All Episodes

March 14, 2025 45 mins
In this moment of media fragmentation and the rise of niche communities, are there still ways to reach mass audiences? This week, Ben and Max bring on legendary marketing executive, Frank Cooper, who’s always been at the center of big cultural shifts from his time at Def Jam in the 90s, AOL in the 2000s, and BuzzFeed in the 2010s. Throughout his career, he’s also been seen as the culture translator for big corporations, as the CMO at PepsiCo and the CMO of Visa. They talk about Frank’s unique career, who and what he thinks still moves people in mass — like Post Malone at the Louvre — and what he makes of this particular moment in the culture. He also shares stories from his time working in hip hop, what he’s learned from LL Cool J, and how Snoop Dogg became the world’s most marketable star. Also: if you have feedback for the show and want to participate in a casual focus group, please email Ben at ben.smith@semafor.com. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media  For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

24/7 News: The Latest
Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.