The Best One Yet - 🇯🇵 “Shogun’s creativity hack” — Disney’s FX innovation strategy. The Fed’s Poseidon announcement. Reese’s athletic pivot.

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

The Fed just cut interest rates by 0.5% like Poseiden… the tides of the economy have finally turned.Hershey just launched Reese’s & Jolly Rancher health supplements… because extreme brands win.Disney has a secret creativity hack for shows like “The Bear” & “Shogun”... and it’s the opposite of collaboration.Plus, it’s the most common birthday of the year… and 9/19 is boosting the economy (literally).$HSY $DIS $SPY—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, September 19th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, I'm looking at my portfolio. It is strong to quite strong right now.

I think that's because of the first story of today's show. Yeah, stocks are at all-time highs. First story for today's show. What have we got on the pod, Jack? For the first time in four years, the Federal Reserve just cut interest rates. Che-ching. It was a jump. of a half percentage point.

Because Yetis, the Fed is like an ocean, and the entire economy just caught an epic wave. For our second story, it's Hershey's Candy Company. They just pivoted from chocolate to health foods. Can Reese's and Jolly Rancher become athletic nutrition? Jack and I have the answer. And our third and final story is FX. That TV network has a secret creativity hack for shows like The Bear and Shogga.

And that creativity. HAC wins awards, and it's the opposite of collaboration. It's our first story about FX we've never done, and this is wild. But Yeties, before we hit that fantastic mix of stories, fantastic mix, love the mix today, Jack, great mix. Happy birthday to everyone. Odds are, statistically speaking, mathematically, Yeties and besties, it is your birthday. Because today, September 19th is the most popular day of the year for birthdays in the United States. 919, it is the the official, unofficial birthday of the most Americans. As we told you last year, the third week in September has more birthdays than any other week of the year.

Yeah, so if you're double booked for five birthday brunches, one bot mitzvah, and a kinseniera this weekend. This is why. But this year, we got curious. Shouldn't this birthday week be an economic boom? Well, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the data, and the data shows, oh, it's an economic boom. Get this, Yeties. Last year, Party City reported a surprise jump in third quarter sales of party supplies. Yeah, more balloons, more money for Party City. And hospitals? Every year, they increase hiring for the month of September. Because they need more bodies to deliver all those babies.

And even Dairy Queen sees a spike in custom birthday cakes specifically in September. I mean, Jack, honestly, if you don't have an ice cream cake, your party, is it even really a birthday? Does that count? Does that count? No, we know you're all crunching the backward, Matt. right now in your head. Apparently your New Year's Eve resolution was to have a baby ASAP. September was good. January must have been great. So to the disproportionately high number of Yeti celebrating right now, happy birthday. Thank you for boosting the third quarter GDP with balloons. Yes, babies. Uh-huh. And some buttercream frosting. We're going to need another round, Derek Queen, Jack. Let's hit our three stories.

Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. This 50%. That's a fat tip. Tea boy city on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story. The Fed announced a jumbo interest rate cut of 0.5%. That is huge news for the housing market, the stock market, the entire economy. Because interest rates are are like the sea level. And Jerry Powell is Poseidon. J.P. Jerry Powell, Jerome Powell, the head of our central bank. He had a powwow press conference yesterday. That was frankly the biggest of his career.

Here's the context. Interest rates are at a 23-year high in America. But Jerome Powell announced yesterday the first interest rate cut since 2020. And he didn't just like do a little snip to the interest rates. It was a little trim of the interest rates. This was a cut, Jack. He grabbed the machete and he slashed interest rates by 0.5%. It's like interest rates are Marie Antoinette and he just guillotine them, Jack. It was a jumbo cut. And it's a signal that the Fed thinks the fight against inflation is over and it's time for a fast pivot of policy. The Fed will now be shifting focus from crushing inflation to growing jobs.

Because lower interest rates will stimulate more investment, more risk-taking, more job creation, and more startups for our economy. Because all those things are easier to do when loans and money are more freely available. The Fed also signaled two more interest rate cuts will come by the end of the year. But the stock markets, Jack, the stock markets. How did the markets react to this news? Investors were thrilled. The S&P 500 hit an all-time high moments after news of the Fed's jumbo interest rate cut. And yet is you and us, we are already seeing that Fed decision affect our markets and our daily lives.

Like the housing market. The interest rate on the 30-year mortgage is, down to 6%, which is a two-year low. And car loans, small business loans, the credit card interest rate that you pay on your balance. All of that is affected now. The Fed's decision lowers their interest rates, too. On the flip side, if you have a high-yield savings account, that is going to change to. Today, we expect banks to reduce the interest they're paying on your savings by 0.5%, mirroring the Fed's cut. Add it all up, and we know what you're thinking. How should you think about this interest rate news? What is the big pay?

That's our takeaway. And it's very watery. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the entire economy? The tides of our economy have finally turned. Yet he's the benchmark interest rate that the Fed manages is like Poseidon, the god of the seas. It controls the level of our seas. It's called the Fed funds rate, and it is that powerful. Jerome Powell is basically playing the God of the Sea right now. He basically has a trident in his hand, and that trident is going to control the interest rates. And for three years, he's been raising the sea levels with higher interest rates. And everything that floats on the water was rising as well. Every form of credit got more expensive over the last three years because our tides were rising. But now he's lowering interest rates.

He's lowering the sea levels and the financial tides have begun to turn. So as interest rates fall, every form of credit falls with it and all forms of credit get less expensive. So how are we supposed to think of the Fed's big interest rate announcement? Well, with a little bit of Greek mythology. After three years of rising interest rate tides, the tides have finally turned. For our second story, Hershey's is collabing with C4 to launch candy-flavored nutrition supplements. Can Reese's and Jolly Rancher actually become wellness brands? Can they do a complete 180 on what their product is? We actually think they can, and we'll tell you how to pull it off. But Jack, I am checking the counter here, And I'm sorry, but six weeks to Halloween.

I'm a dinosaur this year. I think our whole family were going to Jurassic Park. But wait, all going as dinosaurs? Or is one of you going as like Doc and one are you going as a lawyer and one are you going as like the paleontologists? I think we're all going as different characters from the movie. Life finds a way. But yet he's the candy industry. It's looking less treat and more trick six weeks before Halloween.

Hershey's stock is underperforming the rest of the stock market by 30% over the past 12 months. choke on a chocolate revenue for Hershey's dropped 17% last quarter. Profits plummeted by 40% to the lowest level in seven years. And frankly, there are two reasons for this big candy drop. The first is the record high cocoa prices. They're taking a piece of profit from Reese's pieces. And then second is the Ozempic impact. Fewer Americans are craving to unwrap a Hershey's kiss right now.

But here's the news. Hershey's stock is up because they're trying to pull off. the biggest pivot in food history. From candy to healthy. From candy to healthy. That's right. After 130 years, this Pennsylvania-based caloric confectionary company is moving to wellness. Hershey thinks it's Melissa Woodjack.

Hey, Goop, you got some competition. Hershey struck a deal with C4, the largest athletic supplement company in America. So here's what you're going to see, Eddie's Reese's flavored protein. The next time you're at GNC, you'll see a giant tub of way protein flavored like a Reese's peanut butter cup. I would love a protein smoothie that tastes like a peanut butter cup. What about this second one? What about the second one? A jolly rancher energy drink.

Ah! An electrolyte water that tastes like blue raspberry? Call me suss. You're really going to get freaked out by this one. Bubble yum muscle enhancer. What do you rub that on your biceps? And if someone licks you, it tastes like bubble gum? That actually sounds kind of fun, but it is a post-workout bubble yum for your biceps.

No, we should point out yeties. Hershey's isn't making these products. C-4s. Hershey's is simply licensing their flavor and brand. And here's what we found fascinating. Hershey's isn't launching like a new brand for health products. They're actually using their candy brands for health products. They're expanding their unhealthy brands into a healthy category.

And their hope is that Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't like the taste of his vanilla protein. and that meatheads will buy a giant tub of C4 protein because it reminds them of Halloween. I mean, this is like if Jewel launched a cough drop, Jack, or Slim Jim launched a salad dressing. Extreme different combination. Exactly. And you're going to be seeing candy products at your next Barry's boot camp. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Hershey and C4? There's always space for extreme. Yeties, here's the challenge of launching a company.

positioning a brand in a sea of options, it is hard. You get mixed up in the middle compared to everyone else. But the one space with the least competition is the extremes. For example, liquid death became a $1.4 billion water company by being the most extreme water brand. Dollar Shave Club became a unicorn too, dominating razors with extreme price and extreme name and extreme ads. So you can do this with the name, the packaging, or the product. Any part can be tweaked to be extreme and you will therefore be the superliferation. of that category. Jolly Rancher Electrolite Performance Athletic Drink? Yeah, that's different than all the Gatorade's, power aids, and other aides in the shelf. When you go to the extreme, there is no one to one side of you and everyone else is to the other side of you. Therefore, you stand out. So in a world crowded with competing products, there is always space to play at the extremes.

Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, the top TV studio is HBO anymore and it's not Netflix either. The top TV studio is FX. We'll explain how Disney, which owns FX and seven other TV networks, gets so much creativity out of FX. It's a creativity growth hack. But Yeties, on Sunday, a father and son duo co-hosted the Emmys for the first time ever. Eugene and Dan Levy. Eugene and Dan Levy, the Levy men, they flaunted their statement eyeglasses and their stab and eyebrows as they read off the winners. Because they couldn't believe what they saw in those envelopes. They saw FX.

FX, the cable TV channel. It dominated the 76th Emmy Awards. FX took home 36 of the top awards in television, which is 50% more than number two Netflix. Sit down, stand up, and give a speech again. FX won more Emmys than Apple TV, Prime, Peacock, and HBO. Combined. And here's the wildest part. That's not even the wildest part. FX is just one of a dozen TV and film studios owned by the Disney Corporation. So if Jack, you add up all of Disney Studios,

then Disney won 60 Emmys last weekend and FX was driving all of it. Hey, Minnie, I can't believe all these awards we won. Now, yeties, this begs a bigger question that actually Jack was asking all Sunday night and he wouldn't stop texting me. You want to ask your question to the audience, Jack? Why does Disney have so many studios? And all of those studios are separate and independent from each other. Get this. Frozen and Moana? Those are two Disney hits, but one is Disney Animation Studios and one is Pixar Studios. The Avengers and Star Wars? Two mega hits, but one is Marvel Studios. The other is Lucasfilm Studios. Jack, I got another one for you. Slumdog Millionaire and Remember the Titans, but one is Searchlight Studios and The other is Disney proper studios.

And they've also got FX. Right. Which produced Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Atlanta, American Horror Story, The Bear, and Shogun. Yeti's Jack and I are looking at the numbers here, and Disney has more creative teams than they know what to do with. Isn't the point of acquiring all these studios to merge them? Right. And then enjoy a mega studio that has a bunch of synergies? Wouldn't you have one giant studio with all these brains in one place talking and creating together at a magical creative voice?

Blump. You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. You'd be wrong. Disney lets FX be FX, and that strategy has worked. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies looking for an innovation hack? Groupthink is the killer of creativity. Yeti's Shogun won the most Emmys for a single show ever. 18 Emmys! Even though executives at Disney hated the idea of Shogun at first. A show about 16th century Japan and 70% of the show is in Japanese, so it requires subtitles, that's not going to work. In fact, Disney CEO, Bob Eiger, almost killed Shogun. But the tenacious team of creatives at FX drove the show to reality. How about The Bear?

Another FX show. Shows about restaurants are infamously unsuccessful making. Yeah, like restaurant dramas, they typically fail in the box office and on TV. But the creatives at FX, they thought differently. And they won the second most Emmys of any show this year. So Bestie's Showgun and the Bear, they are both underdog shows, and they only got the green light because of the funkiness and independence of FX. If Disney was one giant studio with one filmmaking philosophy, it's likely neither of those shows would have been made. So why does Disney keep its creative team separate and independent to prevent group think?

Oh, Minnie! So smart! Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? The Fed announced a jumbo cut to their benchmark interest rate. All forms of credit are getting cheaper. Jerome Powell is like Poseidon, and he's finally lowering the financial tides. For our second story, Hershey's, is teaming up with C4 for candy-flavored health supplements. Because there's always room to play at the extremes. For our third and final story, it's FX.

They dominated the Emmy Awards, but it's just one of a dozen Disney film and TV studios. And Disney keeps them all separate because Groupthink is the killer of creativity. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the state of California passed an election deep fake law, forcing social media companies to take action on deep fakes. Effective immediately, they make it illegal to create and publish deep fakes related to elections, 120 days before an election to 60 days after an election.

The way Jack and I see it, this is one of the first. AI laws to pass in the United States. And it protects against political trickery. And second, RIP to TUP. Tupperware, the leader of leftovers just filed sadly for bankruptcy. Sales of Tupperware's plastic to go containers peaked in 2012. But 90% of Tupperware's revenue still depended on Tupperware parties and door-to-door sales. Seriously, like that is how they get their sales. Jack, they only added e-commerce in 2020. Sounds 25 years too late. where we're going to miss you. And finally, something just happened at 23 and me that we've never seen before. The entire board of directors resigned all at once, all seven board members.

The genetic testing company went public in 2021, but their stock has dropped 96% since then. But the board feels powerless because the CEO and Wojitzki owns 49% of the shares. So the entire board is out. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Richard Blyth. a Yeti who left a comment on Spotify. We mentioned dink cruises earlier in the week, that cruise passengers are increasingly millennials and Gen Zee. And we're driving a rising cruises.

And in that story, Jack happened to mention the part of the ship, known as the poop deck. And the term poop deck, it actually comes from the French word, poop, which means stern. And that comes from the Latin word, pupus. So the poop deck is the Latin term and French term for the highest part of the back of the ship. So if anyone ever says, I'll meet you on the poop deck.

Yeah, say, it's not possible. No, it is possible. You just go to the back of the shaft, the highest part. Who needs GPS? Yetis, you look fantastic out there. And what do you think of that growth hack for creativity? Like, has your team tied this? Has your boss stuck in, like, different rooms?

So you're all working on different things at the same time. I like that creativity hack where you make everyone in the room write down an idea on paper so that it's not just the loudest voice that speaks up. And then you put everyone in different rooms. Let us know your creativity hack in the comments of today's episode. Jack and I will see you tomorrow. In the meantime, H-Y-H-D-B-O-I, if you know, you know. And before we go, a shout out to Yeti, Wynne Fiegel.

The founder of FeedPlan just ran into him in San Francisco. Jack, he said to a big hug your way. And happy 10-year anniversary to Bree and Jeff Thomas. They're on a 10-year anniversary trip to Vegas, and Bree passed the Series 63 right before they took off. Congratulations to Brandon and Amanda Vines in Princeton, Texas, who are getting married in San Sebastian Spain. That's a whole lot of tapas.

And Claire and Johnny Wheeler and Port Orchard, Washington, have got a four-year anniversary. Happy three years together to Cameron and Clara in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And Jonas Spate is turning two years old in Norderstadt, Germany, just outside Hamburg. It's actually Jonas Speta. Yeah. He and his family, Felix, Jasmine, and Max are wishing a happy birthday.

And Taylor C down in San Diego is a five-year Yeti with a fantastic birthday. Happy birthday. to Shirlene Muhammad Green in Charlotte, North Carolina. The best mother, the best business partner, and the best wife. And Ben Rose in West Hartford, Connecticut is celebrating a lovely birthday. Congrats Ben. Happy birthday to Demi. In Chicago, by way of New Jersey, a new mom to a one month old.

And Alberto Ba is in Miami, working hard for the dolphins, throwing some balls, winning some parties, and enjoying some cake. And to anyone else celebrating a birthday today, we know there's a lot of you making a TV. Celebrate the wins. And you celebrate the wins. And you celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Netflix.

And Nick and I both own stock of Apple. And we both own ETFs of the S&P 500.