Front and Center

Thomas Pokorn is an Austrian-born Creative Strategist and Copywriter. He specializes in creative concepts and verbal identity for branding and advertising, always finding ways to express distinct personalities and connect with audiences through narrative. He’s worked with brands including Google, Red Bull, New Balance, Dove, Porsche, Herman Miller, Unilever, Pernod Ricard, Coinbase, and many more. Thomas worked with us on AYOH!, Quip, and a few other brands that are yet to launch. 
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Thomas Pokron is a beast. Prolific, thoughtful, funny, efficient, giant, quick wit it, lightning rod for ideas; are just a few words I could say to describe the man with whom we’ve had the pleasure of working many times over now. He’s simply the best.
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In this casual conversation, we learn about Thomas’ background and how he got into copywriting and strategy through his journalism studies. He tells us where he finds all of his words. (you’ll never guess where) We endure some technical difficulties, riff, and talk about Batman before we discuss Thomas’ ethos and approach to work. It’s a freaking weird, funny, and unpredictable ride. Enjoy!

Alex and Kevin are back in the studio to talk about the hottest topics in design and branding (the New York Knicks). We circle back many times on the Knicks, as Alex is very excited (AS HE SHOULD BE!) about his favorite team advancing to the finals for the first time this millennium! Alex recaps his time in London, judging the D&AD awards before going into Iceman, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, The Enhanced Games, David’s Tinned Fish and Ice Cream, Spotify’s disco ball ‘blunder’, Threads’ new logo, Bush’s summer beans, and more!

Today, we welcome Jason Liebig to the show! Jason is a brand historian, packaging archivist, and former marketing exec at DC Comics and Warner Bros, and story exec at Marvel. He’s the founder of CollectingCandy.com, an insane archive of vintage candy and snack packaging, which has led him to serve as the behind-the-scenes consultant for shows like Stranger Things, Mad Men, The Queen’s Gambit, and The Goldbergs, making sure every prop is era-perfect. You may have seen him on the History Channel on The Food That Built America and The Mega-Brands That Built America, and now on Hazardous History alongside Henry Winkler.  
Jason tells us his origin story, how he started his collection, and how it grew from a hobby into a profession. He also brought a ton of items from his archive to show and tell. Jason’s enthusiasm for brands is second to none; he’s a one-of-a-kind guy and an encyclopedia of knowledge. We truly could have talked for another 3 hours, if not more! Do yourself a favor and check out his archive; it’ll make you very happy. Enjoy!
Links
FLICKR: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonliebigstuff/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/collectingcandy/
HIS WEBSITE: http://collectingcandy.com/wordpress/

This week on Front and Center… Alex and Kevin are back together in the studio! They talk about the Onion taking over Infowars, Adidas (Sabastian Sawe and Tigist Assefa) winning the London Marathon, Nike’s Boston Marathon blunder, Bronny’s rejected trademark, The Rams uniform updates, the Falcons uniform updates, the Ravens uniform updates, the Falcons uniform updates, Mr. 57, 67 chicken nuggets, Bud Light mini, Allbirds pivots to AI, Drake’s Album release date release, and more!

Today, we are fired up to have Jessica Dimcevski on the show! Jess is the Founder and Creative Director of Blurr Bureau, a Design and Venture Studio that builds brands connected through purpose and profit. They work with ambitious founders, marketers, and creators to help define their brands at key moments in their businesses. The Bureau believes that the brands that change the world are those built on a tension between ideas. 
Jess and her worldwide team work with brands of all shapes and sizes. You may have seen some of their most recent work. Flings, Yes Apples, and Nuda are among the new and exciting brands they’ve worked with. If you haven’t seen the work, look it up; it’s fire!
Jess chops it up with us for an enthusiastic yet casual chat. She talks about her background and where she developed her strategy-first, research-based approach, and schools us about Apples, Australia, and the best grocery stores in New York. Give it a listen, and enjoy!