Marketing Happy Hour - The "Staying Power" of Strategic Brand Partnerships | Namita Gupta of SoulCycle

Starting point is 00:00:00 you're listening to the marketing happy hour podcast where we discuss career and industry insights with our peers in marketing we're here to talk about it all like the ups and downs of working in social media how to build authentic relationships in the influencer and pr space managing a nine-to-five and a side hustle at the same time, how to be productive in your life and career without losing your sanity, and more. Ultimately, we're here to build a community with you because we're all trying to navigate the world of marketing together. Are you ready? Grab your favorite drink and join your hosts, Cassie and Erica, for this week's episode.

Starting point is 00:00:56 Welcome back to another episode of the Marketing Happy Hour podcast. We are so happy that you're here. This week, we are walking through strategic brand partnerships with Namita Gupta, Director of Strategic Partnerships at SoulCycle. Drawing on her experience at incredible brands like Nasty Gal, Meta, and Pinterest, Namita explains how to ensure a seamless and impactful brand partnership or activation, gives us her perspective on what makes a partnership have staying power in a consumer's mind, and reveals some of the exciting activations she's currently working on at SoulCycle. Go ahead, you know what to do. Grab your favorite drink and listen in with us. Hi Namita, how are you? Hi, I'm good. How are you guys? So, so good. We were just chatting off record about how I'm so excited for this conversation. I

Starting point is 00:01:45 actually was searching for like an hour for these SoulCycle socks that I have somewhere and I couldn't find them. But imagine that I'm wearing those and imagine that, you know, we're in a SoulCycle studio or somewhere relaxing like that for this conversation, but we're actually just chatting over Zoom here, but we're so excited to chat with you today. And before we get started, I do have to ask an important question, which is what is in your glass this afternoon? Oh my gosh. Love this question. What's in my glass this afternoon? It is my absolute go-to drink, which is my all-time favorite of a margarita. I feel like it's the one thing that sits the best with me, at least as it relates to alcohol. Okay. So every time somebody brings up a margarita or anything that has to do with tequila, I always have to turn

Starting point is 00:02:36 them on to this brand. It's called Onda. Are you familiar with Onda? I have heard of it actually, but tell me again, what is it? It's Shea Mitchell's sparkling tequila soda brand. And I am not even a fan of regular tequila based drinks, but I am a huge fan of Onda. So if you are even a fan of tequila, you will actually really love them. So I always just love to tell people if they ever mentioned that they like margaritas or anything of this sort, I'm always like, go try Anda. But anyway, I actually picked up. That's a great idea because my sister is relocating to New York for about like six months or so. And that's a perfect sort of like little going away gift because she's a huge. So that perfect thank you for that oh my gosh of course

Starting point is 00:03:26 yeah it's like one of my favorite things in the world and I turn everybody on to that drink and I think uh when I moved into my last apartment Cassie that was her like housewarming gift to me so you make a great gift amazing I'm excited now yeah that's awesome I have a canned wine brand that I actually picked up from I believe it was from Whole Foods I could be wrong it could have been from Trader Joe's but I think it was from Whole Foods it's called Lubanzi and it's made in South Africa and it's a white wine in a can it's actually very very, very good. A little sweeter than I normally enjoy, but I'm loving it this afternoon. What do you have Cassie? Love that. Um, so this is interesting and I'm going to show you guys, obviously you listening, can't see this. I have

Starting point is 00:04:18 like three inches of berries in my tree because I love, I love stuffing like fresh fruit in my drink, but I have with co, uh, they have a Paloma blend. Um, and then I put a little bit of vodka in there and some seltzer water, Palomas and blueberries probably aren't supposed to go together, but it's delicious. So I'm just gonna, we're just going to run with it. So that's what I have. But yes, yes. So Namita, we're so excited to chat with you. As Erica said, both of us are huge fans of SoulCycle and just everything the brand has built over the years. And so excited to chat through strategic brand partnerships with you. But before we do, can you share a little bit about an inside look of your career journey

Starting point is 00:05:04 and how you got to where you are today? Yeah, definitely. I mean, my career has been all over the place, but in also the best ways. I always kind of like to say that, you know, like my career has been in a few different parts. I started it off in pure play fashion. So like moved to New York City, pretty much right out of college, worked at Ann Taylor corporate out there and then moved. Then after that was done, kind of

Starting point is 00:05:30 went to startup life. Cause I feel like in my, in my blood, it's always been startups that have excited me the most. You're able to kind of see the fruits of your labor immediately. You just move so quickly. And so a good friend of mine actually was super immersed and still is very, very immersed in the Silicon Beach scene down in L.A. And he introduced me to someone over at Shoe Dazzle, which was the very first kind of like celebrity backed e-com brand. So then moved back to L.A. for that. And then post Shoe Dazzle, a ton of folks had left to go, to go join nasty gal. So, you know, join nasty gal. And I would say that being at nasty gal was probably the one company that really kind of taught me how important it is to stay close to who your customer truly is and to never really deviate away from that. It was really great to be a part of that company at the early days to

Starting point is 00:06:23 really see what it meant to, um, have a cult a cult-like following and to kind of grow that business, to see it sort of like also have its downfall and all the experiences that came with it. So after I had pretty much like three, four years in fashion, I decided, you know, it's kind of time to try something new. So I took all of what I had learned and I led the beauty fashion retail vertical over at this ad tech company called Abrol. So I was there for about three years or so, went to Meta after that, just for about a year, worked on their luxury retail team. And then Pinterest after that, I switched around to two different teams at Pinterest. So ended my time within creator marketing. And then just now started a couple of months ago, leading strategic partnerships at SoulCycle. So really it's been a mix of fashion, tech, direct to consumer brands, lifestyle brands. And yeah, here I am.

Starting point is 00:07:26 Love that. How has been transitioning between industries been for you? And because I know there's a lot of people who always aspire to do that, but they're like, I don't know if I can, or what's that process like? So do you have any advice for just kind of pivoting in different areas of marketing? Yeah, I would, I guess I would say like, it's all about not having an ego. I think one of the things that I had to actually overcome, like back when I had switched from fashion into tech was I was in an account manager role for like my first year when I had started in tech before I started leading that vertical. And a couple of the people next to me were all,

Starting point is 00:08:05 I would say like three, four years younger than I was. And I think, you know, it's all about realizing that like age is just a number that doesn't matter. It's okay to switch careers and maybe you look around and you feel like, you know, you're too old for the folks who are around you. But I think it's just about, you know, really letting all that go and just like honestly focusing on you and what it is that you're there to work through. So I would say like in terms of advice, it was that. And then just really being like quite persistent about the changes that you want to make. So when I had first switched from fashion into tech, my sister actually had made an introduction.

Starting point is 00:08:45 And so that was really wonderful to kind of get like warmly introduced to someone to be able to get hired. But when I actually switched within Pinterest for more of like the ad sales component into marketing, I was so resilient and very persistent on making that switch. And, um, they, people internally actually used a joke saying like, oh, you should be a case study for how people switch teams at Pinterest. Um, but yeah, I think it's honestly all about resilience, all about just, um, trying and never giving up and, um, also no ego. Yeah. I think Eric and I can both agree with you in that we've been in a million different industries since our career started and it's okay. And I think you can pick up learnings from each of those positions and industries. And I think it all compiles into just an amazing experience that you can take into your next opportunity. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Well, so you mentioned all of the incredible brands that you've had a chance to work with.

Starting point is 00:09:48 So with partnerships specifically, do you have any favorite partnerships or projects you've been able to work on in the past? Yeah. So I would say at my time at Pinterest, one of my most favorite partnerships that I got a chance to work on was, I would say there were two. One of them was with MTV and the White House. So we had actually for Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we had partnered with MTV and they were putting on the inaugural Mental Health Youth Action Forum in partnership with Dr. Jill Biden and Selena Gomez. And it was just such an amazing partnership to be a part of.

Starting point is 00:10:27 It was definitely more of a brand awareness play. So in terms of actual, you know, KPIs that we were tracking, it was really just about solidifying Pinterest as a place where we care about youth mental health. So it was really more of like a brand play to ensure that that message was shining through, through this partnership. But it was really amazing. It was amazing to just kind of like see it come to life. It was really cool to just be a part of that. And then also I would say what was like the, one of the most interesting things was some of the email that I had going back and forth and the things that we worked on were all policy related. So, you know, there were, it was obvious that whenever you work with, you know, the White House and all things around that,

Starting point is 00:11:17 you know, things are quite sensitive. Oftentimes you, things are very rushed at the end. Like you think a timeline set in stone, but then things get pushed around because you're also dealing with people of like high status. And so that was a huge learning. But I would say that was one of my favorite partnerships. And then another one that I absolutely loved was for like one of the first times ever, we did a partnership for Juneteenth. And I got Aurora James to come speak at our Juneteenth event. And it was in partnership with Harlem's Fashion Row. We did an entire like board collaboration with them. We had a whole like dinner and an event. And it was really great to just kind of see how it was like our most, our highly, our most highly

Starting point is 00:12:05 engaged social Instagram story on Pinterest. I think people saw a lot of love for, you know, like black, black inspired fashion. And also with Harlem's fashion row, Aurora James gave a ton of young designers, really amazing advice. And so I think just kind of like seeing both of those partnerships come together, seeing amazing content that got created on Pinterest and like the amazing social engagement metrics that happened after was really cool to see. Oh, that is so awesome.

Starting point is 00:12:38 And both of those sound so impactful. And I love the takeaway of just being nimble and learning to adjust as you go, especially when you're dealing with, you know, clients or, or brand partners who have an ever changing schedule. I think that's always important to remember that while you may have your own schedule that you want to stick to other people may not be on that page. So I love that you brought that up because that's something that we run into and we hear a lot of people run into when it comes to partnerships and things like that all the time.

Starting point is 00:13:09 So yeah, well, I'm excited to kind of like geek out a little more with you because seeing well executed partnerships brought to life is probably like my favorite thing ever in marketing. So I'm excited to kind of dive into your thoughts on what makes a partnership successful and kind of like from your perspective, what are the key steps to ensure a seamless and impactful brand partnership? It's a loaded question. No, for sure. And honestly, I love geeking out on this stuff too. But I think it's like, it's honestly a bunch of different things, but the first thing I'd say is very much so when you're first vetting out,

Starting point is 00:13:50 okay, if this is a viable brand partner, I think it's all about obviously like that brand fit and kind of like, it's almost like the world of dating. Like you need to know your own worth before you go into that of a partnership, because as much as you want this partnership to work with this other brand, you also need to know your own worth to know like what it is that you bring to the table. Like, yes, you want to partner with this person, but why should this company be wanting, be partnering with you too? So I think just kind of starting off like any search with that lens, um, just so, you know, you always stick to your worth and you never promise more than it is that you're getting back. Because I genuinely feel that all

Starting point is 00:14:31 partnerships should have that, you know, very much so mutually beneficial exchange. So I think like having that lens and that perspective is the first thing. And then secondly, I'd say like, you know, figure out at the very onset, like what are the results that you're going to be measuring? Because it's really easy to, you know, get like kind of think that, oh, a partner is a great option just because they're a really sexy brand or it's celebrity backed or whatever it is, but I think, you know, like try to approach it with the lens of KPIs and metrics and see like, okay, what am I really solving for here? How is this going to, you know, impact the business and how is it going to impact the things that we, you know, as SoulCycle, for example, are trying to solve for right now. So, you know, all about like the results aspect. And then lastly, what I would say in terms of just like, you know, like off the cuff is like execution. I think ideas are a great thing, but you have to think through

Starting point is 00:15:32 like, is this actually something that can be executed? Like, you know, it's, it's awesome to have this like pie in the sky idea of like, oh, we would have this event, we would do this and that. But like, you know, keeping in mind, like how much are these things going to cost? How long is it going to take to actually get this across the finish line? Like what thinking through things like timeline and all of that. And like from an execution perspective, what are the cross-functional team members that we have to loop into this conversation? Because no partnership comes to life with just one person. Like it's always partnerships in general and brand partnerships are such a highly collaborative role in which, you know, finances involved, marketing's involved,

Starting point is 00:16:11 you know, talent influencers are involved, the whole, the whole organization, if you will. So I would say with those three things, you know, that's kind of the, the three things I look at when I'm vetting out a partnership at the onset. Absolutely. And then I kind of want to draw on each of those three things really quickly and ask a follow up there. So around just kind of knowing your worth and what you're bringing to the table, how can somebody determine that, you know, what are the different areas to kind of be looking at to where you can say, okay, I am a strong partner in this area and I would like to go out to this brand and communicate that

Starting point is 00:16:50 to them. How do you discern that? Yeah. I mean, I think again, like, I think it always has to do with like your pitch. Like what, like, what are you selling to, you know, what's the collaboration here? Like, what are you bringing to the table that, that other partner wants? Like, for example, if a partner, if it's a pure brand awareness effort and a partner, perhaps they are not as sexy of a brand and they're looking to get into a demographic that's a little bit younger than perhaps positioning like SoulCycle as a place of which like, you know, lots of millennials and Gen Z and influencers come. So your brand will then be exposed to that respective demographic. So I think it's, you know, all about figuring out what it is that you do really well and

Starting point is 00:17:42 also what that matchup is like, okay, why, like, what is the happy marriage here? And why are these two, why are these, why do these two brands compliment each other? And what do you have that this other brand doesn't? And that would, that they would necessarily, that they would benefit from. So that's kind of like what, what I look in terms of like all the worst stuff? Like what are the unique things that you stand on? And what do you have that someone doesn't? Amazing. And then in terms of results and KPIs and things like that, what should somebody be

Starting point is 00:18:16 looking for when it comes to brand partnerships? What should they be measuring? Yeah. I mean, I think it's always going to be something different depending on the partnership structure and like what you're actually looking to solve. So, you know, if it's brand awareness, I would say, you know, look at how many more people are coming to your website, given this partnership announcement. Look at, did you get any increased social followers? I think too, like, did this partnership pick up any press? Are people talking about it? Obviously with all things press and PR, that's a huge brand play. I then think like, if you were actually looking at this from like a customer acquisition perspective, like, did you get more writers coming through the door given this partnership, was there more retention, more frequency that was happening because of this partnership that happened? One thing that we always look at

Starting point is 00:19:10 within SoulCycle too is utilization. So like sometimes, you know, a class, people like the entire class will be booked up, but perhaps only 70% of the people show up. So if having this partnership, did it increase that number of utilization? Like did more people show up because of the fact that we had announced this partnership? So really there are so many different levers that someone can look at. I think there's also things like social engagement metrics, like did this post get lots of swipes, likes, comments, et cetera. And then also like, of course there's the idea of revenue. So with that customer acquisition piece, did this partnership, you know, get more revenue, did it, you know, better, better the company for the long-term. And lastly, I'd say is like,

Starting point is 00:19:58 I think with these brand partnerships, you always want to think of things from a long-term perspective. I think oftentimes, you know, you come into a partnership and you do so much work to get to know the other team, to create your pitch. And then if it's just a one and done moment, that excitement dies off. So how can you really make sure that when you're thinking about your results, you're capitalizing for, for like perhaps one splash moment or one like moment of firework, but then what is the long tail effect of that after the fact? Like how can you kind of keep that momentum going? So that way when people see these two brands out in the market, the partnership makes sense and it's not this random thing that just happened. Absolutely. And then in terms of execution, you mentioned having excellent execution.

Starting point is 00:20:51 What makes a partnership have kind of staying power in a consumer's mind? I'm sure that execution piece has a lot to do with that. But what else is there that kind of makes it something memorable that sticks in your consumer's mind? Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think that's such a great question because one of the other things that like I love to do even at my time at Pinterest and even with SoulCycle now is to really hinge on the idea of the unexpected. Like I think that there are so many expected partnerships that people can think of, but, you know, really, I think doing something that's unique, that perhaps it's a little bit of like an unexpected partnership. You wouldn't think that these two brands would match, but it just so happens and works because, again, they complement each other in a different type of way.

Starting point is 00:21:40 So I would say that unique factor is really kind of like what sticks out. At least that's what sticks out in my mind as it, like when I have my consumer hat on. But as it relates to the execution, I would say it's, it's huge. Like, I think that if you are out there putting an event on as part of the partnership or you're giving away offers, make sure that that offer is something that consumers are going to like, and it's going to stick with them. And it's something that is going to push them across the finish line to convert or make that purchase.

Starting point is 00:22:13 And again, if you're putting on an event, make sure that that event is like, you know, kind of perfectly orchestrated. It's something that someone would come to and say like, hey, that was really cool. I got like, I had a surprise and delight moment. I really loved the decor there. I thought that it was perfectly timed out. So I think just thinking through those things are what kind of has, you know, sticks in customers' minds. Such good advice. And I know there's some brands out there who are semi new in this partnership space. Maybe they're getting started with dabbling in campaigns or partnership campaigns for the first time.

Starting point is 00:22:51 So curious what advice you have for someone kind of beginning in that world of strategic brand partnerships. What are some different elements they should prepare or think about when going into this for the first time? Yeah, I think that's such a great question. And I would say with strategic partnerships, I think the first piece of advice I would give for anyone who's starting out is,

Starting point is 00:23:14 I think it's totally good when you start out in something that isn't necessarily sexy out the gate. I think it's all just about learning the fundamentals. And I tell everyone this, I think everyone should have some sales experience, especially if you're in the world of strategic partnerships. So if you're starting out, I would say like start off in like a pure play sales role. So you just actually understand how to talk to customers, how to convince people of doing something. So whether it's just like selling them a straight product and it's not

Starting point is 00:23:43 necessarily forming that creative strategic partnership, get that under your belt first. And then once you've sort of like mastered that and you feel really confident in talking to people and putting, you know, overall proposals together and just kind of like getting that revenue and getting confidence in the fact that you can secure revenue. I think that's kind of when you move on to more of those like strategic deals. And with those strategic deals, again, I would say like with starting out, it's all about knowing that you can put so many proposals together. And I think, you know, it's kind of a numbers game and you get better at it with time. When you go to approach another brand and you say, hey, I have a really great partnership idea.

Starting point is 00:24:26 What do you think? How concrete initially, in your opinion, do you feel like that idea should be when you're presenting? Or is it a matter of saying to this brand, hey, we love you guys. We'd love to put something together, but we don't know what this looks like yet. Do you want to brainstorm or does it really depend on how far in the stage of planning you are? What are your thoughts on that specifically? You know, that is such a great question because I feel like right now in my role at SoulCycle, I'm actually toying between how deep I go in the first outreach and, you know, how much I wait to get information back. I always think it's really important no matter what to come to, if you are the one doing

Starting point is 00:25:05 the outreach to come to the table with at least a subset of some ideas. So with each conversation, I think it's always important to do so. But at the same time, I think it's also not worth your time to sit there and put an entire full-fledged presentation together unless you know the ins and outs of that other company, because that other company is going to have certain goals and KPIs and big campaigns that are up and coming. Perhaps you learn something in that conversation that would make whatever strategy you put together not possible. So you then put this entire strategy together that wouldn't work in the first place. So I think it's always about at least having in the first place. So I think, you know,

Starting point is 00:25:45 it's always about at least having in the initial outreach, having some ideas out the gate that you want to pitch to them that are perhaps high level, but also at the same time are things that can be executed. And then use that in that first conversation as a way to, you know, really make it a discovery call, like learn as much as you possibly can about that other brand, about their goals, what they're trying to solve for, what would excite them, what would make something go across the finish line for them, and then kind of like tweak your proposal accordingly. Awesome. Awesome. Okay. And then there's this layer of leadership approvals, right? So like an idea may sound awesome to you. It may sound awesome to someone on the other side, but especially

Starting point is 00:26:22 with a large corporate organization, there's layers that we have to kind of get through to ensure that everything is approved, right? Budget, details, et cetera. So do you have any tips for taking this idea and presenting it and making sure that it is appealing to leadership and makes clear sense to them? What are some of the different questions you should have answered or details that you're sharing with leadership? Yeah, no, that's a great question too. Actually just did this because I presented my partnership strategy to our CEO just a couple of weeks ago, which went really well. But I think again, what senior leads and executives and CEOs

Starting point is 00:27:03 care about is like the results and the numbers and how it's going to actually impact the business. And so I think as long as you have all of those data points down, you should be in a decent spot. I think too, it's like being very, very clear as to like the why of the partnership. Sometimes, for example, you know, perhaps it's a partnership that's going to increase your own brand equity. So maybe it's not going to be a world in which you're getting revenue from them or, you know, anything else, but it's also going to make your brand, consumers are going to look at your brand in a different light because you've partnered with

Starting point is 00:27:40 a brand that perhaps has that level of cool factor. And then there's other brands that maybe they are offering something that allows for you to have that steady stream of revenue. So being able to share with your CEO or your executive how much revenue you anticipate this will actually generate over time, what other things do you think that this will impact in terms of the business. And then two two it's kind of anticipating the things that would go wrong like oh if xx happened how would you you know fix that I think also as it relates to results very much so always knowing like how you're going to even measure these things in the first place because it's all fine and great to say

Starting point is 00:28:22 these are the things we're looking for but if if, for example, it's an event-based partnership, make sure that you are collecting emails in some capacity or you have a way of like people signing in when they first get to the events that you actually have a way of tracking efficacy of the partnership. So I would say in terms of getting something across the finish line,

Starting point is 00:28:42 if there's dollars that are involved and budgets, I think for each dollar that you're putting through, make sure you just kind of have an answer of what you are getting out of it. So I think I would say my advice is like all about results and just all about knowing your pitch and knowing the why. Yeah. So important to have those numbers buttoned up when you're approaching leadership. I remember in my experience, just working at a brand and we were wanting to do partnerships, whether it was like a giveaway with another brand or like an influencer partnership that had like two brands that were going out to influencers

Starting point is 00:29:20 together in a, in a PR package, you know, it was hard to communicate why and exactly what we were expecting from the partnership. So that's something that we had to, you know, really hone in on and just understanding those numbers, understanding what results we're going to see. So it's definitely hard work, but it's doable work. And it all just comes back to what your objectives are as a brand. So I definitely, yeah, I definitely understand where you're coming from. But I want to talk a little bit about your role specifically at SoulCycle. How are you implementing some partnership strategies to grow the brand? You know, is there anything coming up that you can speak to, of course, that we should be keeping an eye out for?

Starting point is 00:30:03 Or what's your mindset when you think about brand partnerships for SoulCycle? Yeah. I would say brand partnerships for SoulCycle, it's probably one of the most interesting places I've worked to date only because there are so many ways that you can activate with something like a SoulCycle. Is it revamping the amenities? Is it, you know, working through partnerships that are in like the food and beverage space? Yeah. So SoulCycle has definitely been honestly one of the most interesting places that I've worked solely because there are so many different ways that you can, you know, partner with other brands just in terms of like, are you going to kind of

Starting point is 00:30:41 revamp amenities? Are you going to work with food and beverage brands? Are you going to kind of revamp amenities? Are you going to work with food and beverage brands? Are you going to work with transportation brands or travel brands, hospitality brands, wearables brands? So there is literally like the options are endless. So I think for me, I think coming into this role, I really wanted to hone in on a couple of things that we could do really, really well. So figuring out what was the most important to us from an overall brand standpoint, I would say where we're at right now with SoulCycle is very much so making it a world of having a connected lifestyle. So physical health is important. Your mental health is

Starting point is 00:31:16 important, but also your financial health is important. So is there a finance brand that we can partner with that really helps tell our story on a larger level? They benefit from us in some capacity, we benefit from them. And then at the same time, we have kind of like that ongoing, that ongoing steady stream of customer acquisition or revenue. In terms of things that are up and coming, I would say one of the things that I'm the most excited about, and this is something that I think we're going to blow out of the water in the years to come, but a big activation that actually got SoulCycle on the map in the first place is our biggest activation, which is out in the Hamptons. So every single summer we have an activation. We have three

Starting point is 00:32:01 studios actually out in the Hamptons. And one of them specifically is in Bridgehampton called The Barn. And that's kind of where our most loyal writers exist. They've literally been writing with the brand for like 16 plus years since the beginning of time. A bunch of them own homes out in the Hamptons. And it's just a really, really beautiful time in which we get tons of foot traffic into the studios. It's our number one performing retail studio with only being open for a quarter of the year in comparison to our other studios. And this year specifically, we're actually having an entire weekend solely for wellness.

Starting point is 00:32:41 So we really wanted to treat our riders and our community and share with them that, you know, self-care is important. And so we are partnering with four different treatments that are coming in and doing complimentary luxury treatments for our riders. So look out for that. Really, really excited. We're still kind of in the process of figuring out our sponsorship strategy, but we do have a couple, one really exciting like celebrity drink brand. That's going to be popping up doing a really cute little lemonade stand for us. And then, you know, perhaps also some music performances. So I'd say from an events and activations perspective, that's something that is going to be really exciting. And it really very

Starting point is 00:33:21 much so touches all of the pillars of SoulCycle that are the most important to us. So yeah. If you ever need any press coverage or coverage on a podcast, we'll raise our hand for that. So keep us in mind. Absolutely. And also if anyone who is listening is a brand that does want to pop up in the Hamptons, definitely don't hesitate to reach out because not only do we have those treatments, but we have a bunch of retail brands that are popping up as well. So, um, yeah, it's going to be a really fun time. So we have a ton of brands that listen to this show who would definitely be interested. So if you're out there and you're interested, we'll put all of her information down in the show notes so you can reach out to her. Yes.

Starting point is 00:34:06 Amazing. Oh my gosh. So cool. Yeah. I, it's so crazy. You mentioned that, that activation, cause I feel like looking back at the early days of learning about soul cycle, that is one of the first things I heard about. So it's so cool.

Starting point is 00:34:19 Such a blast from the past hearing about that, but we're very excited to, uh, stay tuned about that and learn more. Uh, but Namita, this has been such a fantastic conversation. Uh, I've, I've just taken away so much. I was telling you guys off record brand partnerships and influencers kind of a space I don't touch a whole lot. So I'm always very inspired to, to learn from you, learn from Erica of just this space. So thank you for sharing. But we have to ask you as we close out one of our favorite questions, and that is, what do you know now that you wish you knew earlier on in your career? Oh, gosh, what a good question.

Starting point is 00:34:58 I, there are so many things to be, that I wish that I had known. But the one thing I would say, and a mentor of mine had told me this years ago, and I feel like I still, it still didn't fully resonate with me. But what I would say is, and I know it sounds very simple and basic, but I think it touches on a lot of things because it's kind of the way our society is now. But it's sort of the concept of like comparison is the thief of joy. And the reason I say that is because I think it's so important when you're in your career to truly try at least to focus on what it is that like you want and that you are doing, because what you're doing today in the present in six months from now, those are like

Starting point is 00:35:43 the fruits of your labor that you're going to see. So I think if there is, if you have certain goals in your career that you're looking to strive for, it really matters like what you are doing in this moment. So instead of looking on the outside and wishing that you were someone else or wishing that you had the job that they did, I would say, what can you do today that in years to come will get you there? So I really think, you know, it's all about focusing on you, focusing on the things that matter to you. Also like approaching your life from like a place of abundance, you know, what you have today is what you have today to work with. And you have to use that to furthermore

Starting point is 00:36:24 expand and build on what it is that you want in the future to work with. And you have to use that to furthermore expand and build on what it is that you want in the future. So I think, you know, really using what you have and just keeping with that focus is the most important thing. I think it's really, really easy to get caught up in, you know, looking at what other people have and wishing we had that. But yeah, that focus piece, I would say is what

Starting point is 00:36:45 I would recommend. Completely agree. And we've been there and Cassie and I have had countless conversations just between us and between our friends and peers and ourselves about that exact topic. You know, something that we're leaning into this year on Marketing Happy Hour and with our larger brand as a whole is just honing in on, you know, career advice and just like being comfortable with the fact that maybe you're not where you thought you would be at this time in your life. And then understanding that that's okay. And everybody has their own timeline and their own journey. It's something that, you know, we often forget and often don't remember until we're freaking out that we are not where we thought we should be.

Starting point is 00:37:31 So I love that you touched on that. And that is just a general theme that we're seeing overall when we ask this question. So definitely love that. All right, Namita. Well, this has been such an amazing conversation. I'm so glad that we were able to chat with you today. But we want to definitely make sure to share where everybody can find you and follow along with you and SoulCycle online. So if you don't mind just sharing where you are online, we'll link everything in the show notes for people to get in contact and keep up with what SoulCycle is up to. Yeah, absolutely. So I would say the best way to kind of connect with me is very much so just email. So my email is my first name, namita.gupta at soul-cycle.com. Feel free to email me, especially about like, if you're any brand

Starting point is 00:38:19 that's kind of looking to do again, any collaboration or pop up some things, um, always open to hear. So, uh, yeah, let's save that email. Amazing. Thank you so much for opening that offer up and just grateful that you joined us today. You shared all of your insights with us. Definitely something. I think a lot of us are going to be applying. So thank you so much. Uh, and excited to stay in touch with you and just see what you're working on personally and professionally. Absolutely. Thank you both. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Marketing Happy Hour podcast.

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Marketing Happy Hour - The "Staying Power" of Strategic Brand Partnerships | Namita Gupta of SoulCycle

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