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Interesting people, insightful points of view and incredible stories on what’s popping and not popping in marketing, tech, and culture you can use to win immediately. Brands, Beats and Bytes boldly stands at the intersection of brand, tech and culture. DC and Larry are fascinated with stories and people behind some of the best marketing in the business. No matter how dope your product, if your marketing sucks your company may suck too. #dontsuck
DC: Brand Nerds, Brand Nerds, Brand Nerds. Back at you with another podcast of Brands Beats, and Bytes. And this one is a good one y'all. This one is a good one. Next month on March 10th, that is the day that the Academy Awards for 2024 will air on ABC. Y'all all know what happened last year.
Y'all know what happened last year. Will did his thing. Chris Rock, unfortunately, was the recipient of Will doing his thing, which I don't condone. I want to be clear, Brand Nerds. I do not condone that, but it went down. So this year's Oscar, many, many people are going to be watching it, which leads me, LT, to our guest today.
Now, she, she, she, she, I just want to be clear now. Our guest did not do anything to Will Smith or to Chris Rock. Okay, nothing, nothing to either one of those gentlemen, but she does work in the entertainment space and is, uh, is an expert at entertainment marketing LT. And we always see a Brand Positioning Doctors that, um, People make decisions based on emotions and then justify with logic.
This is what we say is what research says and entertainment marketing is all about emotion. It's all about emotion. So we have in the building Brand Nerds, someone who really understands marketing at an emotional visceral level. So that's the, uh, that's the first thing. The second thing is full disclosure, Brand Nerds, The guest that we have in the building today is a former client and we love her.
We love her. So if, if you feel a little more love than normal brand nerds, you know, why. LT, can you let the people know who we have in the building today?
LT: Oh yeah. DC,, we're really looking forward to this. We have Folayo Lasaki in the house today. Welcome Folayo.
Folayo Lasaki: Hi, I want you guys to come with me everywhere, by the way, but continue.
Thank you.
LT: We're happy to do it. We're happy to do it. So, okay, Brand Nerds, as DC said, in our Brand Positioning Doctors, consulting practice, we get to work with some great people and Folayo was certainly one of them. Also pay attention to this Brand Nerds, Folayo was one of our premier guests in having a fantastic balance of Brands, Beats and Bytes.
So let's get into Folayo's super cool career path. So Folayo attends Pepperdine University, where she earns a BA in Advertising. Now D, Brand Nerds, if you're not familiar with Pepperdine, it may be one of the coolest campuses in the country, since it is, it is in Malibu, California, overlooking the beautiful Pacific, right D? It's incredible.
DC: Yes.
LT: D, I gotta tell you, I think grads like Folayo immediately show they have incredible discipline in attending that school and actually earning a college degree, don't you think?
DC: I couldn't have done it.
LT: I don't think I could have either. So after graduation, Folayo gets her start as a marketing coordinator, first at Landmark Theatres, serving as a liaison between distributors and theatres for marketing and promotional materials.
And then she goes to Variety where she is involved in multiple areas, including event sponsorships, helping advertisers obtain optimal ad placement in the wonderful Variety, uh, magazine and online, uh, portal and copywriting for marketing materials, such as ads, events, and press releases. So Brand Nerds, as you can see early in her career, Falaia was both figuring out marketing in the entertainment world and also where she fits.
She then joins Film Independent as a marketing manager where their mission is to champion creative independence in visual storytelling in all its forms and to foster a culture of inclusion. They support a global community of artists and audiences who embody diversity, innovation, curiosity, and uniqueness of vision.
So as part of our brand centric vision in that role, Folayo manages marketing initiatives for membership, educational, and talent development programs. The Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, as well as developing and executing each brand and the marketing and media strategies for Film Independent, the L.
A. Film Festival, and the Spirit Awards. So now Folayo continues to move up, and now East. Where she heads to NYC, to New York, joining IFP. org Filmmaker Magazine as their National Advertising Director, responsible for all print and digital advertising and marketing for IFP, Filmmaker Magazine, FilmmakerMagazine.com, and IFP. org Independent, IFP Independent Film Week, the Gotham Awards, and the Made in New York Media Center. So after this successful, heads back to LA. Joining Hollywire as their director of marketing and business development. Hollywire features the latest Hollywood celebrity news, celebrity interviews, and updates on Hollywood's lifestyle and entertainment.
When Folayo was leading all marketing and business development, Hollywire, check this out. According to our research, Hollywire was awarded YouTube's best pop news outlet in both 2014 and 2015, consecutively bearing over 1 billion lifetime views. Those are real results. With this success, Folayo moves upward, joining SoulPancake as their VP, Head of Marketing.
SoulPancake was originally founded by Rainn Wilson and is now an award winning production company owned by Participant Media. In this position, Folio owns and leads all elements of the marketing mix, and she and the team at SoulPancake develop and produce award winning campaigns, event series, and content initiatives.
So, Brand Nerds, we all know you have heard of a pretty successful comedian, actor, and super smart business person by the name of Kevin Hart.
DC: Who dat? Who dat?
LT: Well, Kevin and his team bring Folayo on as the SVP, uh, and head of marketing and comms originally for Laugh Out Loud, LOL, which was their multi platform entertainment brand.
That includes marketing across all the LOL divisions, audio studio, network, experiential, as well as the overall brand marketing and strategy. Additionally, Folayo successfully leads the messaging, positioning, and creative process for the rebrand and launch. Of the heartbeat brand, and that's H. A. R. T. Like Kevin's name.
So Folayo then gets a great opportunity to join Microsoft in her current position as their senior campaign and strategy lead for the Microsoft Surface tablet, where she leads the global seasonal product and tentpole campaign strategy as well as integrated cross functional planning for the Microsoft Surface portfolio of devices.
She's also principal and founder of Striped Elephant, a marketing comms firm working with clients at the cross section of guess what, Brand Nerds, entertainment, media, and technology to develop business strategies and creative marketing initiatives. In closing out her super impressive background, Folayo was also a writer, public speaker and advocate for the representation of women and people of color in the media.
She is member of IADAS, a voting member of the Telly awards and board member and marketing chair for women's, which is women in media, a 501c nonprofit networking group for women in the LA area, working in digital media. Looking forward to this. Welcome to Brands, Beats, and Bytes, Folayo Lasaki.
Folayo Lasaki: Ooh. Wow. That that was a, you guys went deep.
I like it. , .
LT: You did it all. Folayo.
Folayo Lasaki: Um, yeah. It's, it's funny, I always talk about my careers. I took. It always made sense to me, but it kind of looked like the scenic route where it didn't go up. And then even before Landmark Theaters, I was in straight entertainment. I worked in casting. I worked in as a man, I worked in management as a creative executive.
So I, yeah, no, that's the part where it's like, that was too long ago not to age myself, but yeah, I had, um, I started my career on the production side of the industry. And I've always said that that helps me, from an entertainment marketing perspective, just speak both languages.
DC: Totally. Didn't know that.
Alright, so now Folayo. This is fun. Yes. With Larry doing his thing, this is why you need to take us with you. We'll just walk in. You know how some celebrities and superheroes have theme music? Larry, we just roll with Folayo, and then Larry, you do your thing, I do my thing, and this is Folayo, okay?
Folayo Lasaki: That's right. Love it.
DC: Thank you. Alright, uh, okay. The next section is, uh, is what we call Get Comfy. So this is gonna be about you, but I wanna take a pause. Uh, I'm a girl dad. I've got three daughters. And so whenever Pepperdine University is mentioned since October last year, I get solemn, , uh, gets solemn. So in October of 2023, y uh, unfortunately three, I mean four women. All seniors lost their lives. And Larry, I don't know if you've driven by Pepperdine, but like, yeah, though it's also, there's an area there where it's notorious for speeding traffic and it's like a turn. And unfortunately someone was speeding. And they, um, and they killed four women. So I just want to, uh, mention, young women, I want to mention their names and just have a quick moment of silence out of respect for these, uh, these young women, um, Naima Raulston, Peyton Stewart, uh, Aisha Weir, and Deslyn Williams.
So just a, just a quick moment of silence for these, uh, these young women and their families.
Cool. All right. Get comfy. Get comfy Folayo. All right. So you have been around entertainment for a while. And, Folayo, I worked in, uh, with entertainment. For many years before I worked actually at a studio and Folayo, Larry knows this. I thought because I'd worked with, uh, studios, record labels, producers, directors, actors, writers.
I thought I had an understanding of how Hollywood worked. Once I got to the studio side, Folayo, I recognized I didn't know shit. I knew nothing. And one of the things I learned early on is that while on the corporate side in marketing and brand for the vast majority of my career, there were a bevy of prerequisites required before one could elevate to a particular position. You had to have a degree, sometimes a graduate degree, you had to have these different types of steps inside of an organization, assistant brand manager, associate brand manager, brand manager, senior brand manager, director, on and on and on until you get up into like the S, the, the, uh, the S, the E's and the C's of the corporate world.
So here I am now on the, uh, I'm inside of a studio. And it occurs to me that a lot of people in power, the prerequisite was they knew somebody that was the prerequisite. There was no skill set. There was no experience. They just happened to know someone. And they were trusted by this person, therefore they had power.
This shit blew my mind. This, this, this, this, this, this, this blew my mind. So, I'm, as my mother would say, rest in power. Uh, she would say, baby, uh, when I would talk too long, are you arriving at a point? I'm arriving at a point, Folio. I'm arriving at a point. Okay. You, Folio, as someone who has been in this industry for a minute.
LT: And thrived, by the way.
DC: And thrived. And thrived. As a Black woman, what has it been like for you matriculating all of this? And I've just mentioned one thing that makes entertainment, uh, industry different than other industries. What, what have you been able to do to matriculate this thing successfully?
Folayo Lasaki: Uh, that is, I, I tend to keep my, my head down and just keep going, but I think entertainment is an interesting Entertainment, the industry is interesting because it's a mix of nepotism, meritocracy, grit, stick to it edness, whatever, some kind of perseverance, and, and being able to outwit or, or, or do the job better.
But you don't know who you're meeting when you're interacting, because there's a mix of everybody. There's some people who have the job because It was handed to them. There's other people who have the job because they're the best person for the job. It might have had a slow route or a lightning fast route.
You don't know. And then there's other people who are just like trucking along and they get an opportunity. So it's a really, I think a lot of industries work like that. In their own way, but it is it is definitely a mix of being in the right place at the right time with the right information and the right ability.
And I think that for me coming from, you know, I grew up in Denver. I'm a 1st generation American. My family is not enamored at all with the entertainment industry, so it hasn't there was never a situation where. I had any kind of connection. So I've literally just had to make my way that, you know, when I talk about the scenic route, that's what it is.
It's moving around, collecting enough information to make me very, very strong and to make me have an opinion or a perspective that is different from other people. So, working in entertainment, working in media, working in tech, working with brands, working with filmmakers, moving from left to right, understanding the creative, the business, and the marketing, also just having a genuine curiosity about the world and business, and talking to people who don't think like me, um, allows me To look at things differently than other people.
And so when everybody else is looking left, I'm looking to the right in the corner at that thing that they never even saw coming. And that has been how I have been able to move through the industry. That's not to say that it's been easy, that there haven't been setbacks where there haven't been moments where like, I'm like, oh, I should have been here by now.
Cause I, you know, I'm still human. You always want to move faster, um, faster or higher or, or whatever, but I think that, um, my way of doing it, and this is going to sound much more egomaniacal than I mean it to, um, but is to be undeniable. Like, you know, where you, you might not know me. But you might see work that I do and just be like, well, damn, and that's what I want.
That's the moment that I want. And so I really put in the work to get myself to that. And then when I see that I am falling short, try to figure out how I can pick up the slack, my own slack. So, um, learn more about whatever it is that I'm faced with. Um, and then use my perspective to help me be. You know, the tool that they didn't know that they had in the box.
LT: Love that. Love that D.
DC: That's good. That's good. That's good.
LT: I got nothing to add. That's wonderful.
DC: I don't think there's anything to add.
LT: Nope.
DC: Actually. All right. We are going to our next segment. We call it five questions. It goes down like this. I ask a question, Larry, ask a question. We go back and forth until we arrive at five.
I am, um, I'm up first taking the first snap at the Superbowl this weekend. All right, for Lyle, take yourself back. Recall a time where you had a branding experience where. It just really touched your soul and maybe in some ways you were so into it that it surprised you, you, you developed a, a, a relationship with this brand or an interest in this brand.
You could not get enough of it. A bit like your first love. What, what was this brand for you or branding experience?
Folayo Lasaki: You know, I've thought about this and it's, it goes, there's, there's kind of two ways that this is gone. Um, I, when I, when I thought about it, it was, oh, it was movies first. There was a style of movies that came through, um, which explains just, you know, my career trajectory where it was like, I remember thinking about, you know, formerly, um, or currently Miramax films or focus features, types of movies that they made, I always felt very connected to, um, And so there
LT: Was one in particular. Was there one in particular that you really
Folayo Lasaki: Good Will Hunting? I mean, I was older. This happened before, but good. Well, hunting is the one that hit hits me in the head, um, where I remember being, I don't know, 15, maybe and seeing that movie and just being like, kind of floored by it. And the storytelling and even when I had endeavors or thoughts about working on that side of the business where that the idea.
This is also the 1st time. I understood that. Like, you could write a movie and that everything that happened was written like that. Again. I grew up in Denver. This is. It's so funny to me to think about it now, but I can remember being like, Oh my God, like they wrote every single word. None of that just happens.
And I think that was when I was cerebrally able to understand that. And so there was a type of movie that was coming out around. Mid nineties. Um, that was really storytelling that I just loved. Um, but from a brand's perspective, when I was younger, younger, there were these Calvin Klein ads that were all black and white photos.
Now I love photography. My dad used to take a lot of pictures. Um, I started taking pictures and there were this, I mean, early nineties. I think there was a collection of Calvin Klein ads that were just black and white images with whoever the model or whatever was. Ironically, half the time they didn't have clothes on, but they were selling clothes, which was, I think about that now as being somewhat ridiculous, but also very, um, kind of an intriguing thing, but they were such striking images to talk about emotion.
I just remember, like I put these on my wall, like I had a wall. In my bedroom that was just dedicated to these black and white Calvin Klein ads. And it, it felt more art, but it also then made me be like, I need to buy CK One. You know what I mean? Where it's, it's, it just made me feel the association. Um, it felt luxury. It felt just slightly, just slightly out of reach for me, which made me want it even more, um, there was something about that kind of. Almost like we don't care that you're looking, we don't care if you look thing that they were doing that made you just want to lean in more that I just remember being really, really interested in.
I mean, I'm sure it didn't hurt that it was like, beautiful people left and right. It was like Tyson Beckford and Kate Moss and all of these people, but it was this, um, it made me want to be a part of that brand, like, which. Is just, it wasn't even that I felt like I needed to own anything. It was, you know, this was me at the time, like going to Ross to see if they had like the CK, you know, knockoffs that were maybe like a C and half a K, um, you know, that, that fell off, but just wanting to be included in that.
Um, that's what I remember as far as that love. And I always, I think of things like that because. I don't know that I was the target audience, but so many years later, I can still think about that and it still has resonance and I can still understand why, why I felt that way. And you can see Calvin Klein evolving from that, but still having that same thing.
I don't know. I mean, people don't really read magazines in the way that they did back then. So I don't know if it's. The same, um, but having tangible things that I could rip out of the magazines and like, you know, back when they also had like the smell things, I'm sure they still do. But like, all of it felt very, um, sensory and just cool and something that you wanted to be a part of.
And also that aspirational. You didn't, you didn't see it on social media. Like it wasn't that kind of thing wasn't in your face every minute. So it just, it landed, it landed for me.
LT: Folayo, that is such you took us back there. The way you describe that you really did. And what I'm struck with and fly.
We've had these conversations with you and DC and I and our team have it all the time. You didn't talk about the product. You talked about, like, you know, the Calvin Klein was a feeling was that was you know, a part of the brand like you even said, well, I don't even remember like they were half naked. The product was wasn't even really part of it at all.
But Calvin Klein and he got it early, right? Like, you know, he really understood because Calvin Klein's a real person, everyone. Um, and he and his team really understood about emotionally connecting with people. And it wasn't about the product. It was about the brand.
DC: Yeah, I'll say this, uh, Folayo, really interesting that you said it was just a bit out of your reach, which made you wanted more that that subtle that gap between what you think you can touch and what's just beyond it.
Is, uh, is seductive. I remember when, um, I was a very young man, um, wanting to learn how to kiss and I came across something and it's, it's stuck with me. It said, because, you know, young man, they like teenage boys. Okay. So it said, Approach and then pull back and, and, and then she'll come to you and I'm like, I never forgot that I never, I never got that.
And if there's something about that little space, something about that space, I really liked that.
Folayo Lasaki: Yeah, it's something about it made the having feel special. And I'm not even joking. It was like, okay, well, my parents are certainly not going to spend this much money on any of this stuff. But there is a Ross second season, something that I, and it was enough.
And it felt like, right. You know, that was in those days when people were rocking just like, it's like just Calvin Klein sweatshirts everywhere. And it was like, that's as close as I can get to this. I'll take it. No, I'm in just so you know, I'm in this. It's like, this was a birthday present, this sweatshirt, this hooded sweatshirt that says, says this man's name who I've never met. I just feel so like, I feel so a part of it. And ironically, I don't really wear any break. I don't wear branding at all anymore, but there was that time where it was like, yes. I am wearing this as a billboard, as a badge, as a, I'm part of it too. And so, um, yeah, it's, it was a fun question to kind of think about.
LT: You took us back there. That's visceral. Even the way you're talking about that. You brought me back. I forgot about those ads where, you know, with. For colognes or perfumes, where Brand Nerds, you younger Brand Nerds, where magazines don't really exist anymore, they used to have a part of the ads where you could actually smell what the, uh, what the cologne or perfume was like.
And it, and it gave you that sensory, that obviously, uh, that other component, which took you there even more.
Folayo Lasaki: Yeah, I remember, um, like I said, I had a mural, there was a whole wall, so as much as I like that, it would, I would always have to cut those off. And then it would make it off center. So I had a whole, I get was the little smell strips were problematic in my mural design, but, um, very cool.
Very nice.
LT: All right, let's go to the next. That's a great that's great stuff. We're going to go to the next question. Who has had or is having the most influence on your career?
Folayo Lasaki: Who, um, that is an interesting question. I feel like I'm influenced by everybody. I, how do I put this without sounding strange? So I think that for me, I am very motivated by athletes. Um, uh, as far as like their commitment and the like elite athletes, not just date, like, not just like the day player, but like elite athletes. I think I feel influenced by, um. And you can take any, any name of any athlete that is just great because, um, and I love sports documentaries for this exact same reason because I watch it and then I feel motivated to do more or to get better or just to sharpen just a little bit more.
Um, and so that I would say is a big motivator. I think my family, um, is a big motivator for me.
LT: Can you shout out? From perspective? Can you shout out
Folayo Lasaki: my dad, my dad and my mom specifically? Um, my dad is somebody who, they, my parents have always given us the gift of high expectations, and I think that, um, the, that's a motivation to wanna meet it.
Like, Mm-Hmm, , nobody has ever in my home expected less of me, which makes me always wanna, like, meet it and exceed it. And I think that that I would say is a familial trait. I have a brother and a sister and I think people that have met us would probably say the same thing about them as well. Um, and so that, that always motivates me to just, I'm not somebody, I don't like to just show up.
Like, if I'm going to be there, I really want to like, make it count. Um, and that's a big motivator for me. Because I feel like I can lounge in my lounging time. But if it's time to work, then let's get to work. Um, and those are big motivators for me. And I don't know if there's any person, but like, I like to be motivated by great.
Like, it's why I like athletes, but it's also why I like Oprah. Not just because she's a Black woman, but because she is a really successful black woman. Like, that is somebody who I'm like, I could spend some time chasing you and that makes that that works. I like that. I like having like, I think maybe there's some maybe I should go see somebody about this.
I'm like, just out of reach. I gotta just keep running. I'm like, now they were having this little therapy session. I'm feeling like maybe I just can't be satisfied. And that's my motivation. Um, too much. Uh, this sounds great.
LT: Can you can you say the names of your family if you don't mind? Let's give them a shout out.
Folayo Lasaki: I don't know if they want me to say their names.
LT: Okay, well, they don't want
Folayo Lasaki: Mom and dad. That's who their names are. But yes, no, the, uh, I have a. It's, it's an interesting thing. Um, nobody in my family is really lovers. They don't, it's not, they're not a lot of lovers of like attention. You know, it's like we don't, we don't do it for the accolades. Um, but they know who they are and they know who they are to me. And I think that helps all of us stay grounded. Um, but, uh, yeah, anybody that's doing great. I love looking at CEOs and great companies, small, big, whatever. And just seeing like, how did you do it? Where did you go? And then also people that kind of were like sleepers who then showed up everywhere are like, if a brand does really well, I want to know who's behind it, like, you know, just like that kind of thing, because I'm also motivated by the people who I see coming up behind me who are like coming up with new ways of doing and thinking people who can like Understand this gigantic matrix and make new ways like from a digital or a social perspective That motivates me. Um They have impact in my career because If you're one, one, if you're only looking ahead, someone's going to pass you.
So that's where I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm motivated by like, it's like the racehorse or it's like, they kind of need to see who's next to him. Like, you need to see in front of you need to see who's coming up behind you so that you can just keep pushing. Um, so I like to. I like working and kind of communicating with younger people that motivates me a lot and has a high impact just because they, they see things so differently than I did because they grew up so differently.
Like, I didn't grow up with a cell phone. I didn't, I don't know what that experience is like. To be of the mobile first generation. I have I came into my life later like social media. I remember when social media became a term. There's a lot of people who I'm working with now where it's like, what do you mean you remember? Hasn't it always been there? And so. To talk to people who have never known differently is such an impactful thing, because they will never be able to see it how I see it, but I will never be able to see how they see it. But if I'm listening enough, and I'm humble enough, then I can combine those things for something new.
DC: Love that.
LT: Do you want to go to question three?
DC: I do, I do. All right, Folayo, you have many accolades. Many W's, many W's throughout your career. But we don't want to know about those in this question. In this question, we want to know your biggest F up on you, Phileo. You made the mistake. Your thinking was flawed.
You thought it was going to work. It did not work. Uh, and then what you learned from it.
Folayo Lasaki: So without naming names, well, I should start by saying, like, just take your pick. Like, I, I fail a lot, but I, I kind of look at it because I'm always trying, um, like, so, but. In times I, so I don't think that failing or effing up is that that much of a problem because if you are never, you are really playing it safe.
So, um, but that's kind of the more kumbaya answer. When I think about, um, just a time in my career where it was like, oh, geez. Um, I worked on a partnership and I worked on a partnership and, you know, short story long is I saw the revenue opportunity and decided that I would choose commerce over customer.
And I created this partnership and I did all this stuff and we made all this content and it tanked and it was because. I wasn't thinking about who, who was on the other side of this. I was thinking about how to reach my personal revenue or targets or goals or how to make the sale or how to, how to say I worked with this brand.
Um, and I realized at that point, my big learning is not all money is good money and not all money is the right money. Um, And I think that that failure or that FF has actually stretched into my life beyond work is that. If you are making moves without thinking about the end result, um, I've done this in terms of jobs or clients or whatever, where it's like, this was a total, this was a money decision. This was a stupid decision. It actually made me, um, kind of clean this phrase that my former coworkers. Um, he did, but it was don't chase, you know, don't sacrifice dollars tomorrow for pennies today. Um, and that is. That's what I learned, um, is that you have to play the long game, even when it's harder, um, now that is a very fun phrase and it's great to put on a white board when you're faced with it. It is a decision that you have to make actively because again, it's not just a work decision, it's a life decision. There are so many times that I myself have, faced this choice and been wooed by the shining lights. And then immediately just been like, like, just like, Oh Jesus. Like learn it. Like, I like to, I like to not make the same mistake more than once.
Like I make, I make lots of mistakes, but I like to just make them the one time. This is the one that I think it's an exercise that has to consistently be, um, worked and, and sharpened and, and just. You got to do whatever the practice is to make sure that you're thinking about that end result and what you really want at the end of this.
Um, because anytime that I haven't thought about, okay, so the day after this, does this get me closer or further to where I'm actually trying to be? Um, so that's where my failures have come. Um, And continue to come sometimes, you know, I love to be this, you know, very elevated. I've moved past this failure.
It's just not it's just not fact. So, like, it's, um, it's a lesson that I learn regularly.
LT: I think we all do to some degree. Right? And I think. What you're really saying is also that if you're so, have such zeal to get stuff now and two things, aren't thinking of end result like you said Folayo, like what's my real objective here, which is, if you, if you do that, you have to take a breath and think, right?
Yeah. You got to pause, right? And then if you do that, then having the patience to really be focused on the end result rather than what's the gleaming, shining object that you've talked about that's there today.
Folayo Lasaki: Yeah, I was a preemie, so patience isn't really built into me. But, uh, that's my family. I'm not lying. Like, I really, I'm like, I don't like to wait. It's a problem. But, um, I also think that that. You know, this is an interesting question because I think even beyond that, my, my choice and failures can also be a bit of a failure. Like, I, I think even if I think of a, it would be better because I'm consistently trying. Like I, like I said, I fail a lot because I try hard, but I think that another failure in that space is that, Are you failing at the things that matter? Like failure? I saw somebody quoted, I don't remember who it was, but they said it's not failure, it's feedback.
Um, and so If I like, sometimes I get my head wrapped up in like solving this problem that doesn't really matter to me. And I will figure out how to get it left. Right. Sounded like I will, I'll fail, I'll fall, I'll do whatever. And sometimes even that is a distraction from the thing I might be too afraid to move forward into, like, you know, this question got me thinking about fear of failure. And when the stakes are more personally low, I think there is less fear of failure. You're like, it's cool. I can face anything. But when you kind of dig deeper into the risk, are you failing in those directions as well, where it might, the failure might hurt a little more like hurt him a little more of whether your ego, your pride, your ability to walk forward.
Um, I'd say that is a, that is an F up in that sometimes there's the lack of, I don't know if it's bravery or like, I don't know, but like maybe there's the lack of fortitude to fail in the places that matter. And that in and of itself can be. Um, an F-Up.
LT: That's interesting. And really putting yourself out there, I think is what, yeah.
DC: Mm, yeah. Mm. Wow.
LT: This is great. D, you have any more thoughts on this? You wanna or
DC: I don't. That's, I love the quotes. This is a very quotable podcast, right?
LT: Oh, it is. Oh, Folayo, it sure is. Oh, man. So we're going to go to question four. Uh, and really love to serve this up to Folayo, because again, as we mentioned earlier, she really has the brands, the beats and the bytes.
So regarding technology and marketing, Folayo, can you tell us where you think marketers should lean in or best leverage tech? Or you could go to areas that you think they should be leery or simply avoid.
Folayo Lasaki: I don't know. Like, I don't, I don't want to say that I think anybody should avoid anything, but I think people should be mindful. Again, like, what are you trying to do? Tech is a tool, not it. It is best used when you know what you're doing, is my thought. Um, I think a lot of people these days are replacing experience, thoughtfulness, you know, information with tack.
Um, and that's when it can be a little dicey, but if you use it to just amplify or amp up what you are already great at whatever tech that might be, um, simplification, like, then I think you should lean into it for marketers. I think it's also just being clear about the customer and not getting, like, drunk on the technology, like, there's lots of things and I, I mean, it is wild how many opportunities there are that are thrown at the face of marketers these days is what you can use. And here's a tool and here's a software and here's a thing. And it's just like, okay, what, like it's, it's so hard. And I think that you can easily be distracted. By how much you have to play with and then forget that there was actually something that you were trying to get done.
And so, um, in the same way, like I'm going to talk about architecture as though I know anything about it. In the same way that an architect, I think would build out the plans and then figure out what tools get them there. That's how I think marketers should be thinking about technology. Like, especially like my thing with tech. You know, I have this consulting company that I've had for years. And when I'm on my own, I use tech to help me get six more employees. Like when you can use it to extend your arms left and right, that's, that's what you want, but if you're using it to somehow replace you or your need to know, that's when I think it gets just dangerous. And you see it, you see it where it's just like, what is this? What is this? Like, what, what are we doing here? Um, so I am all for like use tech, get on these platforms, but also just make sure it makes sense for you. Like, don't do it just because you heard somebody else was using it. Like really think about how, how this works for you.
Um, I think that sometimes there's a kind of this blanketing of you should use this because of X, or you shouldn't use this, but that fairly presumptuous to think that, you know, enough about the person on the other side, or the business on the other side to know where their shortcomings are. So, um. I'm, I'm more of the, like, I use things to help me be more productive.
I use things for project management. When I see a bunch of emails coming in and whatever, I'm like, I need, I need help to just help me organize these things. Cause the other thing with all the tech is that people can, and I'm not just talking about new tech. I'm talking about tech that's been coming for the last handful of years is that you can be bombarded with so much information that just having anything to act as a filter is very, very helpful for me as in the market, specifically for me as a strategist, um, there are a lot of things that I am told that really don't matter. Not that they don't matter in the world, but for my role and like, I don't need to know this.
So just being able to use technology to filter what I can get to later is super helpful, um, because, um, there's this book called The One Thing, but it's like spend 90 percent of your energy on the one thing that matters and 10 percent on everything else. And so I just need help to help me with the 10%. I know the one, I know that the one thing that I need to do, um, but I I would say sometimes the 10 percent that which is the 90 percent can sometimes get a little lost in the sauce. I'm sure there are former coworkers that can attest to that about me, but I will just say what I what I lack there. I'd make up for in charm. So we're all good.
LT: We can personally attest to that.
DC: Hey, um, I have recently. Become really curious and using AI to create images and content.
Folayo Lasaki: Okay.
DC: And so there's one gentleman that I met with. Um, his name is Eric David and he introduced me to mid journey and something called doll and then E the letter E three Dolly three. And so these are, these are forms of AI that you can go into to give it information and it'll bring, it'll give you back an image and in some cases a, uh, a moving image.
And then I also, uh, just, uh, last week on Thursday or Friday, uh, chilling at Bar Margo here in Atlanta, I had, uh, uh, drinks with, uh, a friend of Larry's, who's now my friend, his name is Joel. And what's Joel's last name, Larry? Okay. So Joe, Joe case. So for Lyle, he was breaking down for me, these AI, uh, platforms and what was consistent with both of them was the power of the prompt, right? What are you prompting these things to give, give back to you? And you talked about, you can go down a rabbit hole. They said, both of them said, you can, you can give mid journey a prompt and then you could change one word. And it'll in the prompt and it'll give you back something slightly different or vastly different.
And so that the, when I'm, as I'm hearing you talk about technology as a facilitator, what I want to just encourage the Brand Nerds to do is that really work on thinking about your prompts. For technology. What are you prompting technology to do for you or for a project or 14? That's what I took away from my connection from their answers and
Folayo Lasaki: yours.
Yeah, I'm Microsoft to like to plug has co pilot, which, you know, there's been all over the news. Um. And prompts are huge. And it is something that if you can think about, I think for me, and I'm not a prompt expert, I'll be the first to say this, um, but where I find success is again, being clear on what it is I'm trying to do. Right. Yeah. Um, and then, you know, asking the right follow up questions as well. So there's like the first prompt. And then there's the follow up prompt, right?
DC: Yeah.
Folayo Lasaki: Um, because it's, it's learning and it's, it's digging through all of the, all of this information. Like, I won't pretend to understand the tech because it would just be too hilarious and ridiculous for all of us. But whatever's happening in the background, um. If you know, not just the first question that you want to ask, but the second question, because it is kind of a funneling system to get you to what you want.
Um, and then double check also, um, don't, don't assume that just because you asked a question that then you're done forever. Like you, you still, you're still a part of this. Hey, this is a team, like, come on. So, um, but the prompts, I mean, I feel like. I've seen classes that are now popping up on like prompts and like, you know, there's, I feel like a whole LinkedIn journey happening right now where people are saying the best prompts for your, you know, chats for your chats.
Then it's, it's interesting because it's a different skill now you have to. It's it's learning a new language in a sense. Um, and I think that the cool part about these things is that they are using human human language, um, to help you so that you can speak to it more conversationally. But at the same time, you still have to learn.
The human version of the machine, like, you know, it's a, it's a, it's, it's kind of a little head expanding almost to the point of blowing kind of thing for me. But, um, it is such a, it can be such a powerful tool, but I always like, it is a tool. It is not it is. In the same way a hammer can't build a house, like use it as a tool.
LT: So well said that's well summed up right there. Don't you think?
DC: I agree. So I go to the next question.
LT: Let's do it.
DC: What are you most proud of?
Folayo Lasaki: Um.
I think when I think about what I'm most proud of, it's not necessarily accomplishments. I think I've been fortunate enough to work on cool projects with really interesting people, um, across my career, and these are small wins and big wins and things you've seen on on shows or TV or and and just things that are just for me.
But I think. Um, when I really go into it and think about what I am most proud of, it's that I have remained very curious and very much me in all of it. Um, it is, I, I want, I just want to learn more. I want to be better tomorrow than I was today. And that hasn't changed. And that, that makes me feel really proud.
Um. Just of myself, because I, I think that you can also get into environments where the learning has stopped. And maybe even the learning. If you, if you wanted to keep riding the wave, you wouldn't have to learn. You could just learn how it is done in this space and be fine. And that has never worked for me.
And I am proud of that. I'm also proud of the fact that despite the challenges, um, I'm not afraid. To just say what I think, um, in whatever room I find myself in, and it doesn't matter how high up or how low down or whatever, left, right, center, the group is, um, you know, I know, you know, there's a Dr. Seuss, today you are you, that is truer than true, there is no one alive that is you are than you, like, I think that that is such a, that's such an important thing, nobody can see it from my perspective, and so, again, Even if everybody is looking right, I feel really proud that I can be the one who goes left, or vice versa, like, and not, not for the sake of being different, but if I genuinely see something that doesn't go with what everybody else is saying, um, even if it, even if it doesn't work, even if it doesn't, even if nobody else agrees with me and we go the way the room went, like, I just feel proud that I didn't keep it to myself and that I'm still feeling like interested enough because I think that's a sign interested enough to keep talking.
Um, and just strong enough in my own self or constitution or whatever. Um, to just keep looking more deeply, like those are the things that I feel proudest of, um, is that kind of journey for improvement. I, I don't think that anybody, um, I just learned a long time ago that if your pride is attached to external accolades, you are going to be very disappointed and like that.
You know, from the perspective of a Black female or whatever can go deep into a lot of places, but like that is a, um, that is what is the most pride inducing for me.
LT: That's awesome stuff. I love this. I don't have anything to add. That's just amazing stuff. I will say one quick thing. I love the fact that you have the constitution, um, and the will along with the thought to be so conscious about yourself and where you fit and then having the confidence and fortitude to just be you.
Folayo Lasaki: Thank you. That's, that's the, that's the. Yeah, I think I see what it looks like when you don't do that. So I feel really proud to like that. I'm like, okay, it's not always the easiest, but
LT: That's that's the deepest answer we've ever had to that question. I'll tell you. And that was amazing. It was.
DC: Yeah, this is, uh, no, as, as the people say, no rap cap.
LT: All right, well, that really is a great, uh, finale to that segment. Don't you think D? I do. Yeah. So now at Folayo, we're going to go to, uh, something really fun. It's What's Popping. What's Popping, D?
DC: What's popping?
LT: So Folayo, this is our chance to shout out, shout down, or simply air something happening in and around marketing and, uh, uh, Brands, Beats and Bytes that we think is good fodder for discussion. So I think I've got a really good one for the three of us to chew on.
DC: Let's hear it.
LT: Let's do it. It is the future of movie going in theaters. So let me give you all just a little context, right? So we all know what's happened with pandemic. I'm going to throw some numbers out. For you. This is from box office mojo, right?
So in 2019, this is domestic yearly box office. It was 11. 4 million. And then obviously the pandemic happens in 2020. It's 2 billion, right? Then, uh, 2021, it's still pandemic. You've got Spider Man No Way Home happening, but it's only, it's up to four and a half billion. And then 2022, Top Gun Maverick comes back. It's now up to seven billion. In 2023, we all know that, uh, we, we have, uh, Barbie and Oppenheimer come out. And it goes back to almost nine billion. And by the way, for context, Um, in 2019, it was 11 billion. So you're, you're about 2 billion short of where you were. Other interesting numbers, though, in 2023, there were only 589 releases, where in 2019, there was 910.
So actually, the average perfor the average performance per film in 2023 was 15 million. versus in 2019 was 12. 5 million. So actually, the average per film was higher in 2023 than pre pandemic. So, those are numbers, and then I'm gonna hit you with just something that happened recently with me, and then I'm gonna shut up and wanna hear you all talk.
So, uh, I was at the, my, Sherry and I were at the theater, uh, two weeks ago, and just, and we love, I'll say we love going to the movies. For Sherry and I, and our son Jake too, we all three of us just love going to the movies in the theater. And we just saw this nice little rom com called Anyone But You, Sidney Sweeney and Glenn Powell were in it.
Nice, fun movie. And I have to tell you, there were parts of the movie where they were funny, and I started laughing, and the woman next to me, on my left, Sherry's on my right, she was laughing, and then were times she started laughing, and I was laughing, and she was laughing, and it was a cascading effect, so much so, that a whole row picked up on the two of us laughing, and everybody started laughing, and so much so, at the end of the film, we dapped each other up, Because it was much more enjoyable that that all happened.
And by the way, I don't think that phenomenon would have happened pre pandemic, but I don't think as a moviegoer you would have noticed it as much. So, that's something that just happened and it was so much more enjoyable because we were in the theater, eating our popcorn, drinking our Cokes, and having this wonderful experience with other moviegoers.
So for me, and I'm very biased here, I do think there's been the demise People going to the to the movies since the advent of television in 1950. People said, oh, people aren't going to go to the movies anymore. And while it is definitely difficult. Um, and my sister was telling me she was at a movie in Connecticut a couple weeks ago on Saturday night, and there was hardly anyone there.
There was like a Saturday night, like 730. And there's hardly anyone there. And our theater, by the way, was packed. So I've said a lot. I'd love to hear you all what you what you all think with your both of your wonderful background in this area,
DC: Folayo, your thoughts.
Folayo Lasaki: I have lots of thoughts. Um, and this is from somebody who at one point in time, it was not uncommon for me to see three movies in a weekend.
DC: Wow.
Folayo Lasaki: So like, or in high school, like I, I am a lover of the movies. I am a lover. And I think you hear directors talk about this a lot, but I agree to the shared experience is part of the movie going experience. It really showed out one name. Um, my best friend Maya and I, we were like part of what. We always joke makes us, you know, very simpatico is that we are always the awkward laughers.
We are the people laughing when nobody else is, but we, we understand each other and we find things funny that other people don't where it's like, the way somebody is running like if anybody ever goes and sees or watches The Man In the Iron Mask This is one that always points out to me. There's a scene and it's like a super cinematic moment We saw this in the theater together where they're all running in a line and leonardo dicaprio has this like awkward metal mask on and is running and it is the most awkward run you've ever seen Now everybody else is probably thinking.
Oh my god. This is so valiant and she and I In the theater together, dying, just, just losing it. And so, that joint experience is so powerful. And then also, uninterrupted time. Yes. Because, like, home viewing. And I said this before, but I'm a three screener. I got my phone, I got my computer, and I got the TV.
So, it's mostly me pausing and rewinding. Because I missed the last 10 minutes. So I think there is, personally, to me, no substitute for a theater experience. And I do think that people will want that.
LT: However, I knew there was a but coming, D.
Folayo Lasaki: There is a but. Um, and the but is, I went to the movies two weeks ago.
Um, and I definitely Since the pandemic have seen less and less movies, um, in the theater, just habit, you know, habits have habits formed. I stood, I stayed home longer, but, um, it's really expensive. Like it's really pricey, um, to see a movie now. It like I, again, in high school, there would be, you know, 20 of us who that's, what we would do is go see a movie because we had no money, but we wanted to hang out together.
So it'd be hang out in the parking lot for a little while, then go see the movie. But when you're thinking about a 40 or a 50 night, it's just a different, it's a different kind of ask. Like you're asking somebody to make a significantly higher commitment. The box office, I think what you're seeing is that people still like the event, the eventizing of, you know, you know, Mission Impossible came out, I think people the two weeks before, so it was Mission Impossible, Barbie and Oppenheimer had this like resurgence this last year, which was amazing. And there's so many people that work. In the movie industry. Yep. So people need to go to theaters, like it's this chicken and egg thing. Um, but I would also question, I'm like it was 11.4 billion in 2019, 9 billion this last year. I'm also curious, like how much were the, like, what would be the budget differences on these movies?
Good question. Like, I looked at the budget for, I can't remember which movie it was recently, but it was almost $300 million. And I'm like, well that's crazy. Yo, like that's a 300 million is a lot of money. And that doesn't include the marketing budget. So it's just
LT: like double that at least D right. You would know that.
DC: Yes. Yes.
Folayo Lasaki: And so you're spending, you know, half a billion dollars. To get a 9 billion box office where I think we're, we're creating bigger spectacles to get more, more people to the movies than the price is getting higher. So less people can have access to it. That would want to see these movies. And so there's, there's so many, and then I'm not even gonna get into the streaming conversation because then the box off the, the, the window at the theater is getting shorter and shorter and shorter, which means.
If you're deciding between the 50 you want to spend here, the 50 you want to spend there with full knowledge that in, I don't know, seven weeks, you can just watch it at home, even though you would prefer to see it at the theater. Um, I'm not answering your question. I'm just talking, but I do think that there is, yes, I think that I, I don't think that people will ever do away with going to a movie because it's. Like, if anybody can remember the first movie they saw in a theater, it is, at least for me, like, it's like this visceral moment. I collected movie ticket stubs for, like, 15 years. I just, like, I had them. I was very into them.
LT: What was that first movie? Do you remember?
Folayo Lasaki: The first, well, yes, I do remember the first, well, the first movie, the first movie that I remember very vividly seeing, I think it was called It was with Shelly Long, and she had died and come back in somebody else's body. I think is what it was. I think it was, um. But I wanted to see Pinocchio. This is what I, like, this, this is more a conversation with, like, the dynamics of being the youngest child in a family who wanted to see the animated Pinocchio and ended up seeing a Shelley Long movie when I was like this.
DC: Not the same.
Folayo Lasaki: Not the same. Not the same. So I was very much interested, but you know, it's, I was definitely outvoted by the people, like my mom, my brother, my sister. Against me where it's like, are we going to see Pinocchio or not? Um, but I also remember leaning into it and being really interested in it. Um, I'll look for the name of the movie, but it, it was this, like, I don't know. It just felt super cool. And at that point we were really just, I'm sure I had seen another movie in the theater, but like, mostly I remember watching the VHS types and oftentimes even watching the VHS tapes of what we recorded off of TV. So like You know, that was how, like, that's how we were watching it.
LT: Um, movies were a big deal for you and your family.
Folayo Lasaki: Well, it was, it was a big deal and I really, really enjoyed it. And so I don't think, and then even if you go to a kid, a kid's movie now, like I remember seeing up years ago, but there's kids in the audience and they're watching just like jaw dropped and they're enjoying it in a way that doesn't happen at home.
And I don't think. I don't think anybody wants to get rid of that, but I think it's a bigger conversation about how are we going to make this as easy to do as it once was.
LT: No, you're bringing up great points. D, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Folayo Lasaki: Yes, me too.
DC: I'm going to pick up where Folio was going about expensive now to go to movies, but that's, that's going to be my second point.
My first point, I'm going to go back. When my sister and I, and I only have a sister, uh, when we visited Disney, Disney World in Florida, uh, as kids, my mother took us into a theater, and I don't remember what, what was happening on the stage, but what was happening in the seats is when wind would blow on the stage, wind would blow on us in the seats.
LT: Right.
DC: When some, when something would shake on the stage, our seats would shake. And I will tell you fly on Larry, this blew my mind, completely blew my mind. It went from me viewing what was happening on stage to being a part of what was happening on stage. That's never mentioned. That's experience. Never forgot that.
Cut to now I'm in Hollywood and there's this thing called IMAX. Now it's not that big. It's not that big. Uh, in terms of, uh, like volumetrically, it was not that big. Not that many screens, but somehow it became this really big deal for the tentpole movies. Folayo mentioned them. They had to have the IMAX version.
IMAX version. So now let's go to today. Now I'm going to Folayo's point, the point. This is my second point, but it was one of hers. Argyle is the, is the big tentpole movie now. A standard ticket is 13. 88 in Atlanta. The IMAX ticket is 25. 03. Wow. Nearly double. And so what's popping for me is the movie industry recognizes that for people to go into these theaters, they've got to give them a heightened experience. And that heightened experience is going to cost more money. That's what's popping for me.
LT: That's really interesting. So how do you all reconcile? By the way, Folayo our son, Jake, who D affectionately calls his nephew, um, Jake worked his summer job. He worked at, uh, at our theater, the movie theaters in town here in Walnut Creek. And so he was, he was working when, during the whole Barbie and Oppenheimer, you know?
DC: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
LT: And he saw the Barbie phenomenon, which made his eyes roll. Um, but I thought it was amazing by the way, I thought Barbie was amazing. My wife and I thought there were, there were many people, and obviously most were female who were dressing up and going to the movies three, four, five, six times that he saw, like she was here last night, you know? And so there's that. My point of that is that clearly. That movie was so great for its brand lover, its target audience, its real target audience, the real brand lover, that they loved it so much, they were so emotionally connected, they couldn't get enough of it.
Folayo Lasaki: I, I mean, I'm with you. Like, I Mine was Titanic. I saw that five times in the theater. There you go! Five times! Like, it's not like it changed. It ended the exact same way every time, but I saw it with my family. I saw it with one group of friends, and then another group of friends, and then a different group. Like, I saw it five times in the theater. Yeah.
Um, would I make that choice if I was paying 28? I don't know. Maybe. Probably not. But it's, I saw it and I, I loved it. And then I think about even like the Sixth Sense, which I also saw in the theater. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like you want to look next to somebody you you want to look at the person next to you And this is where it's like sporting events and movies where all of a sudden like you're touching strangers, right?
Where you're like, oh my god and hitting people that you don't know or it's like wow That's in ordinary settings that kind of intimacy is very inappropriate where it's like I've been to you know football games or whatever Where you hug the person next to you. Oh, yeah. This is crazy. This person could be a killer.
You have no idea. But we are rooting for the same team. So we are going to hug each other and high five and pretend like we are family at this moment. So I, I think it's that. And to your point, you know, DC, in terms of the eventizing, I think sports is a good way. Like, I, I think it was, um, I would assume.
Maybe Steph Curry on a podcast, but talking about like the eventizing and how they're doing a really good job making things. An event. Um, yeah, I think that's what it is. It's like people people want to be next to people like They just do it's how we're programmed and so Yeah, make it Get get some of the blocks out make it feel fun I remember like when people would line up this was before I suppose online tickets You know, when you like, when the Star Wars movies came out and people were lined up in costume outside for days, which is I personally, I've never understood that.
I'm like, you know, you can see it in a week, but I never,
I'm like, this movie will be available in this theater, at least at that time for the next four months. So feel free to put your regular clothes on and come back in two weeks. But, um. It is such a, like, it, I, like, people love it, Lord of the Rings, everybody's dressed up like elves on a sidewalk, like, this was a normal occurrence, like, like sneakers were dropping, that's how people used to sign up for movies, so.
LT: So true. I remember, Folayo where you're going, and that Seinfeld did an episode about it, the ticket, ticket buyers line. And the ticket holders line, you had to be, which is the, which line is this? And, uh, yeah,
Folayo Lasaki: so I have done it where back, you know, I would go to the theater days before and buy tickets in advance.
Like, so I, I'm excited for, I don't have any solutions by the way, but I am excited for when the brilliant people who figure out how to make movie going a weekend, like a Friday night staple again, because it was, you know, where it was like, what do you want to do? I don't know. Let's go see a movie. And it was that simple.
Yep.
LT: And by the way, the recliners is also that we have in our, I would never go to a theater now that doesn't have those.
Folayo Lasaki: I go back and forth on the recliners. I'm like, I like, I like the big wide seats, but at the same time, I'm like, we're not at home. You know, like. Get your feet down. Like, you know, there's so many people. I'm like, what are you doing? Come on. Stop lounging. Lean in. Watch the damn movie. Sorry.
LT: That's okay. We can agree to disagree on that. That's all good. This is an amazing conversation. Anything to add, you guys, before we go to the show close?
DC: Not for me. This amazing. Amazing.
LT: That was a that was great conversation.
All right, D. So I'm gonna I'm gonna hit up first. Well, I have I can't even number the amount of of learnings that you posited here. It's amazing. But so I'm going to keep it as brief as I can. I had eight and I had like, you know, almost 20. So I'm going to keep them brief as I can. So number one, um, most people don't have the nepotism advantage that Folayo was alluding to.
So like Folayo outwit and grit to meet or exceed your objectives. That's number one.
DC: Outwit and grit.
Folayo Lasaki: Nice. I love that. Nice. I'm gonna write that down.
LT: You said that, and I put those two together. You had them separate, but I'm putting them together. So number two, if you are always trying, you're always gonna fail.
Just learn from it. Number three, don't sacrifice dollars for tomorrow for pennies today. If you make moves putting money first and without thinking about end results, as DC would say, problemo. That's number three. Number four, it's not failure, it's feedback. I love that one. Five, simplification. This is regarding marketing and tech.
Simplification. Be clear about the customer or your consumer, whichever it is, B2B or B2C, and don't get drunk on the tech. Number six, spend 90 percent on the one thing that matters and 10 percent on the rest. Oh, I love that one. Fly out. Seven, be curious and be a lifelong learner. And last one, eight, don't be afraid to say what you think.
If you see things left and others see right. Speak up and say your piece. Those are amazing learnings,
DC: Folio.
Folayo Lasaki: I love that. Thank you. I, I'm going to take them all. Uh, a couple of those I didn't come up with, but I do stand by them. So, thank you.
LT: You, you, you, you're, you're up.
DC: I've never had this experience before, LT and Folayo. We've been doing this podcast for six years, and typically what happens is This part of the podcast, I will have, uh, arrived at a, at a point of view, just mine, of the human before me, Phileo. And as an analog, it works like this. We're in the conversation. There's an open canvas before me. Through the conversation, the three of us are having paint starts to happen on the canvas.
And over time for me, an image appears. And then what I do is I merely articulate the image that I have now seen of the person that I've spoken to. This time is different though, LT and Folayo . That was happening here on a canvas. And then boom, there was another canvas. Okay. It did some paint with it and then boom, there was another canvas.
And so this is the first time for me Folayo, where the human before me is not contained in a canvas. The human before me is like a museum, like a museum. And so I'm going to attempt to walk you through this museum that I believe is you,
Folayo Lasaki: Folio. Very kind.
DC: You're so welcome. So let's start with this on the Get Comfy section.
And I ask you about how do you matriculate? How did you matriculate successfully through Hollywood? And you said, among other things, you know. You might not know me, but when you see my work, you go, well, damn, damn, like you don't, like it's not important Folayo for you to go, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, here I am.
But if you see the work, well, damn. And then you said you just might be the tool. They didn't know they had the tool in the toolbox. Man, that's really, really interesting. And then when we got to the five questions. One of the questions we ask is, like, who most influenced you in your, uh, career? And you talked about your respect of the sleepers.
Where, where you see something they're doing on the brand, but you want to know what's behind that. Who, who are the people behind the work that I'm seeing here? Not just the work. But who are the people that are not known?
LT: By the way, the people that are taking credit, the people really behind the wheel.
DC: The people who really did it, yes. If you're not really paying attention, you won't know. Right. You won't know that. And then you also said, uh, You said, um, This is the first time, Folayo In the history of our podcast, Larry said, hey, uh, hey Folayo you know, shout out your, your, your, your father and your mother.
And you said, well, they're not people who really seek attention. They know who they are. They know who they are. We've never had anyone do that. But if we say shout out your mom and dad, they just shout them out. You said they're not really those kind of people. And so this, this is where, this is where I went from one camp.
Oh, there's another one over here. There's another campus over here. Why doesn't she want to share? What's behind that? Okay. Then amongst the five questions, we, uh, we asked your favorite branding experience and you talked about movies. This is what you talked about movies. And so Larry pushed you a bit.
What, what, what movie? What, what, what movie? And then you talked about Goodwill Hunting. I'm gonna come back to that in a moment. And then later on, you said, you know, you, you have been like, uh, collecting movie stubs for 15 years. 15 years and then you talked about how you're in a movie theater, which which a movie theater is dark.
Okay, and, uh, you spend some time looking at the screen and he said, it's the only time it's appropriate to hit somebody. Hey, did you see that? You talk about success. Hey, did you? Did you see that now? Let me come back to Goodwill Hunting. So now I'm over here. So now my head is jerked over here. Why Goodwill Hunting?
I'm trying to figure this thing out now. Okay. And then I thought about it. I said, Oh, with Goodwill Hunting for you, Brand Nerds don't know this. It's a story about. Someone who's a janitor at Harvard and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote this film, got an Oscar for it.
LT: The psychologist. It was amazing too.
DC: Yeah. Also won an Oscar. Also won an Oscar. Thank you. And so Matt Damon is a janitor in, at Harvard. And he, he, he comes across a problem that one of the professors has put up. This is the, uh, the world renowned, um, Robin that the students cannot solve. They cannot solve this equation. So it stays on the board indefinitely for these very smart.
Students at Harvard to come step forward and solve the problem. They can't solve it. Matt Damon, while he is doing his work when no one is around, solves the problem when no one's around. Now, students may have been in the hallways and that kind of thing. But when he was in the room, there was no one around.
Okay, then you said something that kind of had my head jerk all the way around, almost like exorcist style. You said, uh, you were preemie, uh, our second daughter, Lauren was a preemie and, um, when we would go and see her Folayo, what was interesting is she was in this thing, looked like a crib, but it was plastic. And so, or glass or something, so you could see her. And she was there by herself, alone in this thing. Yet, she was surrounded by other babies. And nurses and doctors and that kind of thing. So she was simultaneously as a preemie. Alone and with alone and with Goodwill Hunting, Matt Damon was alone solving the problem yet with others in the background when Folayo says she's fine looking left when everyone else is looking right for Lyle is comfortable being alone looking left.
But yet with those that are on, uh, the right when she talks about sleepers, she's very fine going. Okay. I'm fine being alone, discovering who did this work. And with everyone else who consumes the work, her parents, her parents, I'm okay being alone with mom and dad. I know them. Okay. And with them out trying to see a movie Pinocchio, when I went to see a real version, they want to see the animated version.
I'm comfortable in all of that, which leads me to the end. , um, Val Laski, I think you are Val Laski alone and with the Goodwill Hunter of the marketing game. Mm-Hmm. You are his character in real life, in the marketing game.
Folayo Lasaki: Wow. That is a lot to live up to. He's a genius. That is so sweet. That is. Wow. That's so nice.
LT: That's deep and dead on.
Folayo Lasaki: It's very deep and it's. It's interesting to hear you come to that from this chat. Um, so nice.
LT: That's, that's awesome. It is you. He is perfect. Before we, uh, before we sign off, uh, anything that you'd like to share that you've learned from our wonderful conversation today?
Folayo Lasaki: I,
I mean, I think that for me. I just really thank you. I've really enjoyed this conversation. I appreciate you having me and I appreciate just being able to talk and reconnect with the both of you. Um, if I've learned anything from this conversation, I think that it is. Have more of these conversations. Like I even, even you summing these things up, I'm like, I never would have thought about it like that.
Wow. Um, I think that, uh, that'll be my biggest takeaway and I hope that that's a big takeaway for other people. I, you know, I, I love, I love that I'm able to join in on podcasts. Cause you don't have, you don't have as much time to just have. Like cool, deep conversations with people just in your day to day, but making time for this when it's not recorded, it's just such a, this was such a, I got a lot out of this conversation.
So like, I'm, I'm glad we recorded it and I'm glad other people can hear it. But even if they didn't, and even if we didn't, I like, I got a lot out of it. So, um, I just, I hope that other people talk to more people, don't text, talk.
LT: We got a lot out of it. And that is a great way to say yes. Don't text. Talk.
That's a great. That's a great learning and great way to segue to the real end here. So, uh, brand nerds, thanks for listening to Brands, Beats and Bytes. The executive producers and our Jeff Shirley, Darryl "DC" Cobbin, Larry Taman and Hailey Cobbin, Jade Tate, and Tom Dioro
DC: The pod father
LT: That is he. And if you do like this podcast, please subscribe and share.
And for those on Apple podcasts, if you are so inclined, we love those excellent reviews. We hope you enjoyed this podcast and we look forward to next time where we will have more insightful and enlightening talk about marketing.