#159: The Office Hours Interview: BNAC

2020 should have been your wakeup call that the way things used to work is not how things will work in the future. No matter what industry, cultural or not, the only constant in business and life, is change.

I want this platform to be a showcase for the brands and organizations in cultural industries that are doing really big work you engage with on the regular, all while hiding in plain sight. Today’s podcast is a perfect example of that mission coming to life.

Brand New A Collective is an enlightened think-tank that translates ideas into actionable, memorable and exciting experiences, which come to life in live events, partnerships, and digital/social content.

The co-founders, Kellie Pean and Alyssa Convertini, represent what I believe to be the evolution of a much-needed shift in the balance of power within every cultural industry.

Right now, we have an assortment of organizations and brands that operate under the same power structure:

A guy runs the show (and gets all the praise) while mostly women do all the work (for less pay.) No longer.

BNAC represents a focused effort to use a community-driven model to build meaningful cultural experiences across a variety of cultural industries, from movies to music to sports. And they’re coming with a stacked Rolodex and more skills than me, you, your mom and your cousin, too.

Prior to co-founding the company in 2018, Kellie spent years as a senior media executive at Valence Media, where she led integrated marketing for Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. Alyssa spent the majority of her career at Valence Media (aka Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe, Spin, Stereogum and Dick Clark Productions properties) most recently as executive director of branded content and music strategy. She helped build out Valence’s integrated marketing and branded content teams. To say that the co-founders are both media/entertainment industry veterans is an understatement. Significant experience at that level alone should be worthy of praise, but the perspective they share on how they approach marketing in their industry in this episode is why I’m so excited to feature them today.

Let Clubhouse tell it, marketing across cultural industries is a series of tactics or sheer luck that can only be manifested in a reactive way — say, your brand goes viral because a guy did a Tiktok while drinking your product on a skateboard while listening to Fleetwood Mac — versus what it actually is, understanding people in your culture and moving with intention to serve their wants and needs. These two not only understand that, but they leverage a community-focused strategy that allows them to make major moves, like the 1800 Seconds campaigns they did in collaboration with 1800 Tequila, Pusha T, and Future.

Hope you enjoy today’s episode. Make sure to follow BNAC on Instagram! These two are the best and have so much insight and I lowkey want them to run for office?

I’m co-hosting a free webinar TODAY with Dan Runcie of Trapital Media in a few! We’re breaking down the best hip-hop album rollouts of all time! The best hip-hop rollouts are like blueprints for anyone launching a product. Join us! Sign up here.

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