Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, your weekly chaos therapy session on business, branding, and all the mayhem in between. In this episode, Max, Simon, and Andreas finally tackle the topic they teased last time: BRANDING.

But since this is Mayhem & Masterplans, we didn’t stop at theory—we went all the way from the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones to Nike’s brand crisis and the rise of hipster cycling subcultures.

Here’s what’s on the branding menu this week:

🔹 Sports, symbols & storytelling – Simon kicks off with a quiz on iconic sports branding. From Augusta’s green jacket to the Hell of the North—how symbols become cultural shortcuts.

🔹 Cycling’s underground glow-up – How cycling transformed from utility transport to street-style culture—and why this matters for brands in sports and beyond.

🔹 Bottom-up vs. top-down branding – The crew debates the difference between league-driven brands (NFL, F1) and community-rooted cultures (cycling, surfing, running). Andreas drops the theory: It’s all about people.

🔹 What is a brand anyway? – Max introduces Kevin Russell’s viral post "This is not a brand". Key takeaways? A logo is not a brand. A brand is the emotional connection you create—and the promise you actually keep.

🔹 Can corporate software have soul? – The trio debates why Microsoft Teams is meme-fodder, why Nike needs to rethink their digital brand experiences, and how small brands (like Andreas’ favorite guitar brand Aristides Guitars) can punch way above their weight with authenticity and excitement.

🔹 Culture vs. point of view – Why writing down values is worthless if your actions don’t follow—and why even small teams like Hypecast need a point of view, not just a branding guide.

And of course, we closed on our signature playlist:

🎵 Trinity of Heresy – Cradle of Filth (Andreas going full metal mode)

🎵 LU (Mixed) – Pianika (Simon fueling up with his Juicy Large playlist)

🎵 Guerrilla Radio – Rage Against The Machine (Max keeping the rage alive)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for unruly branding debates, startup therapy, and questionable sports analogies:

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📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

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🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

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