KitKat's Stolen Lorry, Pret & Poppi, On & Zendaya...who is the Champion of Partnerships?!

Welcome to Brand of the Match, a new series from The Marketing Hustle.

Lottie Unwin is joined by co-host Joel Bjarni Marlinarson (founder of Coldest Creative) to debate which brands are playing the partnership game best, red cards, yellow cards and all.

This week's category: Partnerships.

Lottie and Joel go head to head on Diet Coke x The Devil Wears Prada, Kit Kat's "stolen lorry" stunt, the London Marathon activations from Adidas, Nike and Hoka, Poppi's launch into Pret, Lucky Saint x Lime Bike, Unplugged x Damson Madder and Zendaya x Law Roach for On.

One winner gets crowned Brand of the Match.

Thank you to our sponsor Stickybeak — rapid consumer research built for FMCG marketers. Test packaging, concepts and campaigns with real people in under 48 hours.Find out more: stickybeak.co

• 0:00 — Intro: Lottie's background and the new co-host format
• 0:26 — Joel introduces Coldest Creative and the "brands as football teams" idea
• 0:47 — How the show works: red cards, yellow cards, the whistle and Brand of the Match
• 1:44 — Kick-off: Round one, Partnerships
• Diet Coke x The Devil Wears Prada, and why it works when partnerships are the core of the idea, not an afterthought
• Kit Kat's "stolen lorry" stunt and moving at social speed
• London Marathon 2026: Adidas, Nike, Hoka and Wild Deodorant's last-minute activation
• Why behind-the-scenes content is now outperforming the polished final asset
• 10:22 — Half-time: the Stickybeak ad break
• 11:35 — Second half: Poppi's launch into Pret, and whether it's a smart distribution play or a brand risk
• Lucky Saint x Lime Bike, and building partnerships around habits people already have
• Unplugged x Damson Madder's single-cabin collaboration
• M&S's compliments campaign and the power of employees posting before the brand does
• Zendaya x Law Roach for On, and the satirical "assistant" framing
• Jacquemus and his grandmother: legacy as a partnership hook
• Predictions: employee-led campaigns and the rise of "pay to access an audience" partnerships
• 23:05 — Final whistle and verdict
• 26:13 — On, with the Zendaya x Law Roach campaign, is crowned Brand of the Match
• 26:22 — Outro and how to follow the show

Drop us a follow!

• Joel Bjarni Marlinarson — Instagram & TikTok: @coldestjoel | LinkedIn: Joel Bjarni Marlinarson
• Lottie Unwin — Instagram: @lottieunwinmarketing | TikTok: @lottieupworld | LinkedIn: Lottie Unwin

Subscribe wherever you listen, and drop a comment if you think we got the verdict wrong.