KitKat's Stolen Lorry, Pret & Poppi, On & Zendaya...who is the Champion of Partnerships?!

"A personal brand is not you posting cocktails on holiday." That's the opening jab in round five of Brand of the Match. This week's fight: who's the true champion of personal brand.Personal brand is the intentional building of an individual's profile to drive a business, career or commercial outcome, not just having a reputation or a following. In the fifth episode of Brand of the Match, Lottie and Joel put personal brand under the microscope, from Emma Grede's step into the limelight to promote her book after decades building brands behind the scenes, to Grace Beverly's radical transparency around motherhood, to SheerLuxe's internal agency model that turned staff into influencers and sold the business for a reported £40 million. Along the way they cover PerfectTed's LinkedIn culture and its Steven Bartlett origin story, Currys' employee generated content and the fallout between Dr Miami and a former employee over incentives and credit.By full time, there's only one winner. Do you agree with the result? Tell them in the comments.This episode is brought to you by Stickybeak, rapid consumer research built for FMCG marketers. Test packaging, concepts and campaigns with real people in under 48 hours. Find out more at stickybeak.co.Follow Brand of the Match: Joel Bjarni Marlinarson: Instagram & TikTok @coldestjoel, LinkedIn Joel Bjarni Marlinarson Lottie Unwin: Instagram @lottieunwinmarketing, TikTok @lottieupworld, LinkedIn Lottie UnwinSubscribe wherever you're listening, it makes a huge difference to the show.Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming up on Brand of the Match 00:47 - "May the best player win" 00:53 - Kick-off: Champion of Personal Brand 01:04 - Defining personal brand 01:21 - Counter: it's not just having followers, it's intentional business-building 01:43 - Yellow card: everyone already has a personal brand 02:36 - Yellow card volley: reputation versus personal brand for professional gain 03:10 - Landing on a shared definition 03:23 - Special mention: Emma Grede stepping into the limelight 04:36 - Grace Beverly and documenting motherhood in real time 06:03 - The moment of restraint: choosing not to share more 06:36 - Personal brand has to be intentional, not just engagement bait 07:08 - The hidden cost: emotional weight and thick skin 08:15 - Personal brand as a career necessity, especially on LinkedIn 08:48 - SheerLuxe: turning employees into influencers 09:55 - How SheerLuxe made it work: willing faces and a 20% cut 10:26 - Founders who treat personal brand as a threat 12:11 - Halftime: word from Stickybeak 12:22 - Second half: PerfectTed's Heinz collab, real or not 12:45 - The Steven Bartlett Vegas story behind PerfectTed's culture 13:23 - Personal brand only works with a genuine incentive 13:37 - Case study: Dr Miami and a former employee's fallout 14:14 - Should personal brand talent be on contractual terms 14:33 - Lottie's own experience: mandating it failed, fostering it worked 15:48 - Where the line sits: a photo versus scripted influencer work 15:59 - Currys' employee generated content and its enterprise value 16:28 - The risk of resentment, and AI-generated employees 16:39 - Shout out: Laura Roman of Up Talent 16:56 - Final whistle for this round 17:23 - SheerLuxe crowned Brand of the Match 17:39 - The British Airways deals, the 20% cut and the reported £40 million sale 18:07 - Crystal ball: personal brand still rare, but not for long 18:31 - Prediction: personal brand written into employment contracts 18:51 - Prediction: a personal brand strategist in every department 19:13 - Prediction: the return of the publicist 19:54 - Outro and how to follow the show

Virality is reach beyond the people who already follow you, whether that's a video hitting a million views or an idea landing at the school gates. In the fourth episode of Brand of the Match, Lottie and Joel put virality under the microscope, Nothing's tech-brand-as-fashion-house TikTok strategy, to the real-or-engineered debate behind the KFC pickle jacket and the McDonald's CEO's burger bite. Along the way they cover Jet2's missed chance to turn Jess Glynn's holiday moment into a brand world, Wendy's sassy customer service voice, IKEA's Punch the Monkey turnaround, TOTM's period care regulation petition, and Liquid Death's $450 Ozzy Osbourne "DNA" cloning cans.By full time, there's only one winner. Do you agree with the result? Tell them in the comments.This episode is brought to you by Stickybeak, rapid consumer research built for FMCG marketers. Test packaging, concepts and campaigns with real people in under 48 hours. Find out more at stickybeak.co.Follow Brand of the Match:Joel Bjarni Marlinarson: Instagram & TikTok @coldestjoel, LinkedIn Joel Bjarni MarlinarsonLottie Unwin: Instagram @lottieunwinmarketing, TikTok @lottieupworld, LinkedIn Lottie UnwinSubscribe wherever you're listening, it makes a huge difference to the show.Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up on Brand of the Match00:47 - "May the best player win"00:49 - Kick-off: Champion of Virality01:00 - Defining virality on short-form platforms01:54 - Virality as an idea, not just content: KFC's chicken shortage02:36 - It's the message that goes viral, not the messenger03:16 - Red card: "most brands know what's going to go viral"04:06 - Rimowa's DJ bag-fire backlash and the luxury risk04:33 - Compared to the Stanley Cup car-fire story04:41 - Red card: crediting the craft behind on-brand virality06:04 - Off-brand virality is hard too, and the case against rage bait06:37 - Wendy's Amy Brown and the individuals behind viral moments07:18 - IKEA's Punch the Monkey and Alisa Wardrope08:02 - Yellow card: nominating Nothing08:33 - Nothing's scrappy TikTok versus polished Instagram09:15 - Real or engineered: the KFC pickle jacket and McDonald's CEO10:17 - Counter: the follow-up is what makes McDonald's work11:07 - Jet2 and Jess Glynn's missed brand-building moment12:20 - Timing and red tape in big organisations12:48 - The lottery numbers metaphor for irrelevance versus risk14:12 - Everyone's a marketing expert now15:14 - The rotating-approver hack for cutting red tape15:59 - First impressions, and why not everything should go viral16:01 - Halftime: word from Stickybeak17:14 - Second half: Toot's period care petition18:01 - Shout out: Holly Ricks, Lizzie Steno and 17,000 signatures19:03 - Word of mouth: the WhatsApp group test19:56 - Why comment counts are a poor audience proxy20:19 - Liquid Death's $450 Ozzy Osbourne "DNA" cans21:36 - Red card: compared to Sydney Sweeney x Dr Squatch22:19 - Final whistle for this round22:44 - Nothing crowned Brand of the Match23:06 - Crystal ball: brands admitting virality hasn't served them24:08 - Prediction: valuing sustained strategy over viral hits25:00 - Outro and how to follow the show

Brand of the Match is back for round three, and this one's a scrap. Lottie Unwin and Joel Bjarni Marlinarson take on social campaigns: the channel everyone thinks they understand and almost nobody gets right.A social campaign isn't a TV ad reposted on Instagram. It's built for social, from the ground up, with social as the destination. This week Lottie and Joel go head to head on Apple's unhinged new TikTok tone for the MacBook Neo launch, Hair Syrup's Dragon's Den underdog story turned comment-section cult following, Sult's founder-led rise on the back of co-founder Millie Goldsmith's own audience, All Things Butter and Bold Bean's recipe feeds that have become destinations in their own right, QuickBooks Studios' surprisingly brilliant YouTube series for creators, Duolingo's retreat from the unhinged tone it invented, Blank Street, Gap, OpenAI and more!  Only one brand walks away crowned Brand of the Match.This episode is brought to you by Stickybeak, rapid consumer research built for FMCG marketers. Test packaging, concepts and campaigns with real people in under 48 hours. Find out more: stickybeak.co0:00 — Intro: how the show works, red cards, yellow cards and the whistle0:49 — Kick-off: Round three, Champion of Social Campaigns1:07 — Defining a social campaign: content built for social as the destination2:14 — Format switch for this round: pitch and judgeApple's TikTok reinvention for the MacBook Neo launchYellow card: has Apple gone to "TikTok therapy" far too lateApple's defence: product-specific, and a hedge against losing the AI raceHair Syrup's Dragon's Den underdog story and comment-section community8:49 — Segue into SaltSalt's colour ownership, founder pull and the case for radical transparencyDoes social buzz actually convert, and Salt's messaging gaps14:11 — Half-time: the Stickybeak ad break15:24 — Second half: All Things Butter and Bold Bean as recipe-content destinationsBoring businesses doing brilliant social: QuickBooks Studios on YouTubeDuolingo pulling back its unhinged tone of voice for Gen AlphaBlank Street's Affogato Ball, treated like a fashion dropBuilt's comedy writers' room and Gap's new chief entertainment officerGap's nostalgia-led comeback, leaning on Kelis's "Milkshake"OpenAI's nostalgic art direction, winning the heart over the spec sheet27:18 — Final whistle and verdict27:51 — Red card: Bold Bean, for lacking episodic follow-through28:11 — Gap crowned Brand of the Match for Social Campaigns28:44 — Predictions: Snapchat, LinkedIn and Franco Manca's Strava play29:53 — Prediction: more behind-the-scenes education on what a campaign actually takes30:22 — Outro and how to follow the showJoel Bjarni Marlinarson — Instagram & TikTok: @coldestjoel | LinkedIn: Joel Bjarni MarlinarsonLottie Unwin — Instagram: @lottieunwinmarketing | TikTok: @lottieupworld | LinkedIn: Lottie UnwinSubscribe wherever you listen, and drop a comment if you think we got the verdict wrong.In This EpisodeFollow the Show

The Marketing Hustle, Brand of the Match. Champion of OOH. Brand marketers have always argued about the best campaigns down the pub. Now Lottie Unwin and co-host Joel Bjarni Marlinarson are doing it properly, with red cards, yellow cards and a full-time whistle.Out of home covers billboards, installations and anything you see out and about. But in the age of social, OOH is now curated to travel well beyond its physical location. In the second episode of Brand of the Match, Lottie and Joel put out of home under the microscope. It's a channel as old as advertising itself, from Surreal's LinkedIn-native billboard mockups and Canva's genuine "make the logo bigger" takeover of Waterloo station, to TfL and Heineken Zero's confusing Bakerloo Line rebrand, to Rhode's headline-grabbing pimple patches at Coachella. Along the way they cover Pip & Nut's decade of the same squirrel, Lime Bike's reactive dig at London's tube strikes, Turo's shot at stealing Zipcar's audience, and Nike's provocative takeover of the London Marathon.By full time, there's only one winner. Do you agree with the result? Tell us in the comments.This episode is brought to you by Stickybeak, rapid consumer research built for FMCG marketers. Test packaging, concepts and campaigns with real people in under 48 hours. Find out more at stickybeak.co.Follow Brand of the Match:Joel Bjarni Marlinarson: Instagram & TikTok @coldestjoel, LinkedIn Joel Bjarni MarlinarsonLottie Unwin: Instagram @lottieunwinmarketing, TikTok @lottieupworld, LinkedIn Lottie UnwinPlease subscribe wherever you're listening, it makes a huge difference to the show.Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up on Brand of the Match00:47 - Countdown into round two00:53 - Kick-off: Champion of Out of Home01:15 - Out of home as old as advertising itself02:31 - Joel's spectrum: from LinkedIn mockups to full-spend campaigns03:25 - Surreal's copywriting-led fake billboards04:05 - Canva's real Waterloo station takeover05:38 - TfL x Heineken Zero's Baloo line rebrand07:24 - Rhode x Coachella's pimple patch stickers10:34 - Half time: word from Stickybeak11:45 - Second half kicks off11:55 - Pip & Nut's squirrel and the case for consistency14:11 - Lime Bike's reactive tube strike ads15:11 - Turo's dig at the collapsing Zipcar18:03 - Nike's London Marathon takeover23:01 - Final whistle for this round23:17 - Pip & Nut crowned Brand of the Match23:54 - Looking ahead: the future of out of home26:45 - Outro and how to follow the show

Welcome to Brand of the Match, a new series from The Marketing Hustle. Lottie Unwin is joined by co-host Joel Bjarni Marlinarson (founder of Coldest Creative) to debate which brands are playing the partnership game best, red cards, yellow cards and all.This week's category: Partnerships. Lottie and Joel go head to head on Diet Coke x The Devil Wears Prada, Kit Kat's "stolen lorry" stunt, the London Marathon activations from Adidas, Nike and Hoka, Poppi's launch into Pret, Lucky Saint x Lime Bike, Unplugged x Damson Madder and Zendaya x Law Roach for On. One winner gets crowned Brand of the Match.Thank you to our sponsor Stickybeak — rapid consumer research built for FMCG marketers. Test packaging, concepts and campaigns with real people in under 48 hours.Find out more: stickybeak.co0:00 — Intro: Lottie's background and the new co-host format0:26 — Joel introduces Coldest Creative and the "brands as football teams" idea0:47 — How the show works: red cards, yellow cards, the whistle and Brand of the Match1:44 — Kick-off: Round one, PartnershipsDiet Coke x The Devil Wears Prada, and why it works when partnerships are the core of the idea, not an afterthoughtKit Kat's "stolen lorry" stunt and moving at social speedLondon Marathon 2026: Adidas, Nike, Hoka and Wild Deodorant's last-minute activationWhy behind-the-scenes content is now outperforming the polished final asset10:22 — Half-time: the Stickybeak ad break11:35 — Second half: Poppi's launch into Pret, and whether it's a smart distribution play or a brand riskLucky Saint x Lime Bike, and building partnerships around habits people already haveUnplugged x Damson Madder's single-cabin collaborationM&S's compliments campaign and the power of employees posting before the brand doesZendaya x Law Roach for On, and the satirical "assistant" framingJacquemus and his grandmother: legacy as a partnership hookPredictions: employee-led campaigns and the rise of "pay to access an audience" partnerships23:05 — Final whistle and verdict26:13 — On, with the Zendaya x Law Roach campaign, is crowned Brand of the Match26:22 — Outro and how to follow the showDrop us a follow!Joel Bjarni Marlinarson — Instagram & TikTok: @coldestjoel | LinkedIn: Joel Bjarni MarlinarsonLottie Unwin — Instagram: @lottieunwinmarketing | TikTok: @lottieupworld | LinkedIn: Lottie UnwinSubscribe wherever you listen, and drop a comment if you think we got the verdict wrong.

Today’s guest is Sara Tateno, founder of Happity – the platform helping parents find baby & toddler classes while powering thousands of small but mighty businesses behind them. Sara didn’t come from tech, but a second pregnancy, a house move and the panic of “how will I cope this time?” led her to spot a huge, overlooked problem: why was it still so hard to find local classes in the age of smartphones and slick consumer apps?With a management consulting background, Sara could see the commercial opportunity instantly... millions of children, hundreds of classes per neighbourhood, and class providers trying to scale with no proper booking, data or marketing tools. But the people feeling this pain were new parents without access to capital or tech skills. So she decided to become the technical founder herself.In this conversation, Sara shares how she went from BBC strategy to Google’s startup incubator for parents, discovered coding through a “bring your baby” learn-to-code group, and then enrolled in an intense 12‑week bootcamp while her husband took shared parental leave. She built the first version of Happity herself, pulled in classmates to help, and used that prototype to prove there was both a deep emotional need (maternal mental health, community, connection) and a serious global business.We talk about what it really looked like to build a remote-first, flexible company pre‑pandemic, not as a lifestyle perk, but as a way to access incredible, often “overqualified” talent who were being locked out of traditional roles because of rigid working patterns. Sara shares the reality of recruiting parents hungry for meaningful work, the uncomfortable dynamic of turning down high-calibre applicants for low-paid roles, and how that revealed just how broken the flexible work market really was.We also get into the messy bits: launching the site while her daughter was in and out of hospital with appendicitis and how those moments forced her to recalibrate boundaries around family time, school holidays and presence at home. We explore how she and her co-founder restructured their own work to protect both the business and their mental health – and why she believes founders and investors need to talk far more honestly about burnout, caregiving and sustainability.Finally, we zoom out to the industry. Sara unpacks the “cutesy” stigma around businesses focused on babies and mums, and why the term “mompreneur” has been so dismissive of entrepreneurs running genuinely large, often international operations in this space. She explains why impact community, maternal mental health and connection isn’t a side-story but the backbone of Happity’s commercial strategy, and how investor attitudes to “impact + returns” have shifted since they first started fundraising.We also dive into:How a Google incubator for parents and a remote accelerator opened doors that would otherwise have stayed shutWhy learning to code changed Sara’s mindset as a founder and why “I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out” is the ultimate entrepreneurial skillWhat it’s really like to go through an intensive bootcamp with a newborn at home – and why she doesn’t romanticise itThe trade-offs, mistakes and course corrections she’s made as a mum and founder (including the ones she still thinks about)Why 97% of Happity’s traffic is organic and what that says about building products that meet a truly urgent needThe nuances of marketing to mums: clarity over fluff, “trusted friend” over judgement, and brutally honest usefulness over cutesy pastel brand-speakThis is a powerful, unvarnished look at how Sara built a serious tech business from the most “domestic” of problems and why motherhood can be a catalyst for bigger, not smaller, ambitions.

Today's guest is Jade Howes, Brand Marketing Lead for Little Freddie and an experienced marketer who parented through different corporate environments. In this raw and honest conversation, Jade dives into the difficult and often isolating journey of working motherhood. She shares her experience navigating formal and informal support systems at both a massive corporate business (Unilever) and a smaller, founder-led company (Little Freddie).Jade talks candidly about the fear and "self-inflicted" anxiety around pregnancy announcements early in her career, confronting the "stigma against young mums," and the huge challenges of returning to a restructured, remote work environment on the literal first day of lockdown. She also shares the deeply isolating experience of managing Hyperemesis Gravidarum during her second pregnancy and the lack of support and understanding for this "crippling condition."Despite the hardship, Jade reveals the profound, almost "oxymoronic" truth: facing these challenges created a "powerhouse of a skillset" that ultimately fuelled her professional confidence and drive.We also dive into:The difference between formal support in large corporates and the "freedom of expectation" in smaller businesses.Why the internal pressure and fear of judgement were tougher than any reality at work.How enduring Hyperemesis Gravidarum became a tipping point for self-belief.The "Phoenix Imposter Syndrome" and the continuous, complex web of "mum guilt."This episode is a must-listen for anyone who understands that parenting and career success is less about "having it all" and more about muddling through a "whole hot mess."As mentioned in the episode, for support regarding Hyperemesis Gravidarum, here is the link to the charity: Pregnancy Sickness Support

This episode's guest is Jo Wong - a commercial leader turned founder whose career spans Estée Lauder, People Care Planet Care, and now a consultancy supporting Black women to access capital and grow their businesses.But this conversation isn’t just about career success.It’s about what happens when life stacks everything at once, and you still have to keep going.Jo found out she was pregnant just days after being accepted onto an Executive MBA. What followed was a period of intense challenge: navigating pregnancy without ADHD medication, completing her MBA while raising a newborn, experiencing postpartum anxiety, and facing redundancy while on maternity leave.But this isn't a story isn’t about burnout.It’s about resilience.Jo reframes motherhood not as something that slows you down, but as something that fundamentally changes your capacity as a leader, as a person, and as someone navigating ambition.We talk about the “marathon of resilience” that starts long before the baby arrives, the pressure women feel to prove themselves, and the moment when success shifts from titles and recognition to something much more personal.We also dive into:Why motherhood can make you a stronger leader (not a less ambitious one)What it really looks like to do an MBA with a babyADHD, pregnancy and postpartum and how neurodiversity shows up in motherhoodThe reality of postnatal anxiety and why it’s often misunderstoodWhy you need to “get your pink back” after having a babyHow to set boundaries that actually hold between work and lifeBuilding community as an expat mumRedefining success beyond titles, pay and external validationThis is a conversation about identity, ambition, and learning how to hold multiple versions of yourself at once - without losing who you are.

This episode The Maternity Hustle is called “Getting Pregnant Was Her Best Leadership Decision” and we’re thrilled to be joined by Amelia Christie-Miller, founder of Bold Bean Co. Amelia was  around six weeks away from her due date and deep in the most intense version of “the messy middle”.Amelia was at that very specific founder crossroads: the business was growing, big brand moments were landing (including a major book launch and PR push), and she’d just made her biggest hire yet - a new Marketing Director -  right as she was preparing to step back for maternity leave. Terrifying? Yes. Also potentially the best thing she could have done for the business.In this conversation, we go beyond the surface-level “how are you feeling?” and get into the operational and emotional reality of pregnancy as a founder: the transition period before the baby arrives, why coming off Slack and email matters, how to set escalation points so you can truly switch off, and the pressure women feel to perform ambition while becoming a mum.Amelia shares why she wants to take 3–4 months out (and prove that founders don’t have to be on investor calls two weeks postpartum), how pregnancy has already changed the way she leads, and why she’s intentionally building maximum self-compassion into her plan -  so she doesn’t trap herself in promises she might not be able (or want) to keep.We also talk about how moving to Barcelona changed everything: boundaries, pace, childcare infrastructure, and the cultural difference of living somewhere where families are actually supported. It’s a sharp contrast to the UK, where even high-performing founders still feel the financial pressure of childcare -  and where the lack of structural support quietly shapes women’s career decisions years before they ever have kids.Finally, we get into Bold Bean itself: what it looks like to scale a brand that’s grown through organic PR and community magic, why the next stage may require changing gears (without losing the soul), and how stepping away can create the vacuum that lets a team thrive.We cover:Planning maternity leave as a founder: the “wind-down” before birth and the return-to-work transitionHiring a Marketing Director right before mat leave (and why it might be the best forcing function)The “power woman” pressure vs the reality of what you actually wantIdentity, ambition, judgement, and modelling what’s permissible for your teamUK vs Spain: maternity cover, childcare costs, and the culture of family supportScaling Bold Bean beyond early adopters while protecting the magicThe most underrated advice: “There’s never a good time” + “Good enough is good enough”If you’re a founder, marketer, or ambitious woman thinking about kids -  or already navigating it - this episode will feel like someone finally said the quiet part out loud.🎙️ New episodes every fortnight.

Luna Daily CEO & co-founder Katy Cottam joins The Maternity Hustle to talk about fundraising while pregnant, building a maternity plan A/B/C, and why you don’t need to apologise for a life stage that can actually make you a better founder. Expect real talk on gender politics, returning to work, and the systems that make stepping back possible.Welcome to our first interview in this season of The Maternity Hustle - a series about marketing, working life and motherhood, and the real juggle in the messy middle. This week, Lottie is joined by Katy Cottam, CEO & co-founder of Luna Daily, the women’s body care brand tackling taboo categories (and one that got Lottie through pregnancy and early motherhood).Katy shares what it’s really like to navigate pregnancy as a founder in growth mode - from the fear of telling investors and team, to choosing transparency anyway, and discovering that the response can be far more positive than the doom-and-gloom narrative suggests. They also get into the operational reality: how you plan for time away when you can’t truly plan for birth, recovery, or what you’ll want to do on the other side - and how maternity can fast-track the hires and structure your business needed anyway.The conversation goes deeper into the stuff founders don’t say out loud: fertility anxiety, imposter syndrome building a maternity range before becoming a mum, the gender politics of who “gets” to take time off, and why “maternity leave” is a misleading phrase when the job is 24/7. It’s funny, honest, practical - and ultimately a rallying cry to own the moment, build the plan, and come back stronger.We also dive into:Telling investors you’re pregnant mid-fundraise (and why transparency can build trust)The “plan A/B/C” approach for founders who can’t predict recovery or capacityHow maternity can force the business to grow up: roles, responsibilities, and stepping backWhy buying for the mum matters (and why the support drop-off happens after the first few weeks)Gender roles, breastfeeding, and the reality of shared parental leave in the UKWriting parental leave policies in a startup: what’s possible vs what’s rightPractical advice: process mapping, under-promising, and setting yourself up to return well