like this episode, please give the podcast a five star review and make

789
00:40:00,915 --> 00:40:04,460
sure to tell all your friends about it so we can continue to build this brand.

790
00:40:23,145 --> 00:40:25,305
Like looking back over it all, it's just, it's crazy

791
00:40:25,305 --> 00:40:28,965
to me how much we've done, how many people we've seen.

792
00:40:29,115 --> 00:40:32,505
Like I'm just so grateful for just the opportunity to be here

793
00:40:32,505 --> 00:40:35,595
and to be doing this on these cameras and everything, man.

794
00:40:35,625 --> 00:40:37,425
Like it's, it's humbling.

795
00:40:37,785 --> 00:40:38,475
Pun intended.