Marketing: Global Edition

There are 9 unicorns in Africa and 8 of them are in fintech. The fintech explosion across the continent represents a wholesale shift in how money moves, how small businesses get capital, how consumers pay, borrow and save. And it is also one of the continent’s most dynamic branding laboratories — because these companies aren’t just selling apps, they’re trying to build trust, reliability and scale...

In this episode, Piers quizzes Jasmine on some of the most famous brand taglines of all time and they debate the efficacy of slogans. 

The Denim Wars and what the controversy over the Sydney Sweeney ad for American Eagle and the Katseye ad for Gap tell us about the future of race-bating vs diversity as ways to the hearts and wallets of the American consumer.

How is one football team redefining what it means to be a brand? How did a French football team end up with a store on the ultimate British high street? Who would ever have imagined a partnership between a football brand and high fashion house Dior? In this episode Piers and Jasmine dive into the world of sports marketing, in particular the  Qatari-powered Champions League winners, Paris Saint-Ger...

How did a small plastic brick toy become the world’s most valuable toy brand? How did it survive the onslaught of video games? How did it come back from the brink of financial collapse in 2003. And how does it get away with recasting Darth Vader as a petulant teenager and Voldemort as a grumpy old man? In this episode Jasmine and Piers look at the renaissance of the Lego brand and learn the secret...

In this week’s episode, Jasmine is unboxing the phenomenon that has taken the world by storm — Labubu.  That’s right, the quirky, creepy, and wildly collectible monster doll created by Pop Mart that’s stirring up obsession, controversy, and even chaos from Bangkok to London, Moscow, and beyond. So, what exactly is Labubu? How did it go from a blind-box toy to high fashion accessory, religious icon...

Are AI generated models now in vogue? The first ever AI-generated fashion ad just came out in Vogue. In this podcast Jasmine and Piers discuss the ad, the backlash and the implications for AI generated advertising. 

In the wake of Cannes Lions, Piers and Jasmine debate the question… are awards still worth the hype? Are awards simply the Oscars for creative egos or still the most important stage for global marketing excellence. We investigate some of this year’s Lions winners including an homage to the immortal L’Oreal campaign “Because you’re worth it”, a set of furry friends proving Telstra’s coverage across...

Range Rover just launched a new logo and it is making waves in the press. So we are launching a brief emergency podcast to discuss. Is it a design masterstroke… or a masterclass in bland? Piers talks to ad man and car buff Rupert Foy about it.    Rupert, most recently Head of Account Management at Mullen Lowe London, has worked at some of London’s biggest agencies such as McCann, VCCP and Leagas D...

Does colour matter in branding? Is blue really the colour of trust? Is yellow cheap? Is red powerful? Why are there no pink banks? Is colour art or science? In this episode Piers and Jasmine debate the role of colour in branding.

Telecom brands are shifting from bringing us our minutes and gigabytes to enabling our new future reality, one that will consist of technologies we can only imagine today. So what will that future look like and how do telco brands need to adjust. In this episode Jasmine and Piers take us into the matrix and create five telco brands of the future.   From bringing us our minutes and gigabytes to ena...

This is not just any podcast… this is an M&S podcast. As M&S comes back online after its cyber attack, we look at the public reaction to its temporary outage and wonder out loud whether other brands can learn to be loved like M&S. “We missed you. Love: everyone over the age of 30 in the UK. And everyone, of all ages who wear pants” (@nearlymarylin)

It's everywhere yet nowhere. In this episode, Piers & Jasmine explore the craze for Dubai Chocolate, the company behind the global phenomenon, the influencer who helped and the pros and cons of a scarcity strategy.

Did you know that brands are more likely to bring in a mascot during times of economic difficulty? In this episode Jasmine and Piers discuss the resurgence of mascots and debate whether they are a good thing for brands or a silly distraction from real brand assets. From Ronald McDonald and the Kellogg’s chicken to Duo Lingo’s owl, this episode gets to the bottom of why brands turn to mascots in ha...

Roughly four billion people live on less than five dollars a day. Yet taken together they represent a multi-trillion-dollar market. But marketing to them has its own set of challenges. In this episode, Piers and Jasmine travel to the street stalls of Nairobi, the courtyard kiosks of rural Tamil Nadu, and the mud-brick homes of off-grid Tanzania in search of the secrets big brands use to market to...

Are social media platforms listening to our conversations in real life in order to show us highly targeted ads? Jasmine and Piers unpack the truth behind that question that we have all asked at some point after being shown an ad for something we just mentioned in a real world conversation.

This week Jack Dorsey posted “delete all IP law” and Elon Musk tweeted back “I agree”. Is Dorsey right? Should we scrap intellectual property law? And what would that mean for brands? Piers and Jasmine go head to head over whether or not intellectual property law still works in the digital era and ask whether we already live in a post-IP world?

Have you used AI to turn yourself into an action doll yet? Many brands have. The results are mixed. Some are social sizzlers, some are strategic damp squibs. In this episode, Piers and Jasmine talk about the perks and pitfalls of jumping on the bandwagon of social trends. 

With everyone talking about the Netflix series, Adolescence, Jasmine & Piers take on the subject of the Crisis of Masculinity and how brands from around the world that target men can and should respond.

Piers & Jasmine talk about how brands should set about doing some good in the world and whether or not brands should link the good that they do to their brand.

How should we be shaping the brands that are shaping our world?   So you’ve heard of The Palm and The Burj Kalifa but how much do you know about the companies that built them?   In this episode, Jasmine Montgomery and Piers Guilar explore the fascinating world of real estate, focusing on the rise of Giga projects, innovative urban developments, and the brands behind these mega projects.    They di...

Abandoned by her usual sparring partner for this episode, Jasmine reflects, solo, on the rebranding of The Gulf of Mexico to The Gulf of America and imagines what Trump might call America if he decided to take his rebranding ambitions to their logical conclusion. Drawing inspiration from other geographical rebrands, especially that of Swaziland to eSwatini, Jasmine considers what it takes to make...

What do the Super Bowl, Ramadan and Christmas have in common? In this episode Jasmine and Piers explore what it takes to make a super ad, the kind of epic ad that the whole family watches together on the sofa and that everyone talks about all year. 

This week Piers and Jasmine are talking about the most valuable brand that most people have never heard of… until now. Tech giant Nvidia made headlines this week losing 17% of its market value in a day. But although it is one of the 6 most valuable companies on earth, most people would think of Microsoft or Apple before they would think of Nvidia and it has yet to become the household name that is...

Is your brand ready to make the American Dream a reality? As Trump takes office again, and the US offers bright prospects to foreign brands who are able to penetrate this huge but complex market, Piers and Jasmine consider what it takes for an international brand to make it in America.