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No Script, No Safety Net: How Breakwater Studios Reinvents Brand Storytelling · We Built This Brand

• Kirstin: At the end of the day, w- brands are now in a really interesting space where uncertainty has truly become sort of what everybody needs to be comfortable with. Chris: Welcome to We Built This Brand, where we pull back the curtain on the people, the ideas, and the sometimes challenging process of building something that matters. Today, I'm joined by Kirsten Falk, senior advisor at Breakwater Studios, a two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaking company and a world leader in humanist short-form documentaries. At Breakwater, Kirsten leverages her expertise in brand strategy and partnerships to scale the business and oversee marketing innovation. Now, it's not every day that you have the opportunity to sit down with a two-time Academy Award-winning agency, and in this conversation, we get to talk about what makes them so unique, not just in Hollywood, but with their approach to creating award-winning short films for some of the world's largest brands. So without further ado, here's my conversation with Kirsten Falk from Breakwater Studios. All righty, well, Kirsten, thank you for joining us today on We Built This Brand. Kirstin: Excited to be here. Chris: Yeah, glad to have you, and glad to be talking to you today about your journey to Breakwater Studios and all the success you all have had and all the exciting things you all do. It's, I was really intrigued by this pitch when, when s- someone from your team reached out to us and was like, "Hey, would you be interested in talking to Breakwater?" And I was like, "Who are they?" And I went and looked you all up and was just blown away by the work y'all have done and, and the content that you've created. So, um, yeah, let's, let's dive into it. I always like to start by getting to know you a little bit better. So tell me a little bit about your background, where you got started and how you got to Breakwater. Kirstin: I actually got my start in politics. I was actually a political science nerd and, uh, spent many years in DC working with ad- advocacy organizations, and ultimately in my journey, I started working with tech companies and nonprofit companies and became involved in marketing, which is what I love to do. And about 10 years ago, I started working with Charles Schwab and built up their brand storytelling function and innovation. And so in doing that, it sort of leads me to how I ended up at Breakwater, which is, as we were building out our new brand platform, we partnered with Vimeo to look for directors to help tell our story, and that is how I ended up meeting Ben at Breakwater Studios. Chris: So you were working at Schwab at the time. What was the thing that first drew you to working at Breakwater? Kirstin: Well, clearly, without a doubt, the quality Of the work is just stands on itself. And really, um, as Charles Schwab, a financial services company, was trying to build relationships with its consumers and connect on a value, we realized that that very human-centric type of storytelling was really the best format to do that. And so that's really why we partnered with Breakwater, was just the incredible level of human-centric storytelling. Chris: So then you go from working on the Charles Schwab side to jumping over into Breakwater, and I know you've been there quite a while. Tell me about how you all, h- how you all operate. What, what exactly is Breakwater for those that don't know? Kirstin: Breakwater Studios basically creates short films for brands, and also we create our own original s- short films. And really, uh, the branded side of the business is really what enables us to do, uh, many things and go pursue some of the creative passion projects that we feel are stories that need to be told. Chris: When, when you say, like, passion projects and the stories that need to be told, like, it sounds like you all get to do some stuff that isn't just, like, normal commercial work. Would that be fair? Kirstin: That's absolutely fair. We basically sort of have two arms of the company, although it's the same people working on all the same projects. Ben, who started Breakwater Studios, might find a story or meet somebody that he feels is a compelling story that needs to be told, and that's what he will do. And then we also have the opportunity to partner with, uh, other organizations, including foundations or nonprofits, where there's an opportunity to tell a story as well. Chris: And that's, that branded part of your business, is that kind of, I guess, your bread and butter that allows you to do the creative side? Kirstin: Exactly. It's really what has enabled us to go and pursue some of these incredible stories that wouldn't normally be told. But ultimately, at the end of the day, the branded business is the one that provides the revenue for the company. And we've been incredibly fortunate to work with some brands that are very aligned with our values and really give us the creative freedom to tell stories in the way that they need to be told. Chris: That's really cool, 'cause I feel like a lot of times brands, when you work with them, you know, you're, you're very beholden to their stylistic choices. And, and I mean, in any project, like, for hire, you're going to be to a degree. But it, it feels like you're, you can be very beholden to what they want you to do, and exactly how they want you to do it, and tell the story exactly your way. But I, I've noticed from the body of work that I've gotten to see, you all v- have a very unique style, and it feels like you're being hired more for what you bring to the table specifically, as opposed to trying to match maybe what the last commercial artist did for, you know, the last ad campaign for a brand. Kirstin: Well, you couldn't be more right, and that's actually a part of the Breakwater creative process, which we protect. And so at the beginning of any relationship with a brand, we negotiate and are very upfront and transparent about the creative process, and that it's really a leap of faith. And our portfolio speaks for itself. But all brands struggle, right? It's tough, because they're worried about taking risks or sharing something that might not be popular. And so that's part of the relationship that we build with them at the beginning, to really ensure that we're aligned, but also give us the creative freedom to go do what we Chris: do best. That's very different, I think, from a lot of other brand agencies where, like, there's a video production agency that we're pretty close to, and then they pretty much, you know, they, they do what they're commissioned to do. They bring their creativity to the table, and they have a certain eye and a certain style. You can tell when they create the work. But typically, it ends there, and everything else is on the client. So you're, you're kind of bringing your own brand to the brand. Kirstin: Absolutely. And that's what enables us to be able to continue to do the work that we do, which is ultimately really protect the filmmaking process and the documentary process, which means that there's no script, right? There's no storyboard. That really, in the interview process, we discover what it's going to be about, and so we really have to get brands to understand and be comfortable with that. Chris: Yeah. The, the organized side of me just, my gut just dropped when you said there's no script, there's no storyboard . I'm like, "Wait, how, how do you start then? How did, how does this all start?" Kirstin: It starts with a great brief, and ul- ultimately just a, a strong brand strategy. Because at the end of the day, what we are trying to do is create a narrative that extends the values that the company is really trying to communicate. And so that's where we start at the beginning of a project, is what are the values? What do you wanna be known for? How do you want to express yourself in the marketplace? But there's a lot of different ways to get to that endpoint And so to your point, it is a little spirit. But Ben and the creative team are incredibly talented at ending up at that place that typically actually exceeds our clients' expectations. Chris: When you're creating these documentary style videos and content, are, are there no questions planned? Is it go on the day and you have a general topic? I mean, is there someone... How does that operate? I'm, I'm just really, I'm getting in the weeds here, but I'm really curious. Kirstin: Yes. And, uh, and certainly the creative team could even be more detail-oriented about it. What we do at the beginning is we really do a deep dive in the brand and make sure we understand the areas that need to be covered and the areas that shouldn't. Typically, the director really understands, before they go into an interview, some of the places that they're gonna want to go or explore. The brand can also let us know if there are definitely areas that should not. And, and so all of that sort of happens at the beginning. And then in the interview process, which is many, many hours, there can be some prepared questions, but for the most part, it's really a intimate, sort of closed set where there's a real relationship built between the director and the storyteller. Chris: Yeah, that, that really, I mean, having hours and hours and hours of conversation, you're going to find the right way to have that conversation and get to the, the meat of what you want out of the conversation. That makes sense. I figured there was some structure around it. I was just like, I, I just always get nervous when I hear people, 'cause, you know, we make podcasts, and anybody that says, "Oh, I'm just gonna go in and freestyle," I'm like, "Are you? Are you sure about that?" Kirstin: Well, and also, uh, as you know, the editing process can really shape and, and help attain what we're trying to do, you know, and the message or the story sort of evolves in that part of it as well. Chris: Yeah. Editing, I mean, everything can be smoothed out with good editing and a good camera setup, so Kirstin: Yes. And all of the things which the team focuses very, very extensively on, that is what Breakwater truly prides itself on, is being a, you know, fully vertically, uh, integrated studio, where everything from color and sound, all elements of filmmaking are really sort of invested in. Chris: And that's, I mean, that, I, I think, you know, being able to control that whole production process from, you know, pre-production, recording, post-production and everything makes a big difference when you've got everybody aligned on a project and able to focus in the way they need to on a product, as opposed to having to outsource to a third party or someone like that. I mean, it makes a big difference. Makes a big difference. So tell me a little bit about the, the more, the more fun side, the passion side of what you all have done. Now you're, you're not just doing this for fun. I mean, you all have landed some serious awards for your work. I mean, two Academy Awards, if I'm not mistaken. Kirstin: Yes, that's correct. Chris: Yeah. So, so tell me more about that side of the, of the business and the, and the passion side. Kirstin: Well, it, all of it really sort of starts with Ben Proudfoot, who started the company in 2012 with a real vision to build sort of an old-school studio, Hollywood, uh, where everybody and all the artists came together to create truly exceptional film. And so I think the awards are just a reflection of that vision that was really about building a studio where the creative talent could all come together and do the best that they could do. And, and both of those stories are really ones that Ben and the team found that showed stories that hadn't really been told and really were extraordinary. And I think when you have an extraordinary story, it helps move people, it helps win awards or get into festivals or, or do incredible things, and both of those stories demonstrate that. Chris: Talking about building the business, I mean, you, you came in from Charles Schwab, and you've, you've moved into this space. You're, I, I assume, correct me if I'm wrong, you were on the kind of the marketing communication side? Kirstin: Oh, a brand marketer, and, and basically bringing that role over to Breakwater. I oversee the brand and partnerships, so in a sense I can be the liaison between the brand and the creative team and, and really understand how to market the film and activate the film and sort of partner and kind of be that bridge. Chris: So when, when you came in, I know one of the big projects that we talked about in our pre-call was, you know, L'Oréal and the work that you all had done with them. Tell me more about that film. How did that start? What was the challenge that you faced? Kirstin: The L'Oréal film was literally one of my favorite projects to work on, and I think it demonstrates the best of sort of everything, where all the stars aligned. The first part of it was the incredible partnership that we had with Traverse 32 and McCann and the client, L'Oréal. And basically, it actually was a very simple brief where they came to us and they just, they had an idea of the story, but they really wanted everyone to understand the good and bad in a sense, like the true story of how this iconic tagline came to life and this incredible woman who was behind it who had never really received any credit. And so Ben and the team sort of took that and just went with it and found Elon and did some incredible things to get it filmed. Uh, she was in a building in New York where w- you weren't really even able to bring in the camera equipment, so they had to bring it in suitcases. So there was just a lot of incredible things that happened. But further, really Ben, who, who has just this incredible secret skill of just finding and having a conversation with people that uncovers just raw, real moments, and I think you can see that talent and that sort of shine through in the story, which was Ben doing that, having that k- special chemistry in a sense with Elon. And so yes, the awards, we've been so fortunate with that project, and the marketing and the activation, sort of the film beyond the film was incredible. And, and that really is testament to our partners, our incredible agency partners as well. Chris: I mean, any, any time you're going after a brand project like that, I mean, there's, there's obviously results that they wanna see from this. You know, you mentioned awards, and I think you all won, what was it, the Cannes Grand Prix? Is that how you say it? Kirstin: Can- yeah, the Grand Prix for Film, Cannes Lion. Chris: Which is an incredible achievement to be able to do, so congratulations on that. You s- you mentioned that the, there were really good results for L'Oréal as a result of this. Like, what was the impact? Like, was there anything specific they could point to and say, you know, beyond views or beyond engagement, like what, what did you all help them realize, I guess, as a result of this project? Kirstin: I think with most of our clients, ultimately what we're trying to help them do is build that emotional connection through film, and, and that is why the format of a short film does that so well. And so ultimately people who watched the film had a much more positive sentiment for the brand and were truly inspired by its commitment to the idea of women are worth it. And so I think that was just something that resonated all around the world really globally and inspired and reminded everyone w- of what a legacy brand still stood for. And so that is where L'Oréal was very happy and is still, um, invested in the film. Chris: And I mean, having seen some of the film, like it's really ... I mean, you, you can tell you all have a style between the Academy Award films you've done and everything else. I'm a very visual person. I've got a photography background, so I always look at- You know, these things through kind of l- the lens of stylistic choices, lighting, color, balance, all that stuff, and even pacing of the way the story's told. It's, it's definitely, um ... For those who haven't seen it, I highly recommend go watch this film. Go, go check out some of the other work you've done. It's all short form, so ... Or short films, I should say, not short form. Short films, yes. It's a little different than short form, so it is a little longer. Yeah, it's, it's definitely a very fascinating, you know, place to be, and I'm sure it was a big change, too, coming from the brand world to being now on this production side of the media world. What have you seen as, like, the thing you, you've enjoyed the most in this, in this role? Kirstin: I love our clients getting to see what film can do for their target audiences. And at the end of the day, it still blows my mind how film can move people. And, and ultimately, exceptional sto- storytelling really can get people inspired to take action, to believe. It's just, the power of it is incredible, and I still love watching that when we get to share a rough cut with a client and seeing their excitement. Chris: It's really, it's really neat when you can do that and be impactful. And, and again, I, I've, I think I've already kind of said this before, but just, yeah, I find it so fascinating that you all are bringing y- truly your own brand, your own style, your own look to this, as opposed to, you know, being hired for, you know, just what I consider most normal, rote commercial work. So, that's fascinating. Kirstin: Well, and again, I think I mentioned it earlier, but, and this is where brand is truly important, because we will only work with brands that truly reflect our values, and also understand our worth and what we bring to the table. Brands are experts about their space and their products, and even their audiences, but we also understand how to entertain and, and how to create films that will truly resonate with people. And so again, we're very upfront. We say no a lot when it's just clear that there isn't an alignment on those values. Chris: Saying no, I was having that conversation with someone else earlier, and it's one of the most important things you can do when, when you have, you know, that level of autonomy with your business. And I mean, really, in any business you should be able to say no, but it's great when you have that ability to turn people down and say you don't. You know, "I'm sorry, but we're not a fit." Like, there's a power in that that I think is important to have. So tell me a little bit more. You mentioned values. What, what would you say are the core values of Breakwater? Kirstin: Oh, well, I think Breakwater is very committed to its values. Um, a super important one for us is advocacy for our storyteller. And that is something that the whole creative team and the company really sort of protects and insulates. And so everything that we do is really oriented around that advocacy. We also believe in optimism and hope and sort of the positivity that we can bring to, uh, society with our work and the impact that we can make by doing that. There's also a little element of magic in what we do, and we believe in sort of the things that might not be seen, helping make those explicit for people. So those are some of the key values, and just obviously being incredibly human-centered and, and focused on what we can do through human storytelling. Chris: What, what do you mean when you say advocacy? I'm, I'm really curious. Like, are you advocating for someone because of, you know, a specific cause or are you saying advocacy as in as you build the story, you wanna make sure that their story doesn't get lost or overshadowed by the brand? Want to launch a podcast without the hassle? HumblePod makes podcasting easy. From concept to launch, we'll help you create a professional, engaging show. Already have a podcast? We handle editing, show notes, transcriptions, and even video production, so you can focus on your content. With our tailored services, you get high-quality production, seamless publishing, and expert support at every step. Whether you're starting fresh or leveling up, HumblePod ensures your podcast sounds amazing and reaches the right audience. Visit humblepod.com to get started today. Kirstin: It can mean many things. A good example is our film, The Last Repair Shop, which was an Academy Award-winning film. Ben kicked off a capital campaign after that film to help fund the repair shop in LAUSD. So that is an example of where the advocacy re- work really translated into building a fundraising campaign and really making an impact on the students who all needed access to musical instruments and, and, and the repairs. And so that's one part of it. But the other part, like you mentioned, is sort of insulating the storyteller and, and, and ensuring that we tell their story in an authentic and real way, and one that really reflects their story. A lot of history might not have shown some of the stories for people that were wanted at the time, and so we try and go out and uncover stories that haven't been told. And so sometimes it can be, you know, a little inflammatory or, you know, provocative, I think is the right word. But at the end of the day, it's really important to us to get those stories told so that people can have a full understanding of how things occurred. And I think the queen of basketball, for example, is a really good example of that Chris: I mean, those are, those are definitely good examples. And, and, and now that you say that, I thank you. That, that's helpful in understanding that, that meaning of advocacy in, in what you're doing. 'Cause, you know, as a brand who may be watching this goes, "Oh, these people would be great to work with." You know, it's good to know what they're getting into. Um, you know, and, and, and whether you may say no or not to a project because it might be too focused on, you know, oh, we really wanna make this about our brand and not about this person in the interview process. We don't really care about them. They're just a vehicle, you know. Sounds like that would not be a fit. Kirstin: No. And, and like you said, there's lots of incredible production companies out there who do create advertising work, commercials, and, and, you know, product testimonials, all that stuff. Just so we know what we're good Chris: at. Absolutely. So why the name Breakwater? I mean, I always feel like names are very intrinsic to branding, and obviously there's gotta be a reason, um, for the company name. But w- why is that? Kirstin: Uh, well, I think it's a theme that you've heard. But Ben, who's from Nova Scotia, he's a Canadian, was close to the sea, obviously, and Breakwater is a seawall that protects, you know, the land from the ocean. And so Ben's vision was to build a creative studio that protected the artist and the creative process and the storyteller from all the things that can sort of impact that. So that's super important part of the brand, and what Breakwater represents is that, is that protection of the creative interpreting process. Chris: And that's a, I mean, a good visual image, too, with, with how you all are running your business. It's always nice when they align like that, or aren't just, like, letters followed by numbers, or you know, something. Kirstin: Yes. We are very brand-focused. Um, I think you'll see Ben is involved in every single element of the brand, and we have, hold a very, very high bar on everything that we produce or create. And, and it is very driven by a brand style guide and a look and feel and personality that reflects that. Chris: I mean, y- yeah, you definitely wanna make sure that, you know, you hit all the key points with that brand style, too, when you're, when you're doing any project, like, for a client, obviously. But, so what have you learned about branding through this project? I mean, brand was your specialty coming into this. You work and help brands now. Like, what have you learned about brands? Kirstin: At the end of the day, brands are now in a really interesting space where uncertainty has truly become sort of what everybody needs to be comfortable with, and that is not easy. And so I think, uh, for brands, the old school sort of way of it was you kind of came up with everything. You had a plan. You had a structure, you understood, you had control over these things, and now we're in a world where brands have to be more adaptive and evolve with the marketplace and their audiences. And so I think that creates incredible opportunity from a content perspective, but I know it is hard. And so, um, that is something I say, is that now brands really have to have a growth mindset a- and really be in a place of being ready to take advantage of a cultural moment and be relevant, and, uh, that is not always something you can plan for. Chris: No, you can't, and sometimes it's thrust upon you in ways you don't expect. Kirstin: Exactly. And, and that's part of it, which is you have to have sort of more of that openness, and I think that's very different than some how brand marketing sort of used to be, which was a very structured, sort of top-down and controlled way. Chris: And I think there's, there's also right now a real push for authenticity, which genuinely lin- not just saying this, genuinely lends itself to what you all do at Breakwater. I mean, that level of authenticity means a lot. And, you know, we're finding, like in the world of AI, things are feeling very superficial. They're feeling very artificial, obviously, artificial intelligence. And, you know, for, for brands that have to rely on AI, like that can create problems, or brands that think they need to rely on AI, that can even create problems when you're trying to market to people that are seeking out and kind of sensing, oh, this, you know, doesn't, it's doesn't pass the sniff test, kind of like the uncanny valley effect. And we're, we're finding that happening with marketing a lot right now. So what, what is, by the way, I'm really curious what your all's take is on AI. I think we talked about this a little bit when we were planning this call, but yeah, just feel free to share some with me. Kirstin: AI is sort of two things are true at the same time, which is there's a very scary sort of component to it and the implications and where this is all gonna go and kind of the impact it's having on content, sort of the slop that's being created, right? In a, in a way overwhelming the consumer with even more sort of cheap content. And so my belief is that the future is about quality and not quantity for brands. But then at the same time, there's the productivity component, which is incredible, right? Uh, and so for us as a team, we have an in-house story department. We find all of our stories and do... A- a- and without a doubt, AI has, has s- turbo-charged that in a sense, right? Because finding stories is kind of a volume game, and so again, there's still people really involved in that process. But what it can do is quickly do research on a topic or a subject and uncover incredible things that then allows the team to go down a certain thread and find more. So I think we feel from that, from a productivity standpoint, that it's an incredible opportunity. And, and from a marketplace opportunity, as you mentioned, more brands are really trying to invest in high quality, premium content that is authentic and sort of human-centered, and that's literally what we offer. So I think those are all sort of the, you know, it's kind of this tension between the good and the bad of, of AI. Chris: I mean, I, I could see simple ways, and I speak from experience, just doing podcasts, some narrative series, some things like that, that we've done, and there's just simple things where AI is super helpful, like auto-transcribing. I mean, I'm sure your, your transcription budget's way down from what it used to be. And also just the ability to search through transcripts and, you know, give you synopsis over things or help you understand, did I, did I ask a question here or maybe not ask for its opinion, but ask for it to, to highlight things from, from a conversation. I mean, there, there's so many ways it can be helpful in saving you time. I definitely see the value in it. Kirstin: And part of, like, what the, you know, like Anthropic's campaign, who I'm a huge fan of, Keep Thinking, which is basically we're gonna take care of all these, you know, um, admin-oriented tasks that have been taking up your day, and we're gonna give you the platform so that you can spend more time being creative. And I do think there's definitely something to be said for that. Chris: Yeah. Absolutely, and I think that's, I think that's even at a broader perspective, I think that's really what we're gonna see happen with AI. It's very much the way the PC revolutionized, um, computing. You know, we're seeing that again with AI, and people are thinking, "Oh, this is gonna kill jobs," and really it's gonna just create new and different jobs and new and different opportunities. So there's a lot of, a l- a lot of good things in it, but there's obs- obviously, like you said, um, there's some ways that it's not good either, um, the AI slop and the things like that, which I'm sure you all aren't putting AI interviews together or anything like that anytime soon. But yeah, that's, that's fascinating. So how do you see brands evolving over, over the next couple of years? Like, what, what do you see as the future of brands? Kirstin: Well, I think for one, I think you're gonna see more brands, in a sense, become a part of the entertainment space, and that's absolutely happening in Hollywood. And you have things like, you know, YouTube, uh, hosting the Academy Awards in a couple of years. So I think you're seeing some major trends where brands realize the value of entertainment investments, so I think that's definitely something. A- and like I mentioned, I think that brands are gonna have to just be more agile in, in this world of sort of constant change, and, and that's a new thing for many large companies. As somebody coming f- you know, who formerly worked at a large company, that agility, you know, it's gonna take some cha- time for change. And I do think, like you mentioned, there's gonna be new roles and sort of new structures, and we don't quite know what those look like yet. I think it's evolving very rapidly. Chris: Yeah. I mean, the, you know, the only thing constant is change. I remember back when I was in- incorporated AT&T, they, they said at one time, "The only thing constant is change, and it's getting faster. So if you're not ready for that, we're not the place for you." And I was just like, "Oh, wow, that's intense," but also true. I mean, things just keep moving forward at a faster and faster pace, and yeah, you ca- you can't sit in a boardroom and hem and haw over a design like you're in the Mad Men days of, you know, years past. It's, it's... There's a lot more to these projects and, and content that's coming out and the things that, you know, that, that you have to be ready to address, um, whether it be AI or what comes next. Kirstin: Uh, absolutely, and I think that's, that's the change that's gonna have to happen in the boardroom is, you know, empowering more of your team to be able to make decisions and move faster in a way than some of the bureaucracy has prevented, you know? I think the brands that are willing to lean in and understand that are gonna be the successful ones, and I say all of that can be driven by having a strong brand strategy where the team has a very clear platform to activate upon That will help increase that agility moving forward Chris: There's nothing worse than, and I'm sure at Breakwater you all may have, like, the preliminary conversation. You're probably not involved. But we, we've definitely had the conversations of, "Oh, so what's the strategy with this?" And they're like, "I, we just heard we needed one, so we're doing it." And you start to realize, like, there was no strategy behind this. There's no thought to what's going on. And, and yeah, I just... It's, if you don't have that strong strategy to begin with, you're gonna be also pulled left and right by whatever content comes your way, and whatever come, you know, whatever pops up, you're gonna try to do. You know, whatever's trending on TikTok, you're gonna end up falling into some embarrassing gaffe. Um, like I said earlier, you know, p- something being thrust upon you in terms of a trend or being caught up in, in a brand campaign you may not, may not want to be involved in because somebody said something stupid, or made the wrong analogy at the wrong time, or something like that. So yeah, it can be, it can be a challenge. But yeah, strategy's just so key. So what, what are you looking forward to with Breakwater? Um, are there any campaigns or anything? If you can't talk about it, it's okay, but I'm, I'm just curious if there's anything coming up you all are really excited to tease or highlight. Kirstin: Well, we have an incredible partnership right now with McDonald's, and I'm actually going to be flying down to Palm Springs this week to participate in the Amdocs, uh, Film Festival, and one of our films that we partnered with McDonald's is going to be highlighted, so we're super excited about that. And it's an incredible story, uh, about how someone was able to utilize the free Wi-Fi that McDonald's has and, and, and get into college. And it's an important, and again, it's an example of us sort of really getting around the storyteller and their story and helping advocate for them. But it's, it's, it's an important story about the role that McDonald's can play in communities. Yeah, so super exciting. We have more films coming this year. So that's definitely something I've been spending a lot of time, um, partnering with them on. Chris: And when you say more films coming, are you talking on the creative side of Breakwater's house or...? Kirstin: Just our partnership with McDonald's. We're doing, um, five films. Chris: Yeah. Can't, can't wait to see those. Uh, McDonald's, um, they've, they've been in an interesting trend. They've started an interesting trend lately with the, uh, the burgers and the, the tasting. Kirstin: That's an example of, you know, culture can, uh I do sometimes Chris: But, but I mean, I, I do, I do think it's cool, like when you say that community, community at McDonald's, like I know growing up there was a McDonald's near my house that like, I remember my dad going in the, like I guess one of the, like the franch- the manager or somebody there, they knew my dad's order every morning. Um, 'cause it was right next to his office. He'd go, he'd get coffee, and the guy knew him. And I very early on as a kid felt like I had some community at McDonald's, so I can see that being a really interesting story. 'Cause, you know, they're ubiquitous in culture, but they're a part of a lot of small towns and, you know, they're just a relatively clean and safe place if you need a place to hang out or be places. So I'm, I'm really interested to see this, uh, this documentary. Is it, is it available? Kirstin: It, some- we have a few of the films. I'm, um, you can find it on YouTube, and I'm happy to share it with you, and then a few more haven't been launched. But to your point, that was what was so interesting about partnering with them, and we learned that basically one in eight Americans have had a job at McDonald's starting out. And it's just incredible to learn all of the community stories around the country where McDonald's played a really important role in helping people have access to opportunity. So we really enjoy it. Chris: Well, as we wrap up, I always like to ask as kind of my last question. We've talked a lot about brands today, the value of brands and all that. What is a brand that you currently admire? Kirstin: I'm a huge fan of Levi's right now. Levi's is an old brand, right? An iconic legacy brand, and a couple years ago sort of found itself trying to be relevant again. And then you have Beyoncé with the song, and boom, you know, they quickly incorporated her into their advertising, which was very well done. And then the ad that they launched at the Super Bowl couldn't have been more Levi's. It was excellent. Chris: Levi's is a brand I've noticed like even in like I've, I've been, I've been doing kind of a, a slow progressive dive into like men's cl- menswear, clothing, and trying to find a better style for myself personally, right? Uh, obviously I'm in a wonderful Brooks Brothers, um, shirt that I've had for ages today. But as I've looked at brands and, and like f- you know, trying to get away from fast fashion, stuff like that, I've seen Levi's pop up a little bit, and I, I know they're kind of on the more consumer side, but it's been interesting to see them in spaces where I didn't expect them. So yeah, the, my, my perspective on the brand has been shifting a little bit recently with them. So that's interesting. I'll have to look into m- into that more. Kirstin: Well, and I'm a big believer that brands who surprise and delight and show up in unexpected places, that makes somebody pay attention That's an important strategy Chris: Absolutely. Well, very cool. Well, Kirsten, where can people connect with you if they wanna connect with you? Where can they learn more about Breakwater? Kirstin: They can find us online, certainly at our website, breakwaterstudios.com. I'm very active on LinkedIn, so always respond to requests or interact with people there, or people can always email me. Chris: Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. I've really enjoyed this conversation. Kirstin: Thank you. Chris: Thanks for checking out this episode of We Built This Brand. Don't forget to like and subscribe on your player of choice. You can also keep up with the podcast on webuiltthisbrand.com. If you liked this episode, please give the podcast a five-star review and make sure to tell all your friends about it so we can continue to build this brand.