Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture – Details, episodes & analysis

In this inaugural episode, Ana and Rei introduce the idea of product-led branding: what happens when a product is so good that it spins a brand out of it?

They discuss how products themselves—like Nike’s Moon Shoe and Levi’s 501 jeans—build brand identity through unique features and cultural appeal.

Five key elements of product-led branding are Value, Wear, Aesthetics, Narrative, and Fandom.

Ana and Rei also share their respective Hit Lists, a topic or item in culture that's occupying them at the moment.

• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

What do Banana Republic and Google have in common? 

By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these brands influenced culture. They grew by building a product universe.

In this excerpt from episode 2, Rei and Ana explore product pyramids of these brands, and how they grew through smart product-led branding.

• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

What do Banana Republic, McDonald’s, and a 1,800-year-old Japanese shrine have in common? 

By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these brands influenced culture. They grew by building a product universe.

In this episode, Rei and Ana explore product pyramids of different brands, and how they grew through smart product-led branding.

Related Links:

• The growth of a Japanese shrine: https://open.substack.com/pub/reiinamoto/p/rethinking-rebranding?r=2e839v
• McDonald’s example: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ae/en-ae/anime-campaign.html
• How to build a product universe: https://andjelicaaa.substack.com/p/how-to-build-a-product-universe
• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

What are luxury goods good for? How about a pair of socks or sneakers? In this episode, Rei and Ana talk about apparel’s two opposing forces - product identity and functionality - is deeply embedded in creative, strategic and operational decisions that shape apparel’s business models. Some products, like luxury items, over-index on identity; others, like Uniqlo or Muji, are deeply rooted in functionality. To succeed, apparel brands need to have a mix of both. But what is a good enough product? And can too much identity become a liability? Listen to discover.

• Nike ad of Saquon’s backwards hurdle
• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

Why some rebrands succeed and why some fail? Why do we usually dislike new logos and then slowly get used to them? What are the best and worst rebrands, and how to tell the difference? We are joined by Brian Morrissey, founder of the Rebooting, to discuss how politics, aesthetics and ethics of branding reflect themselves in media, creative fields and brand-building.

• The Rebooting by Brian Morrissey
• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

In their last episode of 2024, Ana and Rei talk about predictions. Rather than predicting the future, companies should set themselves out for the future's inherent unpredictability. In this context, we unpack why "boring" brands are set to succeed, why smart glasses are going to be big, and why the retail middle may be coming back, thanks to Substack and AI. We wish everyone a happy new year!

• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

What is culture? Culture can mean a lot of different things, and in this episode we zero in on our working definitions, along with the brands, consumer behaviors, and trends that we can expect to see more of in 2025

Show notes:

• How to build brand energy by Grace Gordon
• Marcijuš AI Studio
• Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas
• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

Creativity is not just an ideas game. More than anything, it’s a matter of process, organization, and the problem-solving abilities of the “backend” office. McKinsey study found that companies that prioritize creativity have 67 percent higher organic revenue growth than those who do not. Yet, creativity, despite its superior business value, is often siloed in “creative” departments like marketing, design or creative. Creativity is a company-wide mandate, and in this episode, Rei and I talk about how that looks like, which brands successfully implement it, and how to organize for creativity.

• The Changing Role of Design By Rei Inamoto
• @toraya.wagashi
• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

When algorithm flattens cultural markets, how to create against this backdrop? When everything is “meh,” winners are the surprising, the unexpected, and the different. The problem is, these things succeed in niches - offline communities, small groups, and subcultures. They are created in niches, and usually stay there. In the winners-take-all markets, scaling requires algorithms. Can brands bridge this dichotomy? What are the success stories of innovation in the meh world? Is it even financially possible for a brand to disrupt itself before someone else does? In this episode, Rei and I use once-innovative brands as examples of what happens when disruption goes analog.

• Meh-ification, the plot thickens? by Beth Bentley
• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO

The culture of hype (streetwear, cronuts, Gone Girl, Hamilton...) got replaced by the society of spectacle (fashion shows, Olympics, SuperBowl, Barbieheimer). Everything is a spectacle if you lead with celebrities, promote it wildly, and spend enough money on it. Spectacles grab our attention and fizzle in one summer or shorter. In this episode, Rei and Ana talk about SuperBowl's half show, why sports is the only thing that unifies us these days, and whether can hype make a comeback.

• Watch us on YouTube

Follow Ana here:

• Newsletter "The Sociology of Business"
• New book "Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture"

Follow Rei here:

• Rei's LinkedIn
• Newsletter "The Intersection"
• Rei's global innovation firm I&CO