Hard Refresh on culture-making

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts211/v4/da/da/b3/dadab30a-4aec-9489-7a3f-9fb45602ee4e/mza_9180270722213239468.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Hard Refresh

State of Social

11 episodes

1 week ago

Discover what’s in store for us in the next 25 years of digital marketing and how the first 25 years of this century shaped our industry (and the world), in Hard Refresh. This limited 10-episode series from Australia’s best marketing conference, State of Social, looks ahead at what trends, technologies, cultural shifts, and maybe even controversies, will define digital marketing over the next 25 years. Andrés López-Varela (a.k.a. ALV), one of Australia's most experienced marketing educators, is joined by a cast of industry leaders picked from the ranks of this year's State of Social speakers to unearth what's next for digital marketing. Join them as they press F5 to discover a refreshed perspective on everything from the next evolution in social media to the role of marketing in culture, from the future of digital audio to the changing role of online video, from the era-defining impacts of AI and automation to the brave new world for marketing agencies, and much more. Hard Refresh is recorded and produced on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, the Awabakal people and the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

All content for Hard Refresh is the property of State of Social and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Hard Refresh on culture-making

Hard Refresh

39 minutes

2 months ago

Hard Refresh on culture-making

Culture has always been the backdrop for marketing, but in the next 25 years, can brands and creatives become true culture makers, or are they destined to follow? In this episode of Hard Refresh, host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Jonathan Harley (media and tech executive, ex-Canva/Twitter/60 Minutes), Tess Palmyre (Founder, Brandable), and Tim Duggan (Author and Chair, Digital Publishers Alliance) to unpack the stakes.

From Trump tweeting about Cracker Barrel’s logo to the backlash against DEI, the panel weighs whether marketers can authentically shape culture, or if values-driven storytelling is the only ballast in increasingly turbulent times.

In this episode:

Culture wars on fast forward
Tim points to the recent Cracker Barrel logo saga, where Trump’s tweets sparked boycotts, as proof brands are now reacting to culture instead of leading it.
Purpose under pressure
Tess and Jonathan argue values can’t just be slogans; Target’s retreat from DEI vs. Costco’s consistency shows who survives cultural turbulence.
Authenticity as ballast
Jonathan stresses that authenticity is grounded in values, not marketing spin, and is the only way brands can navigate volatile cultural seas in the digital age.
Fragmentation VS mega-brands
Tim warns we may end up with “10 mega-brands and 10 million scraps” in future, while Jonathan highlights Canva and Red Bull as examples of brands acting like cultural institutions.
Humanity shines through AI "slop"
Tess insists that even in a sea of sameness, audiences gravitate back to messy, human, imperfect stories and that those are the cracks where culture happens.

This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, live at State of Social '25.