ROB SHEARD
The Mind of a Chef billboard on a city street
01 / 06

Brand strategy · Original IP · Production

Build things
people Love

I build brands, audiences and things worth watching.

The throughline

The audience has to want it.

That has been the starting point for everything I’ve built. A product. A film. A channel. A business. Give people a reason to care, then build a model that makes that attention matter.

Selected work

Brands. Stories. Businesses.

Chefs and Anthony Bourdain gathered at a dinner for The Mind of a Chef01 / THE MIND OF A CHEF

The Mind of a Chef

Food, travel and the people who see the world differently.

My role & the outcome

Development · Brand partnerships · Marketing · Monetization

I helped bring The Mind of a Chef to PBS and Netflix, connecting ambitious programming with the brands and partners that could support it.

With Sonos and Spotify, Playlist Potluck turned a simple behavior insight into programming: people were listening to music in the kitchen. The partnership became content, an event, a Spotify activation and a Netflix special.

PBS + NetflixDistribution
1.5M+Playlist Potluck organic video views
5KConsumer playlists
The Mind of a Chef billboard photographed on a city street
A distinct identity, built to travel beyond the show.
Breville mixer beside Ivan Ramen cookbook02 / BREVILLE

Breville

Build a brand through culture, content and product.

My role & the outcome

North American launch · Brand strategy · Content · Partnerships

I spent a decade helping launch and grow Breville in North America. We connected product innovation with chefs, filmmakers and useful content, giving people a reason to seek out the brand.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead showed what could happen when a story created demand. The film became a catalyst for the juicer business.

70%Juicer category share
$75MIncremental revenue tied to the film
Archive of Breville’s product website
The brand experience extended from the screen to the product.
US women’s national soccer team celebrating beside Volpi sponsorship signage03 / VOLPI FOODS

Volpi Foods

A heritage producer. A national stage.

My role & the outcome

Brand strategy · Media · Sponsorship · Content

I led brand strategy, media, sponsorship and content as Volpi expanded its consumer business and retail footprint. The U.S. Soccer partnership put a 120-year-old family business into a new cultural conversation.

100K+Points of distribution
U.S. SoccerOfficial Protein partnership
Steven Rinella smiling in outdoor gear on a MeatEater trip04 / MEATEATER

MeatEater

From television series to media ecosystem.

My role & the outcome

Development · Marketing · Partnerships · Monetization

At Zero Point Zero, I helped grow MeatEater beyond the television show, connecting the series with podcasts, brand partnerships, commerce and live experiences. The opportunity was to build a business around the audience’s interests, with Steven Rinella at its center.

NetflixSeries distribution
Podcast + commerceExtensions beyond television
The Chernin GroupAcquisition
The MeatEater Podcast artwork featuring Steven Rinella
The audience relationship extended into audio.
La Quercia jambon board with cured meats, cheeses, grapes, olives and crackers05 / LA QUERCIA

La Quercia

Connect brand equity to direct revenue.

My role & the outcome

Brand framework · Shopify · Customer data · Growth

I refreshed the brand framework, brought customer data together and launched a new Shopify experience. The work connected the story of the product with a clearer path to purchase.

2×DTC revenue in the launch period
+63%Organic traffic
La Quercia’s website featuring Acorn Edition Prosciutto
The product story, brought into the shopping experience.
Fries! The Movie premiere event06 / FRIES! THE MOVIE

Fries! The Movie

One familiar food. A world of stories.

My role & the outcome

Producer

A feature documentary exploring the world’s love of french fries, with voices including Malcolm Gladwell and Chrissy Teigen. The film connected cultural curiosity with a brand-backed production model.

Tribeca 2021Festival premiere
PeacockStreaming distribution

How I work

invest in
authenticity

A media problem can start with positioning. A content problem can start with distribution. A growth problem can start with a product nobody can explain.

I work across those lines, from the first question to the finished work and the business around it.

01

Brand & positioning

Audience research, category strategy, brand architecture and go-to-market.

02

Original IP

Film, television, podcasts and repeatable formats, with talent, partners and distribution built into the plan.

03

YouTube & creators

Channel strategy, programming, creator partnerships and audience development.

04

Production

Creative development through delivery for premium video, branded content and social.

05

Growth & monetization

Commerce, sponsorship, licensing and partnerships that extend the value of the work.

The Spread Sheet artwork featuring a celebrating baseball player and prediction market branding

What I’m building now

The Spread Sheet

A comedy-driven show powered by prediction markets. Sports, pop culture and the arguments people are willing to put a price on.

The same question, in a new category: what would people choose to watch?

Talk about the project

Writing

Where the audience
is going next.

I write about media, brand building and the business models taking shape around YouTube, creators and AI-driven discovery.

Follow my thinking on LinkedInLonger reads on Substack

About Rob

Authenticity starts
with a point of view.

Rob Sheard, Founder of Sheard Media

I’m the founder of Sheard Media. Before that, I led development and marketing at Zero Point Zero and spent a decade helping launch and grow Breville in North America.

My work has taken me from consumer products to documentary film, from television to podcasts and commerce. The common thread is building something people want to spend time with, then making it work as a business.

Today I work with founders, brands and leadership teams on positioning, original IP, production and audience growth.

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