Hi all,
Before we dive in, are you in London for SXSW? Let’s hang! GOOD DRINKS, Monday, June 2nd, 5pm somewhere in Shoreditch? RSVP here.
Now onto the pod.
This week, we chatted with one of my favorite minds on LinkedIn, Jasime Bina. If you love an insight-driven hot take, hit follow immediately.
Jasmine is a brand strategist and cultural futurist. Her brand strategy agency, Concept Bureau, works with some of the most powerful cultural brands in the world today. She also runs a private strategist’s club, Exposure Therapy, where curious minds and brand builders come to get better at their craft.
Recently, one Jasmine’s posts struck a chord. It started: “The final battleground for brands is shame. Bring down shame and you can own the market.” And it only got more interesting from there.
If you read the 2025 predictions, you know the great destigmatization is underway.
How can brands tackling taboos (and those who don’t even know they are) reframe the stories we’ve told ourselves and win big?
We get into it.
Enjoy! And let us know what you think.
Hit the links to skip to the bits you fancy
04:35 — THE SHAME REFRAME // Why shame is valuable for brands and why it’s not just about bringing awareness to taboo topics, it’s about completely reframing the story.
08:05 — CHANGING THE STORY // Jasmine breaks down how brands need to create a new identity. People can’t just be told to stop feeling shame, we need to see a whole new version of ourselves to step into.
12:09 — UNTAPPED FRONTIERS // We chat menopause, debt, obesity, and more. Areas that are ripe for cultural change.
14:03 — GOOD EXAMPLE // We talk about MindBloom, the at-home ketamine therapy brand, that’s not just talking about mental health, but about transcendence and unlocking new ways of being. A truly excellent example of reframe the story.
16:00 — AI & SHAMING // I ask Jasmine if she’s worried about AI models perpetuating our biases. She has a good answer. If you don’t know why I asked, read this ultra-unsettling Substack.
21:00 — THE PENDULUM SWINGS WITHIN US // While we had her, I couldn’t help but ask Jasmine about another post I loved. The rising trend of consumers with ‘contradicting beliefs’ aka pendulum swings living within us. We discuss why there are no more binaries, no more neat labels for consumers (and likely, there never were). We ask if this is showing up in shame stories, and of course, Jasmine has an excellent example.
28:17 — CRAVING REAL // We close it out with a chat about the resurging interest in meaning-making. There’s a real appetite for brands that can be honest and vulnerable, and those that tap into that have a huge opportunity.
31:09 — THE QUICK FIRE // Jasmine gives some juicy answers to our quickfire questions. This is just a taste.
What’s the biggest conversation you don’t think is being had right now?
The disappearance of the menopause ‘dark years’ and the rise of ‘gambling over everything.’What’s your biggest thing you think a brand should be doing differently as compared to two years ago?
”Get away from vibes and go back towards meaning-making….People are looking for deeper systems, myth-making, world-building.”Favorite Substack or podcast?
Political Currents. “I made the mistake of thinking that politics was upstream from culture. Like political decisions change culture, but it's downstream. Culture decides the politics of our time.”And Peter Zeihan’s Patreon “for his quarterly calls where he explains the world to you in an hour.”
What’s one new tool that you use that everyone should know about?
My Mind. “It's like a much, much smarter version of Pocket that's way more visually useful too.
”
What niche brand is crushing it right now?
”A high luxury brand from India called Sabiasachi.”
Thank you again to Jasmine for sharing her amazing mind with us.
That’s all, folx.
-Chris
If you listened/read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.
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