In this episode, the hosts engage with their audience by discussing crowd-sourced fixes for various companies, focusing on loyalty programs and customer experiences. They explore the implications of changes in loyalty programs, emphasizing the importance of communication and customer engagement. The conversation also touches on innovative ideas for Amazon's delivery services and Uber's potential loyalty tiers, highlighting the need for personalization and enhanced customer experiences. The episode wraps up with reflections on the season and gratitude towards listeners.

Takeaways

The holiday season is a time for reflection and engagement with listeners.

Crowd-sourced fixes provide valuable insights into customer expectations.

Effective communication is crucial when changing loyalty programs.

Phased approaches can ease customer transitions during program changes.

Personalization in loyalty programs can enhance customer satisfaction.

Delaying shipping for registries can address space and timing issues for customers.

Innovative delivery solutions can improve customer convenience.

Uber's loyalty program could benefit from tiered rewards and personalization.

Partnerships with local businesses can enhance service offerings.

The importance of accountability and corporate responsibility in customer relations.

Chapters

00:00 Holiday Traditions and Listener Engagement

00:59 Crowd-Sourced Fix: Carnival Rewards Program

14:10 Crowd-Sourced Fix: Amazon Baby Registries

23:09 Exploring Loyalty Programs and Customer Expectations

23:35 Rethinking Postal Services: Innovative Partnerships

31:12 Amazon's Delivery Ambitions: A New Era for Logistics

35:20 Uber Loyalty Programs: Enhancing Customer Experience

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

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If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking. Have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A beloved American brand finds itself in boiling hot water after a senior executive at Campbell’s is secretly recorded making racist remarks, mocking customers, disparaging the company’s products, and boasting about substance use at work. The recording goes public, the executive is fired, and Campbell’s stock hits a 52-week low. But the real question is not whether the executive deserved to go, it’s what this incident reveals about leadership, culture, and accountability inside the organization.

In this episode, our panel is joined by brand growth advisor Javier Farfan (NFL, New Balance, PepsiCo, McDonald's, Anheuser Busch) to unpack what happens when private behavior becomes public, how quickly trust can erode, and why firing one executive is rarely enough to fix a systemic problem. The discussion explores the internal cultural damage, the external brand risk, and the opportunity Campbell’s now has to reset its values, reconnect with consumers, and rebuild trust from the inside out.

Rather than debating whether the scandal will blow over, the conversation focuses on what meaningful recovery actually looks like and what brands must do when values, leadership behavior, and public perception collide.

Key Topics & Takeaways

• Why this incident may be more than a single “bad apple”
• How lower-level employees can change the balance of power inside companies
• The internal ripple effects of executive misconduct on morale and quality
• Psychological safety, retaliation, and why employees stop speaking up
• Culture as a system, not a slogan on the wall
• The difference between cosmetic fixes and structural change
• Why silence and minimal PR responses no longer work
• How consumer trust, nostalgia, and brand legacy can be rebuilt
• Turning a crisis into a catalyst for reinvention

Strategic Fixes Explored

• Isolating the incident without denying systemic responsibility
• Holding executives to higher character and integrity standards
• Making leadership behavior measurable, not theoretical
• Reinforcing internal accountability and psychological safety
• Re-centering the brand around community, care, and accessibility
• Leveraging nostalgia and emotional connection without being performative
• Using crisis moments as opportunities for product and brand evolution

Who This Episode Is For

• Brand, marketing, and communications leaders
• Executives and people managers
• HR and culture leaders
• Crisis management and PR professionals
• Anyone interested in how power, culture, and trust intersect inside large organizations

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking. Have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some movies and products flop so badly they become infamous. Others become instant classics. But then there are the ones in the middle. The ones with hype that launch and then disappear without a trace. No cultural impact. No lasting impression. Just a collective… “meh.”

This episode examines that dangerous middle ground we’re calling a culture shrug and why, for companies and creators, it can be worse than outright failure.

Aaron, Melissa, and Qadira explore why projects that check every box still vanish instantly, how companies misread cultural signals, and what it really takes to make something with staying power in an era where trends can shift on a dime.

What we cover

• What a “culture shrug” is and why it can be more painful than a flop

• Why effort, budget, and talent don’t guarantee cultural relevance

• How movies, brands, and products fail when they aim for everyone

• What happens when creativity gets diluted by committees

• Why companies often misunderstand what audiences actually want

• The timing problem between culture speed and corporate speed

• How nostalgia, remakes, and algorithms fail to ignite connection

• The danger of creative teams being shielded from real cultural insight

• Why safety ideas can be instantly forgettable

• Why younger audiences don’t react the way companies assume

• The power of niche enthusiasm and true believers

• How internal culture determines whether bold ideas survive

THE FIX: How to Avoid the Culture Shrug

1. Start with “So what?”

If you cannot answer it clearly, the idea is not ready.

2. Treat data as input, not instruction

Algorithms reveal behavior, not soul, and never the “why now.”

3. Test, but don’t sand down the edges

Over testing destroys personality and guts.

4. Put a trusted tastemaker in charge of final decisions

Not a tyrant, not a committee — a clear, culturally aware leader.

5. Build emotional stickiness

If people don’t feel it, they won’t remember it.

6. Re-evaluate cultural resonance throughout long development cycles

Eighteen months is a lifetime in cultural terms.

7. Find and nurture your early believer community

They amplify when the project finally launches.

8. Leave room for weirdness

The unexpected idea might be the one culture remembers.

9. Conduct a pre mortem

Write the “if this flopped, here’s why” memo before you build.

10. Add delight

Great creative work has soul, not just structure.

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.