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Welcome back to Insider Pix, where we uncover what entertainment and culture insiders are watching, reading, and listening to! Next up:
Hayley Clover
Hayley Clover is an actress, journalist, and the co-host and executive producer of Best Brands on Earth. Featured in national campaigns for brands ranging from Chewy to the LPGA, CNN, and countless others, Hayley brings humor and authenticity to every project.
Best Brands on Earth, from the Clios
Hayley and Matt Kerbel’s podcast brings you inside conversations with leaders behind the brands that have shaped culture and earned lasting relevance, from Liquid Death to Grindr, and more.
Refuge, their invite-only event series for senior marketing, business, creative, and cultural leaders, offers a different kind of networking experience: free, fully curated gatherings designed for attendees to show up, be vulnerable, and form genuine connections.
Hayley’s 5 Picks
Best TV show you’ve watched recently?
Rooster on HBO. So funny and tugs at your heartstrings like Ted Lasso and Shrinking, which are also favorites of mine!
Best movie you watched recently?
It’s not necessarily recent, but I can’t seem to get Hamnet out of my head. The performances, the cinematography… It was so impactful. The final shot of the full theater was one of the most beautiful shots I’ve ever seen in a movie.
A hidden gem you wish more people knew about?
It’s not hidden at all, but I don’t think enough people take advantage of eBay. You’d be surprised how many things I bought for my wedding that were new with tags on, and were returnable. Before you go buy new luggage or expensive bedsheets, check eBay. I swear retailers are selling products they can’t move under an alias. I’ve purchased designer luggage that I got 50% off, sent to me directly from the company warehouse!
Go-to weekly podcast?
I’m a big Audible fan! I have a Siberian Husky (Bruno) who needs lots of exercise, so I have an audiobook going at all times on our walks. I’m currently a huge fan of the dramatic adaptations of Romantasy books. It is quite literally a movie in your ears.
A 5-star-worthy book you’d recommend to anyone?
The Artist’s Way! Feeling like you’re in a rut? That’s the answer. It’s a commitment, because it’s more of a “workbook,” but give it a try; you won’t be disappointed.
For a fiction choice, I just finished Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and it was fantastic.
Pix: On Best Brands on Earth, you explore why certain brands become part of our lives and culture. What’s a brand that you’ve stayed loyal to through different eras of your life, and what’s kept you coming back?
HC: The Buffalo Bills.
I was born and raised in Buffalo, so you don’t really have much of a choice. But I haven’t lived in Buffalo for almost two decades now, and I always get back for a game. The Buffalo community is what will keep you coming back. Amazing, down to earth people with a collective love for a team who has given us just as much heartbreak as joy. But it’s a resilient group, and I love them with all of my heart.
It’s our year, baby!
Pix: What brand do you think understands its audience better than anyone else right now? And what are they getting right?
HC: Gap. I think they understand that millennials are grasping for any and all nostalgia right now (because who isn’t daydreaming about easier times right now), and Gap has perfected it. They brought back their famous Gap hoodies, their dancing/music video style ads, etc. Their collaboration drops sell out immediately, and their pricing is fair. And their clothing isn’t just for millennials. Gen Z is loving their popular 90s styles that they’ve brought back, and Boomers love their basics. There is something for everyone.
Pix: Refuge is basically an antidote to traditional networking. What’s your best advice for making a real connection with someone when you walk into a room full of strangers?
HC: Be yourself, because someone there is more like you than you realize. You love Pokémon or consider yourself a nerd? Hell yeah! I guarantee you someone else there would go buy a new pack with you to see if you found a card with value.
You love Bravo and the Real Housewives? Bring it up! Someone there will absolutely break down that fight between Dorit and Kyle.
If you don’t show up as your true self, you can’t effectively connect to anyone. It can be scary, but that’s why Refuge created a room surrounding a fun experience. It allows people to break down those walls that may traditionally make networking hard.
Pix: What’s one networking “rule” you think we should all collectively break?
HC: Nametags. We don’t need them if we are creating a space where people actually want to meet and talk to each other.
We don’t use them at Refuge, and it has never been an issue. In fact, after our last event in Toronto, guests had so much fun with each other that they requested that we throw them into a WhatsApp channel so they could keep in touch! It made me so happy to see them want to connect in that way and not just on LinkedIn.