S2E1 · A Business Case for Play

Season 2 opens with Keziah Wildsmith, founder of Heaps + Stacks, on why play isn’t a distraction in design - it’s a strategy. We explore how joy, whimsy, and originality drive real cut-through in brand activations, and why storyliving matters more than storytelling. From killing the tired “spin the wheel” to embracing bold, culturally tuned experiences, Keziah shares unfiltered insights on what makes work memorable and commercially powerful. New format this season: Rapid Fire hot takes and Ship It or Sink It, where we test activations against the industry’s sharpest lens. 🎧 Whether you’re in retail, hospitality, or experiential design, this episode is a reminder that courage and play create the strongest brand connections.

Inside the Secret Elevator: How a 20-Year-Old with No Connections Crashed the Luxury Boardroom When Tim Robertson walked into a Rolls-Royce dealership with nothing but a Wix design and raw ambition, he never expected to be whisked up a hidden elevator to pitch executives. This secret passage became his unlikely entry into the world of ultra-luxury, where novelty and narrative trump products. Discover Tim's provocative "Luxury 3.0" framework challenging French heritage dominance, why emerging markets are rewriting luxury's rules, and how challenger brands create intimacy at scale. From pop-up experiences to intellectual property as hidden gold mines, this episode reveals the invisible architecture behind what the ultra-wealthy really buy.

In this episode, we explore the concept of "vibe tailing" with creative strategist Steve Rock, founder of Good Kids agency. Steve breaks down how modern brands are shifting from product-focused marketing to audience-centered experiences, where making your audience the star becomes the ultimate competitive advantage. Steve shares a fascinating case study of how a construction company created an exclusive VIP experience at a trade show that generated five years of business, illustrating that even the most "unsexy" industries can transform their approach. Discover why "intimacy is the new currency" in brand experiences and how challenger brands often understand this better than incumbents. From building tribal identity to avoiding the pandering trap, this conversation provides concrete strategies for creating meaningful connections that transcend traditional marketing. Whether you're in retail, marketing, or brand development, Steve's insights will change how you think about audience engagement. Show Notes This is a long one guys - just under an hour. I honestly tried to edit it, but trust me when I say that Steve brings the goods - all killer and no filler. I recommend you settle in and get ready for a masterclass from a pro. Key Topics & Timestamps: [00:01:37] Definition of vibe tailing and the shift from transactional retail [00:03:40] The construction company case study: transforming a trade show booth [00:08:26] Results: 20x submissions and business secured for 5 years [00:09:46] "Intimacy is the new currency" - shifting from product-first to people-first [00:12:31] Making the audience the star vs. the brand as hero [00:15:01] "The best branding doesn't make you say 'that's clever,' it makes you say 'that's me'" [00:19:41] "The key to failure is trying to please everybody" - avoiding the pandering trap [00:27:20] The importance of tribal identity in building brand communities [00:29:30] How challenger brands understand this concept better than incumbents [00:41:50] "Success is never owned, it's rented, and the rent is due every day" About Steve Rock: Steve is a creative strategist with 25 years of experience in the industry and 18 years running his agency, Good Kids. His client portfolio includes industry titans like Xbox and Nintendo, as well as challenger brands looking to disrupt their categories through culturally-driven experiences. Resources Mentioned: Byron Sharp's marketing principles - How Brands Grow Seth Godin's Tribes Simon Sinek's Start With Why Brands discussed: Apple, Nike, New Balance, On Cloud Connect with Steve: Good Kids Agency https://www.goodkids.ca/ Steve Rock on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/itssteverock/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodkids/ Next Episode: Join us next week as we explore how to sell your brand story to high-net-worth individual buyers, building on many of the concepts covered in this conversation.

Runtime: 30 minutes | Jump to David Dewane interview at 7:20 This week, I'm entertaining the radical notion that our workplaces needn't be soul-crushing productivity prisons. Architect David Dewane joins me to unpack "eudaimonia" – that delightfully unwieldy Greek term that might just save us from the tyranny of open-plan mediocrity. David's "Eudaimonia Machine" concept proposes something truly revolutionary: what if offices were designed for human flourishing rather than human filing? Our conversation wanders through the fertile territories of flow states and architectural ethics while steadfastly avoiding PowerPoint-friendly platitudes. I also take you through Milan Design Week's rare moments of restraint – including Ralph Lauren's impeccably calibrated Hamptons reverie and Swarovski's mobile crystalline garden. Both proof that "experiential" needn't mean "assaulting every sense simultaneously." On a possibly quixotic note, I make the case for Universal Studios' Bedford development being something other than a conversation about tourism in fibreglass. The UK's immersive design sector might just get the incubator it didn't realize it needed. The Gas Station this week spotlights: - David Ogiste's deserved On Agency Award for his Nobody's Café studio (obsession does pay off) - Benjamin Legourd's cinematic love letters to French craftsmanship - Burberry's audacious desert mirage atop a Wuhan mall – a reminder that the brand's environmental dexterity consistently outshines its C-suite melodrama. LINKS David Dewane at Geniant Connect with David on LinkedIn David's Substack Full unedited conversation available Wednesday on my Substack This episode graciously supported by Manchester Fashion Week – where the next thing often looks nothing like the last, and neither do we. Discussion about this episode

Style, shakes and social commentary. SKIMS, Simulacra, and Social Capital: A Theoretical Analysis of Brand Semiotics in Late Capitalism