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The Unorthodox Brand Trip · Outspoken the Podcast

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to Outspoken.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: It's your dose of the hottest influencer and pop culture
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: news twice a week. I'm Amy Torber and coming up
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: on today's show, Brittany Saunders has been praised for her
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: refreshing marketing move and Nadia Bartel's Henny store flop. But first,
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Sophie Keisha has revealed she's found the one in a
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: surprising interview with Stella magazine. She told the publication, it's
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: a big call to make, but I truly believe I've
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: found my person. And she believes she's found hers too. Now,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: the new woman in question is a 24-year-old AFLW player
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: called Madison Press Packers, who Sophie has been close friends
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: with for years. Funnily enough, she's also teammates with Sophie's ex-girlfriend,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Sophie van der Hovel.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Wow, that's pretty scandalous.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: I love that she's also another Maddie because Sophie was
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: engaged to Maddie Garrick a couple of years ago.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: She definitely has a type.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Rumours did start swirling when Madison was at the gender reveal,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: but they have been friends for a long time, so
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: who knows if they were actually together at the time.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Sophie did say that they've only been together for a
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: couple of months, but she was dropping that they're in
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: love and that she's found the one. It seems very
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: serious very quickly. Yeah, and she seemed quite surprised that
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: they've fallen in love while she's been pregnant. Here's what
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: she said about the blossoming romance.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: I've prayed for so many years to be loved in
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: the way that this person loves me, and I tried
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: to push it away.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: So hard.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: I was so committed to having this baby, getting pregnant.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: And you don't ever consider dating in that time. You
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: don't ever consider meeting people in that time. And I
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: wasn't prepared to let someone in. I wasn't prepared to
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: let someone into my inner circle, to let someone into
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: my journey, into my family. I'd let too many people
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: in too many times and too easily. And this was
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: a time that I had really committed to myself for
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: the first time. For the first time, I think, since
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: I left my marriage, this was the first time that
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: I'd gone, no, it's your turn. This is finally your moment.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: And I did that. And to still have someone there going,
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: I love you and I love everything that's going to
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: come with you. And I'm prepared to front up and
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: love you in however you need me.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: To love you.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: How could I push that away? So I do sit
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: here now, single mum, having this child on my own. Yes,
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: it is a very unique situation to be in. Like
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: I said, I didn't picture it, but I have a
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: supportive person and she's been amazing at accepting not just
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: me and everything I already come with, but takes a
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: very special person, I believe, to sign up for a
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: baby that they didn't plan. But in saying that, this
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: is my child. It's not our child. just like Bobby
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: and Florence are my children. They are not her children.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: I am their mother and she is my support person
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: and I am so grateful to have someone that has
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: been able to accept all of this and still love me.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: I like that she's saying that this baby is hers
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: and not theirs because I think that there would have
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: been a lot of assumptions now she's come out in
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Stella and said that she's found the love of her
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: life because a lot of people may have assumed that
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Madison is is now going to have this parenting role.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, she did.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Confirm that Madison isn't going to be living with her.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: They live in separate houses. And we've got to remember,
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: she's only 24. Sophie is 34. She does seem to
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: go for younger women. At the moment, the last couple
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: of girlfriends have been considerably younger than her. I died
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: when I looked up her date of birth and it
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: said 2000. I was like, oh my God, like someone
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: who is a very similar age to Sophie Keisha. I
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: was like, I couldn't imagine dating someone who was born
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: in the 2000s. And I'm known for going younger. I
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: think people are going to be dubious about this relationship
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: because it's another AFLW player. Maddie is only 24. They're
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: not living together. I mean, Sophie's made it clear that
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: she is the sole parent in this situation. I don't
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: know if people are going to take this relationship that
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: seriously or as seriously as Sophie wants people to. Well,
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: she said that she likes the fact that Madison is
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: really independent and has her own life. In this interview,
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: she said, she doesn't need anything from me. I don't
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: need anything from her. We don't live together. We have
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: no plans to live together. She's just bought her own house.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: She has a wonderful career, a wonderful job, wonderful family.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: So we're simply there to compliment each other. I do
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: wonder if Madison knows what she's getting herself into because
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: it would be a really difficult situation to navigate your
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: partner having a newborn baby. You're not living there with her.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: She's also got two older kids. I think there must
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: be genuine love between this pair because it's not an
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: easy situation for either of them. Sophie spoke in depth
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: about how she wasn't looking for anyone. She was really
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: trying to focus on herself and she kept trying to
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: push away Madison. It kind of reminded me of how
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: she was pushing away Maddie Garrick when she was with
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Alana as well. Well, I also think Sophie doesn't want
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: to put a lot of pressure on Madison, her being
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: so young. So she's saying, look, I don't need you
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: to move in. I don't, want this very fresh relationship
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: to turn stale pretty quickly because when you've only been
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: together for a few months and suddenly there's a newborn
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: baby involved, you're not going out on these exciting dates anymore.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: I've got a different take on it. I think Sophie
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Keisha must be a bit of a gay icon in
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: the AFLW because she's dated so many different players. I
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: think it's a bit of a status thing to have
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: Sophie Keisha on your arm at one of these football events.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: And I think this 24-year-old is a bit in awe
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: at the power.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: Of Sophie Keisha. She's a huge influencer.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Like this is good for this Maddie's brand.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: I'd never heard of her before.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: It'd be pretty awkward being in the Essendon footy club
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: change rooms at the moment now that this article's dropped
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: because maybe Sophie Vanderhoeven knew that they were dating, but
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: she might not have known that they were each other's loves.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Of their life.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Like this is a pretty huge statement to make in
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: a national publication. It would be so awkward. Now, there
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: were a few other interesting nuggets dropped during this podcast.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: I really enjoyed hearing Sophie talk about the sperm donor
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: process because there have been a lot of question marks
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: when she first announced this news because a lot of
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: people at the start actually asked if it was her ex-husband, Jared,
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: who was the sperm donor. She said she actually found
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: it quite funny. Yeah, she said that it was really
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: funny and she laughed it off. but she felt bad
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: for him. And that's why she felt it was necessary
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: to come out and explain. I'm sure Jared Keisha is
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: very pleased that this was cleared up because he and
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: his wife actually welcomed a new baby this week. Talk
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: about timing. Something else that surprised listeners was finding out
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: that Sophie didn't go through IVF. So she confirmed that
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: she was artificially inseminated and she fell pregnant the first time. Yeah,
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: that was really interesting because I think a lot of
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: people just assumed that she had had IVF. One thing
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: that excited me is that Sophie said she's bringing her
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: blog back. So she actually found fame from her blog,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: The Young Mummy. Well, she said it will be a
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: slightly altered version. So it's not exactly clear what capacity
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: it'll be in because I mean, when she started that, what,
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: like 10 years ago, blogs were all the rage. But
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: I don't think that people really log on to individuals' blogs.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: Like I wonder if she'll more be writing for Mamma
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Mia or another publication yeah I thought maybe she would
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: go down the Indy Clinton route and just start sharing
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: her life on TikTok because that's how she progressed so
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: she went from the blog and then she went on
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: to Instagram I think it would be a lot easier
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: for her to just share it as she goes well
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: I think it will be in a smaller capacity though
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: because she said she had a lot of regret when
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Florence was born because she was so quick to get
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: back into work yeah she went back after four weeks
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: I think yeah It'll be very interesting.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: We'll have to watch this space. When is the baby due?
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Well, at the time of the interview, she said she
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: was 22 weeks pregnant. I don't know if it was pre-recorded.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: So she's got a little bit to go.
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: I'm just going to come right out and say it.
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: Brands need to stop taking influencers on extravagant trips.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: Brittany Saunders has been praised for her refreshing marketing move.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: The OG Aussie influencer turned successful entrepreneur hosted an unorthodox
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: brand trip last week for her label Fate. Instead of
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: whining and dining influencers, Britt chose seven lucky customers.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: To join her on the trip. Kate, can you tell
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: us more?
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: Well, back in September, Britt launched a competition offering customers
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: a chance to attend her brand trip. Now, the trip
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: was to celebrate Fate's seventh year in business. To enter,
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: you had to simply place an order with the brand
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: and use the code 10% off as well as be
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: a part of Fate's Facebook community. Let's throw to a
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: snippet of the promo video.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: You ever seen those brands that do influencer trips?
• 8:34
  Speaker 5: No.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: Well, fate is hosting an influencer brand trip, but the.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Catch is that there are no influencers invited.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Instead, you are. I love how much fun the team
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: had with this one because they mocked up a staff
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: meeting where they were throwing suggestions around for the location
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: of the trip. And people are like, Bora Bora, New York.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: And Brit's like, how about Newcastle? Because that is of
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: course her hometown. I was a bit surprised by that
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: element though, because You want to treat the customers as
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: though they are influencers and it seems less glamorous to
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: send them to a location like Newcastle as opposed.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: To Bora Bora.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: But that's because the location is very on brand for fate. Yeah,
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: but would it have been more revolutionary or created more
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: headlines to send a bunch of nobodies who have no
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: following to some luxurious location? No, because I don't think
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: that's the point of it because these seven competition winners
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: were treated like influencers. They got completely spoiled. They stayed
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: in a five-star hotel. They had a private shopping experience.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: They went to fancy dinners. And they actually attended the
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: event that was in Newcastle. So 200 customers were in
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: attendance and they were glammed and pampered before the event.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: The only influencer in attendance was Brit and her podcast
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: co-host Matt Hay. And he was the MC at the event.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: The overall reaction to this brand trip has been really positive.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: So one of the outspoken Facebook community members wrote, as
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: a consumer, this is what I'd rather see than trips
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: and free stuff given to influencers. Your average girl slash
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: guys taken on a brand trip and spoiled. Definitely makes
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: me want to buy and support her empire. Hats off
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: to you, Brit. Absolutely killing it. Do you guys think
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: the same? Do you think this is a good move?
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: I think it's really refreshing to see a brand treat
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: their customers so well. And I love that Brit Saunders
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: is leading this fight against influencer marketing. It's quite ironic
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: because As she has said herself, she used to be
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: an influencer. She was one of the people that was
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: taken on these brand trips. And after the trip, she
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: actually went on Instagram to explain more about her decision.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Let's throw to some of what she said.
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: I think what brands need to think about is how
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: switched on consumers are in 2024. When an influencer is
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: tagging you on an extravagant trip in whatever country or
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: whatever city, what does the consumer actually think when they
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: see that? Do they think, wow, that's amazing that that
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: influencer who already gets everything for free gets to go
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: on another trip where they get everything for free? What
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: does that say about your brand to the consumer? Because
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: I think in 2024, it doesn't really send the most
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: positive message. Sure, you're going to get a lot of
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: eyes on your brand because the influencers have a lot
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: of followers, but are they the right eyes?
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: Britt went on to say that she could be getting
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: it completely wrong, but wanted to share with other brands
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: that she had received nothing but positive feedback. She also
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: reiterated in the comment section of her post that she
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: still thinks influencer marketing is a good tool, but says
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: brands need to start thinking outside of the square.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: This is why.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Brit is so successful and this is why everybody likes
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: her because she's able to read the room. I mean,
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: she's even part of our Facebook community. She knows what
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: people like and she knows that people are getting sick
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: of seeing the same influencers spoiled. I mean, someone pointed
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: out in our Facebook group that there was a recent
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Peppermayo trip and this person said, It was the same
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: rich Melbourne influencers going to the concerts, getting spoiled and
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: leave such a bad taste in your mouth. And I
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: think it is really good to see brands like Fate
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: putting more money and attention into rewarding their customers because
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: it does make you want to be loyal as a
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: customer and get involved in their promotions. And even though
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: these customers would not have a huge follower base, they
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: are probably sharing and tagging so much more than any
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: influencer would. Even though they might not have followers. we
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: see with TikTok that you actually don't need a huge
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: following for your content to go viral.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: That's true.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: So it actually might be part of Brit's strategy because
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: there is a lot of talk around this trip. Some
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: of these videos might be getting more views because of
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: the fact they are normies as opposed to influencers.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Sharing about them.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: I mean, we recently saw Matt Sikowsky on that private
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: jet influencer trip. And I say that because I actually
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: don't even remember the name of the brand because he
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: tagged Flight Centre in the post.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Like he couldn't even get it right.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: There are so many customers that would be so ecstatic
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: to be sent on something like this that they're going
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: to put the effort into creating content, Amy, as you say,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: that has the potential to go viral on TikTok.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Well, that's the thing.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: I think some influencers are just lazy and they've gotten
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: used to getting to go on these extravagant trips and
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: they don't really put any effort into the content. And
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: I think if influencers want to continue going on these
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: sorts of trips, then they're going to have to start
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: putting in a lot more effort. I also think the
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: brands need to start thinking outside of the square, as
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Britt said, but also manage the influencers better because I
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: think there needs to be a list of deliverables that
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: these influencers have to actually produce while they're on the
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: trip because there's so many that are like, oh, I
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: forgot to bring my camera out.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so true.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of people thought that the pandemic
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: was going to be the death of influencer brand trips.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: But I was really surprised to see.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: Them popping up again, particularly because at that time, everyone
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: had had a gut full of influencers basically being spoiled
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: and receiving free items. And I think that they still
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: have left a bad taste in people's mouths. And this
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: is why it's really interesting to see Brit doing something revolutionary.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: I just feel like there's no value exchange anymore. Like
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: the influencers will go, they'll literally use all of this
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: brand's marketing spend up Hardly give anything back. I would
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: like to know the return on investment. And at the
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: end of the day, these sorts of trips aren't new. Yes,
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: it's new that influencers get to go on them, but
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: the media used to always be the ones invited on
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: these trips. There used to be junkets and companies would
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: pay big dollars to get a good write-up in a magazine.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: Now we probably need to pivot a little bit because
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: the influencer trip has been around for 10 years. I
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: thought we would see a shift where maybe we saw
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: more relatable influencers being invited on these trips. But I
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: think that that's at the detriment of those people's brands too.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: They want to be relatable. So they know they're not
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: going to be relatable if they're getting this free trip.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: It just pisses their audience off.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Kate, you touched on brands needing to pivot. There's been
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: a lot of discussion online about makeup brand Loncom because
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: they recently did a collaboration with UK influencer Saffron Barker
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: on her YouTube channel. And it was this really bizarre
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: AI ad that popped up in the corner of her video.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: So she was talking about something completely different. And this
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: little ads banner popped up with the makeup. It looked
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: like a TV in the background. And a lot of
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: people were confused because with YouTube, often people put it
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: on in the background and they'll clean or they'll do
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: other things. So there was a discussion around it. Was
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: that money well spent? I think in terms of her video,
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: there were a lot of people talking about it because
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: it was so unusual. But when that becomes run of
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: the mill, I think that people are going to switch
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: off from that type of advertising. I was waiting for
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: her to start talking about the product.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: It was distracting, if anything.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: I don't understand why a brand would actually pay to
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: be included like that, because surely you would just have
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: a dynamic ad that was inserted in a YouTube ad placement.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: Because maybe they know that everyone just clicks through and
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: skips through it. So they thought, well, if it's in
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: the background while she's talking, people might take notice of it.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: I just think that this is just another example of
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: what an amazing businesswoman Brit is. So she has managed
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: to grow Fate into an eight-figure empire. They almost have
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: 60 employees, four retail shops. It is super successful and
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: I think that a big part of her success is
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: always trying to And also understanding both sides of influencer marketing.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: I wonder how many brands are going to jump on
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: the bandwagon now and start doing a customer trip like
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: this as well. I wonder if all brands start doing
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: this though, if it's going to lose any novelty, because
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: I think people have tuned in particularly to this trip
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: because it was something that was novel.
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: Okay, guys, join me for my absolute fail of an
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: attempt to enter and review the new Henny Boutique in Paddington.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: Fashion influencer Nadia Bartel's clothing brand Henny is back in
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: the spotlight after a TikToker complained of long lines and
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: lengthy wait times outside the new Paddington boutique. The video
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: struck a chord with other disgruntled customers who labelled Henny's
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: shop assistants as mean girls and slammed the boutique's unique
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: showroom system. Sophie, how did this all unfold? If you'll
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: believe it, this PR shitstorm has been ignited by just
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: one shopper's negative review, which inspired other unhappy customers to
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: come out of the woodwork. Now, the story has hit
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: mainstream publications like News.com and the Daily Mail. The TikToker
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: in question is Claudia Rose. Now, she has 8,000 followers.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: She's a lawyer and a young mom, and she posts
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: a lot of Get Ready With Me videos and general
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: lifestyle content. Now, she entitled the video, I'm sorry, but
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: treating customers like this is not a vibe.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: What a flop. I won't be back.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: And in the TikTok video, which has now amassed over
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: 145,000 views, she shared footage of women queuing on the
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: steps of the Henny Boutique, waiting for their turn to
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: be let in. Now, she showed that there were around
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: 11 women in front of her in the line and
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: told News.com that she was very surprised to see a
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: line because it didn't consist of that many people. Now,
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: Claudia had traveled from the Central Coast to visit the store.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: Let's have a listen to what she said about her experience.
• 17:43
  Speaker 5: We just waited one hour to try and get into
• 17:45
  Speaker 5: the Henny fucking boutique.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Blazing sun, no refreshments, no stools.
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: Whatever, side note, not a problem. First of all, the
• 17:54
  Speaker 5: store is like tiny, like you look through the window,
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: you can see the whole thing. Anyway, we wait for
• 17:58
  Speaker 5: an hour, we're second from the front. This woman appears
• 18:02
  Speaker 5: from the fucking door, the sales assistant. There's 10 people
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: waiting for the dressing room and there will be a
• 18:08
  Speaker 5: further one hour wait to even get into the store.
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: We're going two hour wait to step foot in Henny
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: in Sydney, Australia. I'm sorry. So we've jumped ship. We
• 18:18
  Speaker 5: abandoned ship. I'm not staying there for another hour. But
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: like everyone was going in sort of like we'd already
• 18:23
  Speaker 5: been there for an hour and then she goes another hour.
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: So that's my review of the Henny stores. I stood
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: on their stairs for literally an hour in the blazing
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: sun and I left.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: Would you guys wait that long to get into any
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: clothing stores? I would like to say no, but I
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: did wait probably for over an hour to get into
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: Loon when I was in Melbourne. So I'm not going
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: to say never. And it was so demeaning being in
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: that line though, because I feel like people think that
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: they can walk past and point out the bleeding obvious, like, wow,
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: what a long line. Or everyone looks at you like
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: you're this basic bitch. And they make comments like, I'd
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: never wait in a line that long for food. I
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: think what's annoying about waiting in line is that you're
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: actually acting as like free marketing to the outside world
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: because it makes everything looks so important that's going on inside.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: It makes it look like a very exclusive store. A
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: lot of brands almost seem to create these lines just
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: to make the place look popular because in the case
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: of the Henny store, this is a really tiny shop.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: So they have a system where they only allow a
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: set number of customers in the store at one time.
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: So there might've only been 10 people in the shop,
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: but you walk past and you're like, oh my God,
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: look at this line outside. I want to point out though,
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: Because I was quite surprised when I saw this TikTok.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: I thought, oh, has the Henny store just opened in Paddington?
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: But this store has been open since June. So the
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: line wasn't in response to the store opening. It was just,
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: this is just a run of the mill day for them.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Do you think it makes people more likely to buy clothes?
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Because you're like, if I've been waiting for fucking two hours, boy,
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: I need to go. to buy something to actually justify
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: the way i definitely think so because i saw people
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: in the comment section saying well i waited for so
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: long i just had to buy the pair of jeans
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: even though they didn't look that good But also you
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: wouldn't want to be like, I think I'll come back
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: and maybe get it next time I'm here and then
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: have to wait another two hours. I was really keen
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: to see what the response was like in the comment section,
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: because as we know from previous segments, Henny stans can
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: get very defensive. We saw TikToker Kate Forster inundated with
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: prank calls when she called out the Henny cardigan.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: But to my surprise... The majority.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: Of comments sided with Claudia and they were going on
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: to tell of their really bad experiences at not only
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: the Paddington store, but also the Melbourne boutique. So one
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: woman who was also in line that day responded under
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: the video saying, totally agree. I was in that line,
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: our weight. Stuffed up my order, blamed me, rude, arrogant staff.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: They need to chill. They are retail staff, not designers.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: There's nothing that.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: Bonds people more than waiting in a line in the heat. Well,
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: another commenter said, pathetic since the day they opened.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: You're lucky you got through. I queued with a locked
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: door as.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: If they were protecting the prime minister and then told
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: the same hour long wait for a change room. I
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: think this just shows brands that they need to be
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: really careful about the staff that they pick because I
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: really relate to the Cook Eye thing because when I
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: was younger, I was so intimidated to go in there.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: And you can tell that Cook Eye hire staff based
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: on their appearance.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: They all look the same. They're all very beautiful girls.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: There's definitely a level of prestige if you were to
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: get a job at Cook Eye because it's basically like saying,
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: you're a model. We want you in our clothes. Because
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: I've heard of so many, I've heard so many stores
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: say that if they dress The shop assistants in the clothes,
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: those clothes sell out instantly of how good they look
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: in them. Yeah, but also you've got to think, well,
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: we also need to get people that are nice because
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: you don't want people scared to come into your store.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: You don't want people.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: intimidated by the staff because that is not a good vibe.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: It actually does put me off to go into some
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: stores because of how snooty some of the shop assistants act.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: But I think a lot of brands do this because
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: they only want certain customers to come in and try
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: their clothes. To be fair to the Henny staff, some
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: people did defend them. So someone said, surprised of the
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: feedback of the staff at Henny. They've always been so
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: friendly when I have gone. While another said, it's weird.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: I went into the Melbourne one and they were nice
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: to me. I'm not particularly hot, skinny or young either.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: I'm 40 and a size 10 to 12. And then
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: there was another person who was perplexed by the line.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: So they said, I live around the corner. There are
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: never lines during the week, but the weekends it can
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: go down the street. What's also come out since this
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: criticism is that Henny has a really unique showroom system.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: So what do you mean by showroom system?
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: It sounds like they're selling cars.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's different to a regular clothing boutique. It's
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: sort of like a shoe shop where They only have
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: the sample sizes on display. So they'll have one pair
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: of Valentina jeans in just the one size. So basically
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: you go around the store, figure out what you want
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: to try on, and then they have an iPad. So
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: you have to enter into the iPad, the items you
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: want to try on and the size. And once the
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: shop assistants then receive your order, they have to go upstairs,
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: fetch your sizes for you to try on. And then
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: they finally bring it down to you for you to
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: then wait in another queue to try them on in
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: the change room. So it's a very lengthy process. No
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: wonder these staff are pissed off. It sounds ridiculous.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: It sounds like a lot of work.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: On them running up and down the stairs, finding the item.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: I just hate this system because it's like, you have
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: to be so honored to get into the store first.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: And then it's like, And here's my size. Oh, my God.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much. You've spent all this time.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: Like, it's really weird. Well, for a lot of women,
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: they don't actually like having to tell people what their
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: size is, particularly if these people are very intimidating. Like,
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: if you're in a bigger body, you feel a bit uncomfortable,
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: particularly if they might not even have your size. It's
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: like they're unsure what their price point is. They're kind
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: of acting like they're a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: by making people wait around like this. And actual fact,
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: they're selling garments for a couple hundred dollars. Well, following
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: the backlash, Nadia was forced to publicly apologize and she
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: also addressed the complaint. So she told news.com, we absolutely
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: acknowledge the disappointment felt. This is not an experience we
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: would ever choose for our community. The rapid rise in
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: demand for Henny exceeds anything we could have possibly expected.
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: It is incredible to have this support, but it also
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: creates growing pains for us such as this. Right now,
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: we are actively working to improve the in-store experience on
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: a short term and long term. She also added that
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: the Henny team is working hard to find a resolution
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: stating it was increasing staff support and revising its fitting
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: room protocols, as well as actively exploring new locations and
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: also different sizes for their boutiques. It's a good response
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: from Nadia. I mean, I always find it hard to
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: be angry at Nadia Bartel for some reason, because she's
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: just such a likable influencer. It's a tough one because
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: it's pretty incredible that this businesswoman has grown this brand
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: in a couple of years that they can't even reach
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: the demands.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: It is that popular. This brand has exploded.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but, Also, Nadia just has this ability for people
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: not to be angry. I mean, remember the cocaine scandal
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: with the Kmart plate?
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Well, I think she came out of that really well.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Do you know what it is?
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: It's because she apologizes and she takes responsibility for it.
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: Like she doesn't try and shirk it and come up
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: with all of these excuses as to why there was
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: a line and why it was busy and why.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: People were rude.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: Well, I think that's all we've got time for today.
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to another episode of Outspoken. If
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: you do enjoy the podcast, please leave us a five-star review.
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: This podcast was recorded on the traditional land of the
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. We pay respect to
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: elders past and present.