Rebel's Center of Creativity

Old man James brings some youngins together to talk about the job market, applying, and getting hired...and just how damn difficult it is out there for job seekers and what they can do to stand out and fire up their careers. Warning that James does the "In my day..." nonsense a whole bunch. It's annoying, but we'll forgive him this time, right?

A perfect mix of sports, creative & content, and general work life & career -- Leader in sports innovation and compelling creative content, Rob Thompson joins the Rebel team to discuss his history creating experiences for major brands like the NFL and Disney. It's a quick-hit episode, packed with deep insights from a great dude with an astounding career. Enjoy!

All-new ep of an all-new poddie! It's the Center of Creativity, where we talk about the business of creativity and the identity of creatives, featuring hosts V Zhikhareva, Tim O'Shea, and James Dowd. 

Sam's twin sister Danielle joins us this episode to talk about the culture of drinking in the workplace. Then Sam peer-pressures James to drink. Classic. 

A follow-up to the last episode, except now we drink more and share stories. We thought it would be more fun & lively, but we got DARK. Enjoy!

Johnnie Walker Blue (ACD Jon Feld) joins the poddie to talk about entering agency life later in...life. Where most slow down and think about retirement, Jon decided to go high speed all day, every day, leading content strategy, content creation, and content other things like a damn champ, teaching us kiddos what hard work really looks like. Enjoy!

Rubes, Hammer, & James invite special guest CSO BJ Kito to talk about our shared love of having an inability to focus in life and...sorry, bird is outside the window. What was I writing?....Oh ya, the description. This poddie ep was all about the ins & outs of ADHD in life and the workplace, how we cope, and some savory stats from Sammy Rubes to make us sound less foolish. OH MY GOD, THAT...

First in a series about making transitions in your career and breaking into new jobs amidst a questionable market, the team talks with VP of Accounts Sam Barrett -- who made the jump from Army Ranger to agency strategist, using his skills at kicking down doors to help brands grow. Makes total sense. Enjoy!

Hammer, Rubes, & James are joined for this poddie ep by Director of Digital Experience, Nate Szymanski to talk about crazy marketing stunts and how brands can maybe, possibly, hopefully go viral. Beyond that, what did they talk about? Who can remember?!?! We recorded this weeks ago and James forgot! Dummy. Oh well, enjoy!

Rebellion designer, Larissa Topalis, aka Weirdo Larry Topgolf, joins the poddie to derail us completely. We barely talked about marketing, but also rarely stopped laughing. Breaking from our norm, we focused this episode on data apps and the current state of dating in this weird world. Listen and enjoy!

In another poddie, Rubes conspired with the sinister sensation, Gail Zaharek, to talk about authentic brand advertising and the workplace. Meanwhile, James reminds everyone he's dumb by quietly taking an online quiz for way too long, creating great silent podcast content. Enjoy!

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 le...

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...

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 Zhikha...

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...

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...

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:...

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 y...

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!