Ferrari is playing a risky game
Can Lewis Hamilton deliver? Plus PLT's confusing rebrand and why Tesla might be in trouble
Tuesday March 18, 2025 | London, UK
Hello, and welcome back to The Brandsider :)
Spring is quickly taking hold over the UK, and the sun is wiping away all trace of S.A.D. I didn’t even know I had. Parker and I may have jumped the gun and splurged on some gorgeous cast aluminum furniture from Lazy Susan (pictured below). I am absolutely stoked to use it sooner than later. I guess the price tag also means we’ll be staying in London for the foreseeable future… just don’t tell my mother.
Last week, I got to attend manager training with Oliver Wyman. I haven’t spent much time with management consultants since my Deloitte days, and it was interesting to me for 2 reasons:
For one, I love the networking / shamelessly corporate vibes. Always have, always will - and probably a core reason why I was so miserable in entrepreneurship, working in athleisure from the basement.
But two, it helped me realize my true value as a corporate brand strategist (and thus, with The Brandsider): bridging the gap between brand and business strategy. It’s an idea I’ve been noodling on for months, but hadn’t quite figured out how to articulate. Now, it’s clicking: and where I’ll be focusing my next phase of experimentation.
On that note, I’ve been thinking a lot about consistency versus exploration - and even wrote a LinkedIn post about it.
Sometimes I feel self-conscious about how much I’ve changed ‘directions’ since starting this platform last year. Then again, that’s what building in public is: testing, iterating, and slowly finding the right lane before going all in. I’m excited to get to that point, and there will be signs, I promise: updating my LinkedIn profile, locking in a bio, cleaning up messaging. All coming soon.
Otherwise, I’m excited to be getting into a flow with content creation. Every script feels like a small challenge, but I genuinely enjoy the end-to-end process. And of course, staying on top of the biggest business + brand moves of the week…
✨ Where Business Meets Brand
Deeper analysis, as covered in short form video on TikTok / IG / YouTube Shorts
Ferrari’s billion-dollar brand move
This weekend marked the official launch of Ferrari’s partnership at the Australian Grand Prix. But this deal goes way beyond a marketing stunt: when when it was announced in January 2024, Ferrari’s stock surged 12%, adding billions to its market cap.
Because while Ferrari is an icon, it’s actually an underdog in the all-important world of F1, where brands compete for legacy and ego. Bringing in Hamilton is a strategic play to put Ferrari back on top, reinforcing Ferrari’s reputation for Italian excellence and engineering perfection. As long as he pulls through…
Eventbrite’s new chapter
At first glance, Eventbrite’s new logo looks like a small change. But it signals something much bigger: a shift from being back-end infrastructure to live event destination.
To do so, the brand is invested in creating emotional resonance: visually, verbally and with its new positioning as the all-inclusive place for live events. It’s a powerful direction for the business, now with a brand that can compete in the increasingly competitive space. With Dice and Spotify taking over events, I’m excited to see if this pays off.
PrettyLittleThing’s ‘quiet luxury’ rebrand
Someone needs to tell PLT that heritage isn’t something you can just ‘add to cart’. No seriously, the brand recently trashed its pink/fun/girl/Love Island aesthetic in exchange for a sophisticated identity and LinkedIn-worthy styles.
Customers are, unsurprisingly, very confused. Mainly because there’s no continuity from the initial brand, and zero change to the real issues people have with the company: no supply chain transparency, environment neglect and all-around poor quality clothing. I share more in this video:
📈 Intel Files
A roundup of stories caught my attention this week
Southwest now charges you for bags on-board - a surprising move from the supposed ‘airline with heart’ which spent years touting its free-bag policy. It’s a reminder that brand and private equity don’t mix, and a disappointing direction for what was once a beloved airline player. If you’re interested to learn more, Amanda Gordon from ‘The Case’ wrote a great piece about the iconic brand’s rise - and darker road ahead. (Fast Company)
Meta is sick of being for boomers - and trying to become cool again with the help of creators. Fascinating example of a brand becoming tied to a psychographic audience - and alienating others. I think this might merit a video… (The Information)
PepsiCo is officially acquiring Poppi, the trendy prebiotic soda brand, for $1.65 billion. This deal has been brewing for some time, with the conglomerate even hinting at launching their own prebiotic soda pre-Christmas. It seems PepsiCo figured out that building a cult from scratch was going to be too much work. I just hope they do Poppi justice…(PepsiCo)
The Four Seasons bet on White Lotus… and it paid off. The hotel chain is playing a bold game with its brand reputation - being associated with a show that deals in sex, drugs and murder. But occupation rates are higher than ever, so maybe all everyone ever needs is a bit of drama (WSJ)
Tesla’s performance is at an all time low, proving that having a strong founder-led brand can be a dangerous game. The drop has been directly correlated to Musk’s involvement with Trump’s administration, which makes sense: Tesla owners tend to be high-income, sustainability-minded folks. There’s a clear mismatch, and Tesla owners are actively separating themselves with bumper stickers. It’s not the most elegant solution - but I guess it works. (Morning Brew)
As always, thanks for tuning in. I’m always keen to get your feedback on content style and type as I hone my path with this platform. But one thing is becoming very clear to me: I should have started a very long time ago.
Kay - I’m off to obsess over more brands. Any thoughts on what I should cover next week?
xoxo,
The Brandsider
I love watching the way The Bransider has evolved since I started following your work, especially your move to making more videos and sharing on IG. Love your deep dives and the Intel Files helps me stay on top of things too, so thank you!