Why We're Losing Each Other (and How We Come Back Together) | Charl Bassil
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Rebuild shared experiences, brand responsibility, and "create the party".
What happens when convenience quietly replaces connection?
In our first episode of 2026, Sam Rockey speaks with Charl Bassil, the BBC’s first Chief Brand Officer, about what’s changed in the way we live, work, and belong. Charl argues we haven’t lost our need for connection — we’ve just been seduced by frictionless alternatives: streaming, scrolling, hyper-personalised feeds, and “social” platforms that deliver media with only a thin trace of social.
Together they explore the BBC’s public-service role in a fragmented world — truth with no agenda, backing homegrown creativity, and bringing people together — and why shared cultural moments still matter for social cohesion. Charl also shares lessons from iconic global brands on balancing short-term growth with long-term brand equity, the power of aligning values with commercial reality, and why “care” and “kindness” aren’t soft words — they’re strategic.
Plus: a moving story of how Charl built a Lebanese community in Cape Town from scratch, and the leadership principle at the heart of it all: don’t wait to be invited — create the party.
What happens when convenience quietly replaces connection?
In our first episode of 2026, Sam Rockey speaks with Charl Bassil, the BBC’s first Chief Brand Officer, about what’s changed in the way we live, work, and belong. Charl argues we haven’t lost our need for connection — we’ve just been seduced by frictionless alternatives: streaming, scrolling, hyper-personalised feeds, and “social” platforms that deliver media with only a thin trace of social.
Together they explore the BBC’s public-service role in a fragmented world — truth with no agenda, backing homegrown creativity, and bringing people together — and why shared cultural moments still matter for social cohesion. Charl also shares lessons from iconic global brands on balancing short-term growth with long-term brand equity, the power of aligning values with commercial reality, and why “care” and “kindness” aren’t soft words — they’re strategic.
Plus: a moving story of how Charl built a Lebanese community in Cape Town from scratch, and the leadership principle at the heart of it all: don’t wait to be invited — create the party.
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction and guest welcome
- 02:00 The convenience trap and human connection
- 07:29 BBC's role in bringing people together
- 13:45 Brand leadership and long-term relationship building
- 18:59 Castle Lager's social cohesion strategy
- 20:44 Absolut's One Source campaign
- 24:50 Creating community: the Lebanese Cape Town story
- 30:18 Leadership advice: the power of caring
- 35:22 Message to the next generation
