Rebellion Group

Sam's twin sister Danielle joins us this episode to talk about the culture of drinking in the workplace. Then Sam peer-pressures James to drink. Classic.

A follow-up to the last episode, except now we drink more and share stories. We thought it would be more fun & lively, but we got DARK. Enjoy!

Johnnie Walker Blue (ACD Jon Feld) joins the poddie to talk about entering agency life later in...life. Where most slow down and think about retirement, Jon decided to go high speed all day, every day, leading content strategy, content creation, and content other things like a damn champ, teaching us kiddos what hard work really looks like. Enjoy!

Rubes, Hammer, & James invite special guest CSO BJ Kito to talk about our shared love of having an inability to focus in life and...sorry, bird is outside the window. What was I writing?....Oh ya, the description. This poddie ep was all about the ins & outs of ADHD in life and the workplace, how we cope, and some savory stats from Sammy Rubes to make us sound less foolish. OH MY GOD, THAT CAR IS BLUE!!!!!

First in a series about making transitions in your career and breaking into new jobs amidst a questionable market, the team talks with VP of Accounts Sam Barrett -- who made the jump from Army Ranger to agency strategist, using his skills at kicking down doors to help brands grow. Makes total sense. Enjoy!

Hammer, Rubes, & James are joined for this poddie ep by Director of Digital Experience, Nate Szymanski to talk about crazy marketing stunts and how brands can maybe, possibly, hopefully go viral. Beyond that, what did they talk about? Who can remember?!?! We recorded this weeks ago and James forgot! Dummy. Oh well, enjoy!

Rebellion designer, Larissa Topalis, aka Weirdo Larry Topgolf, joins the poddie to derail us completely. We barely talked about marketing, but also rarely stopped laughing. Breaking from our norm, we focused this episode on data apps and the current state of dating in this weird world. Listen and enjoy!

In another poddie, Rubes conspired with the sinister sensation, Gail Zaharek, to talk about authentic brand advertising and the workplace. Meanwhile, James reminds everyone he's dumb by quietly taking an online quiz for way too long, creating great silent podcast content. Enjoy!

Recorded live in the Rebel Studio, Rubes, Hammer, & James hang out with guest Russ Martonis -- a writer, content creator, eater of food, and game-changing marketer for Amex and other major brands. The topic was supposed to be food marketing, but they goof around, drink Snoop wine, and play a random game to see who is normal (spoiler: none of these weirdos are normal). Enjoy the poddie!

In this episode, Emmy-award winning television production executive Dennis Denniger takes us on a journey through the evolution of sports broadcasting. Currently a Professor at Syracuse University, Dennis was named Falk College Faculty Member of the Year in 2014 and played a key role in founding the sports communications graduate program at the Newhouse School. With a 25-year tenure at ESPN, he led production teams for studio programming, live remote events, and digital video platforms, witnessing and contributing to ESPN's transformation from startup to a household name. Beyond academia and broadcasting, Dennis is a prolific author, sharing insights into sports television in "Sports on Television" and exploring the Super Bowl's evolution in "The Football Game that Changed America." Dennis Denniger is not just an educator and author; he's a technological innovator. He introduced the digital instant review technology "Shot Spot," now ubiquitous in major tennis tournaments and known as "Hawkeye" in various professional sports leagues. Join us for a captivating conversation as Dennis Denniger reflects on his career, the evolution of ESPN, and the intersection of technology and sports broadcasting that has shaped the industry we know today.

Sammanz is back! The first-ever return guest! Why? Cause she made us. (This is to see if she reads these and gets mad at us for saying that) In this very special episode, we talk about the Pink Tax and how it's pure bullshit. Pour your Snoop wine, relax, listen, learn, enjoy!

Join us for an exciting conversation with Rebel's Chief Strategy Officer BJ Kito and Bernt Ullmann, who is often referred to as “The Man Behind the Brands.” Mr. Ullmann has been the trusted business acceleration expert by top fashion moguls and CEOs such as Daymond John, Eddie Lampert, and Tommy Hilfiger. You'll hear first-hand how Bernt went from a pizza entrepreneur to one of the world’s leading experts in celebrity brand development, brand management, licensing and distribution, and monetization having contributed to the successful launches of brands for clients including Jennifer Lopez, Adam Levine, Nicki Minaj and many others. The brands he has worked with have generated over $6 billion in global sales. This episode gets at the heart of understanding what a "brand" really is, why you should think BIG, and how seeing through the noise is the best pathway to reaching your vision.

Rubes & James are joined by VP of Strategy, Mark Anderson, to talk about how brands leverage (sometimes foolishly) holidays to market themselves. From Guinness on St. Patrick's to Reece's on Halloween, hear all about how brands are winning (and losing) with their holiday marketing. As usual, little was planned, chaos ensues, drinks be drank. Enjoy!

Apologies. This was the most unhinged episode yet. Fueled on Four Lokos, we recorded 3 hours of stories and then cut out 2 of them to not embarrass our parents. These lost hours may be released in the future if you ask aggressively. Until then, experience gross energy drink expert Dr. Jones and his connoisseur-like deep-dive into the infamous brand story of Four Loko.

Paid media magician Julio Amaro joins Sammy Rubes & James to talk about tokenization vs representation, how brands sometimes try and fail to connect with different cultures, and how agencies fail to create true access to multicultural voices. Sam spit stats and James said he was afraid he'd say something culturally insensitive. Let's see how he did. Enjoy!

In this special episode, it's a public service announcement on mental health management for the creative mind. Why? Cause when you create, you expose yourself -- your thoughts, ideas, emotions, and energy -- for all to see and judge. And, when it's broken or burned out, it can be crippling. It's a scary world out there in agency life! That's why the legendary V (Veronika Zhikhareva) explores creative burnout, psychological safety, and learning how to adapt to the modern workplace (with old people like James). Enjoy!

Sam & James dig into generational marketing with legend and VP of Marketing Strategy Craig Wilson. As three generations of marketers, the team digs into how brands and consumers have evolved over decades. It's so interesting that James finally shuts up to learn something. Enjoy!

Join us on an exciting journey with Rebel's Chief Strategy Officer BJ Kito and VP of Strategic Marketing & Impact Steve McLoughlin as they sit down with Pete Tucci, the founder and CEO of Tucci Lumber Co. He's gone from being one of minor league baseball's top prospects to all-star business exec, and his journey is nothing short of inspiring. Major league lessons on the reality that a missed goal does not equate to failure and how training for one path actually provides unique perspective when forced to focus in a different direction. For Pete, what felt like shoot-from-the-hip decisions as a business owner, was ultimately rooted in his ability to make calculated split-second decisions as an athlete - the real-time scanning and evaluation of the pitcher, field, game scenarios, etc. from the batter’s box. This transition of batter’s eye to business world is what gave him the insight to see a pathway to building a high-end baseball brand embraced by the most elite players in the MLB. If you’re a fan of great baseball stories or looking for ways to improve the hard-hit percentages of your decision-making, this conversation will get everyone to pause and think what truly drives our “gut” decisions

James went full chaos in this episode. We had a wonderful, brilliant guest in content creator Josie Capozzi, but James simply refused to stay on topic. Over an hour had to be edited out because he couldn't be contained. This is what we have to deal with every day, people! Well, enjoy what remains as Josie & Sam talk about the psychology of marketing, PR disasters, and how James is clearly insane.

Today is all about Social Media, or "Socials" as Sam calls it. We're diving into each platform and where it's going, including how different generations (James is old) are driving usage, innovation, and value. From new ways to create socials content to new ways to look at socials themselves, one thing is for sure: brands are doing it alllllllllllllllllllllllllllll WRONG. Links: James & Sam Rebel That Article James Mentions