PODCAST · business
Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast
by Sonia Baschez
Meme Team is the pop culture marketing podcast where host Sonia Baschez and guests break down the marketing and PR behind viral moments in movies, TV, music, tech, sports, and politics Every Thursday, Sonia (founder of Yapping as a Service) sits down with marketers, founders, and creators to unpack the campaigns, rebrands, press tours, and platform shifts shaping culture, from Taylor Swift and Warner Bros. to YouTube, TikTok, and AI. You'll hear what worked, what flopped, and the takeaways you can use for your own brand. If you care about brand strategy, storytelling, creator marketing, or why the algorithm is acting weird again, this one's for you. New episodes every Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts..
Episodes
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Craft Is the New Luxury: Sam Altman's Movie, HarperCollins' Secret AI & the AI Wife Nobody's Buildin
Why do AI companies keep pitching dinner reservations when people want an AI wife, and why are book publishers hiding their AI use? On Meme Team, the pop culture marketing podcast, Sonia Baschez and Christina Garnett (fractional chief customer officer, Pocket CCO) break down Sonia's viral "AI…
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Winners and Losers: Warner Bros, Paramount, YouTube, Amazon, Apple
Warner Bros. and Paramount are merging under the Skydance name, YouTube is done rewarding content farms, Amazon MGM turned a movie set into a creator activation, and Apple just quietly blocked half the ad tech industry from iOS 27. Sonia Baschez and fractional GTM advisor Gregory Kennedy break…
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Disney, Taylor Swift, Letterboxd, and Meta Are All Living on Borrowed Trust
Disney just announced John Watts for Star Wars Episode 10 and simultaneously undermined him by pairing him with Simon Kinberg — the writer behind X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Fantastic Four, and a failed Twilight Zone reboot. Taylor Swift's bonus "encore" to Life of a Showgirl got dismissed by critics…
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Choose Equity: Mbappe, Lili Reinhart, Netflix, & Xbox
Mbappe just walked away from a lifetime Nike deal for equity at On Running, and Thierry Henry has been quietly running the football strategy behind it since 2025. Meanwhile, Lily Reinhart built a viral press tour for The Love Hypothesis with basically no help from Amazon, then Amazon showed up...
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Document for Content: Hollywood, Mamdani, American Tourists, and Hilary Duff
Prada is making films with Barry Jenkins and Zohran Mamdani has 69% approval for posting about potholes. Hilary Duff just sold out a tour that has nothing to do with nostalgia, and Americans are spending $350 a day in Europe while Portugal buys ads in Times Square. Sonia and brand strategist Gia...
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When Your Differentiator Stops Working: Meta, Bumble, Obama & the FAA
Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word manifesto calling for open, democratized AI the same week Meta was defending itself in six active monopoly lawsuits. Bumble scrapped the women-message-first rule, which was literally the brand. Obama launched a book podcast on an audio platform and somehow it's…
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Fans deserve better: Disney, Vinyl, Flock, BTS
Spider-Man Brand New Day just hit $1 billion, and Disney's CEO is already publicly attaching Avengers Doomsday to that momentum. That's a bold bet with a lot riding on it. Sonia Baschez and journalist Shannon Miller look at the gap between brands that genuinely show up for fans and brands that…
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The End of Mid: Zendaya, Nolan, + Marvel
Zendaya's press tour for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is generating more coverage than either studio's marketing budget combined. Christopher Nolan crossed $650M without a traditional campaign, the IMAX CEO is sitting on the biggest missed opportunity in entertainment, and Marvel...
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Authenticity Wins: Jennifer Lawrence, Christopher Nolan, Apple & Letterboxd
Sonia sits down with Brianna Miller, to break down Jennifer Lawrence saying she hates doing press, Christopher Nolan's take on Gen Z rejecting AI slop, Apple quietly dominating the Emmy nominations, and why Netflix, Paramount, and Sony are all trying to buy Letterboxd. The big thesis…
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When Brands Should Participate: Taylor Swift's Wedding, Trump's FIFA Call & TikTok's AI Soap Operas
Sonia sits down with Jess Zafarris, author, etymologist, TikTok creator, and editor at large at Ragan and PR Daily, to break down Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding brand activation, FIFA's controversial red card reversal for the US Men's National Team, and TikTok's new AI generated mini…
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What Partnerships Signal: Meta + Kylie and A24 + Google Deepmind
Sonia sits down with Lia Napolitano, founder of Our Mutual Friend and former Apple and Oculus designer, to break down Meta's Kylie Jenner glasses partnership, Google DeepMind's $75 million investment in A24, Universal's decision to exclude influencers from The Odyssey screenings, and why a…
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Brands That Know Ball: Obama, Mamdani, and Norway vs. Shrek 5 and DoorDash
Sonia sits down with Ashwin Balakrishnan to break down Obama's presidential library speech, Mayor Mamdani's Knicks championship address, Norway's Viking World Cup campaign, and why Shrek 5's trailer is getting destroyed online. The big thesis: joy-based solidarity is undersupplied in political…
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Why Sincerity Scales: Freddy at the World Cup, the Knicks Win, and Ferrari's PR Disaster
Sonia Baschez sits down with Jay Kapoor, General Partner at VSC Ventures and host of the Climb podcast, to break down three viral pop culture moments from sports and marketing, and what they tell us about sincerity, brand strategy, and the shifting power dynamic between athletes and the companies...
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Scarcity as Strategy: The Odyssey in IMAX, Norwegian vikings & Harvard’s F*** AI Speech
Sonia sits down with Dino Delic, head of data driven communications research lab at Meltwater, to break down Christopher Nolan's Odyssey IMAX strategy, World Cup brand activations, and Ronnie Cheng's viral Harvard commencement speech telling graduates to destroy AI. The big thesis: scarcity is a...
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Own Your Audience: Spielberg's Podcast Debut, Celebrity Narratives & YouTube's New Directors
Sonia sits down with Visa Veerasamy, writer, marketing consultant, and author of Friendly Ambitious Nerd, to break down Steven Spielberg's first podcast appearance, how YouTubers are skipping film school and breaking box office records, and why Ferrari's electric car launch flopped. The big…
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Lessons from Hollywood: Storytelling, Building Your Audience & the YouTube-to-Horror Pipeline
Sonia sits down with Brianne Kimmel, founder of Worklife Ventures and GTM Advisor at ElevenLabs, to break down how AI is reshaping content creation, what Barnes & Noble's stance on AI books means for publishers, and why horror films are the new path to Hollywood stardom. The big thesis: here’s…
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Hollywood & AI: Reese Witherspoon, Spencer Pratt, CMO Fatigue + Spotify
Sonia sits down with Robin Simon Wood, SVP of Production at New Motion, to break down how Hollywood women are talking about AI, why CMO fatigue is real, and Spencer Pratt's clipping campaign for LA mayor. The big thesis: if you're going to take a stance, figure out what you're actually trying to...
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AI, Accountability & Ads: Coinbase, Netflix, OpenAI, + Cannes Lions
Sonia sits down with Hiten Shah, founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Nira, to break down how companies are using AI as cover for layoffs, how Netflix reversed its brand promise without blowing up, and why Cannes Lions just created an AI craft category. The big thesis: AI is here to stay, but...
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The Loyalty Trap: OpenAI, Disney Adults, Devil Wears Prada, & The World Cup
Sonia sits down with Moshe Isaacian, a freelance brand marketing strategist who's worked with Lego, Snapchat, Nike, Toyota, and Epic Games, to break down how companies are talking to their customers in 2025. The big thesis: authenticity wins when CEOs show up like humans, not corporate…
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Brand Reset vs. Brand Regret: Xbox's Nostalgia Win, Nike's Marathon Fail, & Netflix's TikTok Play
Sonia sits down with Christina Garnett, author of Transforming Customer Brand Relationships and fractional Chief Community Officer, to break down Xbox's fan-first rebrand, Nike's marathon messaging disaster, Netflix's TikTok play, and Tim Cook's exit from Apple. The big thesis: nostalgia wins…
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The Clipping Economy: Why Every Band, Brand & Startup Is Faking Organic Growth
Sonia sits down with Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, to talk about: organic marketing isn't dead, it just got industrialized. And if the audience loves the music, does it matter how they found it? We're talking about: Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running...
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Video-First Marketing: Hot Democrats, Literary AI Scandals + Zendaya's Fake Wedding
Sonia sits down with Sophie Vershbow, a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Esquire (and who spent six years doing social media for Random House), to break down how politicians are running creator playbooks and winning, OpenAI's podcast...
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Optimism as Content Strategy: Project Hail Mary and Artemis II + How to Pitch the Media
This week Sonia Baschez and guest Yury Molodtsov discuss Project Hail Mary, which crossed $300M globally in its second weekend — only a 32% drop from opening, which almost never happens. Sonia and Yury get into why space-as-adventure is having a cultural moment, what IMAX has quietly done to…
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Manufacturing Demand: AI Backlash, Miley Cyrus + Beehiiv's Social Strategy
AI is getting bad PR, and audiences are fighting back. 78% of Gen Z can now identify AI-generated images and will scroll past them, causing CTR to drop 40%. Hatchet Book Group pulled Shy Girl after weeks of speculation that sections were AI-generated, and readers went back to edit their positive...
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Word of Mouth 2.0: Claude, Twitter, Timothée & Sinners
ChatGPT uninstalls surged 295% after the Department of Defense deal, the Pope told priests to stop using AI for sermons, and Netflix just opened its ad inventory to Amazon audiences. We break down all of it. Disney/Hulu's marketing mess, Claude's new community ambassadors program, Timothée...
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5 Marketing Fails: Friend AI, OpenAI, AMC, McDonald's & H&M
The McDonald's CEO posted a video eating the Big Arch burger and couldn't bring himself to swallow it. Sam Altman publicly backed Anthropic's stance against the Department of War, then swooped in to take the same contract hours later. And Friend AI released an ad so bleak it made loneliness look...
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AI Agents are here: ChatGPT, Google Pomelli & OpenClaw
ChatGPT launched ads this week and they're underwhelming. No personalized targeting, no memory integration, just basic in-line search ads that feel like Google in the 90s. Meanwhile, OpenClaw is setting the internet on fire as the first AI agent that actually works—controlling your browser…
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Zendaya's Fake Wedding, Frida Baby Backlash, & Free Groceries
A24 built a full wedding website, a Boston Globe announcement, and an RSVP-to-your-Google-Calendar function to promote "The Drama" starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. It's the latest in a string of immersive campaigns that are making A24 the most interesting movie studio in marketing right…
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Super Bowl Ads Ranked: OpenAI vs Claude Beef, Levi's Genius, Coinbase's Fail with Dr. Marcus Collins
Sam Altman publicly clapped back at Anthropic's Super Bowl attack ad. Only 7% of consumers even know what Claude is versus 73% for ChatGPT. So why did the market leader punch down? Dr. Marcus Collins, marketing professor at the University of Michigan and author of "For the Culture," compares it…
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Brand Wars: Anthropic vs OpenAI, Coke vs Pepsi + Disney Goes All-In on Parks
Sonia sits down with Jiya Jaisingh (fractional marketer and communicator with 10+ years in health and social impact) to break down Anthropic's $7M Super Bowl ad announcing they won't run ads, Pepsi's Coca-Cola bear stunt, Disney's CEO transition betting on parks over content, and why wellness...
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Video First Strategy: Substack TV, Heated Rivalry, Mamdani's Competency Porn, & The California Post
Sonia sits down with Mark Stenberg (Adweek senior media reporter) to break down the Oscars' hidden messages, Substack's pivot to video, Zohran Mamdani's PR blitz, and the New York Post's California expansion—all asking the same question: when do you listen to your core audience, and when do you…
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X Is Buying What Webflow, Netflix & DoorDash Are Earning: Attention
Sonia sits down with Marissa Kraines (VP of brand marketing at Webflow, 12 years at Salesforce) to break down why Twitter's $1 million long-form content prize screams desperation, how Webflow turned AI's biggest flaw into a viral campaign, Netflix's tarot-themed 2026 slate reveal, and why…
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The Authenticity Playbook: Netflix, DoorDash, Shopify, Tailwind
Sonia sits down with Yury Molodtsov (partner at MA Family) to break down Netflix's content strategy pivot, DoorDash's crisis response masterclass, and how Tailwind CSS turned a $2M revenue crisis into a community-funded turnaround—all without asking for help. We're talking about: Netflix's power...
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From Rage Bait to Real Feelings: Grok, Polymarket, Chevrolet & Stranger Things
Sonia and Christina Garnett break down why 2026 might finally be the year marketing moves past rage bait and back toward empathy, craft, and emotional intelligence. They cover Grok's non-consensual AI image scandal, Polymarket's refusal to pay out on Venezuela invasion bets, Chevrolet's...
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My Top 5: Marty Supreme, Mini Cities, Morse Code, and More
Every week on The Meme Team Podcast, we break down what worked, what didn't, and why people cared. This year had too many good campaigns to just list—so we're doing an awards show. In this episode, Sonia and the team cover: Marty Supreme / Timothée Chalamet (w/ Mark Stenberg) – The lookalike...
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Amazon vs. Sephora: $99 Advent Calendars
Sonia sits down with Julie Fredrickson (managing partner at Chaotic Capital) to dissect the Advent calendar wars—and what Amazon's massive, perfectly-packaged K-beauty box says about the future of retail, beauty merchandising, and who's winning the tastemaker race. We're talking about: Why Amazon...
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Substack ads, Storytelling Over Slop, & Kim K. In Fortnite
Sonia Baschez sits down with Hailey Allen (creative strategist at neuemotion) to dissect the marketing wins and fails making waves right now—from AI slop ruining brand perception to why companies are suddenly hiring "chief storytellers." We're talking about: Why McDonald's pulled their AI ad in…
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“Opt-In” Marketing: How Granola, Nvidia & Percy Jackson Won
This episode hits on five major marketing trends playing out rn. starts with F1's american takeover—Cadillac's super bowl livery reveal is perfectly timed with Apple's new broadcast deal to capture US audiences who've been waiting for a team that actually leans into being american. they also…
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Stripe and Shopify Crushed Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Sonia, Amanda, and guest Kushaan Shah break down how Shopify and Stripe owned Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2025—not through traditional ads, but by spotlighting merchants, building miniature cities by hand, and proving B2B doesn't have to be boring. They unpack record-breaking consumer spending ($1...
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Give Your Audience A Voice: Hulu, Hunger Games, Shopify, & Miu Miu
episode description: sonia and kaleigh break down why traditional marketing is dying and what's replacing it. they cover timothée chalamet's $250 jacket sellout, apple tv's continued failure to market good shows, hulu's genius grocery store hack, lionsgate listening to fans for hunger games...
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Memeable Marketing is Winning: Timothée's Zoom Call, Steph Curry & Under Armour, Disney AI & YouTube
This episode covers five major marketing and media topics: ChatGPT's new group chat feature launching in Asian markets as a potential WhatsApp competitor; Timothée Chalamet's innovative meta-marketing campaign for A24's Marty Supreme that blurs satire and reality while creating memeable...
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Anthropic’s IRL NYC Popup, Taylor’s Future Wedding, K-Pop is Golden
In this episode of the Meme Team podcast, Amanda and Sonia discuss various marketing strategies and cultural phenomena, including Cracker Barrel's logo controversy, Williams F1's community engagement, Tame Impala's unique concert experience, Anthropic's pop-up in New York, Taylor Swift's…
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AI to ROI: OpenAI’s Ads + Instant Checkout Playbook
This week on Meme Team, Sonia and Amanda dive into four big culture-meets-marketing moments: Taylor Swift x KitchenAid? How brands are borrowing her orange aesthetic to drive hype — without her even collabing. OpenAI’s first brand campaign + "agentic commerce." What instant checkout inside…
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Re-Releases, Scarcity Plays, and a $11B Ring | Meme Team 026
Halloween re-releases, 3-day theater drops, and brand ads masquerading as short films. This week we unpack how "eventfication" is reshaping entertainment and marketing, why most "make it go viral" mandates miss the point, and what Oura's $875M raise (at an $11B valuation) says about wearables —...
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The Pitt’s Tuxedo Scrubs, Nike’s New Motto, Lessons from the NBA Spurs
This episode explores how major institutions are adapting their content strategies for new audiences. We start with Robert Redford's passing, discussing how his work with Sundance created a blueprint for using cultural capital to build new communities. This ties into modern marketing innovations...
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Reese Witherspoon’s AI Take, Builder.ai’s Flameout, and Instagram's iPad App
Comms pro Cristin Culver joins Meme Team to dissect Austin, TX's universally-dragged logo rollout, Reese Witherspoon’s shallow AI talking points (and how to master the PR art of bridging), and the Builder.ai collapse (aka why your ship-to-yap ratio matters). We also hit Instagram’s long-awaited...
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Sabrina shuns Tommy, YouTube Hypes Creators, & Horror's Killer Marketing
In this episode of Meme Team, we break down three major marketing moments: Sabrina Carpenter's masterclass in brand authenticity after her album cover controversy, YouTube's game-changing new "Hype" feature for small creators, and Lionsgate's wild treadmill theater experience for "The Long Walk."...
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Bonus: Cadillac's American F1 Dream Team
Join Sonia Baschez and "F1 Guy" Vincenzo Landino as they dive into the exciting announcement of Cadillac's entry into the F1 world for the 2026 season. Discover the strategic marketing decisions behind choosing experienced drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, and explore the marketing...
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Weirdness, Wellness, Weapons, and the End of Monoculture | Meme Team 022
Join hosts Sonia Baschez and Amanda Natividad as we explore the cultural phenomena of Dubai chocolate and Labubu dolls, the impact of GLP-1 drugs on societal expectations, and the unique marketing strategies behind the film Weapons. We also quickly cover Zohran Mamdani's #zcavenger hunt, the…
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Trendjacking Taylor, Tariffs & Coach Bags, and Creating Timeless Brands
In this episode of the Meme Team Podcast, hosts Amanda and Sonia explore the intersection of marketing, culture, and branding. They discuss the recent rebranding of MSNBC, the legacy of Duolingo's social media strategy, and the backlash against AI personalities. The conversation also touches on...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Meme Team is the pop culture marketing podcast where host Sonia Baschez and guests break down the marketing and PR behind viral moments in movies, TV, music, tech, sports, and politics
Every Thursday, Sonia (founder of Yapping as a Service) sits down with marketers, founders, and creators to unpack the campaigns, rebrands, press tours, and platform shifts shaping culture, from Taylor Swift and Warner Bros. to YouTube, TikTok, and AI. You'll hear what worked, what flopped, and the takeaways you can use for your own brand.
If you care about brand strategy, storytelling, creator marketing, or why the algorithm is acting weird again, this one's for you. New episodes every Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts..
HOSTED BY
Sonia Baschez
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast have?
Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast currently has 71 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast about?
Meme Team is the pop culture marketing podcast where host Sonia Baschez and guests break down the marketing and PR behind viral moments in movies, TV, music, tech, sports, and politics Every Thursday, Sonia (founder of Yapping as a Service) sits down with marketers, founders, and creators to unpack...
How often does Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast release new episodes?
Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast has 71 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast?
You can listen to Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast?
Meme Team: The Pop Culture Marketing Podcast is created and hosted by Sonia Baschez.
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