Zuryna Livermore: Welcome back to
Operations Unfiltered, the podcast
that takes you behind the scenes of
influencer and talent management.
I'm your host and your favorite
marketing project manager, girlie Zuryna.
In today's episode, we're
gonna do a lessons learned.
Now if you are a project manager or
you're just getting into the field of
project management, lessons learned
is the part of the project at the end
where we pretty much spill the tea
on what worked, what didn't work, and
how we can avoid this in the future.
So I'm gonna do that same thing,
but talking about various things
that have happened in pop culture,
media, things of that nature.
So what went well?
The first thing, win number one is
the ultimate wag, and for those of you
who don't know, WAG stands for wives
and girlfriends, and it's typically
associated with professional athletes.
Well, the winner is Taylor Swift.
She recently announced her
12th Studio album, but she did
it in an unconventional way.
But I guess if you think of it
from a Taylor Swift perspective,
it's not really unconventional
because she is a marketing genius.
But anyway, Taylor Swift
is the girlfriend of.
Kansas City Chiefs, tight end Travis
Kelce, and they are just a power couple.
And if you were tuned into the NFL
last season, then you know that
pretty much anytime she pulled up
to a game, there was a huge hoopla.
What is she wearing?
What is she doing in the box?
It was just all eyes were on Taylor.
And so for her to.
Make herself more personable by appearing
on this podcast with Jason and Travis, and
they have this really popular podcast, but
it just gives fans a new, more intimate
behind the scenes look at her process.
And honestly, it's the same strategy
that some big corporations use.
It's sort of like the multi-channel
marketing, but you meet your audience
where they are and then you give them
something they can't get anywhere else.
Like where would you be able to get this
personal conversation between this couple?
It's like we always see them through
pictures and we hear them talking
separately, but for her to be there
on the show, I'm gonna be tuned in.
I think this also solidifies her
as like the ultimate wag and that
it shows that her reach obviously
goes well beyond the bleachers.
But kudos to you, Taylor.
That was a win.
I'm excited.
Now all I I ask of Taylor is if
possible, if you feel like a girl,
I know you busy, you don't have
to, but lean more into that wag.
Like I would love to see some
get ready with me content.
I would love to see that.
But again, Taylor is her own woman and
she has her own career, which I love.
And I think that's the reason why people
gravitate towards them as a couple because
they both are bosses in their own right.
So kudos to Taylor.
Now for WIN number two.
Speaking of powerhouse women in the
industry, Beyonce is an Emmy winner.
Let's say that again.
Beyonce is an Emmy winner
B got we're coming.
She's halfway there.
She has her Grammy, and now she has
her Emmy, like she's on the way.
The World tours, the the
fashions, and now the Emmy.
This honestly isn't about a trophy.
It's about further extending her brand,
like you didn't think Beyonce could get
any bigger, and then she got an Emmy.
She is expanding her reach beyond music,
proving that diversification keeps a
brand not just relevant, but legendary.
Plus her win reminds us that sometimes
the best marketing strategy is
truly excellence over the hype.
Okay, so kudos to you, Beyonce.
Win number three, breezy Bowl.
Chris Brown.
I've loved Chris Brown since I was
15 years old and I'm 30 and I just
feel like he gets better with time.
His 20 year commitment to his
craftsmanship really should be
studied and love him or hate him.
He's been in the game for two decades
and the Breezy Bowl is reminding us why.
If you've seen all the videos and the
jokes of the fans saying that he performs
hit after hit after hit the production
value of the show, that just shows you
a dedication to a craft that's rare.
These, these days.
And from a marketing lens, I view this as
a type of brand consistency at its finest.
He's delivering the same high caliber
product and he's done that over
years and his audience expects it.
He just keeps adding on things that
support his Elu evolution to keep
everyone excited and everyone tuned
in, like, I'm ready for him to
drop the new songs, the new music.
So shout out to you, Chris Brown.
You're always a winner in my eyes.
But the Breezy Ball has
truly solidified that.
Okay, now we've talked about what's
going well, but we need to talk
about the areas of improvement.
First things first.
American Eagle and Sydnee Sweeney.
I know we are some weeks removed from
this whole thing, and if you aren't
familiar with the whole debacle, American
Eagle released an ad where Sydnee
Sweeney essentially said that she has
good jeans, air quotes around jeans.
, She's a blonde hair and
blue-eyed white woman.
Who was essentially how it reads
to some of the public is that she
was saying that her G-E-N-E-S, her
genes are superior than other people.
For some this landed fine, but for others
it felt tone deaf and exclusionary.
But here's the thing.
In 2025, brand language matters.
Every tagline, every caption, every
off the cuff comment can either
deepen loyalty or shut doors.
This is a case study in how creative
approval processes need real diversity
and sometimes maybe a sensitivity
checkpoint just before they go live.
So that definitely could be improved.
Number two, something that really is
hitting home for me is Southwest Airlines.
They used to be my go-to and they
built their reputation and their
loyal fan base on being the airline
that didn't nickel and dime you,
but now they're charging for bags.
They've lost the one thing
that made them stand out.
It's like your favorite restaurant
suddenly charging for bread and butter.
Like, what are we doing here?
It's not about the money, it's
truly about the principle.
They were the last one, the last airline
that I felt like wasn't trying to get me.
And I know a lot of people.
Say Southwest is like the Greyhound bus
in the sky, and I didn't view it as that.
I view it as the last one
that wasn't trying to get me.
So with that, those two areas of
improvement, how would I fix it?
For American Eagle, I really feel
like they should run a follow up
campaign leaning into all kinds of
bodies in their jeans and maybe do
like a good jeans or for everyone type
of twist, because that just really
left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
I would also say invite content
creators from diverse backgrounds
to style and post their looks using
their own authentic captions to
ensure that you're making inclusivity
the headline and not the footnote.
You know, you get me.
For Southwest Airlines, I would
say don't just be one of the pack.
Bring back some of that original charm.
Maybe one free bag per customer,
something like that as a loyalty perk.
Then also leaning into
nostalgia and your campaigns.
You need to make people remember
why we liked Southwest in
the first place, instead of
complaining about why it sucks now.
So that's my food for thought.
If you have any ideas for how you would
improve those areas that are not going
so well in the media, let me know.
Follow me at Operations Unfiltered
or at Lady Z says, I would love to
hear your thoughts and remember,
make it a great day or not.
The choice is yours.
See you next time.