Meme Team

Sonia Baschez
  • 5.0 (21)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Meme Team dissects the marketing strategies creating breakout cultural moments. Host Sonia Baschez breaks down real campaigns, cultural moments, and marketing trends with other marketers. If you care about positioning, storytelling, or why the algorithm is acting weird again, this one's for you.

  1. Hollywood & AI: Reese Witherspoon, Spencer Pratt, CMO Fatigue + Spotify

    2D AGO

    Hollywood & AI: Reese Witherspoon, Spencer Pratt, CMO Fatigue + Spotify

    Sonia sits down with Robin Simon Wood, SVP of Production at New Motion, to break down how Hollywood women are talking about AI, why CMO fatigue is real, and Spencer Pratt's clipping campaign for LA mayor. The big thesis: if you're going to take a stance, figure out what you're actually trying to say, and stick to your guns. Demi Moore spoke at Cannes and said AI is inevitable, so we should work with it instead of fighting it. Reese Witherspoon posted an Instagram video about making smoothies and said women need to learn AI because their jobs are three times more likely to be automated, yet only 25% of women use it. Both got backlash for being vague and not explaining what they're actually suggesting Hollywood do. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan chairs the DGA's AI committee and talks about protecting craft while negotiating AI use. Ben Affleck went on Joe Rogan and said AI writing is s****y, framed it as a tool like visual effects, and called the existential threat narrative b******t. The lesson: women in Hollywood need to get specific about what they care about and how AI fits their brand, not just say it's inevitable. Brian Chesky went on TBPN and said CMO might be the highest turnover job in Silicon Valley because once something works, it becomes stale. The battle against being stale is exhausting, and marketers are expected to keep innovating week over week, campaign to campaign. The best way to stay fresh is learning from different industries and remixing ideas for your brand, not just copying trends. Spencer Pratt is running for LA mayor with a paid clipping campaign and AI-generated videos. The FCC is miles behind where marketers are in terms of clipping and AI-generated videos, and most people can't tell the difference between AI and real footage. The lesson: political campaigns are changing, and clipping farms and AI-generated content are the new playbook. Users need to be more discerning about what's a political ad versus authentic testimonial. Spotify launched a feature letting you see all your listening data since you first joined but it's not enough to feed data back to users in an interesting way anymore. You need to make them do something or get them interested in what you're working on. We're talking about: - Demi Moore at Cannes saying AI is inevitable and we should work with it, Reese Witherspoon promoting AI to women, and why both got backlash for being vague - Christopher Nolan chairing the DGA's AI committee and talking about protecting craft while negotiating AI use - Ben Affleck on Joe Rogan calling AI writing s****y, framing it as a tool like visual effects, and calling the existential threat narrative b******t - Why men in Hollywood are getting positive reactions for talking about AI - Brian Chesky on TBPN saying CMO might be the highest turnover job in Silicon Valley - The battle against being stale: learning from different industries and remixing ideas for your brand, not just copying trends - NFL schedule release videos using paint mixing creators and slime scooping, and why they're going viral - Anchoring yourself in human principles, not trends, and building a team of specialists who can execute without burning out - Spencer Pratt running for LA mayor with a paid clipping campaign and AI-generated videos - This last Spotify Wrapped and the 20th anniversary feature not hitting as hard, and people having grander expectations - Spotify could have gone deeper with IRL activations like nostalgia concerts featuring bands from 20 years ago Plus: Why Spotify gave up on their disco ball logo, and why the chase for perfection leaves room for everyone to grow Timestamps 00:00 Hollywood women on AI: Demi Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Christopher Nolan, and Ben Affleck 20:00 Brian Chesky on CMO fatigue and the battle against being stale 35:00 Spencer Pratt's paid clipping campaign and AI-generated videos for LA mayor 50:00 Spotify's 20th anniversary feature and hyper-personalization

    1h 2m
  2. AI, Accountability & Ads: Coinbase, Netflix, OpenAI, + Cannes Lions

    MAY 14

    AI, Accountability & Ads: Coinbase, Netflix, OpenAI, + Cannes Lions

    Sonia sits down with Hiten Shah, founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Nira, to break down how companies are using AI as cover for layoffs, how Netflix reversed its brand promise without blowing up, and why Cannes Lions just created an AI craft category. The big thesis: AI is here to stay, but companies need to stop using it as an excuse and start being honest about what's actually working. Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce citing AI making employees more efficient. Brian Armstrong tweeted that non-technical people are shipping code and that they're flattening management levels. But the same week, Coinbase had a massive outage and people immediately blamed the layoffs. If you use AI as an excuse, every bad thing that happens to your company gets blamed on AI. PayPal, FreshWorks, Cloudflare, Bill, and Upwork all followed with similar announcements. AI isn't good enough yet to replace most jobs, and this feels like the last gasp of companies using it as cover before the backlash forces them to be more truthful. Netflix reversed its brand promise and won. The original pitch: pay monthly, skip the ads. Then in late 2022 they launched an ad-supported tier. As of Q1 2026, 60% of new signups choose the ad tier and Netflix is on track for $3 billion in ad revenue this year. How did they not blow up their brand? They never touched the premium tier. The ad load is only four minutes per hour. They didn't auto-enroll anyone like Amazon did. And they're integrating brands directly into shows, following the product placement playbook from F1 and Marvel movies. OpenAI fumbled. Sam Altman was adamant about never doing ads, and now they're selling user data and introducing sponsored results in ChatGPT. A Princeton research paper showed the top answers in ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini are now sponsored. The difference: Netflix adding ads doesn't make you trust Stranger Things more or less. OpenAI is reversing their utility promise. Their whole point was helping you find the best result, and ads get in the way of that. Cannes Lions announced an AI craft subcategory across Design, Digital Craft, Film Craft, Industry Craft, and Creative Data. The rule: work must be something that couldn't exist without AI. A bifurcation is happening. Luxury brands are leaning into human craft. Commodity brands are using AI. 71% of articles on Twitter are now written by AI. Elite institutions are banning AI to protect craft. Others are accepting it as a tool. Hiten wrote a series of essays on founders and storytelling. Founders need to own their story, not delegate it. Mark Benioff had an enemy. Brian Chesky had a cute origin story. Jeff Bezos had two-pizza teams and doors as desks. The most relevant audience for the story is your team before it's your customers. If everyone in your company describes the company differently, you have drag. The fix: write it down, test it out loud, refine, repeat. Talk to your sales team and find out how they're pitching your product. If it doesn't match what you think you're selling, you have a problem. We're talking about: Coinbase laying off 14% of employees and blaming AI, and why the same-week outage made people blame the layoffs PayPal, FreshWorks, Cloudflare, Bill, and Upwork doing the same, and why this feels like the last gasp of the AI excuse Netflix reversing its brand promise: 60% of new signups on the ad tier, $3 billion in ad revenue, and why it worked OpenAI's ad problem: Sam Altman saying they'd never do ads, now selling user data, and why Anthropic capitalized with their Super Bowl ad Cannes Lions AI craft category and why human craft is becoming a luxury signal Hiten's founder storytelling thesis: own your story, talk to your sales team, and fix the drag before it kills you

    54 min
  3. The Loyalty Trap: OpenAI, Disney Adults, Devil Wears Prada, & The World Cup

    MAY 7

    The Loyalty Trap: OpenAI, Disney Adults, Devil Wears Prada, & The World Cup

    Sonia sits down with Moshe Isaacian, a freelance brand marketing strategist who's worked with Lego, Snapchat, Nike, Toyota, and Epic Games, to break down how companies are talking to their customers in 2025. The big thesis: authenticity wins when CEOs show up like humans, not corporate mouthpieces, and the brands that engineer emotional ecosystems walk a fine line between loyalty and exploitation. Sam Altman has a new Twitter persona. After the Super Bowl ad disaster and the Anthropic roast, OpenAI bought TBPN and shifted their entire communication strategy. Now Sam is tweeting like an early Twitter founder, doing engagement bait, following people back, and talking about features in short, human sentences. He's leaning into cringe instead of corporate, showing up the same week Anthropic fumbled their coding AI pricing changes. Meanwhile, OpenAI quietly updated their data policy to share user information with marketing partners, formalizing the ad relationships that pissed people off in February. Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are making the same pivot: talking about AI as a tool that helps humans instead of replaces them. Disney Adults are going into debt. The New Yorker profiled the Disney ecosystem and how they’ve monetized every part of the experience: skipping lines costs extra, airport shuttles aren't free, parking adds up, and limited edition pins bring people back every quarter. The parks change to lean into nostalgia, reverting Star Wars Land from the new sequels back to the original trilogy. But Disney is at an inflection point: when does loyalty turn into exploitation? Right now people blame Disney Adults for overspending, but eventually the backlash could flip toward the company for nickel and diming fans who are psychologically and emotionally attached to the brand. The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts this summer and brand activations are already rolling out: Budweiser's "Let It Pour" campaign features Erling Haaland and Jürgen Klopp with bottles commemorating cultural moments for each country, Adidas launched dog jerseys for Mexico and Japan fans, and Lay's created a WhatsApp group chat with Messi, Beckham, Guy Fieri, Thierry Henry, Alexia Putellas, and Steve Carell. The WhatsApp play is smart because it mirrors actual fan behavior: group chats across time zones keeping friends connected during games. But this World Cup feels different. FIFA and US organizers are charging for fan transportation, fan parties outside stadiums, and tickets are more expensive than previous tournaments. Fans are starting to feel nickel and dimed, and brands are hesitant to go all in because football is still a smaller audience in America and the event feels temporary. The Devil Wears Prada sequel marketing is Brand Playbook 3.0. Barbie invited everyone into the universe with pink everything and unlimited collaborations. Wicked did the same but felt like a cash grab. Devil Wears Prada is more curated: Starbucks created drink orders for each character and had interns deliver them, Cerulean blue appeared in real packaging, a podcast featured ex-stylists talking about working behind fashion magazines, and Meryl Streep wore an Old Navy sweatshirt on Colbert as a wink to the "cerulean" monologue. Brands had to compete to be part of this campaign instead of being openly accepted. The challenge: Devil Wears Prada is niche fashion, not a toy with universal appeal like Barbie. The playbook works when it's curated and rewards superfans, but how many more times can studios do this before audiences turn against it? We're talking about: OpenAI's communication shift: Buying TBPN, pivoting to "AI helps humans" messaging Sharing user information with marketing partners the same week Sam is trying to be authentic on Twitter Disney Adults, Lego and Mattel doing it right: Catering to the kid inside you without gating families out, and why Disney's leadership needs to decide who they're actually serving 2026 FIFA World Cup nickel and diming: charging for fan transportation, fan parties, and higher ticket prices, and why fans feel exploited Football is still a smaller audience in America, the event feels temporary, and it's hard to justify going all in Devil Wears Prada sequel marketing Why this playbook works for female-centered movies: Women make household purchasing decisions, and Hollywood should pay attention to which films drive brand partnerships When does this playbook reach its shelf life: Barbie did it, Wicked did it, now Devil Wears Prada, and audiences might turn against it if every movie does the same thing Timestamps 00:00 Sam Altman's new Twitter persona and OpenAI's communication shift 15:00 Disney Adults going into debt and the engineered ecosystem 35:00 2026 FIFA World Cup brand activations and nickel and diming fans 50:00 Devil Wears Prada sequel marketing and Brand Playbook 3.0

    54 min
  4. Brand Reset vs. Brand Regret: Xbox's Nostalgia Win, Nike's Marathon Fail, & Netflix's TikTok Play

    APR 30

    Brand Reset vs. Brand Regret: Xbox's Nostalgia Win, Nike's Marathon Fail, & Netflix's TikTok Play

    Sonia sits down with Christina Garnett, author of Transforming Customer Brand Relationships and fractional Chief Community Officer, to break down Xbox's fan-first rebrand, Nike's marathon messaging disaster, Netflix's TikTok play, and Tim Cook's exit from Apple. The big thesis: nostalgia wins when it's authentic, and the most human brand wins. Xbox is doing what almost no brand has the guts to do: going backward on purpose. Asha Sharma lowered Game Pass prices (unheard of), ditched the Microsoft Gaming rebrand, brought back the Xbox name, and revealed a logo that screams early 2000s neon green sci-fi. The "This is an Xbox" campaign? Dead. Fans hated it because it stripped identity from the console itself. Now Xbox is leaning into heritage without making it kitschy, proving that listening to your core audience isn't optional. Nike, meanwhile, had a terrible week. Their Boston Marathon out-of-home campaign said "runners are celebrated, but walkers are tolerated," and the backlash was immediate. Competitive brands jumped in with inclusive messaging. Nike took it down fast, but the damage was done. The lesson: aspirational marketing works when it lifts people up, not when it makes them feel less than. Netflix is building a TikTok-style vertical video feed inside its mobile app, turning clips into a discovery engine. They're also integrating six brands directly into Point Season Two, formalizing product placement the way Adam Sandler has been doing for years. The clipping economy is here, and Netflix is making short-form content the front door to streaming. Tim Cook is stepping down from Apple, and MSN insiders say it's because he fumbled AI. His successor is John Turnus, head of hardware engineering, not software. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman over OpenAI's pivot from nonprofit to for-profit, and Ronan Farrow's New Yorker exposé painted Altman as a pathological liar. AI is reshaping leadership, and even CEOs aren't safe. We're talking about: Xbox's fan-first rebrand: Asha Sharma lowering Game Pass prices, killing the "This is an Xbox" campaign, bringing back the neon green logo, and why going back to early 2000s sci-fi aesthetics is a heritage play that actually works Phil Spencer's 2022 Microsoft Gaming rebrand: Made Xbox bland and corporate, stripped identity from the console, and why reversing it was the right move Social identity theory in gaming: Xbox fanboys vs. Sony ponies, territorial allegiance to consoles, and why the "This is an Xbox" campaign was hated internally and externally Nostalgia as strategy: Pairing the new logo with the original bright green console, Ratatouille meme moments, and why Xbox is the first major brand to go full tilt into nostalgia without being kitschy Nike's Boston Marathon disaster: "Runners are celebrated, but walkers are tolerated" out-of-home campaign, immediate backlash, competitive brands jumping in with inclusive messaging, and why aspirational marketing fails when it's condescending Adidas winning the London Marathon: Two men broke the sub-two-hour marathon record wearing Adidas, Nike congratulating them but looked weak, and dog jerseys for World Cup teams Runners' camaraderie: Distance runners treat everyone like fellow warriors, people stopping to help others cross the finish line, and why Nike forgot that most runners want to beat themselves, not each other Netflix's TikTok play: Vertical video discovery feed inside the mobile app, hiring fan editors, and why clips are the front door to streaming now Netflix product placement: Six brands integrated into Point Season Two, Adam Sandler's product placement playbook, and why this is better than ads Marvel's missed opportunity: Hiring fan editors, creating CliffsNotes shorts for every movie and TV show Tim Cook leaving Apple: MSN insiders saying he fumbled AI, John Turnus (hardware engineering head) as successor, and why Apple didn't capitalize on Artemis II astronauts using iPhones in space How AI is reshaping leadership at the top Revenge of the humanities: AI getting too expensive, human labor becoming cheaper, tech CEOs realizing tokens cost more than people, and why discernment is the skill AI can't replace Human-made as luxury: Project Hail Mary's behind-the-scenes content, Andor's practical sets vs. CGI, and why people want to see humans creating art Storytelling vs. AI: The Other Bennet Sister adaptation, Pride and Prejudice on Netflix casting concerns, and why AI can echo but can't create something entirely new Plus: Why founders are expected to tell their stories more and why the most human brand wins Timestamps 00:00 Xbox's fan-first rebrand and nostalgia play 15:00 Nike's marathon disaster and Adidas winning 30:00 Netflix's TikTok feed and product placement strategy 45:00 Tim Cook leaving Apple and the AI leadership crisis 55:00 Human storytelling vs. AI and the revenge of the humanities

    1h 25m
  5. The Clipping Economy: Why Every Band, Brand & Startup Is Faking Organic Growth

    APR 23

    The Clipping Economy: Why Every Band, Brand & Startup Is Faking Organic Growth

    Sonia sits down with Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, to talk about: organic marketing isn't dead, it just got industrialized. And if the audience loves the music, does it matter how they found it? We're talking about: Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running narrative campaigns for the band, TikTok backlash calling them an industry plant, and whether engineered ecosystems count as organic discovery Chaotic Good's playbook: Building networks of TikTok accounts to play background music, share live clips, engineer engagement circles, and the co-founder saying "we can drive impressions on anything at this point" Record labels using Memelord: Breaking new artists using videos, secretly putting music behind meme videos, and Jason getting calls from labels because breaking music is hyper-competitive right now (Suno is number one music app) Astroturfing 101: Fan pages on Twitter for artists are run by record label interns, phone farms, buying YouTube views, and how the music industry has always worked Historical context: MySpace bands figuring out the algorithm, Justin Bieber discovered on YouTube, Taylor Swift building relationships on Twitter/Instagram, and why TikTok is just the next iteration Brand fan accounts: Arby's Boys and Not Spirit Airlines pretending to be employees, getting more views than official brand accounts, and why saying things the brand can't say is more effective In-house influencers: Staples baddie doing ASMR videos for love of the game, companies realizing people want organic content from regular people, and hiring content creators to get personality without messing up the brand account Secondary pages strategy: Jason's been running fake pages for unicorns for a year, allows brands to take more risk, leverage humor without touching the main account, and why memes won't save you if you don't have a good business Follower economy is dead: TikTok proved followers don't matter, Twitter still follower-dominated but people complain about not getting access, and why early YouTubers with 3 million subscribers are asking "what do I do now" Clipping economy: Movie studios putting summaries of Netflix shows directly on TikTok, Jason investing 10 grand into clipping with 40,000 kids on WhatsApp earning $2 per thousand views, and creativity from the masses beating three in-house editors When clipping works vs. doesn't: Great for fame/virality/music/movies, doesn't work for startups (go into your CRM and book calls instead), and companies burning hundreds of thousands on clipping and failing Monoculture vs. summary content: Project Hail Mary/The Pit/Game of Thrones getting teaser trailers and fan cams to drive viewership, Netflix shows getting summaries because people won't spend 6-10 hours, and fan cams originally from fans trying to save shows Launch video bubble: Everyone copying Roy, agencies doing $10 million a year in launch videos and quote tweets, Jason spending $300 and getting 1.1 million views by editing himself, and why you don't need to spend 50 grand What is organic anymore: Finding creators who genuinely love your brand, helping customers create better UGC, in-house employees as subject matter experts, and Project Hail Mary's behind-the-scenes content outperforming Ryan Gosling fan cams Proving you're human: Gen Z assumes everything is AI, showing behind-the-scenes proves it's real, and why that's worth money in 2025 Jason's AMC Instagram Reels event: Rented out movie theater for $3K, 100+ people showed up including big influencers and investors, watched reels for an hour, biggest surprise was everyone booing when they realized something was an ad Meta reached out: Instagram columns team contacted Jason after the event, investors are ex-Meta, and why doing something unique gets companies coming to you Stop hosting dinners: Tech bros don't even eat (half are on Ozempic), Jason hosted ping pong event and bug horror stories for Halloween, and why the bank everyone copies is burning more cash per month than Jason has in his account Platform-specific creators: Twitter discovering social media managers, writing-first platforms (Twitter/LinkedIn) vs. video-first (Instagram/TikTok/YouTube), Jason's team split with Jovian on Instagram/YouTube and another on Twitter/LinkedIn Social media manager vs. creator: Morning Brew's in-house writers doing skits, journalists joining in-house teams but bringing their audience (CNBC example), and why they're freer as non-employees Timestamps 00:00 Geese psyop and manufactured virality 15:00 Brand fan accounts and in-house influencers 28:00 Clipping economy and when it works 40:00 Jason's AMC Instagram Reels event 52:00 Platform-specific creators and trial reels Guest: Jason Levin – Founder of Memelord Technologies, raised $3M to make memes, hit 100K ARR in 9 months with zero ad spend (@IAmJasonLevin on Twitter)

    51 min
  6. Video-First Marketing: Hot Democrats, Literary AI Scandals + Zendaya's Fake Wedding

    APR 9

    Video-First Marketing: Hot Democrats, Literary AI Scandals + Zendaya's Fake Wedding

    Sonia sits down with Sophie Vershbow, a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Esquire (and who spent six years doing social media for Random House), to break down how politicians are running creator playbooks and winning, OpenAI's podcast acquisition, and why competency porn is the new political content strategy. The big thesis: video is non-negotiable, and showing your work builds trust faster than promises. Zohran Mamdani is fixing potholes and shoveling snow on TikTok while other mayors hold press conferences no one watches. OpenAI bought TBPN to control their narrative after losing the Super Bowl ad war to Anthropic. A24 turned Zendaya's fake wedding into an immersive press tour that overshadowed her real one. And the New York Times cut ties with a book reviewer who used AI, proving craft still matters in elite industries. We're talking about: Zohran Mamdani's competency porn strategy: Fixing 100,000 potholes, paying New Yorkers to shovel snow, talking to street vendors about regulations, and why showing the work beats political theater Hot Democrats as the new political playbook: AOC, Graham Platner (Marine running for Maine Senate), Sam Forsag (smoke jumper in Montana), Bob Brooks (firefighter union president in Pennsylvania), and why being good on camera matters as much as policy David Plouffe's creator playbook thesis: Obama campaign strategist saying forward-facing video is mandatory for anyone running for office in 2026, and why the JFK vs. Nixon TV moment is now the TikTok president moment Why Mamdani's video strategy works: 10-minute shoots, biking around the city, calling into local shows, showing up on Fallon for three minutes, and treating digital as part of the job (not a bonus) Eric Adams vs. Mamdani: Fake daily schedule videos vs. real competency porn, and why New Yorkers want to see what their mayor actually does Artemis II astronauts as competency porn: Explaining their process in understandable terms without talking down to audiences, and why people are desperate to watch experts do their jobs well OpenAI buys TBPN: Sam Altman acquiring the tech podcast hosted by Jordy Hayes and John Coogan, winding down ad business, promising editorial independence, and whether they can criticize OpenAI after the Ronan Farrow profile Why OpenAI wanted TBPN: Tech layoffs blamed on AI, bad storytelling about AI replacing jobs, needing a megaphone to reach tech insiders first, and TBPN hosts not being journalists (no gotcha questions) Celebrity podcasts as safe spaces: LA Material article on why celebrities prefer podcasts over journalists, Amy Poehler vs. traditional press, Leonardo DiCaprio's first podcast on New Heights, and Aubrey Plaza talking about her husband's death Ronan Farrow's Sam Altman profile: New Yorker exposé on OpenAI's CEO, pathological liar allegations, Karen Hao's "The AI Hire" book covering similar ground, and whether Altman is the person we want leading AI AI in book publishing crisis: New York Times cuts ties with freelance reviewer Alex Preston for using AI, Shy Girl scandal, Curtis Brown literary agency concerned editors are putting manuscripts into ChatGPT, and why elite industries can't use AI like commodity brands Publishing's AI problem: Hachette not catching AI-generated text in a self-published bestseller, underpaid editors cutting corners, and why trust is sacred in literary spaces Human-made as a brand position: Apple's "shot through glass" ad, Oxford commas as AI tells, leaving typos in tweets to prove authenticity, and why craft is becoming a luxury differentiator A24's immersive wedding campaign for The Drama: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson fake wedding website, Boston Globe announcement, RSVP to Google Calendar, Vogue bridal spread, something old/new/borrowed/blue press tour looks, and doing wedding season publicly while Zendaya's real wedding stays private Why A24's strategy works: Small studio competing with Warner Bros and Netflix, making marketing so interesting fans talk about it, and creating immersive experiences (not just press junkets) Repurposing content across platforms: Twitter, Instagram, TikTok each getting different engagement moments, and why diversification is mandatory (not optional) Plus: Why Eli Lilly is sponsoring the New Yorker Festival, Final Destination 405 log truck Easter eggs, and Delve's YC compliance scandal Timestamps 00:00 Competency porn and hot Democrats: Zohran Mamdani's political playbook 15:00 OpenAI buys TBPN podcast 28:00 Ronan Farrow's Sam Altman profile 35:00 AI in book publishing: New York Times reviewer scandal and Shy Girl fallout 48:00 A24's immersive wedding campaign for The Drama with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson Guest: Sophie Vershbow – Freelance journalist (New York Times, New York Magazine, Esquire), former social media lead at Random House (@SVershbow on Twitter/Instagram)

    58 min
  7. Optimism as Content Strategy: Project Hail Mary and Artemis II + How to Pitch the Media

    APR 2

    Optimism as Content Strategy: Project Hail Mary and Artemis II + How to Pitch the Media

    This week Sonia Baschez and guest Yury Molodtsov discuss Project Hail Mary, which crossed $300M globally in its second weekend — only a 32% drop from opening, which almost never happens. Sonia and Yury get into why space-as-adventure is having a cultural moment, what IMAX has quietly done to become one of the most powerful co-brands in film, and why optimism is a content strategy, not just a tone. Then: Delve. The YC-backed compliance startup sold SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications to hundreds of startups — and now faces an anonymous Substack exposé alleging the audits were fraudulent. The CEO's response contradicted itself in a single statement. Investors quietly deleted their blog posts. Yury explains why shortcut-to-trust brands are the most fragile in any market, and why "AI-powered" is not a business model. After that: Sora is dead. OpenAI shut it down after six months, $1M a day in losses, and — somehow — one hour's notice to Disney. Yury's take on why OpenAI's Series B scrappiness and its $100B data center ambitions are fundamentally incompatible when you have institutional partners. And to close: Yury's State of Media Report 2026. The middle tier of tech media is getting squeezed out. Getting on TBPN is now harder than TechCrunch. And the funding round is the last thing a journalist wants to lead with. Sonia and Yury walk through what it actually takes to get coverage in 2026. 00:00 Project Hail Mary, Artemis II & Optimism as a Content Strategy 15:00 Delve: The $300M Compliance Catastrophe 28:00 Sora Is Dead (and Disney Found Out One Hour Before You Did) 33:30 State of Media 2026 & How to Actually Pitch Press Yury Molodtsov is a partner at MA Family, a PR firm behind campaigns for JetBrains, Miro, and Flipper Zero. He publishes the State of Media Report, an annual breakdown of how press coverage and the media industry are shifting.

    58 min
  8. Manufacturing Demand: AI Backlash, Miley Cyrus + Beehiiv's Social Strategy

    MAR 26

    Manufacturing Demand: AI Backlash, Miley Cyrus + Beehiiv's Social Strategy

    AI is getting bad PR, and audiences are fighting back. 78% of Gen Z can now identify AI-generated images and will scroll past them, causing CTR to drop 40%. Hatchet Book Group pulled Shy Girl after weeks of speculation that sections were AI-generated, and readers went back to edit their positive reviews to call out the AI use. Meanwhile, Yahoo is having a moment on social—partnering with Cardi B to launch their new planner feature with a campaign called "FOMZ" (Fear of Missing Out on Something Important), proving that craft and celebrity endorsements still beat AI shortcuts. This week Sonia sits down with Chi Tuckerel (Head of Social at Beehive, formerly ran Dunkin's social) to break down why AI is losing trust with consumers, how Miley Cyrus willed the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special into existence by promoting it before Disney even agreed to it (stealing a trick from Dolly Parton), and how Beehive is winning creators over from Substack and ConvertKit by elevating user stories instead of just product features. The big thesis: your voice is your competitive advantage—don't outsource it to AI. Gen Z is rejecting AI-generated content because it feels fake. Hatchet's author lost her book deal because readers felt betrayed. Yahoo brought Cardi B in to make their product relatable instead of leaning on AI marketing speak. Miley used her own platform to build hype and force Disney's hand. And Beehive's strategy is all about amplifying creators' voices, not just showcasing the top 1%. Craft, authenticity, and lived experience are what separate great marketing from AI slop. We're talking about: K-pop Demon Hunters Oscar win: Best Original Song and why McDonald's knows how to tap into culture at the right time Project Hail Mary's tech optimism: Record box office, science and technology as hopeful (not dystopian), and why audiences want to root for progress that benefits humanity Gen Z's immune response to AI: 78% can identify AI-generated images, CTR dropping 40%, companies switching back to real product photos, and why trust is the new brand risk Hatchet Book Group pulling Shy Girl: Weeks of online speculation about AI use, author admitting a contractor may have used AI without her knowledge, readers editing positive reviews to retract support, and why "the contractor did it" isn't a defense anymore Retroactive betrayal as a brand risk: Audiences changing their opinion after discovering AI involvement, Goodreads reviews being edited, and why transparency matters more than perfection AI's bad PR problem: Dario from Anthropic saying all professional jobs will be gone in five years, layoffs being blamed on AI (even when it's overhiring corrections), and why leadership needs to stop threatening workers with replacement Yahoo's Cardi B campaign: "FOMSI" (Fear of Missing Something Important), launching their planner feature, Cardi as a relatable ambassador, and why celebrity endorsements work when they're authentic (not just transactional) Why Yahoo is winning on social: bringing craft and humor back, and making people care about Yahoo for the first time in 10 years Marketing AI as a feature is boring and why younger audiences don't care about AI as a selling point Miley Cyrus willing the Hannah Montana special into existence: Taking Dolly Parton's advice to promote before it exists, using her star power to build hype on red carpets, showing Disney the fan reactions, and forcing them to greenlight it in under four months Promote before you build: Pre-announcing creates demand, reactions become data to pitch leadership, and Miley made it impossible for Disney to say no without a cost Celebrities going direct to fans: Miley using her platform to make the special happen, Kristen Stewart buying a theater in LA and doing a PR tour, Sarah Michelle Gellar explaining why the Buffy reboot got canceled, and why stars are bypassing traditional PR Beehiiv's social strategy: Chi running the account, interacting with every creator who tags them (not just the top 1%), celebrating milestones/birthdays/writing streaks, and using merch codes to reward community members LA Material launch on Beehiiv: pricing tiers named after LA highways (the 10, 101, 405), and why new media companies are choosing platforms that empower creators over traditional publishing models Timestamps 00:00 — K-Pop Demon Hunters: Oscar win + McDonald's collab 03:30 — AI's bad PR: Gen Z detecting AI images, Hachette's "Shy Girl" scandal 27:40 — Yahoo x Cardi B's FOMSI campaign 34:10 — Miley Cyrus wills the Hannah Montana special into existence 45:00 — Beehiiv's social strategy with Chi Thukral: Tyler's CEO persona, Washington Post response, LA Material launch Chi Thukral is Head of Social at Beehiiv. Find her: @ChiThukral on LinkedIn / Twitter / Instagram Follow Sonia: @SoniaBaschez Subscribe to Meme Team: YouTube: @MemeTeamPod | TikTok & Spotify: @MemeTeamPodcast

    57 min
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5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Meme Team dissects the marketing strategies creating breakout cultural moments. Host Sonia Baschez breaks down real campaigns, cultural moments, and marketing trends with other marketers. If you care about positioning, storytelling, or why the algorithm is acting weird again, this one's for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Sonia Baschez
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © @2026 Meme Team
  • Show Website
    Meme Team

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