From McDonald's revealing that Grimace is actually a taste bud, to Fishwife's wildly successful New York pop-up, analogue photography, independent magazines and London's Moodboard Making & Coffee Atelier, brands are increasingly looking backwards to create stronger emotional connections with today's consumers.

Esther shares why Fishwife has become one of the most talked about consumer brands in the US, generating more than $100,000 in sales in six days through an experiential retail activation that blended beautiful packaging, storytelling and community, in NYC.

Meanwhile, Kate explores why creators like Rossi D are capturing millions of views by reintroducing nostalgic cultural conversations, proving that memory, humour and shared experiences remain some of the internet's most powerful currencies.

The discussion also explores how brands including Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok are influencing a return to analogue creativity, while communities like Girls Who Meet and Lucky Duck are encouraging people to slow down through craft workshops, snail mail, book swaps and offline connection. Bring back the independent magazines for the win, like the Teen magazine recently launched by Refinery29 ex-alumna, Paula James-Martinez. 

The conversation spans everything from Pellegrini's Espresso Bar, HuTong Dumpling Bar, the State Library Victoria, Geelong Gallery's Discovering the Impressionists exhibition, London's Borough Market, and Richard Glover's book The Land Before Avocado to unpack why consumers are craving familiarity, ritual and tangible experiences in an increasingly digital world.

In Well Played or No lay, Esther and Kate take on QOVES, a facial analysis platform going hard on paid advertising, raising important questions about beauty standards, fear-based marketing and the ethics of AI in branding.

Together they unpack:

✨ The return of analogue culture

✨ Fishwife's colourful retail strategy

✨ McDonald's iconic brand characters

✨ Why magazines are making a comeback

✨ Slow living and community-led businesses

✨ Mood boards, craft and creativity

✨ The rise of nostalgia marketing

✨ AI-powered beauty marketing and ethics

✨ How emotional connection influences consumer behaviour

Follow Well Played

If you're interested in marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, branding, digital culture, nostalgia marketing, experiential marketing and customer experience, subscribe to Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand.

New episodes every Friday. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @wellplayedpod

We’d love you to leave us a review or share with your networks if you’ve enjoyed this episode. We are an independently run podcast and every share and follow gives us a great opportunity to get our message and content out to the right listeners. Much love, Kate & Esther.

Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're joined by Josh Henry-Hicks, Founder of Insightly Media, son of City Beach founder Brett Henry-Hicks, and brother of the CEO of Australian fashion label DISSH, Lucy Henry-Hicks

One of Australia’s leading retail and ecommerce growth strategists, now based in LA and Founder of Insightly Media, Josh Henry-Hicks has helped some of the world's fastest-growing consumer brands scale through performance marketing, organic social and consumer psychology.  

Growing up inside one of Australia's most successful retail families before helping scale digital marketing agency MuteSix, later acquired by Dentsu, Josh has built a career at the intersection of retail, consumer psychology, performance marketing & ecommerce, and is now classified as one of Australia’s leading retail and ecommerce growth strategists, now based in LA.

After hearing Josh's keynote at The Social Summit in Melbourne, Esther and Kate knew they had to continue the conversation.

Together, they unpack why the traditional social media playbook no longer works, why brands need to move beyond demographics and embrace micro niches, how organic social has become one of the most powerful customer acquisition channels, and why understanding consumer psychology is now one of the biggest competitive advantages in modern marketing.

Topics include:

✨ Organic social strategy 

✨ Consumer psychology

✨ Micro niches

✨ TikTok and Instagram algorithms

✨ Why likes don't matter anymore

✨ AI in marketing

✨ UGC creators

✨ LinkedIn strategy

Well Played or No Play?

This week's discussion looks at Alex Earle's skincare launch.

Instead of relying on influencer marketing, Alex built anticipation through:

• New York billboards
• Hidden clues
• Influencer puzzle pieces
• Organic storytelling
• Community participation

The result? A campaign driven by curiosity instead of advertising.

We also discuss what marketers can learn from Taylor Swift's famous "Easter egg" marketing strategy and why anticipation remains one of the most powerful marketing tools available.

Whether you're a marketer, founder, business owner or brand leader, this episode is packed with practical insights into organic social media, AI, UGC creators, consumer psychology, digital marketing, ecommerce growth and the future of brand building.

New episodes every Friday.

Follow us:

Instagram: @wellplayedpod

TikTok: @wellplayedpod

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Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 3 of Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand, Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware explore why consumers are craving real-life connection, why community is becoming increasingly important and why brands are investing heavily in experiences again.

This week we discuss:

✨ The return of experiential marketing

✨ Community versus audience

✨ The Lip Liner Index and changing consumer behaviour

✨ Creator-led entertainment and niche communities

✨ Coachella's brand activations

✨ Mecca at the Australian Open

✨ Frank Green's personalised vending machine experience

✨ Mastercard's frictionless retail activation

✨ Dirty Darlene and AI-powered creator marketing

✨ Why belonging and emotional connection remain powerful drivers of brand growth

Whether you're a marketer, founder, business owner or brand leader, this episode is packed with insights on marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, community building, experiential marketing and customer experience.

Esther brings a much lighter moment to the conversation with Corporate Canine Noods, a creator account proving that even dogs can become brands.

Follow @wellplayedpod and subscribe wherever you listen.

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Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we discuss:

✨ The upcoming Discovering the Impressionists exhibition at The Geelong Gallery

✨ Michelle Obama's appearance in Australia and authentic leadership, brought out to Australia by the Growth Faculty. 

✨ The LinkedIn algorithm and personal brand development

✨ Why marketing is a long-term strategy

✨ Osha Günsberg and authentic content creation

✨ Apple's colourful new laptop launch, NEO, and their customer/creator ‘review’ led marketing strategy

✨ Spotify's disco ball rebrand and the power of nostalgia marketing

✨ Community versus audience and why brands need two-way conversations

If you're interested in marketing strategy, digital marketing, personal branding, consumer behaviour, creator culture and brand leadership, this episode is for you. Leave us a review and share it with fellow marketers, founders or business owners.

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @wellplayedpod

We'd love to hear from you:

• What's your earliest Spotify memory?
• What brands are doing authenticity well?
• Are you building your personal brand on LinkedIn?

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Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware share the career experiences that shaped their approach to marketing strategy, brand building and customer experience. From Esther's early days at Sportsgirl and leadership role at Etsy Australia, to Kate's agency journey working across digital marketing, social media and business growth, this episode introduces the perspectives behind the podcast.

As experienced marketing leaders, Esther and Kate discuss why they believe there is a gap in the market for honest conversations about branding, marketing careers, consumer behaviour and the realities of building businesses in today's rapidly changing landscape. With a dose of mid life wisdom and life.

The conversation explores the rise of the creator economy, creator-led brands and personal branding, alongside the growing role of AI in marketing and what this means for businesses, founders and marketers alike.

In this episode they discuss Canva's bold approach to AI training, the increasing value of marketing generalists and why authentic storytelling remains one of the most powerful tools in modern brand strategy.

What's In Your Algorithm?

This week's discussion explores emerging marketing trends including:

• Women in SPAM (Social Media, Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing)
• Creator-led brands and personal branding
• Authentic content creation
• Founder-led marketing
• Consumer connection in an AI-driven world
• The future of digital marketing and creator commerce

Esther shares why the creator Eta_birthing caught her attention and the growing movement of creators becoming brands in their own right, while Kate discusses why authenticity continues to outperform formulaic content strategies.

Well Played or No Play?

This week's brand marketing debate focuses on two organisations making headlines:

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood - Well Played

Esther and Kate unpack why Lifeblood's 'Unstoppable' campaign is one of Australia's strongest recent examples of purpose-driven marketing, brand storytelling and emotional customer connection. The campaign demonstrates how even highly regulated organisations can build meaningful brand engagement through powerful storytelling, community impact and creative execution.

Shein & Everlane - Well Played or No Play?

The hosts debate Shein's acquisition of Everlane and what it means for sustainability, ethical fashion, ecommerce marketing, supply chain transparency and long-term brand trust. Is this a strategic move toward a more sustainable future, or does it dilute everything Everlane has stood for?

Key takeaways.

• Why marketing generalists are becoming increasingly valuable
• How creator-led brands are changing consumer behaviour
• The growing importance of personal branding
• What marketers can learn from Canva's AI strategy
• Why storytelling remains essential for brand building
• How commercial outcomes and marketing strategy must work together
• Lessons from Lifeblood's purpose-led marketing campaign
• The future implications of the Shein and Everlane acquisition

Brands and businesses discussed.

• Sportsgirl
• Etsy
• Kmart
• Cadbury
• Canva
• Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
• Everlane
• Shein
• Messy Monkeys
• Beyond The Bump

People Mentioned

• Esther Kelleher
• Kate Ware
• George Fox
• Tina Arena
• Adele Petropolis
• Georgie Roderick

Follow Well Played: Conversations on marketing and brand.

If you enjoy conversations about marketing strategy, brand building, digital marketing, customer experience, consumer behaviour, creator culture, AI in marketing and business growth, we'd love you to subscribe, leave a review and share the podcast with your network.

Follow us on Instagram @wellplayedpod and TikTok: @wellplayedpod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re good mates who have been fortunate to work together over a number of years, and have always riffed on what we’re observing, feeling and loving in today's climate.

Well Played is exactly these chats. Think light-hearted banter and the kind of senior-industry perspective we were yearning to listen to ourselves. It’s like sitting on the couch and having a cuppa with us.

Each week we’ll bring you segments such as ‘What’s in your Algorithm?’ and ‘Well Played or No Play’ where we dissect current brand and marketing moments. We’ll also be deep diving into shifts in industry trends and bring you interviews with interesting people we see are nailing their play. 

We cover off more than a social media trend or a tactical execution; we go wider and discuss brand and marketing from a birds eye view, looking at how things are changing and why we should pay attention.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.