We Fixed It, You're Welcome

Brand collaborations are everywhere right now. But for every Swatch x AP with overwhelming demand, there are examples like Nike x Tiffany that leave everyone wondering why those brands aligned. In this episode, Aaron, Melissa, and Chino break down the biggest brand collabs in recent history, figure out what separates the legendary ones from the cautionary tales, and build a framework to predict which ones will actually work.

What We Cover


Why brands are obsessed with collabs and why consumers are starting to get tired of them


The Swatch x Audemars Piguet launch that caused mall shutdowns and $25,000 resale prices


What makes a collab feel culturally necessary versus just a marketing stunt


Nike x Air Jordan — how the original celebrity collab still dominates decades later


Nike x Tiffany — two iconic brands, one massive execution failure


Adidas x Yeezy — $2 billion made, a very public breakup, and why Adidas is still profiting


Pepsi x Kendall Jenner — what happens when a brand collab completely misreads the room


Supreme x Louis Vuitton — the collab that redefined streetwear and luxury forever


McDonald's Happy Meal collabs — why they keep getting it right over and over


HM and Target designer drops — when doing collabs too often kills the excitement


The secondary resale market — is it a bug or a feature of a great collab?


Aaron's risk framework for predicting whether a brand collab will succeed or fail

The Collab Risk Framework (Our Fix)


Formalize the unofficial — if customers are already doing it themselves, own it. Lowest risk, built to last. (Taco Bell x Doritos)


Combine shared capabilities — two brands each bring a unique strength the other doesn't have. When done right, something magnetic happens. (Swatch x AP, Supreme x LV)


Shared audience + shared sensibility — the Venn diagram has to be big enough. If it's too small, the market will tell you the hard way. (Nike x Tiffany failed this test)


Curation and scarcity — making something too available kills the desire. The limited nature has to be real and protected.

Brands and Collabs Mentioned


Swatch x Audemars Piguet (AP)


Nike x Air Jordan


Nike x Tiffany


Adidas x Yeezy (Kanye West)


Pepsi x Kendall Jenner


Supreme x Louis Vuitton


McDonald's x Cactus Plant Flea Market


McDonald's x Korean Demon Hunters


McDonald's x Pokemon, Beanie Babies, Minions


HM x Balmain


Target x Kate Spade, Diane von Furstenberg, Karl Lagerfeld, Mossimo


Coca-Cola x Oreo


Pepsi x Peeps


Nike x Toy Story 5


J.Crew x Costco

Key Takeaways


Scarcity is the most powerful tool in a brand collab. If everyone can get it, nobody wants it.


The Venn diagram of your two audiences has to be big. A small overlap means a small result.


Execution matters as much as the idea. A great concept with poor delivery (Nike x Tiffany) will still fail.


Doing collabs too frequently kills the excitement. The magic is in the rarity.


Celebrity collabs carry more risk than brand-to-brand collabs. Brands are predictable. People are not.


The secondary resale market is now a built-in part of any major collab launch. Brands need a plan for it.

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when luxury brands sell more than products, but the promise of ethics, craftsmanship, and sustainability?

In this episode, our panel explores the growing tension between luxury fashion's premium pricing and the increasing scrutiny surrounding supply chain transparency, labor practices, and sustainability claims. Using LVMH and several of its iconic brands as a case study, the conversation examines whether today's luxury consumers are buying status, quality, or a set of values.

Joining the discussion is Kirsten K. Harris (Nordstrom, Nike, Amazon), sustainability strategist and founder of eavolu®, who shares insights from more than two decades in the fashion industry. Together, we unpack the realities of ESG compliance, traceability, greenwashing concerns, counterfeit markets, resale opportunities, and the future of ethical luxury.

The episode highlights why transparency, authenticity, and accountability are becoming essential business strategies for brands that want to maintain consumer trust in an increasingly skeptical marketplace.

Connect with Kirsten K. Harris

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenkharris/

eavolu®: https://eavolu.com

Final Thought

Luxury brands have long sold aspiration and exclusivity. The next generation of luxury may be defined not by what brands say, but by what they can prove. As consumers demand greater transparency, the future of fashion will belong to companies that can align premium products with authentic business practices.

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What separates a food fad that burns out from one that becomes a lasting brand? This episode dives into the psychology and business strategy behind viral food trends, with Pop-Up Bagels as a current example, to answer the question every food founder and investor is asking: how do you turn a moment into a movement?

Featured Guest

Talia Solomon — Founder, The Brand Economist

Talia is a fractional CMO and brand advisor with a background in marketing and behavioral science. She has impacted companies across food, media, and consumer tech including Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Maggiano's, Del Taco, Ruby Tuesday, Weight Watchers, Bravo TV, Showtime, and Ring Doorbell. Her cross-industry experience gives her a unique lens on habit formation and consumer psychology.

The Problem

Food trends explode fast, and fizzle just as quickly. Category saturation, cultural shifts, and the gap between first-time curiosity and repeat habit have ended many promising brands. The real question isn't how to generate buzz. It's how to make people come back.

Connect with Talia

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliasacks

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With billions of dollars traded weekly across non-traditional and traditional investors, prediction markets have quickly become one of the hottest crazes in finance. In this episode, we grab time with Andrew Lebbos of Benzinga (SVP of Licensing) to explore the current state of prediction market platforms like Kalshi and speculate about their long-term potential for good.

This provocative conversation examines why prediction markets have gained mainstream attention, how they differ from traditional investing and sports betting, and whether crowdsourced forecasting can produce more accurate outcomes than other established methods. The discussion also tackles hot-button topics such as regulation, threats of insider information, concerns over gambling addiction, and the importance of customer retention.

From the psychology of gambling to the speculative future of financial markets, this episode explores both the promise and possible risks of turning real-world events into tradable assets.

Connect with Andrew


LinkedIn: Andrew Lebbos on LinkedIn


Benzinga: Benzinga APIs & Data Solutions

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7-Eleven has been working on a big comeback for a while. Their first big attempt at reinvention might surprise you: egg salad sandwiches. While quite popular in Japan, 7-Eleven’s big gamble on egg salad sandwiches throughout United States stores is head scratching. In this episode, our panel wonders what led to this decision, discusses the larger business challenges at play, and proposes our own fixes for what 7-Eleven should do next.

Along the way, we unpack convenience store culture, customer behavior, retail psychology, operational execution, and take a hard look at how brands can misfire when they try to import global trends without adapting them locally.

The team also debates:
● Why Japan’s 7-Eleven experience feels completely different than anywhere else
● Whether North American consumers trust convenience store “fresh food”
● Why the U.S. $5.50 sandwich may already be positioned incorrectly
● How pop-up experiences and cultural immersion could help revive the brand
● Why iced coffee might actually be a smarter gateway product than egg salad
● How brands can retrain customer behavior instead of chasing viral moments
Plus, Chino gives a firsthand review after testing the North American version of the sandwich
in Toronto and shares her unfiltered reaction to it.

Key Takeaways
● Convenience stores in Japan function as an everyday food ecosystem, not just gas
station stops
● Freshness perception matters more than novelty
● Viral products alone don’t build long-term customer habits
● 7-Eleven may need a full retail experience redesign, not just a menu upgrade
● Limited-time cultural pop-ups could create stronger consumer engagement
● Coffee and customizable experiences may offer a lower-risk path to changing
customer behavior

If you enjoyed the episode, leave a review and share it with another Fixaholic. And next time you walk into a 7-Eleven, ask yourself: are you there out of habit, convenience, or because the brand actually gave you a reason to come back?

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.
• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com
• Follow us on:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod
If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!
Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer
A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.
By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome.All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices