{"id":12045,"date":"2026-04-27T01:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T05:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/ownable-originality-how-versus-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-brand-entertainment-storytelling\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T17:40:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T21:40:25","slug":"ownable-originality-how-versus-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-brand-entertainment-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/news\/ownable-originality-how-versus-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-brand-entertainment-storytelling\/12045\/","title":{"rendered":"Ownable Originality: How VERSUS Is Rewriting the Rules of Brand + Entertainment Storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this episode of <em>Agency Alchemy<\/em>, we sit down with Justin Barnes, Executive Creative Director at VERSUS, to explore the fast-evolving intersection of brand storytelling and entertainment. From major collaborations with global players like Volkswagen and The Walt Disney Company to large-scale experiential and mixed-media campaigns, VERSUS is operating at the forefront of a new creative paradigm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the center of that shift is a concept Barnes calls \u201cownable originality\u201d\u2014the ability for brands to create culturally resonant work that feels both unmistakably unique and deeply authentic. But in a landscape flooded with content (and increasingly, AI-generated content), standing out requires more than just novelty\u2014it demands taste, perspective, and a willingness to push beyond legacy thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barnes also unpacks how AI is actually being used inside a modern creative studio\u2014not as a replacement for ideas, but as a tool to accelerate them. From rapid prototyping to streamlining production workflows, AI is helping teams get closer to the idea faster\u2014without sacrificing the human craft that makes great storytelling stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The takeaway? As AI becomes table stakes, the real competitive edge isn\u2019t speed\u2014it\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listen to all episodes on your favorite podcast platform:<\/h3>\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group aw-mig-inline-images is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c88056ad wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group aw-mig-inline-images is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c88056ad wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/agency-alchemy\/id1794627047\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" src=\"https:\/\/stg-advertisingweekrevamp2026-staging.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/100apple.png\" alt=\"apple podcasts\" class=\"wp-image-7865\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:32px;height:32px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/66fTTNlOc0t3FksPuspTVq\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" src=\"https:\/\/stg-advertisingweekrevamp2026-staging.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/100spotify.png\" alt=\"spotify podcasts\" class=\"wp-image-7866\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:32px;height:32px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gsUb1PkQ5vM?si=tLfDdycaWOqj8eru\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/stg-advertisingweekrevamp2026-staging.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit.png\" alt=\"youtube podcasts\" class=\"wp-image-8836\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:32px;height:32px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit.png 2048w, https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/youtube-icon-2048x2048-ndntqyit-1536x1536.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<iframe title=\"Ownable Originality: How VERSUS Is Rewriting the Rules of Brand + Entertainment Storytelling\" allowtransparency=\"true\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" style=\"border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/player-v2\/?i=zj6zf-1aa9e9c-pb&amp;from=pb6admin&amp;share=0&amp;download=0&amp;rtl=0&amp;fonts=Arial&amp;skin=1b1b1b&amp;font-color=auto&amp;logo_link=none&amp;btn-skin=60a0c8\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode of Agency Alchemy, we sit down with Justin Barnes, Executive Creative Director at VERSUS, to explore the fast-evolving intersection of brand storytelling and entertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":12046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"topics":[37,31],"class_list":["post-12045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","topics-agency-alchemy","topics-podcast"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13585,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12045\/revisions\/13585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12045"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinsta-stag-advertisingweek.md-staging.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=12045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}