26 episodes

Unseen Unknown is a brand and business strategy podcast about the hidden threads that connect even the most distant of cultural concepts. We look at the emerging trends and behaviors that may be pointing to a deeper truth and ask the bigger question, “Why is society moving in this direction, and how can we apply it to business?”

We believe if we can’t see it in our culture, then we can’t know it in the market. From retail and consumerism to politics, gender, identity and values, there are patterns everywhere that illuminate a path forward for brands.

Your hosts, Jasmine Bina and Jean-Louis Rawlence, are brand strategists and futurists that explore these questions every day in their work for companies around the world. We’ll be interviewing thought leaders and domain experts both within brand strategy and outside of it.

Expect to hear from people from all walks of life: artists, scientists, CEOs, journalists, professors, technologists and everyone in between.

If you’re a founder, leader, storyteller or creator, this podcast will compel you to think at a macro level you haven’t considered before.

We also write and publish videos on everything brand strategy. You can see all of that here: https://www.theconceptbureau.com/

Unseen Unknown Jasmine Bina, Jean-Louis Rawlence

    • Business
    • 4.9 • 68 Ratings

Unseen Unknown is a brand and business strategy podcast about the hidden threads that connect even the most distant of cultural concepts. We look at the emerging trends and behaviors that may be pointing to a deeper truth and ask the bigger question, “Why is society moving in this direction, and how can we apply it to business?”

We believe if we can’t see it in our culture, then we can’t know it in the market. From retail and consumerism to politics, gender, identity and values, there are patterns everywhere that illuminate a path forward for brands.

Your hosts, Jasmine Bina and Jean-Louis Rawlence, are brand strategists and futurists that explore these questions every day in their work for companies around the world. We’ll be interviewing thought leaders and domain experts both within brand strategy and outside of it.

Expect to hear from people from all walks of life: artists, scientists, CEOs, journalists, professors, technologists and everyone in between.

If you’re a founder, leader, storyteller or creator, this podcast will compel you to think at a macro level you haven’t considered before.

We also write and publish videos on everything brand strategy. You can see all of that here: https://www.theconceptbureau.com/

    26: How Consumers “Know” Things In Today’s World

    26: How Consumers “Know” Things In Today’s World

    From the way we create our identities and manage our health, to the way we employ therapy-speak at work and vote in elections, it’s apparent that people are increasingly being guided by feelings and intuition in places where they may have once relied on reasoning or ideology. This new form of intuitive, noetic knowing is changing how people move through the world, and how brands can speak to them.

    • 26 min
    25: Bizarre, Strange and Highly Relatable

    25: Bizarre, Strange and Highly Relatable

    Weirdness reveals something profound about human nature, and lately more and more brands have been tapping into the delight of the unconventional. When done right, weirdness is highly relatable and offers brands a unique opportunity to create deep connections, foster loyalty, and shape the future in exciting ways.

    • 27 min
    24: How to Unlock Your Strategic Mind

    24: How to Unlock Your Strategic Mind

    What does it mean to be good at thinking? Or more importantly, thinking strategically? It’s the culmination of mental processes that enable us to analyze, reason, solve problems, make decisions, and generate creative ideas in an efficient manner.

    In other words, it’s a buildable skill. In this house episode, Jasmine and Jean-Louis take a deep dive into how to cultivate that skill effectively.

    • 44 min
    23: Pain, Sacrifice, and Our New Status Symbols

    23: Pain, Sacrifice, and Our New Status Symbols

    Culture is moving from the self-indulgence of conspicuous consumption to the self-denial of “conspicuous commitment”: a new status code that will affect every premium and luxury brand. In this episode we speak with Concept Bureau Senior Strategist Zach Lamb about how and why conspicuous commitment is taking over, as well as an interview with author W. David Marx who sees status as still operating by the old rules of wealth, perhaps now more than ever.

    • 35 min
    22: Strong Ties vs. Weak Ties in the Next Era of Brand Innovation

    22: Strong Ties vs. Weak Ties in the Next Era of Brand Innovation

    The world is starting to reconfigure itself around a very different kind of relationship. Weak ties, the underpinning of social innovation for the last two decades, are declining while strong social ties are starting to emerge as the dominant threads of our social fabric. In this house episode, we’re talking to Concept Bureau’s Chief Strategist Jean-Louis Rawlence, about the huge implications for tech innovation, community building and business. When strong ties become the future of community, community becomes the new brand.

    • 35 min
    21: The Secret Language of Cult Brands

    21: The Secret Language of Cult Brands

    Cults make effective brands, and today, they’re all around us. Perhaps the most insidious way cults have influenced our reality is in everyday language that’s meant to control behaviors and change perspectives. It’s language we use with friends and colleagues, language in our media and content, and language we hear coming from today’s most powerful CEOs, on branded websites and in keynote addresses.

    In this episode we’re talking with Amanda Montell, a language scholar and author of the critically acclaimed book, ‘Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism’ to understand why cults have had a resurgence in branding and in real life. Cults and businesses have always been intertwined, and understanding how they use the power of language to move people is the first step to decoding how they work.

    • 44 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
68 Ratings

68 Ratings

Fakecrow ,

So good I want to keep it all to myself

Not very many people think and talk like Jasmine and Jean-Louis. It’s the stuff of the European dinner parties free-style philosophizing. They’re amazing at covering those “signals” that you feel in your gut and in your head but haven’t heard anyone verbalize effectively yet. It’s intuition backed up by strong research mentality. Loving it. 🙌

Sspiccia ,

I just binged 8 episodes

As someone who has to stay on top of social, psychology, & cultural trends, this IS my podcast. Yall got it all here!

Con_Todo ,

Fiercely Intelligent

I”m absolutely addicted to this podcast! It’s a fascinating look at culture through the lens of brands. Jasmine, Jean-Louis, and their guests break it down with insight and intellect. Highly recommend!

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