Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand

Welcome back to Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand, the Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the biggest ideas shaping marketing strategy, brand building, consumer behaviour and culture.This week we're diving into one of our favourite topics yet:  Brand Lore.  Not law as in legislation...Lore as in the rituals, stories, symbols, traditions and emotional connections that make brands unforgettable.What is it that makes someone instantly recognise Aesop from the scent of a hand wash? Why do people refill the same bottle for years? Why does Taylor Swift have fans analysing every lyric and Easter egg? And why are brands like Dove, Country Road, RM Williams and Samantha Wills remembered long after a campaign has finished?This episode explores why the world's most iconic brands don't simply sell products.  They create worlds.Lore isn't your logo. It isn't your colour palette. And it isn't your latest campaign. It's the stories your customers tell about you when you're not in the room.This week we discuss:✨ Brand lore and emotional branding✨ Aesop's extraordinary customer experience✨ Samantha Wills' reflections on founder brands✨ Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty✨ Taylor Swift's Easter eggs✨ RM Williams, Country Road and sensory branding✨ ABC Australia's creator-led content strategyNew episodes every Friday.  Follow us on Instagram and TikTok:  @wellplayedpodWe’d love you to leave us a review or share with your networks if you’ve enjoyed this episode.  We are an independently run podcast and every share and follow gives us a great opportunity to get our message and content out to the right listeners.  Much love, Kate & Esther.

Welcome back to Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand, the Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the biggest shifts shaping marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, brand building and modern business.This week, we're asking a provocative question:As AI makes everything faster, is slowing down becoming the ultimate luxury?In this episode, Esther and Kate explore the growing movement towards slow living, analogue experiences, human craftsmanship and intentional brand building, asking whether authenticity, originality and genuine human connection are becoming the new markers of luxury.✨ The rise of slow living in an AI-powered world✨ Claude AI, ChatGPT and Shopify AI✨ Flamingo Estate's incredible brand story✨ Lucy Folk's approach to luxury branding✨ The origins of the Slow Movement✨ Etsy's brilliant "Shop Other Jeffs" campaign✨ Why great brands create rituals, not just productsThe conversation begins with reflections from the opening of Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre, where every detail, from Indigenous food suppliers and procurement to architecture, ceramics and storytelling, demonstrates what happens when a brand is built around values rather than trends. Esther and Kate also discuss the work of chef Amanda Garner, whose expertise in native ingredients and regional food culture helped shape the venue's culinary experience.If you're interested in marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, branding, digital culture, nostalgia marketing, experiential marketing and customer experience, subscribe to Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand.New episodes every Friday.  Follow us on Instagram and TikTok:  @wellplayedpodWe’d love you to leave us a review or share with your networks if you’ve enjoyed this episode.  We are an independently run podcast and every share and follow gives us a great opportunity to get our message and content out to the right listeners.  Much love, Kate & Esther.

This week, we're exploring one of the biggest movements influencing marketing right now: nostalgia.From McDonald's revealing that Grimace is actually a taste bud, to Fishwife's wildly successful New York pop-up, analogue photography, independent magazines and London's Moodboard Making & Coffee Atelier, brands are increasingly looking backwards to create stronger emotional connections with today's consumers.Esther shares why Fishwife has become one of the most talked about consumer brands in the US, generating more than $100,000 in sales in six days through an experiential retail activation that blended beautiful packaging, storytelling and community, in NYC.Meanwhile, Kate explores why creators like Rossi D are capturing millions of views by reintroducing nostalgic cultural conversations, proving that memory, humour and shared experiences remain some of the internet's most powerful currencies.The discussion also explores how brands including Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok are influencing a return to analogue creativity, while communities like Girls Who Meet and Lucky Duck are encouraging people to slow down through craft workshops, snail mail, book swaps and offline connection. Bring back the independent magazines for the win, like the Teen magazine recently launched by Refinery29 ex-alumna, Paula James-Martinez. The conversation spans everything from Pellegrini's Espresso Bar, HuTong Dumpling Bar, the State Library Victoria, Geelong Gallery's Discovering the Impressionists exhibition, London's Borough Market, and Richard Glover's book The Land Before Avocado to unpack why consumers are craving familiarity, ritual and tangible experiences in an increasingly digital world.In Well Played or No lay, Esther and Kate take on QOVES, a facial analysis platform going hard on paid advertising, raising important questions about beauty standards, fear-based marketing and the ethics of AI in branding.Together they unpack:✨ The return of analogue culture✨ Fishwife's colourful retail strategy✨ McDonald's iconic brand characters✨ Why magazines are making a comeback✨ Slow living and community-led businesses✨ Mood boards, craft and creativity✨ The rise of nostalgia marketing✨ AI-powered beauty marketing and ethics✨ How emotional connection influences consumer behaviourFollow Well PlayedIf you're interested in marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, branding, digital culture, nostalgia marketing, experiential marketing and customer experience, subscribe to Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand.New episodes every Friday. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @wellplayedpodWe’d love you to leave us a review or share with your networks if you’ve enjoyed this episode. We are an independently run podcast and every share and follow gives us a great opportunity to get our message and content out to the right listeners. Much love, Kate & Esther.Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

This week we're joined by Josh Henry-Hicks, Founder of Insightly Media, son of City Beach founder Brett Henry-Hicks, and brother of the CEO of Australian fashion label DISSH, Lucy Henry-HicksOne of Australia’s leading retail and ecommerce growth strategists, now based in LA and Founder of Insightly Media, Josh Henry-Hicks has helped some of the world's fastest-growing consumer brands scale through performance marketing, organic social and consumer psychology.  Growing up inside one of Australia's most successful retail families before helping scale digital marketing agency MuteSix, later acquired by Dentsu, Josh has built a career at the intersection of retail, consumer psychology, performance marketing & ecommerce, and is now classified as one of Australia’s leading retail and ecommerce growth strategists, now based in LA.After hearing Josh's keynote at The Social Summit in Melbourne, Esther and Kate knew they had to continue the conversation.Together, they unpack why the traditional social media playbook no longer works, why brands need to move beyond demographics and embrace micro niches, how organic social has become one of the most powerful customer acquisition channels, and why understanding consumer psychology is now one of the biggest competitive advantages in modern marketing.Topics include:✨ Organic social strategy ✨ Consumer psychology✨ Micro niches✨ TikTok and Instagram algorithms✨ Why likes don't matter anymore✨ AI in marketing✨ UGC creators✨ LinkedIn strategyWell Played or No Play?This week's discussion looks at Alex Earle's skincare launch.Instead of relying on influencer marketing, Alex built anticipation through:New York billboardsHidden cluesInfluencer puzzle piecesOrganic storytellingCommunity participationThe result? A campaign driven by curiosity instead of advertising.We also discuss what marketers can learn from Taylor Swift's famous "Easter egg" marketing strategy and why anticipation remains one of the most powerful marketing tools available.Whether you're a marketer, founder, business owner or brand leader, this episode is packed with practical insights into organic social media, AI, UGC creators, consumer psychology, digital marketing, ecommerce growth and the future of brand building.New episodes every Friday.Follow us:Instagram: @wellplayedpodTikTok: @wellplayedpod ----Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

Are we entering a new era of experiential marketing?In Episode 3 of Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand, Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware explore why consumers are craving real-life connection, why community is becoming increasingly important and why brands are investing heavily in experiences again.This week we discuss:✨ The return of experiential marketing✨ Community versus audience✨ The Lip Liner Index and changing consumer behaviour✨ Creator-led entertainment and niche communities✨ Coachella's brand activations✨ Mecca at the Australian Open✨ Frank Green's personalised vending machine experience✨ Mastercard's frictionless retail activation✨ Dirty Darlene and AI-powered creator marketing✨ Why belonging and emotional connection remain powerful drivers of brand growthWhether you're a marketer, founder, business owner or brand leader, this episode is packed with insights on marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, community building, experiential marketing and customer experience.Esther brings a much lighter moment to the conversation with Corporate Canine Noods, a creator account proving that even dogs can become brands.Follow @wellplayedpod and subscribe wherever you listen.--Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

In Episode 2 of Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand, Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware explore authenticity, personal branding, creator-led marketing and the long game of building brand trust.This week we discuss:✨ The upcoming Discovering the Impressionists exhibition at The Geelong Gallery✨ Michelle Obama's appearance in Australia and authentic leadership, brought out to Australia by the Growth Faculty. ✨ The LinkedIn algorithm and personal brand development✨ Why marketing is a long-term strategy✨ Osha Günsberg and authentic content creation✨ Apple's colourful new laptop launch, NEO, and their customer/creator ‘review’ led marketing strategy✨ Spotify's disco ball rebrand and the power of nostalgia marketing✨ Community versus audience and why brands need two-way conversationsIf you're interested in marketing strategy, digital marketing, personal branding, consumer behaviour, creator culture and brand leadership, this episode is for you. Leave us a review and share it with fellow marketers, founders or business owners.Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @wellplayedpodWe'd love to hear from you:What's your earliest Spotify memory?What brands are doing authenticity well?Are you building your personal brand on LinkedIn?--Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.