On today’s episode of Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast, Havas Play executives Andrea Isaac and Juliette Tierney discuss insights for reaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers and the differences that set them apart.
The senior leader of branded content and experiential marketing at marketing giant Havas talks about the big shift in marketing priorities and the need to leverage culture and different fan communities. A key challenge for big brands is learning to “understand strategy from a cultural perspective” in a fundamentally different way than they have done in the past, says Isaac, managing partner for North America at Havas Play.
andrea isaac
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“We think of fandom as cultural infrastructure,” Isaac says.
In today’s highly fragmented culture of streaming video and online communities, it’s difficult to reach a wide range of consumers with traditional TV spots or magazine pages.
“It’s not just happening in one place or at one moment,” she says. “For us, fandom is the infrastructure, the interconnecting layer of how people actually live their lives today.”
Tierney, senior vice president of partnerships and culture strategy, said the marketplace for brands in a moment of transformation resembles a “high school cafeteria.” Isaac and Tierney spoke with Variety’s Jennifer Mars in a conversation held on April 22 as part of the annual Variety Entertainment Marketing Summit.
“I like to think about the entire media ecosystem. It’s like a high school cafeteria, so to speak. It’s like different high school cafeterias. They all look different and there’s a different social currency between them,” Tierney says. “And there are always people in that environment who can bridge the gap between different groups and different communities. Brands that can do that are going to be very successful.”
“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. Click here to sign up for our free weekly newsletter ‘Strictly Business’. New podcast episodes are published every Friday and available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more.
Above Photo: Andrea Isaac (left) and Juliette Tierney attend Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit in Beverly Hills on April 22, 2026.
