In this conversation, Adeela Johnson, CEO and co-founder of travel gear brand Béis, shares her journey from being a mom of three to leading the successful D2C brand she co-founded with actress and entrepreneur Shay Mitchell. Johnson discusses the importance of consumer-centric design, the importance of relatability in influencer marketing and what the Béis team learned from its early beginnings that helped the brand come out on top in a post-pandemic economy. Johnson also emphasizes the significance of community engagement and experiential marketing in building brand loyalty, such as the "Béis Wash" pop up event and teases future Béis plans and innovation.

Noteworthy quotes

This has been edited and condensed for clarity.

1. On authenticity and brand personality: "[Béis] is authentic to who [founder Shay Mitchell] is and obviously we leveraged her following, but it was much more than that. Her personality became the brand's personality. And that is really hard to do... it's hard to develop a sense of community and a sense of loyalty to a brand when people can't relate to it as much."
2. On founder vision and humility: "[Mitchell] was very clear early on in the brand [stating] 'I don't want this to be Béis by Shay Mitchell.' Very intentionally, which again is very humble for a celebrity of her caliber to say, 'I want this brand to be innovative, to be meaningful, to have purpose that lives beyond me.'"
3. On community-driven innovation: "We had this great vision — it was this huge bag and we gave it to moms in our community and they gave us such tremendous feedback. We changed it before we launched it. And we do that frequently, where we get feedback from our community on color [and needs]."
4. On team passion and grit: "You can't replicate and you can't teach [passion]. You either have it or you don't. And when we recruit, [we] want you to have a million different perspectives. I don't want you to agree with me, but I want you to have grit and passion."
5. On consumer-centric product development: "The goal for us is always to have consumers say, 'that is a function that I didn't know I needed and now I can't live without.' If [we] get that from a consumer, we're doing our job."
6. On community as the next influencer: "Community [is the] next influencer and growing as a trend. We've been seeing that for years and we were founded in that."
7. On transparency and creating behind-the-scenes content: "People want to see behind-the-scenes, relatable content. People want to see art [and they] want to know who the people are behind these brands that [they] want to build a relationship with. It's no longer about transactions."
8. On building brand relationships beyond transactions: "People don't buy a product. They buy into a brand and they buy into a vision. They buy into a community. We leveraged Shay early in the brand to give the brand personality and make it relatable, not just a brand that existed with a bunch of products."

AI Deciphered is back—live in New York City this November 13th.Join leaders from brands, agencies, and platforms for a future-focused conversation on how AI is transforming media, marketing, and the retail experience. Ready to future-proof your strategy? Secure your spot now at aidecipheredsummit.com. Use code POD at check out for $100 your ticket!

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If you’ve never been to the basement of the Palais, let us set the scene for you. There are dozens of displays of campaigns for each category that show key details and visuals of some of the top work. Attendees can also visit computer labs to watch films and case studies for the campaigns.

While walking the work, visitors can spot many of the industry’s top creative thinkers and CMOs. During the time Campaign recorded this podcast, we spotted Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f Beauty, Chad Broude and Megan Lally, CCO and CEO of Highdive, respectively, and Tabata Gomez, CMO of McCormick & Company wandering the floor and looking for inspiration.

In the Palais basement, Campaign was joined by new 4A’s CEO Justin Thomas-Copeland, Brynna Aylward, CCO for adam&eveDDB North America, Christine Olivas, CEO and chief strategy officer for No Single Individual, and Ciro Sarmiento, CCO for Colle McVoy.

They each walked the work, breaking down several campaigns that they loved, why they worked and in some cases, how they made them.

AI Deciphered is back—live in New York City this November 13th.Join leaders from brands, agencies, and platforms for a future-focused conversation on how AI is transforming media, marketing, and the retail experience. Ready to future-proof your strategy? Secure your spot now at aidecipheredsummit.com. Use code POD at check out for $100 your ticket!

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What does it take to secure, plan and execute a main stage presentation at Cannes? Christopher Charles, executive creative director at 21Grams, and Fiona Cauley, a comedian with Friedreich’s Ataxia, who recently opened for Nikki Glaser, are fresh from their presentation on the main stage at Cannes. Hear the behind-the-scenes story of their presentation, how it went and what they believe the impact will be for healthcare marketing.

AI Deciphered is back—live in New York City this November 13th.Join leaders from brands, agencies, and platforms for a future-focused conversation on how AI is transforming media, marketing, and the retail experience. Ready to future-proof your strategy? Secure your spot now at aidecipheredsummit.com. Use code POD at check out for $100 your ticket!

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What we know about advertising, you should know about advertising. Start your 1-month FREE trial to Campaign US.