At the beginning of this season, we looked at the advertising industry’s coup from my perspective. To bring it full circle, today I’m looking at it from a different angle: Yours. Content — editorial, entertainment, what have you — and advertising have been unified to the point — where often — it’s hard to see … Continue reading "The Influencer Show"

If you live in Canada, it’s likely that you bank with one of the ‘Big 5’… and it’s also likely you inherited that financial relationship from your parents. And whether you liked banking with them or not… how different were the other 4, really? For decades, there weren’t any other meaningful options… but today? We … Continue reading "New Money"

20 years ago, two teenagers brought the music establishment to its knees. And a decade later, a startup was launched halfway around the world that’s reinvigorated it.The recording industry has experienced a whiplash of change, and has somehow come out on the other end of it… still standing. It’s one of the few categories we can look to that’s gone through the full cycle of a coup. First we bought. Then we “shared”. And now… we stream. And with changes to distribution and format, have come changes to everything— from how we listen, to the way popular music sounds.But with artists struggling to make a living — and the industry’s biggest streaming still not profitable— who’s this new model really working for? How has music’s old establishment faired? And where is it’s new one taking us next?

We'll be back with a new episode of The Coup next Tuesday, November 12th!

Stand up comedy’s second boom feels less driven by punchlines, and more by comedians’ introspection and vulnerability. Nearly every week, another special comes out that mines the personal narrative and struggles of another comics. While some comedians have managed to make this kind of vulnerability funny, others... have made it easy to forget you’re watching a standup show. And that tone change has led to style and format shifts as well.The traditional format — the laughs/per minute structure, on-stage-every-night, and the need to appeal to the masses — is all but dead. Taking their place? Comedians as TED talkers, as performance artists, as prophets and pundits.And while what’s shared on stage is more varied than ever, some think the form is being constrained. You can say anything, but you can’t just say anything. So, what are comedians trying to do other than make us laugh? How is this trend of vulnerability and experimentation changing standup’s tone, format and purpose? And what complications arise?

We often think of disruption as this mythical struggle of David and Goliath — the scrappy start-ups rising out of nowhere to take down the established players, who are as powerful as they are out-of-touch.In business, as in life, people tend to root for the Davids... and I’m not always sure why.As much as we like to hate The Man — whether it’s BP, KPMG, or the Big G himself — there are consequences to stickin’ it to him... Here’s the thing: Goliath’s fall would look a lot different if your empire falls with him. Whether they’ve been in power for 2 years or 200 — how can Goliaths keep the spirit of David alive, and disrupt themselves before someone else does it for them?Today we're turning our attention to the big guys, and taking notes from the leaders who broke rank to ignite the coup from within the castle walls.

At the beginning of 2019, a razor company released an ad criticizing 'toxic masculinity' that dominated social media and the news for over a week.  Since it aired, I've been thinking a lot about advertising's place in the #MeToo era... and it's role in promoting toxic masculinity over the years. But here's the thing: It’s men and boys who Gillette’s ad needed to reach... but nearly all of its detractors were guys! So what are advertisers and brands missing here? And really, is it our job to figure it out?  Today, we're exploring how corporate — brands and their PR machines — continue to transform the way we see, think about, and perform masculinity.

Five years ago, Uber launched a food delivery service that disrupted the food industry. Since then, there’s been a wave of innovations changing the way we eat and cook. Companies like UberEats aren’t just transforming restaurants… they’re building a new arm of the food industry to compete with them, too. Oh — and the new food establishment paving the way to the land of milk and honey? Well, they don’t make food… and increasingly, neither do I. Today some are predicting the end of the home cooked meal altogether… But beyond our own kitchens, what is the rise of even faster food doing to the cooks at our favourite restaurants or the farmers we pass by on the side of the highway? And is all this convenience actually making our lives better, or just quicker? We’re going from table to kitchen to cyclist to farm to table to find out.

It’s been about a year since recreational weed was legalized here in Canada, and after loads of international coverage, celebrations, and dozens of startup announcements… what’s actually changed? This wasn’t a coup brought about by plucky upstarts — but by legislation. So, how are cannabis entrepreneurs disrupting inside of a forced disruption? And with all the buzz about the legal marketplace, how lucrative has it really been? Who’s getting the short end of the joint?

More than ever, we’re buying everything — from our beds down to our shoes — sight-unseen. In every category, startups are bypassing retailers — and their markups — to sell and ship their products right to your door. And they’re giving industry heavyweights a run for their money, doing it. No middlemen — just them, and you. But how are online-only brands, like Glossier and Dollar Shave Club, convincing consumers to buy into one-on-one relationships? And if there’s no independent retail worker helping us make the right choices, how are they gaining our trust? Host Ron Tite goes door to door to find out how these companies are eliminating an entire channel —and how it’s transforming service and marketing, too.