Meme Team: Viral Marketing & Pop Culture
Meme Team is the podcast where we discuss viral pop culture moments in movies, TV, music, sports, and politics.
Host Sonia Baschez breaks down real campaigns, brand decisions, and creative marketing strategies behind the moments everyone's talking about. Part funny marketing stories, part marketing big picture strategy, each episode unpacks why something worked, why it failed, or why it spread.
Topics include trending marketing moves, AI marketing campaigns, cause marketing campaigns, b…
Recent Episodes
26
July 9, 2026
When Brands Should Participate: Taylor Swift's Wedding, Trump's FIFA Call & TikTok's AI Soap Operas
Sonia sits down with Jess Zafarris, author, etymologist, TikTok creator, and editor at large at Ragan and PR Daily, to break down Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding brand activation, FIFA's controversial red card reversal for the US Men's National Team, and TikTok's new AI generated mini drama feature. The big thesis: speed isn't enough anymore, and brands that chase every cultural moment without discernment end up looking desperate instead of relevant. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got mar
25
July 2, 2026
What Partnerships Signal: Meta + Kylie and A24 + Google Deepmind
Sonia sits down with Lia Napolitano, founder of Our Mutual Friend and former Apple and Oculus designer, to break down Meta's Kylie Jenner glasses partnership, Google DeepMind's $75 million investment in A24, Universal's decision to exclude influencers from The Odyssey screenings, and why a $25,000 golf cart designed by former Apple and Audi designers is selling out. The big thesis: partnerships reveal who you serve and what you're willing to sacrifice to get there. Meta ended their Ray-Ban partn
24
June 25, 2026
Brands That Know Ball: Obama, Mamdani, and Norway vs. Shrek 5 and DoorDash
Sonia sits down with Ashwin Balakrishnan to break down Obama's presidential library speech, Mayor Mamdani's Knicks championship address, Norway's Viking World Cup campaign, and why Shrek 5's trailer is getting destroyed online. The big thesis: joy-based solidarity is undersupplied in political and brand content right now, and the brands that engineer hope without manufacturing it are winning the monoculture moment. Obama said America's story isn't frozen in the past, and Mamdani used the Knicks'
23
June 17, 2026
Why Sincerity Scales: Freddy at the World Cup, the Knicks Win, and Ferrari's PR Disaster
Sonia Baschez sits down with Jay Kapoor, General Partner at VSC Ventures and host of the Climb podcast, to break down three viral pop culture moments from sports and marketing, and what they tell us about sincerity, brand strategy, and the shifting power dynamic between athletes and the companies that sponsor them. A German soccer fan named Freddy drove from Atlanta through Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, posted everything he saw on X, and went from zero followers
22
June 11, 2026
Scarcity as Strategy: The Odyssey in IMAX, Norwegian vikings & Harvard’s F*** AI Speech
Sonia sits down with Dino Delic, head of data driven communications research lab at Meltwater, to break down Christopher Nolan's Odyssey IMAX strategy, World Cup brand activations, and Ronnie Cheng's viral Harvard commencement speech telling graduates to destroy AI. The big thesis: scarcity is a strategy, and the brands that engineer demand without oversaturating win the monoculture moment. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey isn't just the most anticipated film of the summer. It's running one of th
22
June 4, 2026
Own Your Audience: Spielberg's Podcast Debut, Celebrity Narratives & YouTube's New Directors
Sonia sits down with Visa Veerasamy, writer, marketing consultant, and author of Friendly Ambitious Nerd, to break down Steven Spielberg's first podcast appearance, how YouTubers are skipping film school and breaking box office records, and why Ferrari's electric car launch flopped. The big thesis: own your audience before you ask for permission, and platforms are selecting for people who can speak well at length. Steven Spielberg went on his first podcast ever at 78 years old. He joined Bill Si
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