The Cassandra Podcast

Today, on our latest episode of the Cassandra Podcast, Cassandra welcomes Kate Miller, the founder and CEO of Miss Grass. In this conversation, we talk about Gen Z’s attitude around cannabis culture, how the industry is evolving as more states move to legalization, and other highlights from Cassandra's cannabis report, released today.

Today, on our latest episode of the Cassandra Podcast, Cassandra welcomes Eniola Kolawole, the Gen Z founder of EniThingIWant, an artist collective and creative agency. In this conversation, Eniola talks about the concept of “intuitive creation,” how to listen to your inner voice, and the importance of not settling when it comes to careers. Tune in for this chat that will inspire you to reimagine the future.

Today, on our latest episode of the Cassandra Podcast, Cassandra welcomes Naomi Shah, the founder and CEO of Meet Cute, a media company that produces modern, scripted rom-coms. What started as an audio series —  think “Sleepless in Seattle” reimagined for Gen Z and in podcast form — has recently expanded into video and written stories as well. Naomi talks with us about the value of feel-good storytelling, the importance of nuanced storylines, and the shift towards happily-for-nows rather than happily-ever-afters. She also touches on how her startup learned to build trust with their listeners through an emphasis on relatable characters and an inclusivity of all kinds of love. And with February 14 just a few weeks away, our discussion covers trends we’re seeing for the upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Today, on our latest episode of the Cassandra Podcast, Cassandra welcomes back Emily Albright Miller, Senior Vice President of Big Red Rooster. Listen in to gain inside knowledge on what’s currently happening in the retail and QSR space, as well as some predictions and guidance for brands going into the holiday season. Miller shares some recent insights about how vital the human component is to a positive brand experience. In her research, Miller spoke to both consumers as well as workers about current labor shortages, brand expectations and the consumer journey. With assumptions that tech can fill some of these gaps, Miller explains why this may not be the right long-term strategy. This week, we’re making a case for the human element as we guide listeners through the ripple effect these gaps can have.

Big Red Rooster, a JLL company, is a multidimensional brand experience firm creating transformative human experiences that get results.

In today’s Cassandra Podcast, we spoke with Jackie Hernandez and Oswald Mendez, co-founders of New Majority Ready about some of the biggest headlines and implications that are coming out of the 2020 US Census. The huge increase in the number of people that are multiracial and the fact that over 90% of the new generation of Hispanics is US-born, are two areas that we explore. As it is National Hispanic Heritage Month, we also discussed the concepts of heritage and identity, and what they mean for Gen Zs today. Lastly, Jackie and Oswald shared some examples of brands (including Vault by Vans x Frida Kahlo, Ulta, Fenty Beauty & Crocs) that are leading in this space.

New Majority Ready’s mission is to help companies realize the impact America’s current Cultural Transformation has on their business and create a path that will lead to new sources of growth through the lens of the New Majority, through designing audience strategies that drive growth, developing content and storytelling for marketers to deliver brand messaging and helping evolve companies’ culture and go-to-market strategies. More info about New Majority Ready is available here.  And see more of their perspectives on the 2020 Census here. To see the presentation that Cassandra and New Majority Ready shared at the recent Insights Association IDEA Forum, please visit  https://vimeo.com/580011727

On our newest episode of the Cassandra Podcast, Cassandra spoke with Todd Anderman, President, and Matthew Stanton, Head of Marketing, of Doing Things Media. Doing Things Media owns and operates 25 of the most meme famous handles across social media such as @animalsdoingthings, @middleclassfancy and more. With clever content aligning to top trends, their accounts have amassed roughly 60 million followers. Listen in as we go “behind the meme,” discussing the definition of a meme, the evolution of memes into new industries, and the future of meme culture. We’ll also learn how brands can craft share-worthy imagery to Millennial and Gen Z audiences, content that not only makes them feel understood, but happier and more connected with their friends.

On this week’s episode, Maryam Ahmed, President & CEO of Maryam + Company, joins Cassandra’s Kathy Sheehan and Michael Corti to discuss commitment to equity and diversity in the wine and food industry.

On this week’s episode, Kathy Sheehan and Michael Corti of Cassandra are joined by Sharon Kevil, Founder + CEO of Forti Goods and Tekisha Harvey, Co-founder of CannaCurious. 

Featuring Kathy Sheehan, Chanon Cook, and Michael Corti on why segmentation is important.

Cassandra’s segments uncover the unique personalities and perspectives contained within each generation, because when brands understand the key consumer archetypes within these groups, they can more effectively create for, communicate, and engage with each of them. Cassandra has divided the populations of Gen Zs into parts, or as we refer to them—segments, which are definable, accessible, and most importantly, actionable.

On this week’s episode, our host Nina Rupp is joined by Chanon Cook, Cassandra's Vice President. Chanon and Nina unpack Cassandra's latest report on Gen Z segmentation and get to explore some of these segments individually. 

Cassandra’s segments uncover the unique personalities and perspectives contained within each generation, because when brands understand the key consumer archetypes within these groups, they can more effectively create for, communicate, and engage with each of them. Cassandra has divided the populations of Gen Zs into parts, or as we refer to them—segments, which are definable, accessible, and most importantly, actionable.

On this week’s episode, our host Nina Rupp is joined by David Stroud, Founder and President of Pivot Coldbrew, which was featured in this Thursday's Cassandra Daily on new adaptogenic and nootropic coffee drinks. David gives us his insight into the brand’s "chillbrew" coffee beverage, which encompasses a precision-crafted blend of cold brew, adaptogens, and nootropics with clinically proven benefits. The result is smart, stable energy with no jitters or caffeine crash, and it’s packaged in a handy, ready-to-drink format.

On this week's episode, our host Nina Rupp recaps fintech initiatives geared toward increasing Gen Z's financial literacy, innovative fragrance tech, an update on sports amid the ongoing pandemic, and qualitative data around young people's entertainment habits. 

On this week’s episode (the first of the new year!), our host Nina Rupp is joined by Russell Barnett, the Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of My/Mochi Ice Cream. Russell and Nina explore all aspects of the My/Mochi brand, which is currently America's fastest-growing frozen novelty that owns 80% of the mochi ice cream category in retailers and 98% of the category in convenience stores. In three years on the market, My/Mochi products are available in over 30,000 retailers including 7-Eleven, Wegmans, Walmart, Target, Kroger and Publix, and the company is doing around $175 million in retail sales annually, which is projected to double in the next two years. 

On this week’s episode, our host Nina Rupp is joined by Brad Marks, the CMO of Som Sleep. Som is a sleep drink that's engineered to help consumers fall asleep faster and sleep better throughout the night, and Brad and Nina talk all about the beverage, why sleep hygiene is absolutely essential, and even unpack some Cassandra research around health and sleep that further supports Som's market positioning.

On this week’s episode, our host Nina Rupp is joined by Emily Albright Miller, Vice President of Strategy & Insights at Big Red Rooster, a JLL company. Emily shares some truly can't-miss insights around consumer behavior as it relates to retail and shopping in light of the pandemic, and Nina and Emily outline three major areas of trend acceleration happening in this vertical.

Big Red Rooster, a JLL company, is a multidimensional brand experience firm creating transformative human experiences that get results.

Our host Nina Rupp recaps this week's Cassandra Dailies, covering innovative healthcare models that are growing amid the Covid-19 pandemic, better-for-you baking mixes, next-gen interconnected fitness platforms, and content collectives known as TikTok houses. 

On this week’s episode, our host Nina Rupp is joined by Michael Corti, Cassandra's VP of Business Development. Michael shares insights around the polarization affecting today's Gen Zs (captured in this Cassandra Daily article on how modern young adults feel about last week's presidential election) and Cassandra's quant-based segmentation.

Our host Nina Rupp recaps this week's Cassandra Dailies, which include exciting agtech innovations that will redefine the future of farming, new diversity and equity training programs, the rise of virtual floral arranging classes, and brands' Halloween initiatives, which celebrate "Spooky Season" amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

On this week’s episode, our host Nina Rupp is joined by Christopher Skinner, Founder and Principal at School House. Chris and Nina take a deep dive into the topic of what crowdsourced beauty looks like and means today (spoiler alert: it looks a lot more like emotional and purpose-driven brand conversations). Chris possesses a wealth of knowledge around the topic, and he lends us valuable insights from his experience and his multi-disciplinary background. 

School House is an NYC-based beauty branding agency that specializes in cut-through strategy, engaging creative and immersive environments for the world’s most in-demand beauty brands.

Our host Nina Rupp recaps buzzy cross-industry shoe collabs, language learning apps, Gen Z-led social media networks, and what our Cassandra Collective members say about the modern day voting process.