Brands In Play
Welcome to Brands in Play - The podcast where we explore immersive marketing and the people who are leading it.
Episodes
58 episodes
Live from SXSW: The Future of Play Panel
Episode 58 of Brands In Play was recorded live at SXSW, with Nic Hill on stage alongside Val Vacante, who hosting a panel on the future of play featuring Chris Down (EVP, Chief Design & Innovation Officer at Mattel) and Mitchel Berger Execu...
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Season 1
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Episode 58
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1:01:47
Barbie, Hot Wheels and the Future of Play
Episode 57 of Brands In Play was recorded live at SXSW at the Red Thread X House, with Val Vacante joining Nic Hill on stage for a conversation with Chris Down, EVP and Chief Design & Innovation Officer at Mattel. Chris broke down how Matte...
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Season 1
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Episode 57
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31:54
The Human Questions Defining SXSW 2026
This week, Nic Hill is joined by special March co-host Val Vacante for a conversation with Katie Pereira, Director of Conference Strategy at SXSW. The interview explores the ideas shaping SXSW 2026, with a focus on AI and human connection, the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 56
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54:16
Engagement Is Not What You Think!
Nic Hill and Aida Andersson are live this week in LA and they’re joined by Brian Ryerson, Senior Director, Digital Strategy at the USTA for a deep dive into how the US Open thinks about immersive platforms as more than a one-off activation.&nbs...
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Season 1
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Episode 55
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57:22
The #1 Biggest Mistake Brands Make in Fortnite (And What To Do Instead)
This week on the show, Nic Hill and Aida Andersson sit down with Matthew Zanazzo for a deep dive into the state of advertising inside Fortnite and the broader UGC gaming ecosystem.Matthew, founder of Catalyst Studios, former Head of For...
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Season 1
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Episode 54
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58:10
How Will Sports Marketing Survive an Aging Audience?
This week on the show, Aida Andersson and Nic Hill sit down with Joe Farren (Future Sport Co.), an award-winning sports innovation consultant who’s helped top sports brands translate immersive tech into real fan and commercial value. In the int...
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Season 1
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Episode 53
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57:40
The Death of the "Impression": Why Interruption Advertising is Failing
This week on the show, Nic Hill and Aida Andersson sit down with Morgan Pomish, Senior Vice President, Head of Innovative Experiences at Digitas North America. We get into how strategy falls apart when brands start with “we need to be in gaming...
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Season 1
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Episode 52
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1:05:28
It Took 3 Years to Convince the Execs... How Sam's Club Finally Cracked Roblox
This week on the show, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are joined by Leslie Shepard, Lead of Partnerships and Growth Marketing at Sam’s Club.In this conversation, Leslie breaks down how Sam’s Club thinks about gaming as an upper funnel gr...
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Season 1
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Episode 51
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1:05:44
Stop Targeting Millennials! Why Your Marketing Data is Completely Useless
It's EPISODE 50! Before anything else, thank you to everyone who’s been listening, watching, sharing, and building with us along the way. What started as a conversation has turned into a weekly ritual, and we don’t take that for granted. Your s...
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Season 1
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Episode 50
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58:20
Why "Living Stories" Are the Only Way to Sell
Episode 49 of Brands In Play is here and this week Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are joined by Charlie Melcher, founder of Melcher Media and The Future of Storytelling, and author of The Future of Storytelling. In the interview, Charl...
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Season 1
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Episode 49
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57:37
Is The Metaverse Finally Over? (Our Boldest Bets for 2026)
Brands In Play kicks off 2026 with a predictions episode. Nic Hill and Albane Prioux center the conversation around three questions brands are already grappling with:• Where people will spend time playing and socializing• Which mone...
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Season 1
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Episode 48
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40:09
UNBOXING Podcast | Rebroadcast
This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are officially off for the holidays, so Episode 47 is a little different: we’re rebroadcasting one of our favourite podcasts, UNBOXING: Play and Profit for the Gaming Curious. Hosted by ga...
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Season 1
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Episode 47
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1:16:08
Who ACTUALLY Won Immersive Marketing in 2025?
This week’s episode is a different one: For our final show of 2025, Albane Prioux and Nic Hill press pause on the news cycle and pull together the big ideas that shaped a year of immersive marketing on Brands In Play. No guests, no real-time re...
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Season 1
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Episode 46
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44:25
IGN Exec: "Stop Treating Gen Z Gamers Like Millennials!"
This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux sit down with Karl Stewart, SVP of Marketing & Head of the Imagine AI platform at IGN, to unpack how 30 years of gaming data is reshaping brand strategy: from Batman, Tomb Raider and M...
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Season 1
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Episode 45
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52:59
Why IRL Networking is the Secret Recipe for Unlocking Innovation
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] Episode 44 of Brands In Play Nic Hill and Albane Prioux are joined by Joe Condon, founder of SEG3, where we dig into how sports, entertainment, and gaming collide around next-gen fan experiences. Joe walks throu...
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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51:36
The Hidden Friction in Virtual Shopping (and How to Fix It)
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play, Albane Prioux and Nic Hill unpack immersive holiday commerce in 2025. They cover everything from Target’s Alpine store makeovers and Walmart’s ambient-room shopping, to Amazon’s 3D “...
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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57:26
How Mattel Turned a 50-Year-Old Toy Into a Digital Juggernaut
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux sit down with Ron Friedman, VP of Mattel Future Lab. Ron outlines how Future Lab approaches innovation at scale: how Hot Wheels, Barbie, and Monster High a...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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59:55
"Don't Try and Sell Them Sh*t!": The Ultimate Rule for Marketing to Gamers
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux sit down with Matt Kidd and Lex Alexander from GETREKT Labs. They've carved out a rare niche, building tools, formats, mini-games, and interactive overlays...
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Episode 41
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57:16
Is AI Going to Destroy Hollywood? How to Survive the Entertainment Disruption
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play, Nic Hill and Albane Prioux sit down with Rick Hack, Founder of Empire House, an advisory company driving digital transformation and innovation in the Media & Ent industry. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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51:25
"Fortnite is Losing Players Every Day": The Unintended Consequences of UEFN
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play, Albane Prioux and Nic Hill sit down with Margot Rodde, Founder & CEO of Creators Corp. We unpack the crucial split between Fortnite BR and UEFN, and why studios are going platform ag...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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54:03
Stop Paying for Empty Views! The Ugly Truth About Influencer Marketing
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play, we sit down with Ross Crump, founder of Ardent Social. Ross explains why “influencer” ≠ influence. From leading campaigns with the Sidemen and John Cena’s Overwatch 2 launch to found...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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59:19
Throw Out Your Brand Guidelines. Give Gamers Control.
[NEW EPISODE ALERT] This week on Brands In Play Dentsu’s Magali Huot (SVP, Global Gaming Strategy) joins Nic Hill and Albane Prioux to unpack how one of the world’s biggest agency networks is turning its motto “innovating to impact...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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59:19
The BBC's Pivot to Gaming
This week on Brands In Play, James Reevell, New Media and Gaming Consultant (and former Executive Editor for Youth Audiences at the BBC), joins Albane Prioux and Nic Hill to discuss how broadcasters are adapting to new platforms. James also sha...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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58:52
Are Smartphones Ruining Live Sports?
This week on Brands In Play, Albane Prioux and Nic Hill sit down with Christian Lau, Chief Technology Officer at Los Angeles Football Club. Christian takes us inside LAFC’s tech playbook, from autonomous retail and face-based ticketing for fast...
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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58:40
Super League CEO Reveals How to ACTUALLY Get Gamers' Attention
On Episode 34 of Brands In Play, Nic and Albane are joined by Matt Edelman, CEO of Super League. Drawing on decades of experience at Marvel, Endeavor, and Super League’s own NASDAQ journey, Matt breaks down the rise of playable media, why brand...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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51:24