Should You Be Provocative? Best & Worst Rebrands, and What’s Next for Celsius - The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Summary

Summary of "Should You Be Provocative? Best & Worst Rebrands, and What’s Next for Celsius"
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Release Date: June 30, 2025

In this engaging episode of The Prof G Pod, Scott Galloway tackles three primary topics: the balance between being provocative and authentic in personal branding, an evaluation of notable rebrands over the past decade, and an analysis of the future prospects for Celsius, a prominent energy drink company. Through insightful discussions and candid opinions, Scott provides listeners with valuable business strategies and critical assessments of current market trends.

1. Provocativeness vs. Authenticity in Personal Branding

Timestamp: 02:15 – 08:45

Scott opens the episode by addressing a question from Sam on Reddit about prioritizing provocation versus authenticity in building a personal brand. He emphasizes that these two elements are not mutually exclusive:

“I think it's not an either or. I think the more substance you have, the easier it is to be provocative.”
– Scott Galloway (04:30)

Scott underscores the importance of having a credible foundation backed by data and factual accuracy. He attributes much of his success to the credibility gained from his academic position at NYU:

“I'm convinced sense that a decent amount of my success is a function of the credibility I get from being on the faculty at NYU.”
– Scott Galloway (03:20)

When discussing provocation, Scott admits to using strong language and making bold statements, especially towards influential figures. He candidly shares his approach:

“I get angry, I curse, I use profane analogies, I call people out.”
– Scott Galloway (05:50)

He specifically criticizes Elon Musk, illustrating his willingness to challenge powerful individuals:

“Elon Musk is a rabid drug addict.”
– Scott Galloway (06:10)

However, Scott cautions against being provocative without substance, advising that truth and rigorous analysis should underpin any provocative statements:

“In sum, you want a peanut butter and chocolate of substance and rigorous analysis.”
– Scott Galloway (08:00)

2. Best and Worst Rebrands of the Past Decade

Timestamp: 08:46 – 10:06

Responding to naturalswimming247’s query on the best and worst rebrands, Scott offers his insights:

Best Rebrands:

Premier League: Scott praises the Premier League's branding efforts, highlighting its cohesive and clean strategy over the last decade. He notes the effective use of colors and symbols to build individual and parent brands within the portfolio.

“The branding for the Premier League, the colors, the lion and they've done a great job of trying to build up their individual brands within the portfolio.”
– Scott Galloway (09:00)

Dunkin Donuts to Dunkin: He commends Dunkin Donuts for simplifying their brand to "Dunkin," a move he describes as “a small piece of genius.”

“Going to Dunkin was sort of a small piece of genius.”
– Scott Galloway (09:10)

Worst Rebrands:

Tesla: Scott criticizes Tesla's recent branding strategies, arguing that they alienate their core customer base by aligning too closely with political agendas.

“All right, who do EVs appeal to? Democrats. Who should I piss off? Democrat. That just made no sense.”
– Scott Galloway (09:30)

He points out the decline in Tesla’s sales and misaligned brand positioning:

“There's no automotive company in the world crashing faster in terms of revenue than Tesla right now.”
– Scott Galloway (09:45)

HBO to Max: Scott laments HBO’s rebranding to "Max," labeling it as “the worst brand decision in media the last 10 years.”

“Max was the worst brand decision in media the last 10 years.”
– Scott Galloway (10:00)

3. The Future of Celsius Energy Drink

Timestamp: 10:25 – 12:30

In response to a question about Celsius, Scott provides a mixed analysis. He begins by outlining Celsius’s current market position as a "lighter, healthier" energy drink aimed at fitness enthusiasts and women, contrasting it with traditional energy drinks like Monster.

Scott expresses skepticism about the energy drink market's saturation and Celsius's financial stability:

“I have a mixed financial picture. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue of 320 million dropped by 7% yearly.”
– Scott Galloway (10:40)

He discusses Celsius’s aggressive advertising spend and recent acquisition of Alani Nu, questioning the long-term viability of such strategies:

“I think that's a hotel I want to go to after my fifth divorce in Hawaii.”
– Scott Galloway (11:00)

Ultimately, Scott advises caution for potential investors, suggesting diversification through ETFs focused on the energy drink sector rather than stock-picking individual companies:

“If you like the space, go into an ETF focused on the energy drink space and get a little bit of all of it.”
– Scott Galloway (12:00)

Conclusion

Scott concludes the episode by reiterating the importance of combining substance with provocation in personal branding and the necessity of thorough analysis in evaluating rebrands and market strategies. His candid and data-driven approach offers listeners actionable insights for navigating business and branding challenges.

Notable Quotes:

“I think it's not an either or. I think the more substance you have, the easier it is to be provocative.”
– Scott Galloway (04:30)
“I get angry, I curse, I use profane analogies, I call people out.”
– Scott Galloway (05:50)
“Max was the worst brand decision in media the last 10 years.”
– Scott Galloway (10:00)
“If you like the space, go into an ETF focused on the energy drink space and get a little bit of all of it.”
– Scott Galloway (12:00)

This episode showcases Scott Galloway's ability to blend sharp business acumen with bold, unapologetic commentary, offering listeners both strategic insights and thought-provoking perspectives on contemporary business issues.

Transcript

Scott Galloway (0:01)

Support for the show comes from Adobe Express. These days there are a million different ways to reach your customers, but that can also mean a million different pieces of content. It can be overwhelming. Adobe Express can help with templates, brand kits, and generative AI that's safe for business. Your team can create its own content and will always be polished and professional. When everyone can create content themselves, it's easier to get on brand content out in the world faster. Go from cookie cutter to class of its own. Switch to the quick and easy app to create on brand content. Adobe Adobe Express. Learn more@adobe.com Express Business True story I have used Adobe Express and I was shocked how easy it is to use and produce content. Welcome to Office Hours with Prof. G. This is the part of the show where we answer questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. What's happening today? We're finishing off our special series Propg on Marketing where we answer your marketing questions. And just a reminder, Office Hours now drops every Monday and Friday. That's twice a week. Twice the Prof. G. If you'd like to submit a question for next time, you can send a voice recording to officehoursofgmedia.com Again, that's officehoursofgmedia.com or post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit and we just might feature it in our next episode. First Question Our first question comes from Sam on Reddit. Jesus, that's the least original name I've heard on Reddit. Sam works Scott, you have a strong personal brand. How would you prioritize being provocative versus authentic when trying to break into your industry's discourse early on? Thanks, Sam. Okay, I think it's not an either or. I think the more substance you have, the easier it is to be provocative. If you're just provocative without any substance or any logic or any fact checking or any narrative arc or any entertainment value, then you're just fucking obnoxious. I'm convinced sense that a decent amount of my success is a function of the credibility I get from being on the faculty at nyu, and I take that position seriously and try to be, I don't know, more truthful. I think about the data I put out there. It's drilled into you at a university that you are supposed to fact check your data. And the most embarrassing thing that can happen is if you put out data that's incorrect. So I take that seriously and I think it's made me better at being a media personality, if you will. But I do like stating the obvious and where I'm provocative is I get angry, I curse, I use profane analogies, I call people out, I make personal attacks. My rule on personal attacks is I only make them on people who are more powerful than me. You know, if I were to say that this person is a sociopath and is clearly broken and probably didn't get laid enough in college and is a total misogynist, I don't know Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg or is engaged in child abandonment issues or child or male abandonment. See above. Again, Elon Musk. Those are fairly provocative things to say. Those are personal attacks. But one, I think they're true. I have receipts, whether it's reporting from the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal that in fact says that Elon Musk is a rabid drug addict. And also I have powers of observation where I can see him in the White House where he looks like he's an about too many hits of Molly at a Kygo concert, which sounds like a good time to me. I just would probably not do that before showing up to the White House with a black eye. Jesus Christ. Seriously, we treat the guy like he's a fucking runaway teen and in a year and a half he's going to start getting AARP male. Grow the fuck up, you weirdo. Anyways, I think that essentially the combination of the two. So, all right, your larger question is how do you build your personal brand? You want to think about what your brand stands for and if it's. Let's talk about it in the context of professional behavior. Find a subject where you can go really deep and become a mild expert on. Know more than anyone about deep water economics or blue water economics or valuation of the biotech industry, or how influencers go up or down or how they leverage YouTube. Find a very narrow piece of the world and try and own it and then start producing content on it. And what is success? Success is a series of small demonstrations of discipline every day. If you work out 20 or 30 minutes every day, within 12, 18 months, you're gonna be a big fucking stack of awesome, right? You're gonna be fast, agile and strong. If you produce one piece of content every day, or maybe a really solid, well produced piece of content once, twice, three times a week, before you know it, it aggregates and it builds up. It's like investing, you know, 100 bucks a week. If you're disciplined by the time you're my age, you're kind of done financially. That's what success looks like. So we're gonna find a narrow nich going to start producing content every day on it. And then if you want to make a provocative statement. Right. I think. I don't know, what have I said that's provocative recently? I think America could end with a whimper. I said at the opening of this show or the opening of my other Prof. Gpa that you could have Texas, California, the Midwest and the east split into kind of four European Union like countries focused on technology, oil and gas, manufacturing and financial services, and do trade with their own partners, have their own currency, their own militias, and essentially America breaks up with a whimper. That's a fairly provocative thing to say. But I think it's interesting. I think there's data there. I think it makes sense when you hear it, or at least hear me kind of articulate it. And I'd like to think that some of the substance I've put out and some of the effort I put around pulling together data makes a provocative statement a little bit more interesting. So what are we going to do? We're going to find a niche that we can sort of own. We're going to start producing content on a regular basis and hold ourselves accountable. Provocative is a loaded word. I try not to say things that are just bullshit that I know are going to inflame people. In sum, you want a peanut butter and chocolate of substance and rigorous analysis. And then be willing, if you believe something, to say something, even if it's not part of the narrative. I think that's the real thing that's provocative or interesting is occasionally just going where the truth takes you, regardless of who it's going to offend, even if it offends your own tribe and the own orthodoxy that you've been taught to buy into. If you're either blue, team blue or team red, if you're not pissing off people and saying shit that you don't get pushback on, it means you're probably not saying anything. So what are we going to do again? Identify the niche. Weaponize social media piece of content on a regular basis, and instead of pursuing the provocative, pursue the truth, regardless of who it offends or whether it supports an orthodoxy that you've wanted to sign up to. Appreciate the question. Our second question comes from naturalswimming247 on Reddit. They ask, what's the best rebrand of the past decade and the worst? I have an easier time with the worst than the best. For the best, I think the branding for the Premier League, the colors, the lion and They've done a great job of trying to build up their individual brands within the portfolio. And then the parent brand, I think it's just so well executed and so clean over the last decade. You know, there's some other kind of stupider, simpler stuff. Dunkin Donuts. Going to Dunkin was sort of a small piece of genius. The worst, hands down, is the brand destruction around Tesla. And that's just fucking stupid. All right, who do EVs appeal to? Democrats. Who should I piss off? Democrat. That just made no sense. I've never seen activity that's more contrarian to business interests. His political actions specifically swallowing a red pill the size of the, the Lusitania. 75% of Republicans would never consider buying an EV. So who's he trying to appeal to? In Northern Europe, the sales are off 50, 60 and 70%. His sales are down 11% in California. Tesla's brand, or Tesla sales declined 20% year on year. There's no automotive company in the world crashing faster in terms of revenue than Tesla right now. Oh, wait, I thought of another one. Probably the worst. Going from HBO to hbo, go to HBO now to hbo. Joey, Bag of Donuts to hbo, Diet Coke to Max. And then they finally got their head out of their ass and decided to reincorporate what is arguably one of the most artisanal, strongest brands in the history of media, and that is hbo, which means better content. If anyone's talking about a series around the water cooler, chances are it appeared on hbo. That culture, their consistent sort of ability to punch above their weight class and produce this sort of Ferrari, Mercedes like content versus Toyota. Just like this massive amount of data or content you find on other platforms. It's an amazing brand and that was absolutely going to just. Max was the worst brand decision in media the last 10 years. Now step back from the wrong direction to step in the right direction. They brought back hbo, but that it's. It's amazing that they would be that stupid to ever even consider that. We'll be right back after a quick break. Foreign Fox Creative.