Brand Wars

Welcome to this edition of Brand Wars - a gaming special!

Benvenuto! This week we are very lucky to welcome the brilliant Finn Lagun - Co-Founder and CMO of Pasta Evangelists.

Since Pasta Evangelists was born in a basement in Notting Hill in 2016, it's appeared on Dragons' Den, launched it's first retail concession in Harrods, devloped it's e-commerce offering through Ocado, M&S and Deliveroo and earlier this year, Barilla, the world's biggest pasta company, purchased a majority stake. 

Finn's passion transports us to farest corners of Italy as he shares his experience and knowledge of the history, the culture and the food of Italy as well as the fascinating story of Pasta Evangelists from "Pasta La Disaster" to "Pasta de résistance!"

Enjoy!

This week we're delighted to welcome Richard Cook, Social Media Manager at Monzo for a good old chit-chat. If you didn't already know, Monzo Bank launched in 2015 as one of the first neo or digital-only banks, offering a mobile-first experience and coral-coloured debit cards. It became the darling of crowdfunding when it raised a record-breaking £1 million in just 96 seconds.

We chat to Richard about the early days of Monzo, why did it become a cult brand amongst North London tech types and how does he get people engaged in conversations about finance? 

We really enjoyed this one so hope you do too!

We're back after a few weeks off and we're kicking off an exciting little run of guest episodes with a man that combines two of our first loves: Football and Beer.

Joining us this week is George Crewe, Global Content & Community Manager at Budweiser UK. Prior to that he was Social Campaigns Manager at Joe Media and worked on some much better podcasts than this one frankly, including House of Rugby with James Haskell!

We also talk Messi vs. goalkeepers, Leicester's FA Cup win and how brands can get involved in podcasting (hint hint!).

It's time for another special guest special and this week we're turning it up to eleven with Daniel Clayton from Ultimate Ears.

Ultimate Ears is an American custom in-ear monitor (IEM), speaker, and earphone manufacturer based in California, acquired by Logitech in 2008. 

Daniel has had an enviable career so far working in marketing roles for the likes of Monster, Logitech Music and now in his role as Global Influencer and Social Media Marketing Manager at Ultimate Ears Pro.

We talk about Vans, Van Halen, Boxing, Boxers and Subscription Boxes as well as discussing how brands can stand out in an increasingly saturated headphone and music market. Let's jump right in!

Unlucky number 13, notably for WiFi strength in this episode... This is our ye olde fashion special. Levi's and Burberry - two brands founded in the mid 19th Century back when Sir Martin Sorrell was just a boy. We discuss the American Gold Rush, the Great British Weather, Daniella Westbrook, Football Hooligans, World Wars and Lloyd's new home town of Basingstoke whilst Chris spends the whole episode trying to stop himself making the whole episode about the history of denim. Enjoy!

This week is a HUGE one for us as we have mentioned a few times how we are big NFL fans and we have had the pleasure of chatting with Jamie King at NFL UK as we talk everything from how Twitter has helped shape and connect the American Football community, the difference watching the Super Bowl live in Miami to watching at home on the sofa like the rest of us, and debating one of life's big questions...is Tom Brady the GOAT?

With its image of an AmEx-wielding, Hilton minibar-raiding elite global lifestyle repped by Gorgeous George, Nespresso (along with Starbucks) helped change the coffee world by bringing espresso-quality coffee into the home. But has that world moved on? A world now shaped by brands like Oatly - the Swedish oat milk maker who took on the dairy gods but making "milk, but made for humans." Let the Battle of the Baristas commence! 

Brand Wars presents Brand News: The biggest news that unless you work in Social Media is not big news in any way. On this week's show...

We review The Internet's reaction to a worse combination than gale force winds on bin day, Twitter experiments with new revenue models, Facebook plans to copy Clubhouse (but will probably end up buying it) and Instagram is sick of your TikTok videos.

Last but not least... Rebecca Black drops 'Friday' remix on Wednesday and we find out what The Body Coach has been up to with the return of Joe Wicks Corner!

"10 years ago if you wore a North Face jacket with Reebok trainers you were a geography teacher. Nowadays you're going to see Skepta." 

A staple of middle-England Dads, the utilitarian brands equally loved by hikers, adventurers, elite athletes as they are rappers, grime MCs, Supreme aficionados and even US Presidents. 

How exactly did brands that started out as tents and arch supports grow into the boundaryless symbols of cool they are today? 

Join Lloyd and Chris on an all-expenses paid trip through the ages of running gear and outerwear folklore.

Bernie Sanders wins Biden inauguration as the memes take precedence. Are Spotify's new podcast ads taking the mic? We also discuss Oatly's shaming of Dads who drink cow’s milk, Adidas' blockbuster esports sponsorship, Bandsintown is the new kid in Streamingtown and we check on the wellness of The Body Coach in our now weekly feature 'Joe Wicks Watch.' 

What's happening in our World this week?

David Bowie lands on TikTok, Influencers scramble to justify exotic Dubai getaways in pandemic, Pokémon is celebrating its 25th anniversary with Katy Perry, Fortnite streamer TheGrefg breaks Twitch records with more than 2 million concurrent viewers, Primark refuses to go online despite £1bn lockdown loss and THAT Joe Wicks fart discussed!

Special because we've cast aside the regular versus format and special because we've managed to keep it under an hour! Featuring NIO, Rivian, goPuff, Future Farm, Peloton, Clubhouse and we find out about Chris' million dollar toy collection.