Style-ish Podcast: "Why you can’t stop talking about these two brands"

Shameless Media | Episode Date: August 21, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Madison Sullivan Thorpe (“Mads”) and Rhiannon Joyce (“Ray”) deep dive into the appeal, strategies, and cultural resonance of two hot brands: the American minimalist beauty powerhouse Merit and the Australian “It Girl” fashion label With Jean. With a focus on real-world marketing insights, consumer behavior, and personal perspectives, the discussion unpacks how these brands have captured hearts (and wallets) across different demographics and markets.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Podcast Format & Episode Purpose

• [01:08] Rhiannon Joyce: Sets intent to use the space to “analyze the world of brands with cult followings, creative campaigns, fashion and beauty industry trends, and explore those 'how did they get there?' career stories.”
• Listeners range from marketing professionals to those outside the industry, all seeking insight.

2. Word of the Week: Habit Stacking

• [02:55] Madison Sullivan Thorpe: Explores her “habit stacking” obsession, reflecting broader concerns about information overload.

  “The brain has never consumed more. You think about what we're exposed to. Devices that are in our hands. No generation before has had this much information all at once.” [03:40]

• Decision to listen to lighter, escapist content on walks instead of intense, business-related podcasts.

3. Main Theme Transition: Two Breakout Brands

• Deep dives into Merit and With Jean — each with distinct audiences and approaches.

Segment 1: MERIT – The Minimalist Beauty Brand

a. Merit’s Origin and Philosophy

• Founded by Catherine Power in 2021, known for previous ventures (Who What Wear, Versed skincare, Avaline wine).
• Inspired by necessity: as a busy professional, Power “saw a gap in the market for a makeup line that suited her needs as a 40-something busy professional.” [08:02]

  “The makeup on the market felt too heavy and too time consuming. So the solution, a line that delivered luxury, minimalism and ease with a side of clean beauty sensibilities.” – Ray [08:18]

b. Market Entry Strategies

• Expanded to UK (2023), Australia (2024).
• Unique entry model: forewent traditional retail partnerships (Mecca, Sephora, etc.), instead using a local PR agency (Leaf) for a highly localized launch.

  “It is very, very uncommon for a brand to launch with a website or international shipping or without a partnership with an Australian retailer… One thing they're doing really well is hiring a local PR agency.” – Mads [09:34]

c. Influencer & PR Tactics

• Focused on micro-influencers, heavy gifting, minimal paid partnerships in Australia.

  “It was hard for me to come by a video that had a paid partnership tag for them. So that says to me they are leaning in heavily to a gifting strategy. They're leaning in heavily to word of mouth.” – Ray [11:25]

• Strong, visually distinctive paid Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads, often using the iconic "Merit bag" as a gift with purchase.

  “Very clever about their paid ads… A lot of the ads that I've been served have been free with every order over $75 or it'll be get the tote…” – Mads [12:28]

d. Demographic Targeting

• Unlike most beauty brands targeting Gen Z, Merit identifies its core consumer as women aged 30–50.

  “Catherine has gone on the record… our core demographic is aged between 30 to 50. I love that she is like all good. Happy for the Gen Z and Gen brands to fight it out… But Merit's like all good. We'll take the grown up girl.” – Mads [13:27]

e. Product Strategy

• “Disciplined and controlled,” with “not a huge array of products” and meticulously managed launches.

  “I would say each launch is a mammoth campaign in and of itself and they are very much fewer, bigger, better.” – Mads [14:27]

• Examples: “The Uniform” tinted SPF, upcoming cleanser, thoughtful PR mailers in collaboration with local brands (e.g., Baina towels).

f. Predictions & Brand Insights

• Speculation about expanding into retail (potential future partnership with Mecca).
• Experiential marketing suggested, like localized pop-ups: “‘Mornings with Merit’… little coffee carts dotted in major cities… chairs on hand… get their morning touch up, grab a Merit coffee.” – Mads [35:44]
• Quote from Merit CMO Ayla [33:49]:

  “If we removed our logo from a product or campaign, we want people to still know it’s Merit… Focusing on the core pillars of the brand while also taking the time to understand the certain nuances in different markets is pivotal to our global expansion and success.”

Segment 2: WITH JEAN – The Viral Australian Fashion Brand

a. Celebrity Endorsement & Social Proof

• Explosive growth after Emily Ratajkowski and Dua Lipa were photographed in With Jean’s viral “Rose Top.”

  “Once they were papped wearing this viral rose top, it directly resulted in over 10,000 tops being sold… Total of 1.4 million plus revenue generated…” – Ray [20:39]

b. Social & DTC (Direct to Consumer) Strategy

• With Jean started in 2017 with only 9 styles and already over 1,000 waiting-list customers.

• Social-first mindset cemented the brand—Instagram and TikTok are essential even as the brand matures.

  “Sammy [founder] said, ‘We live in a content driven world... Consumers rely on seeing your product on someone else before committing to a purchase. That is something we recognized from the very beginning and still believe in to this day.’” – Ray [21:39]

• Founder Sammy Locking Turner continues to manage Instagram personally, keeping control and authenticity at the heart of their digital strategy.

  “I'm still a control freak over our Instagram. I post everything myself still to this day, but now the standard for content is on another level…” – Sammy (via Ray) [23:15]

c. Brand Appeal, Positioning, & Visuals

• Achieves a luxury, aspirational feel at a mid-lower price point (e.g., $99 tops) by using high-end campaign visuals, European locations, and “It Girl” styling.

  “The photography style of all of their campaign and… EDM imagery is very much in the vein of like a James Harvey, Kelly P. Johnson, like, it's super elevated and you're looking at a $99 top.” – Mads [26:02]

• Straddles dual market positioning: European summer content for Aussies on holiday, NYC for the US consumer.

  “How do you do dual market? ...Their content is very clever for playing into that European summer because you play into the Aussies on Eurovk and you play into the… US which is the market they are absolutely going after.” – Mads [27:27]

d. Flagship Store as Experience & Marketing

• SOHO, NYC flagship store: a prestige move to deepen relationships with US customers, not just to drive sales.

  “What it says is we are here and we have arrived in the US in a really big way and we're inviting our US customer to come in and explore our brand.” – Mads [28:44] “Opening the flagship store in Soho wasn't about entering the US market. It was about deepening a relationship that was already well established online.” – Ray [29:27]

e. Consumer Trends & Insights

• Gen Z drive: Gen Z are “42% more likely to impulse buy after seeing something on social media compared to other generations.” – [25:19]
• 85% of Gen Z surveyed cite price/value as key in online shopping.
• Importance of diversity and inclusion (noted as an ongoing challenge with limited size range up to XL/AU14).

f. Predictions

• Rae predicts a European or Hamptons pop-up is likely, leveraging the “holiday destination” aspirational trend.

  “I could really see With Jean following a similar sort of suit and having a presence in that market, particularly Italy or Mallorca in Spain, where a lot of young consumers are traveling.” – Ray [31:52]

• Mads suggests a collaboration with a major creator, referencing Frankie's Bikinis x Kylie Jenner:

  “I would be more inclined to think that it would be a large scale creator rather than a large scale celebrity.” – Mads [33:02]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On marketing to women in their 30s–50s:

  “All good. Happy for the Gen Z and Gen brands to fight it out… But Merit's like all good. We'll take the grown up girl.” – Madison Sullivan Thorpe [13:27]

• On influencer & gifting culture:

  “They're leaning in heavily to a gifting strategy. They're leaning in heavily to word of mouth.” – Rhiannon Joyce [11:25]

• On experiential retail as branding (With Jean):

  “It is very much a positioning piece… a marketing exercise just to have a brand presence and really, you know, stamp your passport to say we are here and we're global and international now.” – Madison [28:44]

• Brand DNA:

  “If we removed our logo… we want people to still know it’s Merit.” – CMO Ayla (read by Madison) [33:53]

Key Timestamps

• 01:08 – Series format & intent
• 02:55 – 05:40 – “Habit stacking” & modern overwhelm
• 06:27 – Introduction of featured brands (Merit & With Jean)
• 08:02 – Merit’s origin story & founder’s motivation
• 09:34 – 14:27 – Deep dive: Merit's unique launch model, PR, and demographic targeting
• 16:58 – Merit's local activation (gifting suite, PR agency, diversity of creators)
• 17:47 – Predictions for Merit: Retail expansion, experiential marketing
• 19:35 – 26:41 – With Jean: Social- and celebrity-powered virality, pricing, founder insights
• 28:44 – With Jean’s Soho flagship as a brand statement
• 31:52 – 33:49 – Predictions: Euro/holiday pop-ups for With Jean, creator collab potential
• 33:49 – 38:02 – Predictions & strategy tips for Merit (Mecca retail, localized pop-ups, collabs)
• 38:48 – Episode wrap: Reflection on being consumers of the brands

Takeaways for Listeners

• Merit and With Jean’s successes are deeply tied to clear core identities, disciplined launches, and a nuanced understanding of digital and real-world experience.
• Merit stands apart by refusing to chase Gen Z, betting instead on an “understated luxury for grown-ups” model—slow, localized expansion, tight product range, and authenticity-first influencer tactics.
• With Jean proves the explosive value of the right celebrity moment but stands on a foundation of constant, founder-driven digital storytelling and accessible-luxe aesthetics.
• Both brands excel at leveraging IRL (in real life) experiences—even if as loss leaders in retail—to cement emotional bonds with consumers.

For More

• Send suggestions to style-ish@shamelessmedia.com or DM @StylishPod.
• Full transcript and past episodes available via Shameless Media and podcast apps.

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