Building Brands with Fexingo: Identity, Reputation, and Long-Term Business Equity

In this episode of Building Brands with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how Starbucks turned a commodity—coffee—into a global brand by selling not just a drink but a 'third place' between home and work. They trace the strategy back to Howard Schultz's 1983 trip to Milan, where he discovered the Italian espresso bar culture, and examine how Starbucks engineered every touchpoint—from store design to...

In this episode of Building Brands with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the remarkable story of Glossier, the direct-to-consumer beauty brand that achieved a $1.2 billion valuation in 2021 without ever running a traditional TV commercial. They explore how founder Emily Weiss leveraged her existing blog audience, 'Into the Gloss,' to co-create products and build a fiercely loyal community that se...

In 1985, Coca-Cola replaced its 99-year-old formula with New Coke — and sparked one of the biggest consumer revolts in history. This episode unpacks how the company misread brand loyalty, why taste tests failed to capture emotion, and how the debacle ultimately reinforced Coca-Cola's real asset: its identity. Lucas and Luna walk through the numbers — 200,000 angry calls, a 79-day reversal, and a s...

In this episode of Building Brands with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine how Nike transformed from a distributor of Japanese running shoes into one of the world's most valuable brands by centering its marketing on athlete narratives. They trace the origin of Nike's 'Just Do It' campaign, the bet on Michael Jordan in 1984, and the economics of celebrity endorsements. Lucas explains how Nike's brand...

In Episode 3 of Building Brands, Lucas and Luna unpack how Warby Parker built a billion-dollar brand by doing the opposite of what incumbent eyewear companies did. They trace the story from a frustrated grad-school founder who lost his $700 glasses on a backpacking trip to a company that now operates over 200 retail stores. The hosts focus on a specific number that made the brand possible: the $95...

In the early 2000s, Lego was bleeding money — nearly bankrupt from chasing trends like action figures and digital toys. Then it did something counterintuitive: it refocused on the humble plastic brick, cut 90% of its product line, and rebuilt its brand around creativity and system-play. This episode unpacks the 2003–2005 turnaround led by CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, the role of the classic Lego Syst...

In the debut episode of Building Brands, Lucas and Luna explore how Patagonia turned environmental activism into a durable competitive advantage. They walk through the founding story, the 'Don't Buy This Jacket' campaign, and the 2022 transfer of ownership to a climate trust. They discuss why purpose-driven brands command premium pricing and loyalty, and what the 2024 financial results tell us abo...