The Speakeasy

SEG3

The Speakeasy is a podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at your favourite sports, entertainment and gaming brands - giving you a glimpse into the deals, strategies & innovations that are helping to keep you entertained. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, part of the industry, or just curious about how the biggest brands in sport, entertainment and gaming do what they do, The Speakeasy is your all-access pass to the stories behind the moments that are defining pop culture.

  1. The AI Innovation Bringing Hasbro's Characters to Life

    4d ago

    The AI Innovation Bringing Hasbro's Characters to Life

    0:00 – Introduction 1:35 – Why Trivial Pursuit Infinite was the experiment that changed everything 3:00 – Inside the moment that led to an AI Ouija board with 250,000 interactions in 72 hours 4:20 – Why iconic IP lands completely differently with AI voices 5:00 – Why traditional licensing isn't built for characters that speak in real time 5:40 – What is the character operating system — and what is the golden record? 8:20 – How Behavioural licensing came to be, and why it didn't exist before Sixth Wall 8:45 – Why infringement at scale is actually a signal, not just a problem 9:40 – What happens when you ask an LLM "Peppa, do you like bacon?" 15:15 – What happens when your characters run their own 24-hour station, and how it informs character deployment 18:50 – Why Hasbro got talent compensation right before going to market 23:35 – 12 characters live now, vaults full of IP to come — what's the roadmap? 28:40 – How inbound and outbound moderation keeps characters in canon and safe 31:30 – Why CEO buy-in and a culture of experimentation are so important 38:01 – Sixth Wall is open for business: character-as-a-service, and what that actually means 40:40 – What is the vision for the future of Hasbro's AI characters?  🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy 🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com 📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/ 📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3 💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: info@seg3.com   © 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.

    46 min
  2. The Economics of Fandom: Sports Loyalty Programs Explained

    Feb 19

    The Economics of Fandom: Sports Loyalty Programs Explained

    00:00 – Intro 02:30 – From selling attention to building relationships Sports has always monetised eyeballs. But what happens when attention alone isn’t enough? 06:00 – Why loyalty in sport feels underdeveloped How a category built on fandom often lacks a proper, year-round engagement layer. 09:00 – What modern loyalty could look like Moving beyond one-off promotions to something that runs 24/7, 365. 12:00 – Making it simple for fans Why any new technology or system has to feel easy for consumers to use - and where blockchain failed to start with 15:00 – Why “cool” ideas using blockchain aren't enough anymore How teams are getting more strategic in their use of blockchain to drive revenue, efficiency and engagement. 18:30 – How Starbucks & airlines do loyalty What sport can learn from preloaded value, points and rewards models that already work in consumer & travel 22:00 – The Cleveland Cavaliers case study How the Cavs approached loyalty — and what the physical and digital experience looks like for fans. 26:00 – From passive watching to active participation How predictions, rewards, and experiences are giving fans a reason to engage beyond game day. 30:00 – Why sponsors care about this shift The move from impressions to measurable participation and attribution, and the commercial value of those metrics. 34:00 – Owning the fan relationship Why long-term value comes from having a direct connection — and how to rebuild that relationship. 37:30 – What's the commercial potential of loyalty programs? The timeline towards loyalty becoming a core revenue line for most sports properties 40:00 – Final thoughts & wrap up ---- 🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy 🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com 📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/ 📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3 💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: info@seg3.com   © 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.

    41 min
  3. The Clipping Economy: Driving Social Proof at Scale - Yuriy Yarovoy

    Feb 5

    The Clipping Economy: Driving Social Proof at Scale - Yuriy Yarovoy

    --- 00:00 – Welcome & the rise of the clipping economy Why the way people discover and engage with games is fundamentally shifting - from exposure to advertising to shared moments between friends. 03:00 – Attention is earned, not bought How modern audiences filter out traditional marketing - and what it means for user acquisition when youth audiences are now ad-blind by default. 06:40 – Belonging as a growth strategy Why players who discover a game, sport or film through a friend arrive with higher trust, better retention, and a stronger sense of community from day one. 10:20 – From funnel to leapfrog How socially shared content can short-circuit traditional acquisition steps and land users straight into a community. 13:45 – The psychology of shared moments The rationale behind why small, authentic clips are outperforming polished promos - and how identity is formed through participation, not consumption. 17:20 – Designing for trust-based discovery What it takes to build products and campaigns that facilitate organic sharing without feeling engineered or extractive. 21:00 – Community building in low-friction environments How simplicity and familiarity create more shareable behaviours - and why intentional friction often kills valuable momentum for brands. 24:15 – The Three R's to measure growth beyond views and clicks How to think about retention, resonance, and relationship-building as core metrics in community-led growth. 28:00 – Designing campaigns that create culture The content formats and activations that encourage players to contribute over consume - and how successful brands and game developers are rethinking growth loops. 32:30 – Rethinking brand presence in gaming Why younger audiences reject interruptive formats, and how brands can show up in ways that align with player behaviour and context. 36:00 – Lessons for anyone building community-led platforms Insights into what scales trust, and why growing slowly (but meaningfully) often wins long-term. 40:20 – Final reflections --- 🎧 Subscribe to The Speakeasy 🌐 Visit our website: www.seg3.com 📩 Join our newsletter for weekly deep dives into culture & technology: https://seg3.beehiiv.com/ 📱 Follow us on LinkedIn: @SEG3 💬 Got a question or guest idea? Email us at: info@seg3.com   © 2026 [SEG3 Ltd]. All Rights Reserved.

    42 min

About

The Speakeasy is a podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at your favourite sports, entertainment and gaming brands - giving you a glimpse into the deals, strategies & innovations that are helping to keep you entertained. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, part of the industry, or just curious about how the biggest brands in sport, entertainment and gaming do what they do, The Speakeasy is your all-access pass to the stories behind the moments that are defining pop culture.