Brand New World

Late last year, Ford launched its first new global brand strategy in over a decade. "Ready. Set. Ford." hit the U.S. last September and is gradually rolling out in Europe, Canada, and South America throughout this year. 

 

Leading the charge is Ford’s Global chief marketing officer Lisa Materazzo, who joined the company in 2023, after 20 years at Toyota, where she led marketing for the Lexus and Scion brands. 

 

In this episode, Jeff Beer talks to Materazzo about how and why "Ready. Set. Ford." goes far beyond just a marketing strategy, how our relationship with car brands has evolved most in recent years, and more. 

 

Get your keys and start your engines.

On April 6, Coca-Cola reheated its famed 1971 "Hilltop" strategy and launched its yearlong, nationwide campaign to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a three-minute video called “Drink in America.”Much like "Hilltop" more than 50 years ago, this is an incredibly idealized version of America. It feels especially weird amid intense partisan politics, an increasingly unpopular president, and a war with Iran. This video isn’t just selling sugar water—but an America you would barely recognize online.

 

On this episode of Brand New World, we’re going to talk about Coke’s idealized America and how brands are marking America250 so far. We'll also dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of patriotic advertising. 

 

But first! Hosts Jeff Beer and Grace Snelling break down some of their favorite brand work of the past month. Apple! KitKat! Lighters and cowboy boots?

In a culture obsessed with overnight virality, some brands are winning by moving slower—and smarter. In this panel, you’ll hear from marketing execs from Austin-based favorites Yeti and Huckberry about the power of patience in brand building. Rather than chasing trends or gaming algorithms, both companies have invested in community, storytelling, and product integrity—earning loyalty the old-fashioned way. You’ll learn how sometimes the boldest strategy to stand out isn’t to move fast—it’s to build something worth sticking with.

First things first—Brand New World is going from one episode per month to two! One episode will be hosted by Jeff Beer with his Fast Company colleague and Gen Z wizard Grace Snelling, for what we call "The Old Man and the Z." And the second episode each month will feature an interview with a brand, marketing, or advertising executive on work that we’re excited about.

 

This week’s episode is the newest edition of “The Old Man and the Z.” We break down some of our favorite brand work of the past few weeks, including why Burger King is asking people to call its president, Tom Curtis, and let him know what they think of all things BK.

 

And because BK is putting Curtis out in public as a face of the brand, we try to put this in the context of what we should call the Colonel Sanders Memorial Executive Brand Spokesperson Pantheon. Does Curtis have what it takes to someday join Steve Jobs, Rihanna, or even Victor Kiam? It will take a hell of a lot of phone calls to get there.

This month’s episode is all about the big game – but it’s got nothing to do with football. That’s right, it’s the most magical time of year for brands, that rare and brief three-or-so hour moment when people actually want to see commercials. Every marketer’s Xanadu.  Yep, it’s the Super Bowl.

Fast Company reporter – and Brand New World's Gen Z consigliere – Grace Snelling is here to breakdown picks for the Pregame Brand Power Rankings. Jeff and Grace trade favorites of who had the best teasers, what ads we think will be talked about most, and more. 

Then, we wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look at Super Bowl season from some folks who are up to their eyeballs in it. So Jeff is joined by Mark Gross and Chad Broude, co-founders and co-chief creative officers of Chicago-based independent ad agency Highdive. They have hundreds of Super Bowl ads between them – including ads for Jeep and Lay’s this year – so we talked about the role the big game plays in advertising right now, how it’s evolved most, and more. 

And finally, Grace will return with another esteemed Fast Company colleague, staff editor David Salazar, to draft their All-Time Best Super Bowl Ads.

Hot route! Red seven! Hut hut hut!