STIMY #49

It's Time for War

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👋🏻 STIMIES,

Culinary Class Wars might be the hottest thing in Asia right now.

It's a 12-episode Korean reality show that pits elite/celebrity chefs against lesser-known but talented chefs in a battle for 300 million won (US$225,000). This includes multiple Michelin-starred chefs & even a US chef of Korean descendant (who was once the guest chef for a White House State Dinner).

Which prompted a question in the first episode by a contestant:

"Are all the restaurants in Seoul closed today?"

The show topped Netflix's non-English language series category for 3 consecutive weeks but admittedly, I wasn't intrigued at first.

I'd caught episode 1 in Karuizawa and it looked really boring - An endless reel showcasing the background of each contestant (they started out with 100 chefs).

Because I didn't recognise a single chef, I didn't care.

So I ignored it.

Then I bumped into a friend who told me:

We're travelling to Seoul in 2 weeks. We tried to book a seat at any of the Culinary Class Wars restaurants and they're all sold out in 3 months in advance!

My mind blew.

I decided I had to check it out to see what all the fuss was about. 😂

As it turns out, it's a really really good show!

Here's why:

1. The format

Korean producers are great at upping the ante. And they always do it in a way that you won't expect (long-time viewers of Running Man will understand this).

Part of the great joy was us finding out, alongside the contestants and judges, the circumstances that they would be competing under.

The cameras capture every exclamation, shock and dismay (the same as we'd be feeling as we sit in the comfort of our living room).

And let's just say... that the semi-final rounds were incredible.

2. The Talent

"Evil editing" is real.

It's clear to see which contestants have been edited to appear as the underdog everyone will be rooting for, and who is in a more 'villain' role. The producers have already decided who will be the stars of the entire series and everyone else...

Well, you might get a brief feature.

That said, Netflix has released a series of video clips that didn't make the final cut on YouTube (see HERE), which I thought was pretty smart. They're continuing to draw the fans deeper into their black hole.

3. The Judges

In the interviews done since (I can't help doing my own research), the judges admitted not liking each other at first. Their first meeting was awkward!

"They’ve lived completely different lives, and when they first met at a grilled intestine restaurant last winter, there was a strange tension in the air" - Kim Eun-Ji (director)

And yet... it worked.

And as the hosts (an ultra famous TV host versus Korea's only Michelin starred chef who'd never been on TV), they're the glue that holds it all together.

[Though I think it's pretty bad timing that the 3 Michelin-starred chef/judge's restaurant is currently closed for renovation. All those lost bookings!]

4. The Stakes

What is a competition without stakes?

For the elite chefs, there is so much more at stack. They're mostly restaurant owners who've been in the industry for 30-40 years, won multiple stars etc. They also had this as an added concern:

"I did hesitate because I am chef-owner of restaurants, and I may lose the respect of my employees if I lost" - Jang Ho-joon, chef and CEO of Negi Company

Then we have Chef Edward, who came into the competition from the US to get in touch with his own roots. He also set to 2 personal rules for himself:

Don't cook anything he's done before; and
Use only local ingredients

The higher the stakes, the more exciting it is for us viewers.

Is there another competition out there where established superstars are willing to battle it out against each other/their former employees?!

5. The Application

I've lost count of how many reels I've seen of people attempting to recreate the dishes that they saw on the show.

And as any brand would know, UGC is one of the most powerful content out there.

There is a tremendous trickle down effect.

Restaurant bookings have soared. Convenience store sales have shot up (if you've watched it, you'll know why). Partnerships have been forged between chefs and companies etc. Which just goes to show...

That not all publicity is bad publicity.

Sometimes, it can 100% change your fortunes around.

Have you watched the show too? What did you think?

Let me know by hitting reply to this email.

Meanwhile, let me go buy my next batch of tofu... 🤣

#IYKYK

Committing Career Suicide?!

How did Brian Chesky (Airbnb) convince Jonathan Mildenhall to commit 'career suicide' in 7 minutes?!

When Jonathan first become the SVP of The Coca-Cola Company, the company was 'creatively bankrupt'.

He was also shit scared:

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘣. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳!"

Every Wednesday for his first 3 months, he was in the Coca-Cola archives.

Those archives were full or original Andy Warhol prints, videos, merchandise and...

Phil Mooney aka the 'walking talking history book of the Coca-Cola Company' (Phil has been there for 43+ years and counting!).

His time in the archives unearthed the black and white photo of Boys on the Beach which formed the basis for his earliest work.

And led to:

🔸 The 2014 Super Bowl ad 'America the Beautiful', where 'shit hit the fan'.
🔸 The creation of Content 2020 - the creative manifesto Coca-Cola used to inspire their agencies around the world to do better creative work
(Comment below if you'd like a copy!)

Then...

Brian, the co-founder of Airbnb, came calling.

Back then, Airbnb was unknown.

To give up Coca-Cola to join Airbnb was, for many, akin to c𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞!

Yet within 7 minutes, Jonathan knew he was ready to take the risk.

Their scheduled 1-hour meeting turned into 3-hours, where Jonathan identified the heart of what Airbnb was: 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠

"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘔𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺.

𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦."

*

To find out more about how that conversation unfolded, and also:

🔸 How he became the only CMO to have 2 Super Bowl ads featured at the same time
🔸 What it was like being Airbnb's first Chief Marketing Officer
🔸 Why he launched his own company and published the book 'A Colourful View from the Top'
🔸 How he builds his Olympic marketing team & what he's like as a leader
🔸 His advice for aspiring CMOs before they take the seat

Watch Part 2 of Jonathan's episode - now out on Spotify, Apple Podcast etc.! 😏

Listen here: YouTube, Website, Spotify, Apple Podcast

Want to grow your personal brand?

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This is a beta launch so if you join now, you get a 50% discount as thanks for believing in a product that doesn't yet exist 🥺

You also get to build BYW with me!

Tell me more about BYW!.

Interesting Discoveries

I spend hours on LinkedIn & love finding posts that inspire thought and teach me how to be a better writer on the platform. Here are some that caught my eye recently:

Quick Thoughts

Companies often spend millions if not billions on advertising.

Jonathan Mildenhall himself said that he used to spend $1.2 billion on marketing at Coca-Cola. And that it was a shock to jump to Airbnb, which had a global marketing budget of $25 million instead.

Now let's face it.

Most of us will never $25 million. Let alone build a company that sets aside $25 million just for marketing.

But that doesn't mean that effective, global marketing isn't an option.

Just start with the lowest hanging fruit.

For most white collar professionals, that's LinkedIn.

I've never paid for any ads on the platform. But I still managed to hit over 5.6 million impressions in a year.

Other clients of mine have come close too.

Even if they started out with just 1,000 followers.

Because unlike most platforms, LinkedIn is still a place that pushes your content out for free if they find it resonating with the people who see it.

So rather than create in oblivion...

Why not create on a platform that might allow you to be seen by millions?

It beats spending $25 million just to reach the same range of people (almost)!

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