Brands don’t win because they post more content.
They win because they own something no one else can copy.

That “something” is IP — stories, characters, worlds, systems, and cultural assets that compound into long-term value.

Intellectual Property (IP) is becoming the core strategic asset behind modern brand entertainment and cultural ecosystems.

For over 20 years, I worked inside some of the world’s most influential entertainment and consumer brands — Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, PUMA — shaping global franchises, managing multimillion-euro IP portfolios, and learning how brands evolve when they move beyond campaigns and into entertainment, culture, and ownership.

Today, as the founder of unmtchd., I work at the intersection of brand, entertainment, and IP — designing IP-led, entertainment-driven ecosystems as long-term strategic assets.

My work sits at the intersection of three pillars:

→ IP & Brand Strategy
Identifying and structuring what makes a brand truly unmatched — its unique assets, meaning, narrative, and signature.

→ Brand Entertainment & Ecosystem Design
Turning IP into characters, formats, products, content, partnerships, communities, and scalable revenue streams that live far beyond social platforms.

→ Cultural Positioning & Future Readiness
Helping brands evolve intentionally so they remain relevant, differentiated, and culturally meaningful in a fast-shifting world.

The outcome?
Brands that don’t just participate in culture — they build it.
Distinct by design. Scalable through IP. Built to last beyond the algorithm.

If you’re a brand leader or founder exploring how to move from content to IP, from campaigns to owned worlds, let’s connect.

Oana Leonte 💬

I need to be honest… 
I have mixed feelings about this.

I’ve worked for PUMA for 10 years.

I know the brand well — 
its internal tensions, its unreal creative firepower, and the gap between what PUMA is and what it could be.

That’s why I was hoping for a different buyer.

Because this move isn’t just about money.
And it’s not just about distribution.

It’s about what kind of future you create for a brand when you truly understand IP.

PUMA doesn’t lack awareness.

It doesn’t lack product.
It doesn’t lack athletes, moments, or cultural relevance.

And it certainly doesn’t lack legacy. 

What it has always struggled with is clarity around its core IP:

what must stay sacred
vs. what can hype, license, evolve, and compound.

Because PUMA is not just a sportswear company.

It’s a brand ecosystem that spans:
– sport
– fashion
– performance
– music
– heritage
– street culture

Handled well, that’s an incredible IP engine.
Handled poorly, it becomes one of many.

I say this with lots of care and love for the brand.

PUMA’s potential was never about being a “winner”.

It was about going back to its essence.

More intentional about the space it owns.
More disciplined about what it builds.
More confident about what it stands for. 

This is why these moments matter so much for a legacy brand like that. 

Who owns the brand determines:
– how IP is protected
– how meaning compounds
– how legacy survives leadership changes

I want PUMA to win.
Deeply.

But I also know this:
brands like PUMA don’t need “operators”.

They need IP architects.

Curious to hear other perspectives,
especially from people who’ve lived inside legacy brands and felt this tension firsthand.

Oana  Leonte

IP is the new influence → Brand Entertainment & IP Monetization Strategy → Founder of unmtchd. • Ex-Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, PUMA • Speaker

Simon Jacquemus just named his grandma the official face of the brand.

And it says more about brand meaning than a thousand celebrity campaigns.

To be clear, 

this isn’t a PR stunt.
It’s not “authenticity” as a tactic.
It's not "let's make an emotional campaign".

It’s simply brand coherence, 
and consolidating his brand IP.

Simon isn't borrowing meaning.
He formalised what was already there.

In the announcement image which you can see here, Liline Jacquemus is carrying The Valerie Bag, a bag inspired by her daughter. Simon’s mother.

The product isn’t just a product.
It’s a vessel of memory.
Of family.
Of continuity.

You can’t fake this kind of meaning.
You can’t replicate it with influencers.
You can’t outspend it.

For years, his grandmother has been part of the Jacquemus universe:

the south of France,
family tables,
sun-bleached memories,
Simon's childhood folded into fashion.

By naming her officially, Jacquemus did something very few brands dare to do:
→ turned emotional truth into owned brand equity.

No influencer could replicate this.
No campaign budget could manufacture it.
Because this only works when the story is real and repeatable.

Because this is what real brand IP looks like:
– emotional truth
– encoded into product
– scaled without dilution

Jacquemus isn’t selling just good fashion.
He understands that what fashion needs is meaning.

And that’s why it works.

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SOHO STUDIO

We transform traffic into sales for DTC brands.

Founder

Instagram

Developed a 500K+ member community across channels (Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok, Snapchat) for my personal brand.

Content Creator

Winning Pinterest Marketing for Brands & Creators.

Leading the market isn’t easy for DTC brands, especially with so many competitors already in the game.

For new DTC brands, it’s a significant challenge. Reaching the right customers and generating revenue takes time.

But this challenge becomes manageable with the right strategy—a well-curated and thoughtful approach.

Crafting such a strategy requires deep knowledge and experience in the field.

I’ve been in the marketing space for over 7 years, and during this time, I’ve:

- Explored and utilized almost every type of marketing knowledge available

- Learned from failures and made strategic, data-driven decisions

- Implemented hundreds of marketing strategies and mastered the finer details of marketing

- Helped dozens of brands scale into empires with this expertise

And that’s just the beginning of the story.

Through my LinkedIn posts, I share the lessons, strategies, and insights I’ve gained over the past 7 years—giving you a glimpse into this journey and the knowledge I’ve built along the way.

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The Battle

Oana Leonte 💬

Wardah Mushtaq

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Oana Leonte 💬's LinkedIn Performance

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