Behind Hello Sunshine’s Success: Maureen Polo on Building Stories That Resonate

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[00:00:49] Hello Sunshine is a modern media company, a next generation media company that was designed for women to put women at the center of every story.

[00:00:56] The goal of our company is to change the narrative for women is to tell stories that authentically represent them where they see themselves in the content.

[00:01:05] And I think for Reese it started with this idea that to change the stories you have to change the storytellers.

[00:01:12] To thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape, brands must move in an ever increasing pace. I'm Matt Britton, founder and CEO of Suzy.

[00:01:20] Join me and key industry leaders as we dive deep into the shifting consumer trends within their industry. Why it matters now and how you can keep up. Welcome to the speed of culture.

[00:01:30] Today we're thrilled to be joined by Maureen Polo, the head of direct-to-consumer at Hello Sunshine.

[00:01:39] Hello Sunshine, the Reese Witherspoon founded media company that aims to produce stories that highlight and celebrate women. We're here at CES in Las Vegas. Maureen, it's so great to see you.

[00:01:47] So great to be here. Thanks for having me.

[00:01:49] Absolutely. So CES is interesting because it's really become kind of the hub of content innovation as well.

[00:01:55] I mean it's called the Consumer Electronic Show but might as well be called the content show because all the big players are here. The studios, the distributors, etc.

[00:02:04] Tell me about your experience at CES and what you get out of coming here every year.

[00:02:08] Yeah, I skipped CES last year just because we were so busy in the business priorities and I realized being here this year how important it is to be here for our business priorities.

[00:02:17] And it's about content creativity. It's about connection and it's about understanding our consumer.

[00:02:23] And I feel like there's no better place to actually understand how quickly our world is moving than being here.

[00:02:30] So I'm getting so much out of just meeting with partners and hearing what they're excited about or what their challenges are.

[00:02:37] I love to see what we're doing behind the scenes in real life. Talking to TikTok as an example.

[00:02:42] We've done so much and we only just started on TikTok about a year and change ago.

[00:02:47] I've only been at the company for two years. So really seeing what we've been building with them and everything we've done with them has been really viral.

[00:02:53] But seeing sort of like where we're going with them in the retail commerce space in particular.

[00:02:57] Yeah, we can do that.

[00:02:58] So just really excited to see some of that.

[00:03:00] And then I was just on a panel with a group of executives from Audible and from Lionsgate and from Snap and from Heartbeat.

[00:03:09] And just sitting with people like that who you have similar perspectives but have a really different way of showing up, I think is so much fun.

[00:03:16] So I'm so happy to be here again.

[00:03:17] Absolutely. And what are some of the common themes for 2024 that you're hearing about that are on the top of mind for people in your space?

[00:03:23] Yeah. So some of the common themes, this doesn't feel that new, especially because I just spent a decade at Fullscreen,

[00:03:29] which was a next generation media company focused on digital creators.

[00:03:33] But I think everybody talking still about the human-based, creator-based ecosystem and continuing to tap into them in really smart public data first, but also creativity first ways.

[00:03:45] So the creator economy overall.

[00:03:47] When I entered the creator space, I think as a 40-year-old woman and a lot of people around me in the more traditional media realms were like, what is this?

[00:03:56] This can be a flash in the pan.

[00:03:57] I said, this is not a flash in the pan.

[00:03:58] And I think now 10, 11 years later, the fact that we're still talking about that as a growing trend is mind blowing to me because it was so doubted back then.

[00:04:08] Well, and it's not just the creator space isn't just one thing, right?

[00:04:10] No.

[00:04:11] It's a culmination of so many different trends.

[00:04:12] You have millennials and Gen Z who are attached to their phone.

[00:04:16] So they're the mobile devices all the time.

[00:04:18] They love short for content because they're shifting away from a lot of traditional viewing methods.

[00:04:23] And people have always been inherently more interesting to follow than scripted characters.

[00:04:29] We see that through reality TVs, which is like the earliest.

[00:04:32] I get the creators right and all the way through.

[00:04:35] So I think all those things combined.

[00:04:36] And then coming back, bring it back to attack, right?

[00:04:38] Is the science behind it?

[00:04:40] All of the algorithms are prioritizing human based storytelling.

[00:04:45] And so if we're here as storytellers who are trying to be focused on how to, I don't want to use the word capitalize, but to really leverage the tech ecosystem.

[00:04:55] It's making sure our human centric stories that are commercial feel really authentic.

[00:05:00] Yeah.

[00:05:01] And so I think it just comes full circle.

[00:05:03] That is an opportunity.

[00:05:04] And then, I mean, I'm sure everybody is talking about AI.

[00:05:07] Yeah.

[00:05:08] Is AI something that scares you, excites you a little both?

[00:05:10] It's interesting.

[00:05:11] I have this debate with my 15 year old or almost 15 year old all the time.

[00:05:14] She's really anti AI because of authentic.

[00:05:17] Yeah, which is wild, right?

[00:05:18] And she's in a school environment where it's so taboo.

[00:05:21] Kids are getting kicked out of school environments because of leveraging it.

[00:05:24] And we talk in my house about if it's human led, if you're leveraging it to get a deeper understanding of the human connection.

[00:05:32] If you're doing it in a way that is honest and with some, I don't want to use the word policing, but like when you're really, when there's some guidelines and parameters that are put in place.

[00:05:42] I think that we have to tap into it and we have to sort of immerse ourselves in it.

[00:05:46] 100%.

[00:05:47] And I get excited about it and about what it does to be able to give my team more time to be more creative.

[00:05:53] And so we're looking at tools that help us do just that.

[00:05:56] When I think about even what we do with Suzy, when we deeply understand what our audience needs, wants and how we can serve them better.

[00:06:02] And then thinking about how we can then give the consumer the opportunity to serve us with what we're learning about how to serve them and how they could be part of creation and fan creation in particular with AI.

[00:06:13] I love the opportunity to give the family opportunity to take a piece of IP from Hello Sunshine and personalize it.

[00:06:19] Yeah.

[00:06:20] And then share it.

[00:06:21] I just think that there's so much opportunity around it.

[00:06:24] And so there's rights issues and a lot that needs to be sorted out.

[00:06:26] For sure.

[00:06:27] And by the way, I work at a massive entertainment company that has built, it's a purpose driven mission driven company.

[00:06:32] Hello Sunshine is about changing the narrative for women.

[00:06:35] And we have to be thoughtful and careful about how we help women own their IP and how they represent it and tell their stories and own their stories.

[00:06:43] And we just had a crazy entertainment industry changing strike.

[00:06:47] Right.

[00:06:48] And a lot of that conversation around AI was part of that.

[00:06:50] And I think you can be really careful and smart and protect our talent and protect the IP and protect ownership and still be playing in the space.

[00:07:02] And so I think we have the opportunity as a company like Hello Sunshine, which is so mission driven, which is so values driven, which is so people first and puts people first and still be leaders in innovation.

[00:07:13] And at your side, you have the ability to be nimble too.

[00:07:15] Yeah.

[00:07:16] We can keep testing, learning and growing.

[00:07:18] And again, because of some of our community really started out of our book community with Reese's Book Club being when Hello Sunshine was started, Reese built a scripted business.

[00:07:27] For those who don't know, explain what Hello Sunshine is.

[00:07:30] Yeah.

[00:07:31] The company.

[00:07:32] So Hello Sunshine is a modern media company, a next generation media company that was designed for women to put women at the center of every story.

[00:07:39] The goal of our company is to change the narrative for women, is to tell stories that authentically represent them where they see themselves in the content.

[00:07:48] And I think for Reese, it started with this idea that to change the stories you have to change the storytellers and she was being fed roles and scripts where she just didn't see herself in them and they didn't really depict how she saw other women and the people around her.

[00:08:03] And so she built this company to sort of be.

[00:08:06] To change who wants to sit.

[00:08:07] Yeah.

[00:08:08] And we've expanded so much in the last six plus years beyond, you know, now we have an unscripted division and a kids and family division, but also the side of the business I run, which we call direct to consumer, which means lots of things to lots of people.

[00:08:21] But at our company it's all of our owned and operated channel sit under my purview.

[00:08:27] It's marketing and strategy and business development.

[00:08:30] It's our acquisition.

[00:08:32] So we acquired the home edit two years ago and Reese's book club sits under my purview and then an agency solar, which is really the marketing engine that fuels all the marketing and creative work that we do at Hello Sunshine.

[00:08:44] But it's also the work we do with brands because if you want to change the narrative for women, you have to change the commercial messaging.

[00:08:50] Again, my daughter at home that I just referenced who's almost 15.

[00:08:54] She sees more commercial messaging every day than she sees anything else.

[00:08:57] And so for us to really truly change the game for women, we have to be partnering with brands to help them change the narrative in terms of the stories they tell about their brands and about the way they see women.

[00:09:09] So I think that the company is built truly to be moving at the speed of culture to be able to leverage technology and storytelling to really shape the way women see themselves and the way the world sees women today and forever.

[00:09:21] And you're producing a variety of different content, some which is more well known.

[00:09:25] I believe you produce The Morning Show, which is on Apple TV, which was a great show and many others.

[00:09:30] Right. What else do you produce that we might know about?

[00:09:33] So we produced Daisy Jones and the Six on Amazon.

[00:09:37] You love that show. It was amazing.

[00:09:38] One of the things we knew so much about what we did with Daisy Jones, it started with our Reese's book club IP.

[00:09:43] Right. Taylor Jenkins Reid, who's an incredible author, who's been part of our community from day one.

[00:09:48] We, Reese and Sarah Hardin, the CEO of Hello Sunshine, read the book, love the book, knew the story.

[00:09:54] We look for stories where women are the heroes of their own story, but in an unconventional way and saw this opportunity in Daisy and in this really rich IP to tell a multi-dimensional story.

[00:10:05] Beyond that, though, the ability to tell a story that was so broadly appealing to not just women, but to men, to multiple generations.

[00:10:12] Music fans, everything.

[00:10:13] Music fans. The convergence, which I think we're going to see more of in the future state of entertainment and fashion and music.

[00:10:20] That was really how we created this trifecta of super fans on Daisy Jones.

[00:10:25] But then also Amazon was an incredible partner to sit in the rooms with and build this with.

[00:10:30] We had so much opportunity to produce and I'm speaking on behalf of my partner, Lauren Neustetter, who leads the scripted side of the world.

[00:10:36] But she'd tell me stories of what it was like to be in the room building that show for years, producing it.

[00:10:41] But then on the side of the world that I oversee, being able to take that IP and take the content that we were producing in partnership with Amazon and then build social content and storytelling and immersive experiences for our super fans.

[00:10:54] The VIG audience, pull them in.

[00:10:55] Yeah. And we were doing such a great job of partnership and building and growing our Daisy Jones community that some of the talent said, hey, hello, sunshine.

[00:11:03] Can you produce our social content for us around this?

[00:11:07] And it just became everything we did for Daisy Jones went viral across TikTok and Instagram, which is our two primary vehicles, at least for today.

[00:11:16] And we just kept seeing the audience grow and then the viewership grow and then the community grow and super fans who were creating their own micro communities around what they loved around the music.

[00:11:25] We created a band.

[00:11:26] And so that is a cultural phenomenon that started with a book that leaned into it was from costume to music, to the way that we showed the multidimensionalness of the different types of women that you see inside Daisy Jones.

[00:11:38] So that's an amazing example of the way that we work the Hello Sunshine flywheel and some of the great work we did.

[00:11:44] I think another good example that's sort of dimensionalizes the way that we think about content development for women, but how it can be broadly appealing is surf girls.

[00:11:53] We, I was at a dinner last night here at CES and the men at the table brought up surf girls and unscripted series that we just produced.

[00:12:01] And they were like, oh, I love the story of these bad ass girls and what they're doing.

[00:12:05] Some of the more traditional surfers who have largely all been men.

[00:12:09] And it's not about this female narrative that, you know, it's earnest and it's compelling competitive athletic content.

[00:12:17] And it's just been so fun to be part of something that really is changing the game for women and also building culture at the same time.

[00:12:23] So in terms of the business model, someone will read the book and say, OK, this should be turned into a show.

[00:12:29] Yeah.

[00:12:30] And then you will fund the creation of the show before it's bought by Amazon.

[00:12:34] Or like, how does that work?

[00:12:35] Usually there's a few different models at play.

[00:12:38] I think the way that it generally works is we'll find an IP.

[00:12:42] Sometimes it's not a book IP, but we'll find IP and we will get the rights to that IP.

[00:12:47] And then we will start developing what it could look like, the scripting that we spend the time doing that.

[00:12:51] But we will take it to a partner before you go into production.

[00:12:54] Yeah. And we generally that's mostly what the model is today.

[00:12:57] I think that we're all exploring so many new models.

[00:12:59] Obviously post-strike, but more so post all just the changing landscape of that's consumer led.

[00:13:05] But I think that largely our model has been to really think about our audience.

[00:13:12] What's going to serve them most?

[00:13:14] And also what do we fall in love with?

[00:13:16] For us, so much of it is where we really feel like our audience expects us to be, but in an unexpected way.

[00:13:23] And then we know what partners want what from us for the most part.

[00:13:26] We are so fortunate that we get to work with all the streaming partners.

[00:13:30] And again, I'm speaking on behalf of Laura and new Saturn and Sarah way who sit in those worlds.

[00:13:34] And I work super closely with them, but they know when we're talking to Netflix and we're talking to Amazon, we're talking to Apple and we're talking to Roku.

[00:13:41] Like what are their white spaces?

[00:13:43] What do we need from us for us to super serve them?

[00:13:46] Their audiences. Yeah.

[00:13:47] And I think one of the reasons I feel super grateful to be at a company like Hello Sunshine in a post 2023 world is we bring an audience to the table for those partners.

[00:13:57] So you have a broader Hello Sunshine audience that you've created.

[00:14:00] So when you create new stuff, the Hello Sunshine audience goes with you.

[00:14:05] Yeah. And honestly, when our partners are building their marketing plans to bring this content out into the world and, you know, as they're developing their trailers and they lean in with us,

[00:14:16] we're part of the marketing strategy and we're talking about what does our community want?

[00:14:21] How do we make sure that we're leveraging the Hello Sunshine community, the Reese's Book Club community, the whole medic community who are also super focused on culture and entertainment and just our entire ecosystem.

[00:14:31] We start programming around how we're going to super serve our audience way before the show is ready to be out in the world and viewed or film.

[00:14:40] And then as we they're out doing their marketing, we're also telling stories that work together, that play off each other, that tease each other.

[00:14:47] And when we feel like, oh, this is what our audience, we really own this on the Hello Sunshine side because this is what our audience is going to tap into this and they're going to go take it and make it viral.

[00:14:55] They'll lean in on us to do that work.

[00:14:57] And then oftentimes when we say, oh, this feels very IP first, you should take that out to the social ecosystem and then we'll hopefully find the magic where we come together.

[00:15:04] Right. That's our model.

[00:15:05] And not many companies can say that when they're going and selling a production, oh, you're also getting a 60 million women that we reach every single week growing every day.

[00:15:14] So is Hello Sunshine a consumer brand that people follow and know?

[00:15:18] Is that the platform in which this audience lives?

[00:15:20] Yeah, and I think that's what I got so excited about coming here running direct to consumer was helping people understand that Hello Sunshine is not a production company.

[00:15:27] We are a direct to consumer.

[00:15:29] Such a unique model.

[00:15:30] It's such a unique model.

[00:15:31] There really isn't one that exists like this.

[00:15:33] And I think where Reese was so smart to build a company.

[00:15:38] Yes, she's at the helm.

[00:15:39] So the quality, the level of what she stands for and what this company stands for is very clear.

[00:15:43] But we are evolving way beyond that.

[00:15:46] And we're bringing this massive media to the table with our high quality production capabilities and our knack for understanding what's going to really work.

[00:15:55] And I think it's an opportunity because the world's constricting around us and you have to bet on what is going to be successful.

[00:16:03] And, you know, dollars and budgets are, you know, content's not going away.

[00:16:07] Entertainment's not going away.

[00:16:08] My kids and the next generation consumer that you know so well at your company, they want more content.

[00:16:14] They're voracious consumers of creativity and content.

[00:16:16] But budgets are reducing, right?

[00:16:18] The world is changing.

[00:16:19] Yeah.

[00:16:20] And so, you know what you're getting when you work with Hello Sunshine.

[00:16:23] It's not a question anymore.

[00:16:25] And the film audience is key because if I'm a streaming platform, then maybe I can get new subscribers.

[00:16:30] You know, and we're in conversation sometimes with Apple or Amazon or Netflix or whoever when we are saying, hey, guess what?

[00:16:37] We're seeing within our community.

[00:16:38] They saw this in the first episode and our community is telling us how much they loved what was going on in this character's closet.

[00:16:45] Yeah.

[00:16:46] Let's lean in to the fashion story, right?

[00:16:48] Or we are seeing this consumer who we didn't expect to be watching this show.

[00:16:53] We should be building content or talking to talent.

[00:16:56] Right.

[00:16:57] Creators and influencers that tell that story because you and I aren't going to tell that authentically, but they're here and they're coming here and they want more of it.

[00:17:03] Let's go do that.

[00:17:04] And most companies have to lean into their own insights.

[00:17:06] But no, and we have a fandom that has been paying attention since the day we announced we bought the rights of the script or we're going to be producing this with our partner.

[00:17:13] And that's gold.

[00:17:15] And that's why insights are so important to us.

[00:17:16] Yeah.

[00:17:17] And was it Reese's star power that allowed you to galvanize this audience?

[00:17:21] Was that sort of like the spark of the whole thing?

[00:17:23] Because you mentioned Heartbeat.

[00:17:24] We spoke to them on our podcast in the past.

[00:17:26] Ty Randolph is amazing.

[00:17:27] Exactly.

[00:17:28] So amazing.

[00:17:29] Very similar with Kevin Hart's audience.

[00:17:31] It's such an interesting model.

[00:17:32] Is it very similar where you average her star power, her audiences start to get that flywheel going?

[00:17:37] Yeah.

[00:17:38] I mean, I think what Reese and I just talked about this and Sarah Hardin, we were talking about how they started the company.

[00:17:43] Reese, of course, you see Reese's star power.

[00:17:45] Of course, you see Reese is involved in this and she's built such an incredible brand around herself and a massive audience.

[00:17:51] And a big audience.

[00:17:52] But what I think is so incredible is when audiences come to us, they are coming to us for Reese.

[00:17:57] But equally, we have data from our insights engine that we're doing with your company that they're coming not just for Reese now, they're coming for everything else we do.

[00:18:05] Yeah.

[00:18:06] I have worked for lots of celebrities.

[00:18:07] That's far more scalable.

[00:18:08] Beyond.

[00:18:09] I've worked for other celebrities and celebrity companies.

[00:18:11] That takes forever to build.

[00:18:14] We're six years in and we are seeing that our audience is saying, we love her.

[00:18:17] We want more of her.

[00:18:18] We're so glad she's attached to this.

[00:18:20] But there's so much.

[00:18:21] Well, she wasn't in Daisy Jones' six, right?

[00:18:23] So it's like, there you go.

[00:18:24] Right.

[00:18:25] And again, like her legacy, this business was built for that exact reason.

[00:18:28] This isn't just about this one incredible, inspiring woman.

[00:18:32] It's about all the women that want to see themselves, that want the stories that are told to reflect them.

[00:18:38] Right.

[00:18:39] Yeah.

[00:18:40] When it comes down to women also don't have time.

[00:18:42] We know this from all of the research that we do and the insights we have is women have never been more burnt out.

[00:18:46] Women, the paradigm of choice.

[00:18:48] Like they want to come to us because they know what they're going to get from us too.

[00:18:51] And they come to us for joy.

[00:18:53] Some of the insights that we're seeing right now that we're so excited about is how 2024, we keep calling it the year of fun.

[00:19:00] I think it was 73% of our audience is what they want this year.

[00:19:04] What they're seeking more of is fun, not self-empowerment.

[00:19:08] Right.

[00:19:09] Not more success.

[00:19:10] I think it's a byproduct of the scary world we're living in right now.

[00:19:14] The headlines, the polarization of our country, the geopolitical climate.

[00:19:18] I think people want escape on entertainment and that's where fun probably lives.

[00:19:22] 100%.

[00:19:23] If you were to ask me like what do you think is like the biggest consumer trend for women right now?

[00:19:27] They want to laugh.

[00:19:28] Yeah.

[00:19:29] Travel is a big thing too.

[00:19:31] People come to Hello Sunshine so it's like 77% come for entertainment, 74% come to laugh.

[00:19:37] Right.

[00:19:38] To find that positive moment in the day.

[00:19:41] Yeah.

[00:19:42] And that's driving a lot of our expansion and our innovation.

[00:19:44] We'll be right back with the speed of culture after a few words from our sponsor.

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[00:20:51] You'd mentioned TikTok and you've also mentioned commerce and TikTok has in 2023 made huge strides in the social commerce space.

[00:21:00] Tell me about some of the initiatives you're doing in e-commerce.

[00:21:03] Imagine that's another huge commercial opportunity that you have.

[00:21:07] Yeah, I think from an e-commerce perspective, right?

[00:21:09] We're really thoughtful and careful in terms of how we're starting to expand the Hello Sunshine consumer brand.

[00:21:14] So we're looking and playing in that world as a Hello Sunshine brand.

[00:21:19] There'll be a couple of announcements in the new year that you'll see we're excited about.

[00:21:25] When I think about commerce, the brand that we're most focused on exploring testing and learning is the HomeEdit.

[00:21:30] Are you familiar with the HomeEdit?

[00:21:31] I'm not, no.

[00:21:32] Okay, so Joanna and Clea were two women who both moved to Nashville around the same time.

[00:21:39] They got connected by friends.

[00:21:41] They were both LA transplants that moved to Nashville.

[00:21:44] They were both entrepreneurial women who were obsessed with organizing.

[00:21:48] They built this organization business where they were going into people's homes and helping them organize.

[00:21:53] Clea had come from a background in PR and fashion, so she had a lot of celebrity connections.

[00:21:58] She wanted to go in and organize a few celebrities' homes.

[00:22:00] She ended up in with the Kardashians, and she's organizing these amazing, incredible houses.

[00:22:05] That's a huge thing on TikTok too, the organization videos.

[00:22:08] We built the category, the HomeEdit built the category.

[00:22:11] That was, I think we're talking four years ago, Reese saw them.

[00:22:14] They had less than 100,000 followers on Instagram.

[00:22:16] She just stumbled upon them on Instagram or something.

[00:22:18] I don't know if she ever sleeps.

[00:22:21] We all know people like that.

[00:22:22] So many ideas, so much inspiration.

[00:22:24] She sees things and she will just say, hey, what do you see in this?

[00:22:27] And then our team will go and look and I'll go look, my colleagues will.

[00:22:30] And there's something really magical here.

[00:22:32] She found this.

[00:22:33] She thought it was magic.

[00:22:34] The company started a relationship with them where it started more as an advisors with them.

[00:22:39] Like there's something special here.

[00:22:40] You need to build out beyond just Instagram.

[00:22:43] They started to grow and scale.

[00:22:44] Hello Sunshine produced a YouTube first content series that we had AT&T come in.

[00:22:49] AT&T is a great partner for Hello Sunshine.

[00:22:51] Generally when we were about to do something, they want to jump in first and do it with us.

[00:22:55] We're like, oh, we'll get behind this.

[00:22:57] So they helped produce this YouTube series.

[00:22:59] This YouTube series became what we pitched to Netflix or what Joanna and Cleo, the HomeEdit really pitched to Netflix.

[00:23:05] We weren't even that involved in the beginning because it was really just us mentoring them.

[00:23:08] They get the show called Get Organized produced.

[00:23:11] And now all of a sudden these organizers who are sort of going into celebrity homes, but also going into everyday people's homes, they become TV stars.

[00:23:19] They also now start talking about launching product lines and people want to know, I love those shoes while you're organizing.

[00:23:26] You wear those all day.

[00:23:27] What are those?

[00:23:28] Right. So now they're doing this e-commerce affiliate linking and they don't even know what it's called.

[00:23:31] They just start doing this.

[00:23:32] Anyway, long story short, fast forward six years.

[00:23:35] There are almost nine million followers that they're reaching on a weekly basis.

[00:23:39] They have a massive product line at Walmart, at the Container Store.

[00:23:44] I was thinking Container Store.

[00:23:46] Container Store was one of the first partners, but Organization Materials.

[00:23:49] They built a category.

[00:23:51] It's a category that didn't exist.

[00:23:53] Now there's massive communities of organizers that are literally demanding us build new products for them.

[00:24:00] And the thing about it is it changes how you feel.

[00:24:04] I mean, we all know if you have a desk that's organized, you feel like you can work better.

[00:24:08] So it's not just how it looks. It's how you feel.

[00:24:10] I have neurodivergent children and it's to get my kids to really lean into their brains and really take the advantages they have and really power them is getting a clutterless space.

[00:24:22] Women are burnt out. They don't even know where to get started sometimes.

[00:24:25] Just having space that feels like they're in consumerism everywhere.

[00:24:29] Yeah, people are buying everything every day. Amazon, one-click shopping.

[00:24:32] So much stuff.

[00:24:33] So this business has quickly turned into an entertainment business, a product business, a content business.

[00:24:41] And they're also inspiring all these other entrepreneurs.

[00:24:44] We're launching next year in the kids space.

[00:24:47] We've launched luggage with Walmart this year.

[00:24:50] We're launching categories inside Walmart that I can't speak to yet that are going to redefine hundred-year-old categories from two creators.

[00:24:57] Are those licensing arrangements?

[00:24:58] These are licensing arrangements.

[00:25:00] You do the marketing and then somebody else does the manufacturing.

[00:25:03] Yeah. And the reality is as we've broadened this organization category, consumers just want it all the time and right now and they don't want to leave their house for it.

[00:25:11] So we're really looking at what are some of the other ways that we're broadening those commerce experiences?

[00:25:16] How do we own that relationship with the customer?

[00:25:19] Doesn't mean that I have to own the distribution, but it means how do I get them buying by creating content for them that gives them the opportunity to feel like, oh, I need that now.

[00:25:27] How do you make clear plastic bins something you need right now?

[00:25:30] How do you make it the lipstick in a marketplace where, oh, it's just a quick pick me up that makes me feel really good about what I do?

[00:25:35] Right.

[00:25:36] Well, you give them an opportunity to see what the outcome is and what it feels like.

[00:25:40] And that's the opportunity to sort of take creativity and build commerce off of that.

[00:25:44] And we're seeing a lot of success with what we're testing and learning.

[00:25:46] And we're going to start to use some AI testing this year to see how do we scale that more quickly and how do we take some of those learnings and we start to build.

[00:25:54] And then product development wise, there's going to be so much opportunity for our fans and our organizers that we reach to sort of co-create with us and give us guidance around what else they want to see.

[00:26:02] So that's a really good example.

[00:26:04] Yeah.

[00:26:05] It's across all the different retail spaces.

[00:26:07] It's in store.

[00:26:08] It's physical.

[00:26:09] It's digital.

[00:26:10] It's on social.

[00:26:11] It's virtual.

[00:26:12] We are looking at expanding into virtual experiences where you don't have to be in someone's home, but we can be organizing with you and then you're shopping and buying right in those moments.

[00:26:21] And we talk about partnering with brands like AT&T.

[00:26:23] Do you just have a network of brands that have bought into your audience and then you're coming to them with different opportunities like the Home Edit YouTube series or are they coming to you and saying this is what we're looking for and then will you produce around that?

[00:26:37] It's a little bit of both I would say.

[00:26:39] Ally Bank and Side Hustlers.

[00:26:42] Yeah, they're awesome.

[00:26:43] They're awesome and they've been really forward thinking when it comes to brand funded content.

[00:26:47] And I think that's another growth area that...

[00:26:50] Yeah, because you talk about the economic challenges of the streaming companies, etc.

[00:26:54] The money has to come from somewhere.

[00:26:55] At the same time, big brands are struggling to engage and reach consumers.

[00:27:00] So it kind of makes sense.

[00:27:01] It's always a balancing act of is this really something consumers want to watch?

[00:27:06] Right.

[00:27:07] That's sort of what happened is Ally sort of came to us and said, well, you're Hello Sunshine.

[00:27:10] You're in the business of helping entrepreneurs and female led businesses grow, scale, have a platform.

[00:27:16] We're a bank that's really focusing on empowering females.

[00:27:19] And so how do we build something that is really meaningful in the entertainment space that really serves the needs of our consumer but also really serves the needs of the Hello Sunshine mission to change an area.

[00:27:28] And so we developed and we, my partner in the unscripted side, Sarah Ray and her amazing team, developed this show where it's almost like the I'm a super Shark Tank fan.

[00:27:38] Yeah, me too.

[00:27:39] It's like the Shark Tank for women and for a better way to explain it.

[00:27:42] Right. And we're finding these incredible female entrepreneurs who have incredible products and then retail partners and talk about commerce and distribution.

[00:27:51] They're like, oh, we're going to help you get this distribution platform.

[00:27:54] Right.

[00:27:55] You can do that marketing audience awareness, commerce.

[00:27:57] And then all of a sudden this business that was essentially scaled and amplified by Ally Bank and Hello Sunshine is really seeing how Ally Bank is really getting behind females.

[00:28:07] That's an incredible model.

[00:28:08] That's one way to work with us.

[00:28:09] Another way from a brand perspective is AT&T is a really great example of a partner that came in with us early days.

[00:28:14] They were actually one of the original investors in Hello Sunshine.

[00:28:17] They saw the opportunity pretty early and they saw the white space.

[00:28:20] So they invested in us before we were essentially sold to Blackstone in the last year and changed two years.

[00:28:26] They tend to see when we innovate, they want to be part of it.

[00:28:30] So when we launched home edit, when we said this is something big here, this is a human based DTC brand and it's an entertainment brand.

[00:28:36] I see it and I see the need for women.

[00:28:38] I see the opportunity.

[00:28:39] Let's get behind that.

[00:28:40] Right. We recently launched Shine Away, which is our first cross company, cross IP immersive experiential event that we hosted in October in LA.

[00:28:49] We were going to go out and look for a few partners who really were going to help amplify the stories we were going to tell on these stages and in these rooms and experiential centers.

[00:28:58] AT&T said, don't take it anyone else.

[00:29:00] We want to be in this with you in a meaningful way.

[00:29:02] We want to show up in the same way we have with you guys.

[00:29:05] And I credit Helen Smith and her incredible team at AT&T to say this is how we're going to lean in authentically with Hello Sunshine to do it.

[00:29:14] So they have this long term relationship where we just kind of they come to us with what their latest brand agendas are and we come to them.

[00:29:21] Well, here's what our agendas are.

[00:29:22] And here's how we can make one plus one equal five.

[00:29:24] And then there are some examples where we're just doing campaign based works being at CES in the last two days.

[00:29:29] It's been amazing because we're sitting in rooms with other I'm sitting here with CMOs and CEOs talking about what their needs are and how they need to show up differently for some of their customers.

[00:29:38] And then we're talking about, oh, well, this is how we're doing this with our customer.

[00:29:41] And then we're walking away with here's our next steps and here's what we should be building together.

[00:29:45] And those might be more campaign centric because it's serving a very immediate need because everyone's here talking about future state, but also immediate needs.

[00:29:52] Yeah. Probably reflective of the market.

[00:29:54] Of course. You referenced five seconds ago.

[00:29:56] So anyway, I think that we have a few different ways that we partner with brands and we sort of lean into like, what do we know their customer?

[00:30:04] Now that we know more about their customer, what do we think that customer needs from that needs that you're uniquely set to deliver on?

[00:30:10] And we've never been more focused, I think, in our industry on performance.

[00:30:13] And really, once we nail the creative, how do we make sure we are really going to drive the results?

[00:30:20] Whatever the metrics are.

[00:30:21] Whatever the metrics are. Yeah.

[00:30:22] Yeah. I also really get excited about how we can build with partners in the way that partners need us to build.

[00:30:27] Yeah.

[00:30:28] And that's rare. I came from a massive media company most recently where it's an incredible company.

[00:30:32] But at such scale that you bring what you have as an organization to the table.

[00:30:37] Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

[00:30:38] And for us, we build together.

[00:30:39] I was thinking as I hear you talk and kind of go through all the things that you're working on, a lot of people who we have on the Speed of Culture podcast are people who they oversee a company that sells toothpaste.

[00:30:49] And there's just pretty linear focus.

[00:30:51] How do I sell more toothpaste? Brand extensions, what we're doing.

[00:30:54] But you are doing so many different things.

[00:30:56] In the course of this conversation, you basically span the gamut of what almost anybody in the marketing, advertising media space we're doing, you're doing it all.

[00:31:04] How do you manage your time?

[00:31:06] How do you know where to focus?

[00:31:07] Yeah.

[00:31:08] How do you prioritize?

[00:31:09] Because there's only so many hours in a day and this seems like an organization that can go in so many different directions that it's probably as much about what you say no to as what you say yes to.

[00:31:19] Yes. One thousand percent.

[00:31:20] Yeah.

[00:31:21] I don't think I've ever said no more as an executive who has had to.

[00:31:25] I'm glad you suggested a podcast.

[00:31:26] Build and scale. I'm happy to be here.

[00:31:28] But we don't want to work with everyone under the sun.

[00:31:31] Yeah.

[00:31:32] You know, we really want to build authentically and meaningfully.

[00:31:35] And we know that when we do that, our partners come back and we do more in more meaningful ways.

[00:31:41] So it happens, our growth and our scale and our revenue metrics all grow in the right way.

[00:31:46] We say we do, we do a lot, but we do the few things that we do really well in that we need to be where the women are.

[00:31:52] So we have to expand across all the different platforms and ecosystems, but we're not just going to be there to be there.

[00:31:57] Right.

[00:31:58] I'm a super fan of what's happening in the gaming and the digital innovation space.

[00:32:03] I have two little boys who spend every second begging me for time on what they call tech.

[00:32:10] Right. Which is they want to be want to spend more time on Minecraft or my older son who's 10 is still begging me for more time on Fortnite.

[00:32:17] Right. And I am like you have to earn that.

[00:32:20] You have to do all the things for you.

[00:32:21] Great bribery technique.

[00:32:22] Yeah, the ultimate.

[00:32:23] But we're not there yet because our audience that we're super serving, we have so much more to do in some of the places we already are.

[00:32:30] So we're not there. Do I think we'll be there in the future state?

[00:32:32] Absolutely.

[00:32:33] But right now our focus and our growth, there's so much opportunity in the places we're going.

[00:32:37] Audio is a good example.

[00:32:39] We've had so many companies pitch us.

[00:32:41] It's a creative podcast.

[00:32:42] From a HelloSunday brand perspective, like so many and so many incredible, impressive partners.

[00:32:47] And we've just been really thoughtful and really strategic about what we're going to do from a Hello Sunshine brand perspective.

[00:32:53] You know, HomeEdit, we launched a podcast last year with Sony called Best Friend Energy that was very specific for that brand.

[00:32:59] Right. But when it comes to the Hello Sunshine IP, we do represent a lot and we do a lot.

[00:33:03] So what are we going to do in audio and how are we going to show up in a way that is really smart, really innovative and gives women what they need and doesn't put more on our audience's plate?

[00:33:11] Yeah, very calculated about that.

[00:33:12] So we will have some exciting news to share soon in the audio space.

[00:33:16] But I've been here two years and change for two years.

[00:33:18] I've been working on that piece because we got to do it really right.

[00:33:21] And we have to do it in a way that our audiences show up.

[00:33:24] They want to be part of it.

[00:33:25] They need to expect it.

[00:33:27] They are going to expect something from us, but it's going to be unconventional.

[00:33:29] They're going to see something a little different.

[00:33:30] And also that wasn't the right priority for us two years ago.

[00:33:33] It's right now.

[00:33:34] So that's what we sort of prioritize with.

[00:33:36] Where's the white space that only Hello Sunshine can bring the consumer on the journey?

[00:33:41] Yeah.

[00:33:42] You know, where's the deepest penetration with our customer?

[00:33:44] That's where we lean in because that's how we see the results.

[00:33:46] Yeah.

[00:33:47] And for us, we're shaping culture without having to just capitalize on some of the trends and we're setting and shaping them.

[00:33:54] And so we don't feel like we have to jump on the bandwagon.

[00:33:57] We feel like we can be really intentional.

[00:33:59] Yeah.

[00:34:01] We really ask ourselves the question, do our audiences really need this from us?

[00:34:05] Do we really feel like we're going to win?

[00:34:07] And most importantly, is this a story we're in love with?

[00:34:09] Is this content we want to produce?

[00:34:10] Is this a distribution vehicle that we really feel like we're going to engage our audiences in a way that makes them feel like they're part of the experience?

[00:34:16] Sure. Totally.

[00:34:17] So shifting gears, we wrap up here in terms of your career.

[00:34:20] I mean, you've had an awesome career and you've worked in a lot of big companies like Conde Nast and Meredith and Hearst and Fullscreen, which became Warner Brothers.

[00:34:27] And now you're in a much more entrepreneurial role, sounds like, than working at those big organizations.

[00:34:33] How have you been able to remain relevant and kind of evolve with the pace and ever changing industry to allow you to be in this position you are now that maybe can be wisdom that we can impart on some of our younger listeners?

[00:34:45] Yeah. I mean, I'll say it's funny, like I've been at so many of these really big traditional media companies, but I was always the first person to raise my hand for something new that didn't exist before.

[00:34:54] And I'll age myself here and this is embarrassing.

[00:34:56] My daughter is always like, Mom, don't talk about print as innovation.

[00:34:59] But when I started my career, no media divisions had print businesses, right?

[00:35:04] And so much of the rich storytelling was print at the time, right?

[00:35:08] Digital didn't exist. I'm not old.

[00:35:11] Me too.

[00:35:12] Makes me feel better.

[00:35:13] And so I raised my hand and said, I want to go start this print division.

[00:35:17] I want to tell stories that can be deeper than 30 second spot.

[00:35:22] And I raised my hand to do it.

[00:35:24] And so here I was at a traditional creative agency.

[00:35:27] I was at Young and Rubicam and doesn't even exist anymore.

[00:35:30] It changes names four or five times in the course of my career.

[00:35:32] It's like the never ending acronym right now.

[00:35:34] Exactly.

[00:35:35] But I raised my hand for that, right?

[00:35:37] And then I moved over to Time Inc and I worked for the guys at this old house.

[00:35:43] This old house still exists today.

[00:35:45] I can't even fix a window getting stuck in my home.

[00:35:49] Like, I really am not the person that can be a fixer upper at all.

[00:35:52] But I was so excited by these men who had a show on PBS

[00:35:56] who were authentically going into people's homes and transforming them.

[00:35:59] Digital just happened.

[00:36:01] And I said, oh my goodness, this is a brand that is, you know, these men are endearing.

[00:36:05] They're doing things that make lives better.

[00:36:08] They are reaching people in a magazine on PBS.

[00:36:11] We should be in the moving space.

[00:36:12] So I was sitting there as a young person saying we should be building new movers content.

[00:36:17] Like, we should reach new movers.

[00:36:18] So it was just in a role at a company that was very print centric doing innovation.

[00:36:23] And again, I'm aging myself.

[00:36:24] That was probably 25, 20 something years ago.

[00:36:26] And then it's about initiative, isn't it?

[00:36:28] It's about initiative and it's about opportunity.

[00:36:30] I'm curious.

[00:36:31] I love to understand people.

[00:36:33] I love to understand how communities are built and what drives passion points

[00:36:38] and how our world evolves.

[00:36:40] And so I've just always raised my hand at big companies for something that felt a little bit daunting.

[00:36:44] I think one of the things that most women I see, they're nervous to take risks.

[00:36:49] And I don't know if that's just women or just people in general.

[00:36:52] But I know for me, a lot of my friends who were growing up in the industry with me,

[00:36:55] they were sort of looking for that straight shot up to the top.

[00:36:58] Like, oh, well, if I do this and I do this, I'm going to get that job.

[00:37:02] And maybe that's anyone.

[00:37:04] I felt like, oh, I don't see a clear path to the top.

[00:37:08] I see a clear path of understanding human behavior and entertainment evolution.

[00:37:14] And I see a world where it's changed things so dramatically.

[00:37:16] So if I can just keep taking roles, we're sure.

[00:37:19] I love leading people.

[00:37:20] I love to lead.

[00:37:21] I love to work with people.

[00:37:23] I show up for my team.

[00:37:24] But I can keep leading people if I keep learning.

[00:37:28] And I'm not afraid to learn and make a mistake.

[00:37:30] I call them great mistakes.

[00:37:31] If I say to my team all the time, I say to my kids, please make great mistakes.

[00:37:34] Meaning make the mistake, understand the mistake, learn from the mistake.

[00:37:37] And take those learnings into the next thing you do.

[00:37:39] So my advice for my younger version of myself or what I say to my daughter every day is

[00:37:43] just raise your hand if you're curious.

[00:37:45] If you're interested in something, don't be afraid that it's going to hold you back.

[00:37:48] Just keep learning.

[00:37:49] And I have taken all these jobs where I can just keep learning and growing.

[00:37:53] And I think as I get closer to half a century,

[00:37:56] I think I keep growing and learning and I have entrepreneurial jobs

[00:37:59] because I'm curious and I understand human behavior.

[00:38:01] And I love the changing media landscape.

[00:38:04] Yeah. And there's no better place to explore that than here,

[00:38:06] see you in Vegas.

[00:38:07] There isn't.

[00:38:08] So thank you so much for joining us.

[00:38:09] This is awesome.

[00:38:10] Thanks for having me.

[00:38:11] We covered so much and to be honest with you,

[00:38:12] most of that I didn't even know about.

[00:38:14] Oh, I love that.

[00:38:15] Yeah, and I think our audience is going to really enjoy learning about

[00:38:17] Hello Sunshine and all the great work you're doing there.

[00:38:19] So it's been great.

[00:38:20] Well, thanks for having me.

[00:38:21] I'm a super fan of yours for a long time.

[00:38:22] And I'm just excited to be here and partnering with you and your team.

[00:38:25] Likewise.

[00:38:26] Thanks for saying that.

[00:38:27] And thanks for joining again.

[00:38:28] On behalf of Susie and every team,

[00:38:29] thanks again to Maureen Polo,

[00:38:30] the head of direct-to-consumer at Hello Sunshine,

[00:38:32] for joining us today.

[00:38:33] Be sure to subscribe right now and view the Speed of Culture podcast

[00:38:36] on your favorite podcast platform here from Vegas at CES.

[00:38:39] And we'll see you real soon.

[00:38:40] Take care of everyone.

[00:38:41] Bye bye.

[00:38:47] The Speed of Culture is brought to you by Susie as part of the

[00:38:49] Adweek Podcast Network and A-Guest Creator Network.

[00:38:52] You can listen,

[00:38:53] subscribe to all Adweek's podcasts by visiting adweek.com slash podcast.

[00:38:58] To find out more about Susie, head to susie.com

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