This week we kick-off with a look at terms in the workplace when it comes to learning, growing and altering work - “feedback” is out, and “feedforward” is in. Well, at least when it comes to teams within Microsoft. A lot of brands and businesses are now following-suit to allow a more positive, receptive way of working. Do we think this a little OTT? What really is at play here? Discussion takes us to our own experiences with feedback as well as why we think this is becoming a thing. Next up, we talk on how Russell Brand has been accused of sexual assault and yet pledges a conspiracy against mass media. We look to journalistic professionalism at The Times, The Sunday Times & Channel4 Dispatches who have all spearheaded this story, having worked behind the scenes on it for four years now. Russell challenged the allegations with his own social media platforms, and so we both discuss the value of mass media in a modern world of freedom of speech online. Finally, Erwin Olaf passed away last week. Maurice is a fan of his art in photography (mostly) and Emma isn’t - there’s one key reason why. At the end of this episode we cut away to an interview between Maurice and Frances Shoemack who founded Abel Fragrances: a brand disrupting the perfume industry with a focus on clean, sustainable ingredients.
There's no doubt we both love Rimowa for providing a great product, service, marketing mixes in great collaborations or partnerships. They're a leader in the suitcase travel industry and an inspiring example of branding at it's best. Their most recent initiative to increase footfall in stores by offering complimentary passport photos is another example of greatness. Tried and tested, it worked on Emma while she walked by in London and now she's hooked. Though Maurice is in love with his Away suitcase set he shares his take on this idea from an outside perspective. Managers and leaders are two different things, it's true. But, where do the real differences lie? Successful CEO and mentor, Clifford Bailey says leaders “influence, inspire and empower” and never micromanage. He claims that managers deal with the present while leaders deal with the future. We look to our own experiences to share how and where we believe this to be true as well as how a good leader reveals deeper positive output in a team and ultimately results in great work and happy people. A cereal company named Surreal have used quotes from celebrity-named (but everyday) people who enjoyed their cereal in their latest OOH advertising campaign. “Michael Jordan loves our cereal” and “Official cereal of Ronaldo” are just two of the proud emblazoned claims to take stage on bus-stops, tube signs and billboards around London. Of course, each of these quotes is legally followed with a small print reality check such as “he’s just a normal bloke who lives in St Alban’s but he really does like it”. What do we think - genius or madness? Finally we talk of how Creative Director Eric Groza has crafted a viral collaboration between Ikea and Patagonia using generative AI. We're consistently impressed with how AI develops into something valuable in the world of branding and this advance continues to delight.Â
Has Meta CEO, Mark Zukerberg quietly buried the Metaverse? We think so. As he shifts his attention to a shiny new AI toy, it seems the rest of the world is too. But can these advances replace our jobs in the creative, brand marketing industry? For those who are willing to embrace it - we think it could actually be a huge benefit to their career, skill and use of time. The Financial Times have reported on a study that suggests that a four-day working week benefits both staff and employers. On this point, we considering different industries with varied input and output needs, as well as if this makes sense for the future of any workplace. What truly defines a work-life balance nowadays? We look back to pre pandemic and how our perception of this term has altered. Several British stars have turned down the offer to play at King Charles’ coronation concert on May 7th, including: Elton John, Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls & Harry Styles. Is this a snub at the new King, or do the stars really have other engagements they have to tend to? Conversation also turns to the non-disclosure around Harry & Meghan's attendance, despite being invited. And finally, Cocaine Bear is a new film to hit the big screen, and people too. The backstory is based on a real-life story where a drug smuggling plan went wrong in the 1980’s, resulting in a bear hoovering up a duffel bag of abandoned cocaine and dying shortly after. This film is basically - for those who look into it enough - the bear having its own back on humanity but what do we think about that? Snakes On A Plane and Jaws come up in conversation.Â
Burberry has revealed a new logo and campaign under the creative direction of Daniel Lee. Re-introducing thin lettering and an illustrative take on the horse emblem. We're huge fans of this new look for the brand, listen to find out why. Pharrell Williams has been appointed as Menswear Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, replacing Virgil Abloh after he passed and held the position last year. What does this mean for an industry that seems to be suddenly taken over by the famous (seemingly) outside of it? Elon Musk is obsessed with the amount of engagement his posts are receiving. He fired two engineers after they told him his tweets are lower in the algorithm due to a lower interest in him generally, the problem is 'fixed' by other workers at Twitter and he's bumped back into high reach on the platform. Is this ethically right? Of course not. But we look into how this really is all around us and in fact a much wider issue entirely.Â
2023 is fully underway and this week we discuss the following topics: Now that we've both watched The Menu, conversation leads to the power struggle between the hospitality worker and the hosted when it comes to fine dining. Both having enjoyed the theatre, thrill and premise of the film, we left watching with many questions to answer on the story itself but also what was being truly shown to the viewer themselves.  Colossal Biosciences, a biotechnology start-up that promises to resurrect woolly mammoths, is now the first “de-extinction unicorn,” with a valuation said to be over a $1 billion before bringing back a single lost species. We get our head around if this is something truly ethical and if it really makes sense. Our final topic is how M&M'S have announced a pause on the use of its "spokes-candies," replacing them with actress Maya Ruldoph. The change comes after a year of outrage from conservative pundits over tweaks to the iconic characters. We talk representation in a brand that has such a mass, wide audience to serve in it's branding and advertising. Looking forward to the first new showcase to see how this shift turns out at The Superbowl later this month.Â
While Emma is on the slopes skiing, Maurice talks to Neil Schambra Stevens, owner of Mercury Jam Coaching, focusing on well-being and productivity at work. Neil draws on over nearly 30 years of C-level marketing experience with Fortune 500 brands, such as Levi's, Converse, Lenovo, Vans, and Polaroid. In the conversation we talk about Jacinda Ardern's resignation as prime minister of New Zealand, and how her strong, kind, empathetic leadership style really resonates, and is an inspiration for many around the world. We discuss Neils career path, and how he became a coach, discussing the observations he see in the various coaching sessions with creatives. Have a listen and make sure to check out Mercury Jam and see if Neil can support you in your growth. Email Neil: hello@mercuryjam.com Website: https://www.mercuryjam.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercury_jam/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-schambra-stevens-mercuryjam/
We're back. It's been a while. We're happy you're here again with us. This week's episode kicks off with chat on Prince Harry's autobiography release, titled "Spare". We discuss some of it's main topics, our thoughts on the release overall and what parts made us most emotional or intrigued to understand more. Next we touch on ChatGPT and if this is a shining AI star that will naturally fade or something that could grow and develop into a new form of education, for example. We couldn't make a comeback without mentioning Elon Musk's latest news. This time we're discussing how he's hit world records with his net worth drop (a staggering $182 Billion loss in 2022). His companies are having a shuffle and the shares are squeezing down too, where does he go next?
Is it a smart move for Airbnb to close shop in China? This week we discuss what this move can mean for the Asia Pacific region. We discuss Snap Inc. share tumble this week, taking the rest of social media stocks with it, and what this means for the overall tech market. Tik Tok launches creator subscriptions? Is it going down the Only Fans route? And Marcel Wanders take a sabbatical. We discuss how taking a break is a good thing for creativity. We end on the news of Mattel releasing the first Trans Barbie! A win for all!Â
Is Elon a mad inventor or a genius business man? This week unpack the new drama around the twitter bid and the latest allegations of sexual assault. We discuss the latest move by Thailand in legalising the growth of cannabis, and how examples can be taken from around the world. We wonder what is happening with all the censorship around the female body, focusing on the latest ad for the Adidas sports bra, and how this can have a negative effect in the long run. We then end with a discussion around Life Time Work, co-working spaces, and how important amenities will be for the future of remote working.Â
Introducing my new co-host Emma Hooper, we discuss the ongoing drama around Elon and his acquisition going on hold. We touch upon the struggles of Netflix and their moves to increase revenue with Ad-supported plans, password fees, and their live-streaming. We talk about our shared admiration for Lewis Hamilton and our thoughts on the MET, past & present. We then end on Emma's obsession for Princess Diana and why she is the Queen of her heart. *We are sorry for the poor audio quality.
This week, Netflix have released a new 6 part docuseries together with Harry & Meghan covering the inside story with content led by the couple themselves on their courtship, journey and exit from royal life. We share thoughts on their complex journey (from episodes we've seen so far) and why it matters most for them, given both of their pasts and potential futures to do so in their own words and with full control. Dyson have released The Dyson Zone; noise cancelling headphones that also purify the air you breathe when wearing them. A step too far in the wrong direction or a display of how this innovative brand can aid health services? At $949 and releasing soon in the US, we discuss if we would buy ourselves and where in the world we see this selling best. Balenciaga's Creative Director, Demna Gvasalia publicly apologised for his involvement in what he called a 'wrong artistic choice of concept' over their latest controversial campaign. Are we impressed? Do we accept his apology? As Christmas adverts kick-in we discuss the relationship between authentic, valuable advertising and how it links to commercial business needs this time of year. Led from a interest in the repetitive strategy Dutch supermarkets continue to take, we suggest this is an even deeper copy-culture than we initially thought. Â
The drama around Ye's brand partnership downfall and Elon's new take on Twitter continues, and so do we. Ye is ousted by Sketchers before a partnership even started & Elon had fun with a sink on his first day in the new workplace. We couldn't resist commenting. Other than that, we took on two Q&A responses we had from people within the same industry: Our friend and colleague at citizenM, Sikko Baltus was interested to know our take on Taylor Swift's backlash following her new music video portrayal of "Fat" when stepping onto a bathroom scale. There was divided opinion on this from her fanbase, we took a swift look into her main audience and how this will have impacted them - the divide in support and backlash and ask maybe how this could have been done differently to still raise awareness and tell her personal story, but with less potential damage overall. Secondly, Paddy Smith from a social media agency we work together with at citizenM, Born Social asked "Is high fashion (Balenciaga in particular focus) a social experiment? From this suggestion, we share our own perceptions of high fashion, trends & societal shifts in "what is luxury" overall. Balenciaga at main focus, mentions of Vetements in a similar vein and if we are part of the loyal following these brands have gathered.Â
During the Coperni show at Paris Fashion Week, Bella Hadid walked to the middle of the runway - wearing only a G-string & holding her breasts for two men to spray her body with what appeared to be white paint. Sure, there were immediate connections to another moment in fashion history: Alexander McQueen’s SS 1999 show, when Shalom Harlow’s white dress was spray-painted by robots. It looked similar, but the result was very different. Coperni's design took about 15 minutes to create, but as the men finished spraying on the dress, a woman came to cut a slit in the sides and pulled down sleeves to make an off-the-shoulder look. As she walked away, the dress moved with her. Coperni is a highly skilled fashion house, with craftsmen and women from the same ateliers as Balenciaga and Chanel but more known for creating ready to wear runway pieces rather than couture. A blast from fashion past, but is this performative fashion week game a chase for shareable content? Kim Kardashian has been fined $1.26 million to settle allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission after she broke US rules by sharing a paid post to her 331 million followers on Instagram on a crypto token company (EthereumMax) without disclosing that she was paid and how much she was paid for the promotion ($250,000). We both understand from working in branding how important upholding regulations in influencer marketing is and how this example should set a standard on a larger scale to others who rely on social media for their income. Tesla boss Elon Musk presented their upgraded humanoid robot 'Optimus' at the latest Tesla 2022 AI Day but critics were unimpressed. The humanoid merely waved to the audience and raised its knees in performance. We ask why would you make a robot like a human when the real value comes from creating something with technology that humans can't do. Critics are as unimpressed with this innovation as we are. Why is Elon working on this at all?Â
Apple have released the iPhone 14 keeping focus on software updates rather than hardware. Apple have chosen to prioritise creators with high-spec photo and video elements at its polished-up core. We're impressed by the new iPhone's potential life-saving features; crash control and signal sighting from satellites anywhere in the world. Maurice claims wearable tech is really where the opportunity is truly at for Apple. Discussions follow of partnerships past and present for the brand and where and how this shift in brand strategy happened. This week, NASA purposely crashed into a (non earth threatening) asteroid for the first time. Does this give us hope for the future, or worry? Adobe have bought Figma for $20 billion. Will they build something better together, or is this a case of a larger player taking their key competitor off the market? With many designers outraged, Adobe stocks have plummeted following the announcement.  Useless work meetings are wasting our time and money. $100 million a year is now lost at large companies, according to a study by a professor at the University of North Carolina asking 632 employees across 20 industries to study their weekly calendars and gauge how much time they actually spent in meetings, what they got out of them and how they responded to invitations. We quickly discover some pet-peeves from Maurice on communication in and out of the workplace and look into deeper stats revealed in this study concerning female reaction to meeting requests.Â
This week we welcome Sophie Blowfield to join discussion over a mix of key UK-political topics and global news. Sophie has nearly 15 years experience in the creative brand industry working both in-house and as a consultant and worked with some of the world's largest brands and agencies, including the likes of: Charlotte Tilbury, The White Company, Apple, Google, 111SKIN, Coty and La Perla. She also co-founded La Norme in 2019, advocating inclusion and diversity in creative industries and beyond. Emma and Sophie met 10 years ago when she gave Emma her first internship in social media at Soap & Glory and have remained great friends and crossed paths both personally and professionally since then. Topics: The death of the Queen Elizabeth brings on peculiar (but expected) global media attention around the rest of the British Royal family in the aftermath, as well as interesting Gen-Z and brand responses. Which hits hardest for us? What are the focuses really all about? We delve deep into the monarchy and media divide to uncover what we know to be true. Megan and Harry false fired speculation is merely one part of this story, for once. A notorious Jennifer Lawrence interview by Tonne Goodman recently released in October US Vogue reveals how the Hollywood actress has zero patience with the politically unengaged. She's quoted saying, “you have to be political, it’s too dire. Politics are killing people. I can’t fuck with people who aren’t political any more.” A discussion flows between the three of us on how political bias has affected our own views, lives and how important it is to understand and educate yourself in this impactful political era, now more than ever. The mixed standpoints on Working From Home pops-up once more, with the news of British civil servants having their computers monitored in part of a WFH UK government crack-down asking staff to return to the office 4 days a week. Is it archaic? Furthermore, what are the real reasons for returning to the office? We're noticing more and more how larger organisations like Apple & Tesla are also forcing staff to return to the office or leave. Where do we all stand on the subjects surrounding this 'little shuffle' back to the office?
Are you working above and beyond in your job description? Gen-Z say stop. “Quiet quitting" is the new trend for people who are unhappy with their jobs spurred by a viral TikTok video. Is this anything new? Do we agree, do we partake? As of October, Nigeria will officially ban the use of non-native models in its advertising. Having grown up in Nigeria, Mo answers and shares wisdom from his heritage and first hand experience growing up in this country. A major step in the conversation of representation in this part of the world, but is this a step too far? Liz Truss has been appointed new Prime Minister of the UK, succeeding her rival Rishi Sunak with a 57.4% majority vote from within the conservative party. We'll never be impressed with a conservative government ruling but what can we learn from new perspective and position in politics from the past? Recommendations from Mo: Echoes, Netflix / House Of The Dragon HBO. Recommendations from Emma: Bad Sisters, Apple TV / Archetypes by Megan Markle / The Pattern by Lisa Donovan.
45% of Gen-Z creators surveyed by Adobe said they aspire to own a business and make money from content shared online. As this generation ditches the corporate ladder for the Instagram grid, we ask is it really that easy? Instagram has found its next social media platform victim: BeReal. "IG Candid" is set to become a new feature on Instagram sending users a notification at random times prompting them to take a photo that simultaneously clicks from both selfie and rear-facing cameras to expose what users are actually doing. The irony of "BeReal" Instagram copy culture advance follows suit of multiple other alternative social network takeover features: from Snapchat to Stories, adding reflective filters and trending sounds of TikTok, but to name a few. Is Instagram building a platform where other platforms are simply not needed? Is any of this fair-game in the world of ever-evolving social media. President Biden announced his long-awaited plan for student debt forgiveness taking us back to our own stories around student debt in The Netherlands & UK. A great move, but with some Americans still losing out. A report by the Law Society has looked into how future lawyers could have microchips implanted into their brains to enhance their work and productivity. Though it sounds like a Black Mirror episode, it isn't. Can this work IRL and where and how best?Â
A leaked private party video of the Finnish Prime Minister, Sanna Marin sparked rumours around her drug use. In response, an influx of women are showing their support using #solidaritywithsanna. Should Sanna partake in these events given her position? We talk responsibilities and opportunities of a very-human Prime Minister and in reflection ask if this would be addressed the same way if she were male. WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann’s latest big idea? To become America’s largest landlord with his latest start-up named “Flow”. Will he build and burn as before or is this an opportunity for the world’s housing crisis after all, just as its been pitched. Mark Zuckerberg has updated his avatar to look more human. Is this the standard of Metaverse we were expecting? Anthony Joshua was defeated by Oleksander Usyk in the heavyweight world championships last weekend. The aftermath brought tears of a good-spot and yet a shift in social media support.
Food delivery service, Deliveroo is set to halt in The Netherlands. With less than 1% of their takings in the country last quarter and having lost more money than the year before, it’s time to halt service. Why isn't this happening with its competitors? We look to post-pandemic affects on a recently thriving industry. We couldn’t stay away from Elon Musk’s movements for long - the richest man in the world sold Tesla shares worth 6.88 billion this week. If he does in fact acquire Twitter, what could his plan be? Disney+ now has more subscribers than Netflix. With Disney+ also set to increase its cost to consumers, we ask where the real value in these services now comes from. In other news: Mo visited platform 9 & 3/4 and Emma’s repurposed sex toy shoes were a great purchase.
In the week where we welcome Maurice back from his holiday, we catch up together again and discuss an eclectic selection of news. The evolution of luxury pop-up stores/experiences. Maurice shares his experience at Louis Vuitton RĂ©sidence ÉphĂ©mère Champs-ÉlysĂ©es while on his travels, encouraging discussion of how pop-up has evolved for brands and the consumer. Kansas City citizens have voted to protect abortion rights. As a traditionally 'red' conservative part of America, does this mean anti-abortion is no longer welcome within this political ideology? The Economist predicts so, that similar referendums would succeed in 41 of 50 states. "For Yeezy it became easy" - Maurice Ajanaku. Kanye's 9-year-old daughter, North West has illustrated for a new season of Yeezy t-shirts as her latest creative input into her father's fame and fortune. Is this exploitative, will it sell? Do we like it at all.. We finish on some fantastic news, the Women's Euros 2022 is won by England. "The Lionesses" have never before won the Euros since the competition began in 1984. What was different about this time? We talk brand support and allegiance, a great Dutch coach and a true passionate spirit among the team itself.Â