Inside the Clios' New Podcast, 'Best Brands on Earth'

Meet co-hosts Matt Kerbel and Hayley Clover

He’s a longtime industry insider. She’s a journalist turned actress. Together, Matt Kerbel and Hayley Clover make up the witty duo behind the mics of Best Brands on Earth, a new podcast venture from the Clios and Open Fortune.

From the heritage brands making a comeback to globally renowned creators who have inspired a movement, Best Brands on Earth will go behind the scenes with the brands that have shaped culture and earned lasting relevance. Kerbel, a marketing veteran with nearly 20 years of experience in leadership and advisory roles at companies like Lyft, Homie and Turo, will co-host the podcast with Clover. She’s a multi-talented journalist and actress who has appeared in popular campaigns for brands such as Hatch and Chewy.

Clios sat down with the hosts to discuss lived experiences, dream guests (aka Rihanna) and what listeners can expect.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Clios: What should Best Brands on Earth listeners know about you?

Kerbel: A lot of shows typically have a subject matter expert who’s seeking to interview other subject matter experts. As Hayley and I have gotten to know each other, [we’ve realized that] we come from actually quite different backgrounds.

As a result of that, we’ve been able to talk about a lot of the things that she’s seen from her perspective, as well as mine [as] the contrarian looking to challenge things. The power of having two people come together from different angles and backgrounds will just make for a better show, good debate and substantive conversation.

Clover: I’m from Buffalo. That does come with an extreme loyalty and fandom of Buffalo sports: Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres. People that know me know me to be pretty sarcastic and goofy. I like to be weird, sit around and banter with friends about weird s***, come up with scenarios for SNL and all sorts of random things.

Like Matt said, I’m a journalist by trade. I worked in local news for a bit. Hated it. It was totally not my thing. I also quickly realized that the news is depressing.

But I was always enamored with the red carpet. I moved to L.A. thinking that I would be the next E! News correspondent and interview celebrities. I did a lot of red carpet correspondence through different digital channels and then quickly realized that, while those interviews and conversations were super interesting, I was really jealous of the projects that I was talking to people about. I started taking acting classes and found the challenge to be immense but so enjoyable. I would challenge anybody to take an improv class. It’s the most nerve-wracking thing alive, but you can really learn from it.

Hayley, it sounds like improv was really a catalyst for you. How did it change your perspective?

Clover: In commercial auditions, they want you to do five different things. [In] one, they were having me in the kitchen talking to my kids about their school day and acting out the scene; but there’s no script. So you’re coming up and creating this whole world.

Improv helped [my performance anxiety] a bit, though, because you really have to let go and not give a s*** what people think about you. A lot of my adaptability and being able to take on new challenges and things like that came from taking improv.

Matt, you mentioned your kids [earlier]. How has becoming a father impacted your perspective?

Kerbel: The only constant is chaos and change. Every year is just different and a beautiful mess.

I lost my father suddenly when I was 21, about 20 years ago. And he was not around for me getting married and having kids of my own. And so, becoming a dad really hit me hard. I certainly have a fond appreciation for just anything to do with connecting with people and trying to sort of “carpe diem.”

That’s why I love to travel. That’s why I love to be a dad. Our oldest [son], James, who’s nine and a half, has been to Ireland, Morocco, Italy, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada and all these different places. I call it “James Vision,” because I am so obsessed with what he gets to see at his age. I’m insatiably curious.

Who can we expect from the Best Brands on Earth podcast?

Kerbel: The word “brand” doesn’t have to be beholden to a company. A brand can be a person, a group of people. Essentially, a brand is an idea that exists to unite people. It exists to evoke emotion. It exists to make it easier for people’s memory structures to recall that thing.

We want to get as full a picture as we can of these brands through the lens of, What can people learn? How can this be different? We certainly don’t need to create another marketing show by marketers for marketers. There are plenty of those and many of them are great. But that’s not really what we’re seeking to do.

Why are the Clios a strong partner for content about the best brands?

Clover: The Clios have been constantly searching for brands and creators who have made a real cultural impact for almost 70 years! They have the experience to know who the real change makers are. They haven’t just searched for these brands; they’ve made it a point to recognize and celebrate them, which feels like the exact type of partner we want for this new venture.

Hayley, you’ve been in some ads yourself. Was there ever a time you were on set and you could feel what the brand felt like and [the messaging] clicked?

Clover: For a couple different reasons, Chewy was always a brand that felt like it had a strong brand voice.

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They knew who they were. They actually have their own production studio at their headquarters in Florida because they wanted to be able to have full control over exactly what they were creating. And so, it did feel like they all were very close [on set]. They’re using the same production folks all the time. They all knew exactly what they wanted to achieve. And there were like 8,000 puppies running around, which also helps.

We’re currently in this “era” of podcasts. Where do you look for inspiration when it comes to podcasting?

Kerbel: I’ve always been a big fan of How I Built This with Guy Raz. On one hand, [he is] well researched and on the other hand he is really empathetic. I also love the banter of the Smartless guys (Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes) and how self-deprecating they are.

Clover: The best interviews are by people who are really good listeners. That podcast is hysterical, though, because they don’t listen at all. They talk over each other non-stop. They don’t give a s*** if the guest is even talking. But it’s their personalities and it makes it so funny.

My choice lately is Good Hang with Amy Poehler. She’s a good mix of having that comedic relief and the guests that she has on are already, of course, impressive and incredible. Most of them are extremely famous. But she asks really great questions. I like the concept of having a friend of the guest to ask random questions in the beginning. And then, she’s a very good listener while still being able to infuse that comedy and perfect timing.

Lastly, who are your dream guests? This is your chance to put it out there in the universe.

Clover: From a celebrity standpoint, someone who has created an incredible brand for themselves [is] Rihanna. I would love to have her on to talk about literally every venture that she’s part of. It’s really cool how she’s been able to turn her singing career into an acting career into being a beauty and fashion mogul. She’s such a badass.

Kerbel: There are some really fascinating brands out there. There are the expected ones: The Gap comeback, The New Balance turnaround, those types of things. But there’s so many incredible, new brands that are taking a very sort of like different tact. I love the guys over at Vacation. The [brands] we want to have on the show are only the ones that are really trying to reinvent themselves and do different things. [The brands] that have a really solid place in culture today and tomorrow, not just yesterday.

[Also] I second Rihanna.

The first season of Best Brands on Earth will launch on July . New episodes will drop Tuesdays on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Check back on Muse by Clios for the latest news and follow BBOE on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.