Meme Team: Marketing, Culture, Narrative – Details, episodes & analysis

Sonia and Amanda talk about millennial nostalgia, the innovative Slate Truck, the impact of viral user-generated content, and the challenges posed by bot farms on social media narratives.

Follow us:

Meme Team Podcast (official website)

@soniabaschez on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

@amandanat on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Sonia and Amanda discuss Americans' obsession with protein and protein products, the big problems about Katy Perry going to space (and what is wrong with Blue Origin's marketing), and then we end on a charming note about the Japanese ambassador to the UK Hiroshi Suzuki.

Follow us:

⁠Meme Team Podcast⁠ (official website)

@soniabaschez on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X⁠

@amandanat on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X

First episode of the Meme Team podcast! Sonia and Amanda talk about why everyone cared so much about Rory McIlroy winning the Masters, the real tea about TikTokers saying all the luxury brands manufacture in China, and the significance of Ryan Coogler's thought leadership.

The conversation emphasizes the importance of storytelling, authenticity, and understanding audience truths in effective marketing.

Takeaways:

• Rory McIlroy’s win resonated due to his long journey and underdog status.
• Trend jacking should focus on authenticity and not self-promotion.
• Nike’s ad for McIlroy celebrated his achievement rather than the brand.
• Marketers should tap into universal truths to connect with audiences.
• Luxury brands often face misconceptions about their manufacturing processes.
• Consumers should be informed about the brands they support.
• Authenticity in thought leadership is crucial for engagement.
• Storytelling is a powerful tool in marketing strategies.
• Brands should prepare content for upcoming viral moments.
• Effective marketing is about understanding and addressing audience needs.

Sound Bites:

“People love an underdog.”

“Learn from the universal truths.”

“Show up in the way that you are.”

Follow us:

Meme Team Podcast (official website)

@soniabaschez on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

@amandanat on LinkedIn and Twitter/X

The queen of Marketing Twitter joins the Meme Team podcast! Christina Garnett, author of the forthcoming book, "Transforming Customer–Brand Relationships: Use Emotional Connection To Build Loyalty" chats with Sonia and Amanda about:

• Duolingo declaring itself 'AI-first'
• How everything is content (and why this sucks)
• The magic of Lego F1 cars
• Rivian doubling down on community with its new ad campaign
• AI and Mark Zuckerberg
• KIND — and why a cringe moment outshined their thoughtful rebranding

Preorder Christina Garnett's new book: Transforming Customer–Brand Relationships

Follow all of us:

Christina Garnett (@ThatChristinaG): LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): LinkedIn and Twitter/X

Bonus episode! You're welcome, teamsters.

• Is Tom Cruise the last movie star and... one of the best marketers? (Hear us out.)
• Duolingo purges its TikTok and Instagram and comes back... with a bizarre video. (Presumably to win us back after its AI-first disaster.)
• All-American Rejects playing in your backyard. (We wish.)

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠

Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

On the Meme Team podcast, we talk about the logic behind virality. Because marketing isn’t just logic — it’s culture… and this podcast decodes both.

• Sesame Street is now available on Netflix (but still on PBS!)
• Uber's route share announcement gets bungled (it's really not a bus!)
• HBO finally drops the "Max" (it's cleaner)
• Is everything going to become an AI chatbot?

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠

More about Sonia's consulting firm: https://www.bendgrowth.co/

More about Amanda and her newsletter:

https://amandanat.com/

Marketing isn't just logic — it's culture. The Meme Team podcast decodes both. Let's goooo!

• Apple Vision Pro and Bono (it's like they're trying to make 'fetch' happen)
• Skechers doubled down on this one audience segment — and got to a $9.4 billion valuation
• Final Destination's brilliant guerilla marketing (but if I see a truck with logs on the freeway, I am taking the next exit)
• Pope Leo XIV (is this America's big marketing opportunity?)

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter/X

More about Sonia's consulting firm: https://www.bendgrowth.co/

More about Amanda and her newsletter:

https://amandanat.com/

In this episode of the Meme Team Podcast, Amanda and Sonia discuss:

- the evolving landscape of TV advertising

- the recent class action lawsuit against Alo Yoga for misleading influencer promotions

- the strategic shifts in Apple's marketing approach, particularly in film

- insights from Sprout Social's annual report on social media trends

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview

01:21 Deloitte's Unique Employee Benefits

05:55 Taylor Swift's Community Engagement

06:03 Amazon and Roku's CTV Partnership

18:08 The Future of Targeted Advertising

19:55 The Quest for the Perfect Romper

23:05 The Power of AI in Fashion Discovery

24:47 The Evolution of TV Advertising

25:46 Alo Yoga's Legal Troubles

29:50 The FTC and Influencer Marketing

36:14 The Ethics of Influencer Advertising

40:36 Influencer Marketing and Consumer Perception

43:06 Apple's Marketing Strategy in Film

57:08 Insights from Sprout Social's Annual Report

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram:

Sonia Baschez - @soniabaschez

Amanda Natividad - @amandanat

More about Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

More about Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

More about Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

On Meme Team, we talk about how to own your own story, narrative, and platform.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Sequel.io⁠, the only platform that lets marketers host webinars directly on your website. You can see what your audience does on your site before, during, and after your webinar — giving you better data for retargeting and sales management. Learn more at ⁠Sequel.io⁠.

- Athlete - brand relationships have changed and we're here for it

- Uber Eats is competing to own all the verticals so they can compete with Waymo.

- Deloitte wants you to know how hard their people work, but at least it's FOR you.

- What are wedding content creators??

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠, and ⁠Instagram⁠

Sonia's consulting firm: ⁠bendgrowth.co⁠

Amanda and her newsletter: ⁠amandanat.com⁠

Meme Team: ⁠memeteampodcast.com⁠

Our sponsor: ⁠Sequel.io

We talk about when to own vs. sell your brand.

This episode is brought to you by Sequel.io, the only platform that lets marketers host webinars directly on your website. You can see what your audience does on your site before, during, and after your webinar — giving you better data for retargeting and sales management. Learn more at Sequel.io.

- We break down what Taylor Swift reclaiming her masters teaches marketers about community marketing, and creators about ownership.

- Hailey Bieber sells Rhode for $1B — but don’t call it a brand-building masterclass. It’s a story about product-market fit, aesthetic timing, and great hiring.

- Instagram’s 3:4 update isn’t just a layout change — it’s a signal. We talk platform-native content and what marketers should be testing now.

- Thoughts on Oura’s “Give Us the Finger” campaign. We discuss the clarity, the targeting, and the wink to their next growth segment.

Follow us:

Sonia Baschez (@soniabaschez): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠

Amanda Natividad (@amandanat): ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠, and Instagram

Sonia's consulting firm: bendgrowth.co

Amanda and her newsletter: amandanat.com

Meme Team: memeteampodcast.com

Our sponsor: Sequel.io