Inside the unprecedented deal between AB InBev and Netflix
In this episode of Brand New World, host Jeff Beer breaks down one of the biggest brand entertainment deals to date: AB InBev’s wide-ranging partnership with Netflix. This unprecedented move will put global beer brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Corona directly into Netflix programming and its growing live sports slate.
Is this the future of brand-funded entertainment that audiences actually want to watch? Or the beginning of even more corporate influence over the stories we love? To unpack it all, Jeff sits down with Jae Goodman, CEO and co-founder of Superconnector Studios—the strategist who helped broker the Netflix–AB InBev deal and who’s guided brands like Nike and LVMH in building entertainment arms of their own. They explore what this partnership means for marketers, creators, audiences, and the evolving landscape of Hollywood.
But first, we talk sneakers. Jeff chats with Fast Company global design editor Mark Wilson about the cultural power of footwear, New Balance’s surprise influence, and why Nike may finally be back in its innovation groove.
So crack a cold one and settle in—this is Brand New World.
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Advertising’s reality TV moment goes 'On Brand' with Bozoma Saint-John
This month’s episode of Brand New World was largely created during Fast Company’s Innovation Festival, which was held in New York City in mid-September.
So, we’re bringing you my interview with Bozoma Saint-John, former chief marketing or brand officer at companies including Netflix, Uber, and Beats by Dre—who also just happens to star on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She’s also the cohost of NBC’s newest reality show On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, where 10 everyday people compete to have their advertising ideas actually used by major brands like Samsung, Dunkin', Southwest, Captain Morgan, and Therabody.
But first, I had the chance to tap into my inner pizza nerd and talk to founder Tom Gozney about content and design as pillars of his brand’s success, how he’s working to maintain the brand’s culture amid international expansion, and more. (WHICH BRAND?)
Pizza and reality TV? Let’s gooooo.
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Why the next great sports movie might be created by a brand
You know Dick’s Sporting Goods as one of America’s largest and most successful sports retailers. It has used that status to help create an impressive catalog of five feature-length films and 10 short-form or episodic documentaries over the past decade, including the Emmy-winning docs We Could Be King (2014) and The Turnaround (2024). But in August, Dick's took things to a new level, officially launching an in-house studio division called Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios. In this episode, I talk to Dick’s chief marketing officer Emily Silver about why now is the perfect time for an in-house studio, the evolution of the brand’s entertainment strategy, how the company measures success for these projects, and where it all goes from here.
Before that, I wanted to put what Dick’s is doing into some context. So I called up Zac Ryder, co-founder and chief creative officer at Modern Arts—the agency that helped WhatsApp produce the Netflix doc The Seat, which we talked about back in Episode 1 of this season. Zac and I nerd out on the evolution of brand entertainment, then break down our picks for the "Best Brand Entertainment of the Past Decade."
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Inside the world’s first-ever human verification brand
Tools for Humanity CMO John Patroulis talks about the brand strategy behind World, The Orb, and being human in the AI age.
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How Expensify landed brand pole position in Brad Pitt’s blockbuster F1
Here are some deets fresh off the Croisette from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—basically the ad industry’s Oscars but also the global epicenter of brand culture—that happened in mid-June. Brands, marketers, ad agencies, tech companies, platforms, people from entertainment and sports, and anyone and everyone part of the brand world ecosystem were there.
To make sense of it all, or at least a good portion of it, I called up Tim Nudd, creativity editor at Ad Age and a journalist who’s been covering and commenting on this industry for longer than almost anyone. In a conversation that included inside scoops, gossip, and good stories, Nudd and I talked about what impressed him most, what surprised him, and what he’s hearing we can expect from major brands heading into the second half of the year.
Then, I really wanted to find out how Expensify landed the real estate on Brad Pitt’s chest for the new blockbuster film F1. Expensify’s chief financial officer Ryan Schaffer, and Hannes Ciatti, founder and head creative at ad agency Alto, gave me the inside story of how the brand got such a prominent role, including a scene in which they shoot an Expensify commercial in the film. This is getting under the hood on 1,000-horsepower product placement.
The first season of Brand New World was a very specific look at how AI is changing how brands and marketers work. Now the pod is here to talk about brand culture more broadly. Of course that will involve AI from time to time, but I’ll also be digging into sports, entertainment, music, comedy, and everywhere else brands squeeze their way into pop culture.
People love to say they hate advertising, but everyone loves at least one brand. Brand New World is here to talk about why. That means I’ll be popping up in your feed once every month as part of the Fast Company Podcast Network.
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