The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - you're 21, not 12

Episode Date: July 28, 2025

Stop wasting 300 hours in editing. try Clip Anything from Opus for FREE today 👉🏻https://tapx.it/opus-zoeunlimitedMillie Bobby Brown is a big girl now. Millie Bobby Brown's rebrand explained by your marketing bestie.* A case study on digital marketing, branding, and business growth from a Gen Z perspectiveJoin membership for full dives:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq99a0Q5La7UmP0kYbUeQ/join✍🏻ALL RESOURCES https://tapx.it/stanzoeunlimitedLearn & Grow with me.💖 Instagram: https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedig💜 TikTok: https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedtiktok🖤 Listen on Apple & Spotify: https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedapple https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedspotify🪭 All my outfits https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedltk👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedlinkedin🛒 Amazon Essentials https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimited👉use code ZOEUNLIMITED for 10% off ALL travels on Klook https://t.ly/aA76T📸My gear: (Sony A7Siii) [ZOEUNLIMITED15] https://tapx.it/lensrental 📧 Business inquiries: [e-mail]

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Free of charge. BetMGEMGEMP operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. This was Lilissa. at 21. This was Demi Moore at 21. This was Kylie Jenner at 21. And this is Millie Bobby Brown at 21. Is it true that Gen Zs are aging like milk? I thought I looked like what any other 26 year old person would look like. Even though 9 year olds are starting retinal. Get ready with me for school. Or could it be less about the face and actually a branding mistake?

All right. How long can you stay 11? Millie Bobby Brown. Millie Bobby Brown. Youngest. Youngest. Youngest. 21.

Do we feel different? Girlie pop is a thing now, though. You're a garly pop. I'm a gali pop. Good for you. If there was someone destined to be the youngest it girl, it must be Millie Bobby Brown. Because she was dealt with everything anyone could ever ask to be successful. A breakout Netflix role at 11.

The backing of major fashion houses at 12 times 1,000. 12 times 100 most influential people in the world at 14. A skincare brand by 15. New product alert. A producing a product by 16. This would be my third time producing. It's been a minute. And a ring at 19.

You got married. Congratulations. Yes. But somehow, there is still a way to mess everything up. It seems like Millie Bobby Brown is pressing 2x speed on life without realizing that at one point, she was speeding in the wrong direction. She looks old. looking much older. They thought Millie Bobby Brown was Noah's mother or just some old lady. A double branding crisis with her brand that targets tweens, Florence by Mills.

Get Ready at Futs for School. This is my Get Ready with me with the Florence by Mills Clear the Way collection. So how exactly did Millie Bobby Brown screw up more than $14 million worth of youth? That's exactly the mystery we'll uncover today. But not only that, as your marketing best, who graduated top 1% UCLE business economics, with a background in marketing. We're going to explore how no matter if you look 11 or 40,

you, yes you, can build a successful brand to help you down your career. Because by brand, I don't just me slap your name on fragrance makeup, skincare hair. Accessories, fashion, coffee, luggage, and pet accessories? So many artist, creators, businesses want to be seen more and do more to grow. But doing it the wrong way. And I also made the same mistake. I clipped hundreds of videos for my YouTube to share to Instagram that helped me grow 300,000 followers,

but each video took me 40 minutes to an hour. Time stopped by 2,300, but imagine the edit is done for you by Opus Clip. The key to a rebrand for Millie or for your brand is to refresh how others perceive you, but that needs skill and consistency. A tool like Opus gives you just the army of a content architect you need. Their powerful AI finds the most likely moments to go viral, It is the best AI editor I tested in the market after hundreds of videos generated with 15 other providers. Auto import, auto scheduler, auto reframe, auto captioning, audio enhancement, Bero generation, two weeks of content in an hour, done.

And you get to try it for free. You're welcome. Go to the link in the description to stop wasting time on brand building because branding is about how your future client, future boss, future boyfriend sees you. And yes, you have one. I'm creating this series to analyze pop culture brands from a marketing perspective because I want all of us to unlock the potential to build successful businesses and personal brands. Don't let anyone box you in. Don't let yourself be rejected. Don't people please. Don't let anyone dole your spark.

Join the free email list below for additional marketing knowledge and let's break down the three major branding steps of Millie Bobby Brown. Before we begin, I want to say no one should be so harshly judged. I'm human. I have feelings. but the unfortunate truth is a brand is not how you see you, but how you exist to the rest of the world. Why does 21-year-old Millie Bobby Brown look like she's 40? Look like she's 40?

Which could have been prevented. It's all marketing. And I will share three rebrand strategies to help Millie and her brand in the end. First, we need to understand how Millie Bobby Brown had every single chance to build a billion dollar empire. Millie Bonnie Brown, Bong Jovi, was born to be a stream queen. As young as 9, she debuted as a guest star in the ABC fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, being young Alice, then quickly graduated to modern family

and Grace Anatomy. But at 11, her life was about to be changed forever. Casted as 11 in Netflix Stranger Things, Millie quickly rose to mainstream fame with multiple Emmys, press and of course, internet fame. My biggest role obviously was Stranger Things and I had the time of my life playing this character. But the success on steroids aged quickly and sourly. Everything she did only made her brand less and less likable. Why? It starts with branding misstep number one.

First impression fallacy times over exposure. I don't partake in memes, but people send me memes. Millie Bobby Brown was supposed to be that girl. that girl but instead she became ugh that girl again oh millie really after stranger things exploded in 2016 millie was everywhere late-night talk shows oh fashion campaigns red carpet is magazine covers she was just 12 13 but being styled interviewed and marketed as a full-blown adult star this led to a weird cultural whiplash where people praised her poise and professionalism you know

herself is there right now. I really want to try and support that as much as I can as a 12-year-old actress. But also critiqued her for being too adult or trying too hard. Just go into an audition room thinking you haven't got the job and that's a really bad advice. But to me that really works. It wasn't really her fault. It has everything to do with a first impression fallacy. Where we tend to overindex our first impressions of someone and for many episodes of Stranger Things, the impression of Millie's character has always been this quiet, silent 11, which cannot be further different from how much louder and prouder Millie is as a person.

Loyal. I think loyal, maybe, but also smart. Finn! You always take this so far! Thus, seeming unnatural in the public's eye. I went up and I was like, listen, Meryl. Adding the dash of overexposure sped up Millie's aging. I should be, you know, your co-host. You host and then I'll like wink at you at some point and then you'll be like, okay, this is the moment.

Did you want to do that? And left no mystery. That is where I draw the line. My camera does not eat first. Put your phone down. Eat your meal. I don't actually even think I have one picture of a meal ever. But despite the low demand, the supply kept coming.

These are great. The dirtier, the better. Because any first interaction. Because Dadey got to see how like crazy I am. And that backfired into the much dreaded Pick Me label. What was otherwise an impressive Nicki Minaj rap went viral, but turned into a media-trained, try-hard narrative.

Because it was true, the 12-year-old played a 20-year-old better than any 20-year-old could, and that led to the second branding misstep. Over-engineered Girl Boss Energy. Millie is a CEO, beauty founder, producer, married woman, and author all before 20. Impressive on paper. But here comes the problem. Who is in her fan base? The founders, authors, producers, or the Gen Z and Gen Alpha children. Oh, my awesome, how many are still figuring out middle school.

While she's selling an out-of-touch, ultra-polished PR image. Instead of being aspirational, she feels alienating, more LinkedIn than likable. She skipped the relatable face. Unlike Zendaya and Sabrina Carpenter, Millie never had a messy era or awkward face. No vulnerability, no chaos. Just straight from 11 to engagement announcements and perfume launches, in a culture obsessed with realness, this made her feel inauthentic, which was not helped by her visual brand.

A full fashion and image backlash at age 13 to 15. As she hit puberty, she began dressing more maturely on red carpets, designer heels, bold makeup, couture silhouettes. Professional standard, yes, but at 13 to 15 years old, that is still a baby. Your frontal lobe isn't even fully developed until 25. While some praised her as a rising fashion icon, others accused her team and Hollywood for over-sexualizing a child. And this was when the She Looks 40 memes started bubbling.

While trying to appear mature, Millie Bobby Brown was doing life on Fasmos so much that by the age of 14, comments like she looks 40 began to surface. Millie Bobby Brown went from a young girl to a middle-aged woman. Oh my god, babe, no, I'm not sick. First of all, she doesn't actually look 40. She looks like a well-style 20-something who's grown up in Hollywood.

The backlash isn't about wrinkles. It's about brand disconnect. It's about the brand discrepancy between the character that became her brand and the actual person, Millie Bobby Brown. Millie herself clapped back, quote, and I'm like, yeah, well, you did meet me when I was 10, so I understand. Now I am 21, it's been 10 years.

She grows. My face like grew. What do you want me to do about that? Now I'm in a place where like, yeah, like my accent does change. My face does grow. Like, I do wear a lot of makeup. Like, it's just the kind of person. Rightfully so.

But it still does not address the elephant in the room. The brand, Amelie Bobby Brown, is now reinforced as a prematureed 20-year-old associated with the image of a 40-year-old. All at the same time, the branding weakness of overexposure led to a not-too-likable brand. No, oh, that sounds like something she'd say. She's so annoying. Okay. Yet the most logical thing her team could think of was to, yep, launch a brand. And not just launch a brand, but a brand selling youth.

That is not only a skincare line for tweens, but also a fragrance line, a beauty line, a hair line, accessories line, fashion line, luggage line, a coffee line, and a pet accessories line. Welcome to Florence by Mills. Branding Mistep 3. Brand confusion. Because you know in a moment, make it all. I don't know whose creative genius idea it was to tell Millie Bobby Brown that before establishing a brand to be known for one thing really, really well. This mascara sucks! It might not be the best move.

If you look closely, there's a lot of little clumps. I hate clumps. Dang it! Why don't you turn your beauty brand into a pet brand, a coffee brand, and luggage brand all at the same time? under the same label. They might as well said Walmart by Mills. On top of which, the entire visual branding of Florence is screaming, Clares for Twins,

while her brand is tied to an image of a quote unquote 40 year old, where the top search word for Millie Bobby Brown is aging. I don't know who they think they're selling to, but the personal branding of Millie Bobby Brown right now is not selling a very relatable brand to a 12-year-old alpha or Genzi. To make matters even better, The very passionate founder, Millie posted a Get Unready With Me video where she pretended to use Florence products but wasn't even touching her face with them.

Okay, and now, you immediately feel better. I deliver for my consumers. How wonderful do these products have to be when you as the founder even refuse to use them? So there you have the branding crisis Trinity. A brand where the founder is neither relatable, aspirational, nor likable. A product that the founder herself doesn't even use. And now, a brand of in-authenticity. Caught on camera.

It might not even be the case, but it just shows a very minimal effort white label product slapped with a celebrity name. Who, at the end of the day, was just a 15-year-old. Does she even want to build a brand? Or is this just part of a script that she is supposed to follow? All in all, it just comes across as an embarrassment. But guess what the team decides to do after becoming a meme in the skincare world? Yep. Launch fashion accessories, hair, coffee, luggage, and pet.

At this point, they might as well brand anything on Amazon as Millie Bobby Brown. Babe, you're building a brand, not the pastel version of Walmart. Everything seems rushed, force, and a parody of Millie Bobby Brown's personal brand, which is this ultra-mature designer gowns, adult red carpets woman. but selling the kids section at Walmart. At this point, it is apparent that the main issue is, Millie doesn't really know why people follow her, who follows her, and how does she come across to the public?

Her brand Florence looks like it's for 12-year-olds, while Millie is dressed in LVMH. The brand is frozen in Tween Pastel. While its founder and audience aged out of it, it's merely selling products, not building a brand. Sure, it made $17 million at launch, but how many times can you launch a brand? What happens when the hype dies down?

And how many more young fans can keep on buying with pocket money from their parents? All in all, Millie Bobby Brown was just a teen who was forced to grow up too fast, but a brand cannot be built in one day. So how can Millie and Florence create something sustainable together without further decreasing their likability? Rebrand strategy number one. Pick a lane and commit. Florence by Mills is a fascinating case study in branding too early, two-police,

too polished, too fast. But it's not going to get any easier because Millie is not getting younger, which is not a bad thing. Look at Tate McCray, same age at 21, but owning the fact that she has evolved to a mature and polished brand, associates herself with Mew F1 skims, and does not step on her own toes in her brand evolution. She does not need to pretend to be a kid still in pastel colors.

And for Millie, as someone who aged out of the pastel child, years ago, forcing a character just to sell Florence by Mills is not doing the brand or herself any justice. She is a married and established woman while her targeted audience is still celebrating getting the first period. She outgrew her brand before its launch so she can either pick to play this pastel 11 character forever or allow herself to evolve. Tough, I know. But at one point, the brand of 11 is no longer an asset. She can either A, distance herself from Florence and let the brand continue to be pastel gen of a core or let the brand evolve with her.

She has so much untapped power as a polished young woman. Slowly transition Florence into that. The pastel twin core aesthetic is outdated even for Gen Z. Evolve into a more elevated Clean Girl meets Haley Bieber visual direction. Think soft neutrals, chrome accents, refillable packaging, IRL textures. Second, reclaim the meme. She looks 40. Gali pop is the thing now, though. You're a gali pop. I'm a gali pop.

Good for you. Flip the narrative. Own the joke with wit and self-awareness. It can rebuild likability. Kind of like what Haley Bieber did with a Vogue interview with the stalker and Nepo rumors. I've basically been wearing this my entire life. It really does all the work for you without you having to do anything. Very effortless.

This is my phone. These are a couple more that I keep on me and I really just use them for a lot of the simple stuff like surfing anonymously, commenting, stalking, viewing girls pages, making multiple accounts, you know, that kind of thing. For example, a branded sketch or a get ready with me video titled Getting Ready to Look 40 at 20 with Florence products, showing a more of her personality, building deeper connection, and trust B, highlight the absurdity of the claims and use them as free marketing for her brand. Which brings up third, find winner product. Despite how the Florence brand is mixed in with too many product lines, things still sell. Why? Because of Millie's personal brand.

But there's a difference between a merch line and a brand. The moment that her personal brandy has any hiccups, a merch line will be shaken at its core, just why. Separating into beauty, fashion, and coffee is already a huge step up. But the next step would be to find out one or two key products and double down on that. Instead of trying to tag Millie with a whole Walmart catalog, be the Michelin menu, not the all-you-can-eat buffet. Haley Bieber started with only the lip peptide and skin and now wrote sold for a billion. Focus and consistency build brand.

Scatter launches only lives and dies with trends. Millie Bobby Brown was positioned as the Genzi icon before she even had a chance to decide who she wanted to be. But when you brand yourself as the finished product at 15, you leave no room for people to watch you grow. Whether you're an entrepreneur or building your personal brand. For homework, take out your notes app. Ask yourself, first, is your brand evolving with your audience or leaving them behind? Second, is someone screenshot it your elastic's post? What would they assume your brand stands for?

Audit your brand perception. You may say one thing, but signal another. Third, what part of your story are you skipping because it feels unmarketable? Sometimes the mess is the magic. If you're hiding in the middle, you're robbing people of the connection. If you learn something here, send it to someone you love. Give it a five-star rating. Free email list, resources, all links are below. This is your marketing besties Zoe Unlimited. Episodes are available on all podcast networks, Apple, Spotify, YouTube. And if you like this episode, make sure to check it.

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