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Tom Mackay

Runs Lento Agency from wherever. Sports nut. Brand strategy expert. Currently building brands between time zones.

Why iShowSpeed Is The Ultimate Stress Test For Modern Branding

Deep Dive

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Dec 4, 2025

Why iShowSpeed Is The Ultimate Stress Test For Modern Branding

How a 20-year-old chaos streamer with 45 million subscribers is proving that brands need to stop renting attention and start building shows.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
How Multi-Screen Sports Viewing Is Rewriting The Rules of Brand Engagement

Deep Dive

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Nov 20, 2025

How Multi-Screen Sports Viewing Is Rewriting The Rules of Brand Engagement

The game happens on one screen. The experience happens across four. Here's what that means for brands.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
MrBeast and the Question Every Brand Builder Should Be Asking

Deep Dive

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Nov 6, 2025

MrBeast and the Question Every Brand Builder Should Be Asking

At 449 million subscribers and $92 million given away, Jimmy Donaldson built the most successful creator brand in history. What his rise and reckoning reveals about building brands in the attention economy.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
The Imperfection Shift: Why Polish Is Out

Opinion

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Oct 30, 2025

The Imperfection Shift: Why Polish Is Out

Why audiences are choosing raw and real over perfect and produced.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
Saudi Arabia’s $6 Billion Brand Play Is Working. And We Let It.

Culture

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Oct 10, 2025

Saudi Arabia’s $6 Billion Brand Play Is Working. And We Let It.

From boxing rings to comedy stages, Saudi Arabia is rewriting its global image - one billion-dollar event at a time.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
When Vulnerability Becomes a Branding Superpower

Deep Dive

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Oct 2, 2025

When Vulnerability Becomes a Branding Superpower

How Serena Williams turned a weight loss confession into marketing gold

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
The Oreo × Reese's Collab That Just Rewrote Business Rules

Deep Dive

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Sep 25, 2025

The Oreo × Reese's Collab That Just Rewrote Business Rules

How three simple ingredients (nostalgia + novelty + psychological permission) predict collaboration success.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
The Uncomfortable Truth About Customer Motivations

Culture

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Sep 18, 2025

The Uncomfortable Truth About Customer Motivations

Stop trying to predict cultural trends. Start focusing on how you show up every single day.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
How Zuck Won and Musk Lost the Identity Game

Deep Dive

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Aug 28, 2025

How Zuck Won and Musk Lost the Identity Game

What happens when your personality becomes your product

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
TripAdvisor's Rebrand That Chose Humans Over Algorithms

Deep Dive

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Aug 21, 2025

TripAdvisor's Rebrand That Chose Humans Over Algorithms

Most saw a design refresh. The real story is how TripAdvisor repositioned against Google, AI, and big OTAs with one strategic bet

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
The Language of Flavor

Culture

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Aug 14, 2025

The Language of Flavor

How three brands preserve, translate and rebel with their culture.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
Make Me Feel It: When Brands Stop Talking and Start Living

Opinion

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Aug 7, 2025

Make Me Feel It: When Brands Stop Talking and Start Living

Why your brain chooses Subway's smell over your logo and the smart brands that figured this out.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
How Bad Bunny Made Going Home the Ultimate Flex in Branding

Deep Dive

+2

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Jul 31, 2025

How Bad Bunny Made Going Home the Ultimate Flex in Branding

The branding playbook that turned cultural values into $200M and made the world come to Puerto Rico

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
Nomads Before Wi-Fi: What the Originals Got Right

Culture

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Jul 24, 2025

Nomads Before Wi-Fi: What the Originals Got Right

Ancient nomads didn't move to escape Monday meetings. They moved to survive. The difference changes everything about how you should.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
The Safety Trap: Why Playing It Safe Is Killing Your Brand

Opinion

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Jul 17, 2025

The Safety Trap: Why Playing It Safe Is Killing Your Brand

How Liquid Death, Graza, and Dr. Squatch escaped the beige trap

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
AI Isn't Killing Creativity. We Already Did That.

Tips

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Jul 10, 2025

AI Isn't Killing Creativity. We Already Did That.

While everyone panics about algorithms, the real problem is hiding in plain sight. Plus, why this creates a massive opportunity...

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
How Netflix Turned F1 Into The Greatest Soap Opera Ever Made

Deep Dive

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Jun 26, 2025

How Netflix Turned F1 Into The Greatest Soap Opera Ever Made

The storytelling formula that created 70 million fans who don't watch races

Tom Mackay
Jair Lucena
Tom Mackay, +1
Nepo Baby or Beauty Mogul? The Rise of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode

Deep Dive

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Jun 19, 2025

Nepo Baby or Beauty Mogul? The Rise of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode

Rhode launched with 3 products, no retail stores, and a vibe so dialled in that e.l.f. wrote the cheque. This is how it happened.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
Run Clubs: The Unexpected Branding Flex

Deep Dive

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Jun 12, 2025

Run Clubs: The Unexpected Branding Flex

How sweaty strangers are schooling million-dollar brands on community building

Tom Mackay
Jair Lucena
Tom Mackay, +1
Are You Building Culture or Just Stealing It?

Deep Dive

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May 29, 2025

Are You Building Culture or Just Stealing It?

The difference between brands that belong and brands that get called out.

Tom Mackay
Jair Lucena
Tom Mackay, +1
How Ayahuasca Unlocked My Creative Side

Culture

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May 22, 2025

How Ayahuasca Unlocked My Creative Side

A personal story and a conversation with a Shaman about healing, work, and what came after.

Jair Lucena
Tom Mackay
Jair Lucena, +1
The Slow Death of a Brand: How Rugby Union Lost Australia

Deep Dive

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May 7, 2025

The Slow Death of a Brand: How Rugby Union Lost Australia

Rugby union's collapse wasn't bad luck, it was textbook brand decay. Five critical lessons every brand marketer needs to see.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
The New Creative Superpower? Breathing.

Culture

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Apr 16, 2025

The New Creative Superpower? Breathing.

How slowing down and breathing better can sharpen your mind and unlock fresh ideas.

Jair Lucena
Tom Mackay
Jair Lucena, +1
Who’s Actually Winning Gen Z? These 5 Brands.

Deep Dive

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Apr 2, 2025

Who’s Actually Winning Gen Z? These 5 Brands.

Breaking through with the generation that sees through everything.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
Six Years, One Last Asado, and a Lesson in Identity

Culture

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Mar 25, 2025

Six Years, One Last Asado, and a Lesson in Identity

From slow-cooked meat to fearless creativity - what Argentina gets right about branding and life.

Tom Mackay
Tom Mackay
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Stay ahead of the brand moves that matter.
Delivered every Thursday.

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About
Advertise
Authors

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Lento Agency
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