Rebellion Group

Recorded live in the Rebel Studio, Rubes, Hammer, & James hang out with guest Russ Martonis -- a writer, content creator, eater of food, and game-changing marketer for Amex and other major brands. The topic was supposed to be food marketing, but they goof around, drink Snoop wine, and play a random game to see who is normal (spoiler: none of these weirdos are normal). Enjoy the poddie!

In this episode, Emmy-award winning television production executive Dennis Denniger takes us on a journey through the evolution of sports broadcasting. Currently a Professor at Syracuse University, Dennis was named Falk College Faculty Member of the Year in 2014 and played a key role in founding the sports communications graduate program at the Newhouse School. With a 25-year tenure at ESPN, he led production teams for studio programming, live remote events, and digital video platforms, witnessing and contributing to ESPN's transformation from startup to a household name.Beyond academia and broadcasting, Dennis is a prolific author, sharing insights into sports television in "Sports on Television" and exploring the Super Bowl's evolution in "The Football Game that Changed America."Dennis Denniger is not just an educator and author; he's a technological innovator. He introduced the digital instant review technology "Shot Spot," now ubiquitous in major tennis tournaments and known as "Hawkeye" in various professional sports leagues.Join us for a captivating conversation as Dennis Denniger reflects on his career, the evolution of ESPN, and the intersection of technology and sports broadcasting that has shaped the industry we know today.

Sammanz is back! The first-ever return guest! Why? Cause she made us. (This is to see if she reads these and gets mad at us for saying that) In this very special episode, we talk about the Pink Tax and how it's pure bullshit.  Pour your Snoop wine, relax, listen, learn, enjoy!

Join us for an exciting conversation with Rebel's Chief Strategy Officer BJ Kito and Bernt Ullmann, who is often referred to as “The Man Behind the Brands.” Mr. Ullmann has been the trusted business acceleration expert by top fashion moguls and CEOs such as Daymond John, Eddie Lampert, and Tommy Hilfiger.You'll hear first-hand how Bernt went from a pizza entrepreneur to one of the world’s leading experts in celebrity brand development, brand management, licensing and distribution, and monetization having contributed to the successful launches of brands for clients including Jennifer Lopez, Adam Levine, Nicki Minaj and many others. The brands he has worked with have generated over $6 billion in global sales.  This episode gets at the heart of understanding what a "brand" really is, why you should think BIG, and how seeing through the noise is the best pathway to reaching your vision.

Rubes & James are joined by VP of Strategy, Mark Anderson, to talk about how brands leverage (sometimes foolishly) holidays to market themselves. From Guinness on St. Patrick's to Reece's on Halloween, hear all about how brands are winning (and losing) with their holiday marketing. As usual, little was planned, chaos ensues, drinks be drank. Enjoy!

Apologies. This was the most unhinged episode yet. Fueled on Four Lokos, we recorded 3 hours of stories and then cut out 2 of them to not embarrass our parents. These lost hours may be released in the future if you ask aggressively. Until then, experience gross energy drink expert Dr. Jones and his connoisseur-like deep-dive into the infamous brand story of Four Loko.

Paid media magician Julio Amaro joins Sammy Rubes & James to talk about tokenization vs representation, how brands sometimes try and fail to connect with different cultures, and how agencies fail to create true access to multicultural voices. Sam spit stats and James said he was afraid he'd say something culturally insensitive. Let's see how he did. Enjoy!

In this special episode, it's a public service announcement on mental health management for the creative mind. Why? Cause when you create, you expose yourself -- your thoughts, ideas, emotions, and energy -- for all to see and judge. And, when it's broken or burned out, it can be crippling. It's a scary world out there in agency life! That's why the legendary V (Veronika Zhikhareva) explores creative burnout, psychological safety, and learning how to adapt to the modern workplace (with old people like James). Enjoy!

Sam & James dig into generational marketing with legend and VP of Marketing Strategy Craig Wilson. As three generations of marketers, the team digs into how brands and consumers have evolved over decades. It's so interesting that James finally shuts up to learn something. Enjoy!

Join us on an exciting journey with Rebel's Chief Strategy Officer BJ Kito and VP of Strategic Marketing & Impact Steve McLoughlin as they sit down with Pete Tucci, the founder and CEO of Tucci Lumber Co. He's gone from being one of minor league baseball's top prospects to all-star business exec, and his journey is nothing short of inspiring. Major league lessons on the reality that a missed goal does not equate to failure and how training for one path actually provides unique perspective when forced to focus in a different direction.For Pete, what felt like shoot-from-the-hip decisions as a business owner, was ultimately rooted in his ability to make calculated split-second decisions as an athlete - the real-time scanning and evaluation of the pitcher, field, game scenarios, etc. from the batter’s box. This transition of batter’s eye to business world is what gave him the insight to see a pathway to building a high-end baseball brand embraced by the most elite players in the MLB.If you’re a fan of great baseball stories or looking for ways to improve the hard-hit percentages of your decision-making, this conversation will get everyone to pause and think what truly drives our “gut” decisions

James went full chaos in this episode. We had a wonderful, brilliant guest in content creator Josie Capozzi, but James simply refused to stay on topic. Over an hour had to be edited out because he couldn't be contained. This is what we have to deal with every day, people! Well, enjoy what remains as Josie & Sam talk about the psychology of marketing, PR disasters, and how James is clearly insane. 

In ep. 3 of  Rebelations, Sam & James are joined by Director of Brand Experience Sam Manz (Yes, another Sam!) to talk about brands today, including how being unhinged and using an ugly aesthetic is helping them appeal to Gen Z, who are tired of typical brands trying to be their best selves. Get your baked beans suit on and enjoy!

We’d be considered “late” to the Barbie trend, but it’s not a trend. Barbie has permanently altered our culture. In Episode 2 of the Rebelations podcast, ‘Living in a Barbie (Marketing) World,’ we break down the global sensation of the Barbie movie with guest host and all-around amazing CMO Meaghan Morelli. Listen in as we unpack the power of brand collaborations, earned media, and the role of young women in driving pop culture.

Today is all about Social Media, or "Socials" as Sam calls it. We're diving into each platform and where it's going, including how different generations (James is old) are driving usage, innovation, and value. From new ways to create socials content to new ways to look at socials themselves, one thing is for sure: brands are doing it alllllllllllllllllllllllllllll WRONG.Links:James & SamRebelThat Article James Mentions

It’s SuperBowl Sunday this weekend — but no, we’re not talking about commercials or the halftime show. The NFL is filled with parallels to life and leadership lessons. On this episode, Allison Minutillo interviews one of the NFL’s most seasoned quarterbacks… Matt Hasselbeck. He reflects on lessons learned under Andy Reid & Mike Holmgren, advice in amplified pressure, locker room trust, the receipt of hard feedback, learning the lingo, and how to work on you when it matters most.Matt is an NFL Analyst on ESPN’s signature Sunday morning pregame show, Sunday NFL Countdown, and contributes to Pro Bowl and Super Bowl coverage. A three-time Pro Bowler, Hasselbeck played for the Green Bay Packers (1998-2000), Seattle Seahawks (2001-10), Tennessee Titans (2011-12) and Indianapolis Colts (2013-15) during a career that spanned nearly two decades. He threw for 36,638 yards and 212 touchdowns. In 2021, the Seahawks inducted him into their Ring of Honor. 

On this episode, host Allison Minutillo had the privilege of talking with Daymond John and Brian Lamb about some of the most important topics of our time. You'll hear their raw reflection on success, failure, and the impact diversity and inclusion has on leadership today. Daymond John is an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. He is the founder and CEO of FUBU, a pioneer in the fashion industry, a Shark on the 4-time Emmy Award-winning Shark Tank, a New York Times bestselling author, branding guru and highly sought-after motivational speaker. Brian Lamb is a Managing Director and Segment Head for Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries (MMBSI) covering the Northeast for JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking. Previously serving for two years as the firm’s global head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Brian has been instrumental in driving forward the firm’s $30 billion commitment to racial equity.

Being a leader is about discovering and owning your strengths and having the ability to lean into them in any work situation. For example, a leader hones the intellectual and rational strength to recognize patterns and can de-escalate potentially problematic situations before they erupt. They’ve learned that what may seem normal to someone else might throw up red flags for an experienced leader. As a leader, you are constantly in the driver’s seat—you need to have the strength to control the speed, the direction, and the destination of your team. On today's episode of the Rebel Leadership Podcast, Allison Minutillo talks to Owner of Emphasis Consulting, LLC Ryann Leonard about teaching aspiring leaders to find and lean into their strengths, and about her role in creating culture and developing talent. So, buckle in as we drive right into the heart of what it takes to lean into your strengths as a leader.

Resilience isn’t necessarily an inherent trait. For most of us, it’s learned. As we face challenges and problems, we often assume the worst. But if we can stop and take the time to assess the importance of an issue—is it small, medium or big?—and respond from a pragmatic place, as opposed to emotional, we can create better outcomes for our teams and our clients. Each time we practice this, we take our learnings into the next challenge. It’s not easy, but if you’re willing to learn, the more you go through the reps that build resilience, the more you reveal yourself and work to create the version of yourself that you, and everyone else, deserves. On today's episode of the Rebel Leadership Podcast, Allison Minutillo talks to Account Director Stephanie Sales about building resilience. In her experience as a leader, she’s found that learning resilience is a continuous process requiring giving yourself grace, rising above negativity, understanding that your actions constantly model leadership and that choosing resilience is an hourly, daily intentional choice. Get ready to immerse yourself in what it takes to become resilient.

Workplace negativity can have a snowball effect: Once it starts, it can grow until it gets past your ability to handle it. So, how can leaders effectively mitigate negativity? On today's episode of the Rebel Leadership Podcast, Allison Minutillo talks to Dr. Benjamin Finlayson (he/him), PhD, MFTC, Regis University Assistant Professor in the Division of Counseling and Family Therapy and expert on LGBTQIA identity, solution focused therapy, suicide and medical family therapy (MedFT), and Account Supervisor Sam Manz about countering negativity in the workplace. As leaders, like almost anything else, workplace negativity challenges us to build new skills. Whether it’s about showing up as honestly as possible, listening more effectively, actively seeking feedback or creating space for people to air grievances and responding effectively, the fact is that negativity should be treated as an opportunity. When we create a space where we challenge each other, listen to and act on disagreement (and be willing to live with disagreement), we create a better, more validating workplace environment. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. So, get ready to immerse yourself in the issues surrounding—and solutions to—negativity in the workplace.  

Leaders are essentially mental athletes with no off-season. You're expected to perform on such a high level, in every interaction. Always on display. Always in the game. As leaders, our audience expects us to evolve and upgrade ourselves every day. We're mental athletes, competing, adapting — in Ron & Chris' case, they have someone they're actively playing against (cybersecurity threats). Chris Cochran is the CEO, Executive Producer and Ronald Eddings is the CPO, Executive Producer, both of Hacker Valley Media. In many ways, threat intelligence and many other life experiences have taught them how to challenge yourself and your mental toughness to compete in the big game of life and leadership day in, and day out.