
S6 Ep 3 | Building brands through emotion, culture and music | Bianca Franklin, H&M’s Global Music Lead
Beyond Marketing - The Podcast.Show Notes
In this episode of Beyond Marketing, The Podcast, Maira Genovese, CEO and Founder of MG Empower, sits down with Bianca Franklin, Global Business Development - Lead for Music & Brand Experience at H&M, for a deeply human conversation at the intersection of music, marketing, leadership, and culture. Born and raised in San Francisco and shaped by a multicultural upbringing, Bianca shares how diversity, intuition, and emotional intelligence became the foundation of her career. From pitching herself to leading global marketing initiatives, her journey is defined by courage, persistence, and a belief in human connection. Together, they explore how music became a powerful strategic tool to build authentic brands, especially in a post-pandemic world where audiences crave meaning, emotion, and belonging. Bianca reflects on why working with emerging and local artists creates a deeper cultural relevance and how building platforms allows brands to truly connect with people. This episode is a reminder that the future of marketing isn’t just driven by technology or performance metrics, but by intuition, collaboration, and the power of human emotion. Because when brands feel human, connections become culture, and culture builds impact.
More from Beyond Marketing - The Podcast.
What happens when the life you built no longer feels like the life you need? In this episode of Beyond Marketing, Maira Genovese, founder and CEO of MG Empower, sits down with Argentine entrepreneur, angel investor and Influencer Florencia Sosa for an honest conversation about identity, ambition and personal reinvention. Florencia shares how years of responsibility and external pressure led her to pause, listen to her body and her mind, and ask what she truly wanted. Together, Maira and Florencia explore modern leadership, the limitations of labels, building trust through a personal brand and why the traditional influencer model is changing. From supporting founders and exploring new opportunities to learning how to place herself at the centre of her own story, Florencia opens up about navigating uncertainty, living more intentionally and finding freedom in not having all the answers.
In this episode, Daniella Helayel, fashion designer, entrepreneur and founder of ISSA London, sits down with Maira Genovese, Founder & CEO of MG Empower, to explore the extraordinary journey that took her from leaving Brazil to building one of London's most recognisable fashion brands. From unexpectedly dressing Catherine, Princess of Wales, for her engagement announcement, to seeing ISSA stocked in 450 stores across 48 countries, Daniella reflects on the defining moments that shaped her career. Together, they explore how she helped introduce Havaianas to the UK, reinvented herself as a creative consultant and strategic adviser, and why, more than a decade later, she's embracing the challenge of building her next chapter. A conversation about entrepreneurial instinct, resilience, reinvention, and why your greatest achievement should never stop you from building what's next.
In this episode of Beyond Marketing, The Podcast, host Maira Genovese sits down with Firdaous El Honsali, Chief Marketing Officer Noli & Former Global Dove Vice-President, for a deeply honest conversation about purpose-led marketing, female leadership, and the future of beauty. From growing up in Morocco with beauty rituals passed down through generations, to leading campaigns like Courage Is Beautiful and Turn Your Back, built in 72 hours and generating over one billion conversations worldwide, Firdaous shares what it truly takes to create work that moves culture, not just product. They discuss why great purpose cannot replace great product, what the beauty industry owes its youngest consumers, and why women over 40 are still fighting to be taken seriously in boardrooms and beyond. A candid, inspiring, and razor-sharp conversation on marketing with meaning, leadership on your own terms, and why the most exciting chapter is still ahead.
In this episode of Beyond Marketing, The Podcast, Maira Genovese sits down with Bernardo Vasconcelos, one of the world's most sought-after hairstylists and founder of luxury haircare brand BCO, for an unfiltered conversation about building an empire from nothing, and what it really takes to stay at the top. From selling Yakult outside his mum's garage salon in São José dos Campos, to washing hair in a bathtub in his studio flat, to flying to Dubai after a single Instagram DM, Bernardo's story is a masterclass in hunger, resilience, and the power of personal brand. They discuss why being busy is not the same as being productive, what tough leadership really looks like, and why success today means owning your time, not your schedule. A raw, honest, and deeply inspiring conversation about entrepreneurship, loyalty, faith, and never losing yourself on the way up.
What does it really take to turn one of Britain's simplest desserts into one of the UK's most loved food brands? In this episode, Maira Genovese, Founder & CEO of MG Empower, sits down with Kim Innes, Founder of Humble Crumble, to explore the unexpected journey behind one of the UK's most loved food brands. Together, they discuss why the best brands are built by listening rather than telling, how a simple dessert became a powerful vehicle for connection, and why Kim describes starting Humble Crumble as "my feminist act." They also go behind the scenes of Humble Crumble's first-ever brand collaboration with Mugler, revealing how creative trust, shared values and sensory storytelling came together. A heartfelt conversation about creativity, resilience and building brands that people don't just buy from, but they genuinely love.