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Brand New World

Fast Company

The first season of Brand New World was a very specific look at how AI is changing how brands and marketers work. Now the pod is here to talk about brand culture more broadly. Of course that will involve AI from time to time, but I’ll also be digging into sports, entertainment, music, comedy, and everywhere else brands squeeze their way into pop culture. 

People love to say they hate advertising, but everyone loves at least one brand. Brand New World is here to talk about why. That means I’ll be popping up in your feed once every month as part of the Fast Company Podcast Network.

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  • 21 episodes
  • Avg 57 min
  • English

Episodes 21

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  • August 19 · 48 min

    How Chime Built a Social-First Banking Brand

    When you think of banking, chances are your mind doesn’t immediately scream "amazing brands!" Of course, there are major banks with strong brands, but certainly not in the same way we think about those in categories like fashion, beauty, or sports. And, look, there’s a very good reason for that. Banks mean money, and money is a very serious issue for many, many people. Which means treating a banking brand like Doritos or Budweiser maaaay not be the best vibe to convey. That said, let’s talk about Chime. The fintech digital bank has invested heavily in culture to build its brand—through partnerships with athletes like Cooper Flagg, Deion Sanders, and Jaxson Dart, episodic social content series like “Mama I Made It” and “Ballin’ on a Budget,” a jersey partnership with the Portland Fire, a league-wide Major League Soccer deal, and more. Last September, it even launched its own in-house branded entertainment arm called In The Green Studios. CMO Vineet Mehra has said that Chime aims to be in the same cultural zeitgeist as brands like Sephora or Liquid Death. On this episode of Brand New World, I spoke to Mehra about the brand’s cultural ambitions, the impact this strategy has had on its business, and more. This episode also features an interview with Accenture Song chairman and former CEO David Droga, as part of Fast Company’s “Creativity at Work” series in collaboration with Accenture Song.

  • August 5 · 58 min

    Why Pinterest Wants You to Close the App

    This episode of Brand New World features an interview with Accenture Song creative chair Nick Law as part of Fast Company’s “Creativity at Work” series in collaboration with Accenture Song. What if the healthiest social platform is the one encouraging you to log off? Pinterest has built its brand around a simple but surprising idea: The best thing you can find online is a reason to go offline. Host Jeff Beer sits down with Pinterest's chief marketing officer, Claudine Cheever, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to discuss the company's latest brand campaign, how Pinterest is differentiating itself in an AI-driven social media landscape, and why inspiration—not endless scrolling—is at the heart of its strategy. Cheever also shares how Pinterest approaches AI, creator partnerships, in-house creativity, and cultural moments ranging from the WNBA to The Devil Wears Prada 2. The episode also features Accenture Song creative chair Nick Law, who breaks down the company's new research on "applied creativity" and argues that great ideas alone aren't enough. From creative leadership to organizational design, Law explains why the companies that consistently turn creativity into business growth are the ones building systems that allow ideas to survive—and thrive.

  • July 22 · 50 min

    Why Rocket is ditching the traditional marketing funnel

    This episode of Brand New World also features an interview with Accenture Song CEO Ndidi Oteh, as part of Fast Company’s “Creativity at Work” series in collaboration with Accenture Song. One in six American mortgages is now serviced by Rocket. That massive market share encompasses almost 10 million borrowers and $2.1 trillion in principal balance. But it wasn’t that long ago that Rocket was lagging in brand awareness. CMO Jonathan Mildenhall has had a storied, award-winning career across brands of all stripes, from Coca-Cola to Airbnb. Now with Rocket, he’s aiming to build the company’s services into the world’s first "AI-fueled home ownership platform.”

  • July 15 · 46 min

    How an Aussie insurance brand won advertising’s biggest trophy

    The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity recently went down in the south of France. It's basically the biggest annual gathering of advertising, marketing, technology, entertainment, and brands on the planet. It’s also what many consider the Oscars of advertising. Just as the ultimate Oscar is for Best Picture, the Cannes Lions equivalent is the Titanium Grand Prix. This award honors the industry's best ideas—those combining innovation, ingenuity, and results to serve as the pointy tip of the spear for where creative brand thinking should be headed. When you think of the world’s most successful brands, you hear Apple, Google, Nike, Adidas, Coke, LVMH, and AB InBev. But this year’s Titanium winner was the Australian insurance brand Suncorp, for the work it did with the agency Leo Burnett Australia on a campaign called "Haven." On this episode of Brand New World, hosts Jeff Beer and Grace Snelling are digging into how a company many of us have never heard of before just won the ad industry’s biggest prize, as well as highlighting some of our other favorite overall brand work right now.

  • June 10 · 55 min

    The Old Man & The Z: Nike rips the script for its World Cup epic

    The World Cup is just about to kick off and, of course, Nike was going to go big. Last week, the brand rolled out a chaotic and fun six-minute meta whirlwind through a Hollywood set of … a World Cup commercial shoot. The collection of global soccer stars, celebrities, and other cultural icons is pretty insane, but not unprecedented for the Swoosh company. In this episode, hosts Jeff Beer and Grace Snelling are digging into this Nike spot, as well as some of our other favorite overall brand work right now, from WhatsApp to J.Crew and beyond.

  • May 27 · 28 min

    The New Rules of Fandom: How Jomboy Media Is Playing Its Own Game

    What started as lipreading breakdowns of baseball’s most chaotic moments became a new kind of sports media business—one built on passion, personality, and pure fun. Jomboy Media has transformed viral content into profits and rapid growth, with a Major League Baseball partnership that gives the company access to the league’s IP and sponsorship opportunities (while preserving editorial independence). Join this conversation with CEO Courtney Hirsch as she unpacks how Jomboy Media has followed its own script and shown that creators don’t have to sell out to scale.

  • May 13 · 53 min

    Why Adidas is winning the World Cup so far

    When Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet recently dropped Adidas’s new blockbuster World Cup spot, a five-minute epic story, on his Instagram, it sent shockwaves through the soccer world. Not only because it stars Team USA's Trinity Rodman, Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid and Team England, and Spanish teen sensation Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona. And not only because it's another big-budget blockbuster World Cup ad from a footwear giant featuring star players, celebrities, and a storyline that revolves around a big game in an unexpected place or with unexpected characters. The magic trick it pulls off is how it manages to take a less-than-unique story device (famous players, unexpected game, etc.) and give it a new spin in a way that lives up to both the hype and the occasion of the world’s biggest sporting event. It might just be the best World Cup ad from the Three Stripes brand in 20 years. Grace Snelling is back for our monthly Old Man & the Z episode, and she and host Jeff Beer will be digging into the Chalamet ad, as well as where it fits into Adidas’s 21st-century World Cup pantheon. But first! Beer and Snelling break down their favorite overall recent brand work—which runs the gamut from Adidas super shoes to a very swooshy new ad from Yeti.

  • May 1 · 43 min

    How Ford is reengineering its iconic brand without letting go of its heritage

    Late last year, Ford launched its first new global brand strategy in over a decade. "Ready. Set. Ford." hit the U.S. last September and is gradually rolling out in Europe, Canada, and South America throughout this year. Leading the charge is Ford’s Global chief marketing officer Lisa Materazzo, who joined the company in 2023, after 20 years at Toyota, where she led marketing for the Lexus and Scion brands. In this episode, Jeff Beer talks to Materazzo about how and why "Ready. Set. Ford." goes far beyond just a marketing strategy, how our relationship with car brands has evolved most in recent years, and more. Get your keys and start your engines.

  • April 15 · 1 hr

    Coca-Cola, America250, and the patriotic sales pitch

    On April 6, Coca-Cola reheated its famed 1971 "Hilltop" strategy and launched its yearlong, nationwide campaign to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a three-minute video called “Drink in America.” Much like "Hilltop" more than 50 years ago, this is an incredibly idealized version of America. It feels especially weird amid intense partisan politics, an increasingly unpopular president, and a war with Iran. This video isn’t just selling sugar water—but an America you would barely recognize online. On this episode of Brand New World, we’re going to talk about Coke’s idealized America and how brands are marking America250 so far. We'll also dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of patriotic advertising. But first! Hosts Jeff Beer and Grace Snelling break down some of their favorite brand work of the past month. Apple! KitKat! Lighters and cowboy boots?

  • March 17 · 38 min

    Patience is a Virtue: Why Slow-Burn Brand Strategies Win

    In a culture obsessed with overnight virality, some brands are winning by moving slower—and smarter. In this panel, you’ll hear from marketing execs from Austin-based favorites Yeti and Huckberry about the power of patience in brand building. Rather than chasing trends or gaming algorithms, both companies have invested in community, storytelling, and product integrity—earning loyalty the old-fashioned way. You’ll learn how sometimes the boldest strategy to stand out isn’t to move fast—it’s to build something worth sticking with.

  • March 4 · 59 min

    Burger King and the Brand Spokesperson Mount Rushmore

    First things first—Brand New World is going from one episode per month to two! One episode will be hosted by Jeff Beer with his Fast Company colleague and Gen Z wizard Grace Snelling, for what we call "The Old Man and the Z." And the second episode each month will feature an interview with a brand, marketing, or advertising executive on work that we’re excited about. This week’s episode is the newest edition of “The Old Man and the Z.” We break down some of our favorite brand work of the past few weeks, including why Burger King is asking people to call its president, Tom Curtis, and let him know what they think of all things BK. And because BK is putting Curtis out in public as a face of the brand, we try to put this in the context of what we should call the Colonel Sanders Memorial Executive Brand Spokesperson Pantheon. Does Curtis have what it takes to someday join Steve Jobs, Rihanna, or even Victor Kiam? It will take a hell of a lot of phone calls to get there.

  • February 8 · 1 hr 38 min

    Just Here For The Ads: Super Bowl Special

    This month’s episode is all about the big game – but it’s got nothing to do with football. That’s right, it’s the most magical time of year for brands, that rare and brief three-or-so hour moment when people actually want to see commercials. Every marketer’s Xanadu. Yep, it’s the Super Bowl. Fast Company reporter – and Brand New World's Gen Z consigliere – Grace Snelling is here to breakdown picks for the Pregame Brand Power Rankings. Jeff and Grace trade favorites of who had the best teasers, what ads we think will be talked about most, and more. Then, we wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look at Super Bowl season from some folks who are up to their eyeballs in it. So Jeff is joined by Mark Gross and Chad Broude, co-founders and co-chief creative officers of Chicago-based independent ad agency Highdive. They have hundreds of Super Bowl ads between them – including ads for Jeep and Lay’s this year – so we talked about the role the big game plays in advertising right now, how it’s evolved most, and more. And finally, Grace will return with another esteemed Fast Company colleague, staff editor David Salazar, to draft their All-Time Best Super Bowl Ads. Hot route! Red seven! Hut hut hut!

  • January 13 · 1 hr 18 min

    Inside Chili’s CMO George Felix's winning strategy of margs, apps, and laughs

    Since George Felix joined Chili’s as chief marketing officer in 2022, the brand’s marketing budget has gone from $32 million in FY 2022 to $137 million in 2025. As a result of that investment, Chili’s has gone viral on TikTok thanks to videos showing off the stretchiness of its mozzarella sticks, pulling in more than 200 million views on that platform, and selling more than 29 million of its Triple Dipper appetizers. The Office tie-in to the Scranton restaurant opening earlier this year was a massive hit, and the NASCAR-focused work around its Presidente margarita – “Ride the ‘Dente” – kept the momentum going. It all led to Felix being named one of Fast Company’s CMOs of the Year in our annual Brands That Matter issue. On this episode of Brand New World, senior staff editor Jeff Beer talks to Felix about the Chili’s brand resurgence, the influence of his early successes at Old Spice and KFC, and where it all goes from here. But first, it’s another edition of Old Man & the Z, and Fast Company’s Grace Snelling joins us to talk about the brand partnerships aiming to cash in on the final season of Stranger Things.

  • Dec 2, 2025 · 35 min

    Old Man & The Z: Two perspectives on brand work from Waitrose, Pine Sol, Lego, and more

    Brands spend billions on trying to attract and retain audiences—they pay for the data about certain types of people, then pay more to create work for all these different audiences. Data is big business for marketers, but what is it and what’s it all for? Demographic data, psychographic data, behavioral data, transactional data, geographic data . . . all of these are meant to parse and categorize any and all types of people in order to figure out how best to get their attention and persuade them to buy something. It’s used for personalization, of course, but also segmentation, predictive analysis—what people (?) are likely to do, to optimize current ad campaigns, and to measure their return on investment. So here at Brand New World, we wanted to reflect on the perspective from one of the most sought-after, valuable—but admittedly broad—demographics on the planet: Gen Z. In this episode, Fast Company’s Grace Snelling—a proud Gen Zer—joins host Jeff Beer to talk about a few of their favorite pieces of brand work from the past month.

  • Nov 5, 2025 · 1 hr 15 min

    Inside the unprecedented deal between AB InBev and Netflix

    In this episode of Brand New World, host Jeff Beer breaks down one of the biggest brand entertainment deals to date: AB InBev’s wide-ranging partnership with Netflix. This unprecedented move will put global beer brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Corona directly into Netflix programming and its growing live sports slate. Is this the future of brand-funded entertainment that audiences actually want to watch? Or the beginning of even more corporate influence over the stories we love? To unpack it all, Jeff sits down with Jae Goodman, CEO and co-founder of Superconnector Studios—the strategist who helped broker the Netflix–AB InBev deal and who’s guided brands like Nike and LVMH in building entertainment arms of their own. They explore what this partnership means for marketers, creators, audiences, and the evolving landscape of Hollywood. But first, we talk sneakers. Jeff chats with Fast Company global design editor Mark Wilson about the cultural power of footwear, New Balance’s surprise influence, and why Nike may finally be back in its innovation groove. So crack a cold one and settle in—this is Brand New World.

  • Oct 7, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min

    Advertising’s reality TV moment goes 'On Brand' with Bozoma Saint-John

    This month’s episode of Brand New World was largely created during Fast Company’s Innovation Festival, which was held in New York City in mid-September. So, we’re bringing you my interview with Bozoma Saint-John, former chief marketing or brand officer at companies including Netflix, Uber, and Beats by Dre—who also just happens to star on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She’s also the cohost of NBC’s newest reality show On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, where 10 everyday people compete to have their advertising ideas actually used by major brands like Samsung, Dunkin', Southwest, Captain Morgan, and Therabody. But first, I had the chance to tap into my inner pizza nerd and talk to founder Tom Gozney about content and design as pillars of his brand’s success, how he’s working to maintain the brand’s culture amid international expansion, and more. (WHICH BRAND?) Pizza and reality TV? Let’s gooooo.

  • Sep 9, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min

    Why the next great sports movie might be created by a brand

    You know Dick’s Sporting Goods as one of America’s largest and most successful sports retailers. It has used that status to help create an impressive catalog of five feature-length films and 10 short-form or episodic documentaries over the past decade, including the Emmy-winning docs We Could Be King (2014) and The Turnaround (2024). But in August, Dick's took things to a new level, officially launching an in-house studio division called Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios. In this episode, I talk to Dick’s chief marketing officer Emily Silver about why now is the perfect time for an in-house studio, the evolution of the brand’s entertainment strategy, how the company measures success for these projects, and where it all goes from here. Before that, I wanted to put what Dick’s is doing into some context. So I called up Zac Ryder, co-founder and chief creative officer at Modern Arts—the agency that helped WhatsApp produce the Netflix doc The Seat, which we talked about back in Episode 1 of this season. Zac and I nerd out on the evolution of brand entertainment, then break down our picks for the "Best Brand Entertainment of the Past Decade."

  • Jul 8, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min

    How Expensify landed brand pole position in Brad Pitt’s blockbuster F1

    Here are some deets fresh off the Croisette from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—basically the ad industry’s Oscars but also the global epicenter of brand culture—that happened in mid-June. Brands, marketers, ad agencies, tech companies, platforms, people from entertainment and sports, and anyone and everyone part of the brand world ecosystem were there. To make sense of it all, or at least a good portion of it, I called up Tim Nudd, creativity editor at Ad Age and a journalist who’s been covering and commenting on this industry for longer than almost anyone. In a conversation that included inside scoops, gossip, and good stories, Nudd and I talked about what impressed him most, what surprised him, and what he’s hearing we can expect from major brands heading into the second half of the year. Then, I really wanted to find out how Expensify landed the real estate on Brad Pitt’s chest for the new blockbuster film F1. Expensify’s chief financial officer Ryan Schaffer, and Hannes Ciatti, founder and head creative at ad agency Alto, gave me the inside story of how the brand got such a prominent role, including a scene in which they shoot an Expensify commercial in the film. This is getting under the hood on 1,000-horsepower product placement.

  • Jun 3, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min

    2024 was Apple's year for advertising—or was it?

    The first iteration of Brand New World was a very specific look at how AI is changing how brands and marketers work. Now we’re back to talk about brand culture more broadly. Of course that will involve AI from time to time, but I’ll also be digging into sports, entertainment, music, comedy, and everywhere else brands squeeze their way into pop culture. For those who don’t know or are unfamiliar, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is part awards show, part industry conference, and probably the biggest annual gathering of brands, marketers, entertainment folks, tech folks, and media on the planet. Anything and anyone that touches a brand—from social platforms, to sports stars to celebrities—is there. This year, ahead of the festival that kicks off June 16th, Apple has been named the Creative Marketer of the Year. Now, Apple is an iconic marketer, an all-time, first ballot Hall of Famer. But in my opinion, 2024 has been a bit of a mixed bag. So why is this Apple's year? To discuss where this past year fits in the pantheon of Apple’s greatest hits, I called up Elizabeth Paul. A strategist by trade, Paul is the chief brand officer at award-winning ad shop The Martin Agency. You’ll know their work for major brands like Geico, UPS, the new Axe work with Pete Davidson, and much more. More importantly, she’s always up for some hot take banter about the work and culture around advertising and brands. Last month, a new doc called The Seat debuted on Netflix about how Mercedes’ Formula One team decided on a successor for racing legend Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton had announced his departure, so the racing giant was forced to strategize its next move quickly and discreetly. That’s where WhatsApp comes in. The entire process of evaluating and naming young Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli played out over the messaging app. “The Seat” is not only a feature doc, but an excellent piece of brand entertainment, produced in partnership with WhatsApp. This episode I was excited to chat with Meta’s head of global consumer marketing Eshan Ponnadurai to talk about the process behind the doc, as well as the role it plays in the brand’s overall strategy. Esh has worked on major brands from Ford and P&G, to Uber, YouTube and Google. He’s got a long history of finding compelling and authentic brand stories to tell in unique ways.

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