In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, Brett Stapper interviews João Janes, Global VP of Marketing at Habyt. Habyt is disrupting the housing market by providing flexible living solutions that bridge the gap between short-term Airbnb stays and traditional long-term housing. Operating in over 20 cities worldwide, Habyt has become the leading player in the flexible co-living space by simplifying the housing process with lower deposits, streamlined documentation, and month-to-month flexibility. João shares his journey from selling opposite experiences to parents and students in the travel industry to building a transparent, user-focused brand that addresses the fundamental challenges of modern housing.

Topics Discussed:

• Creating a disruptive brand in the traditionally stagnant housing market

• Balancing performance marketing with brand building strategies

• Building transparency into marketing and customer experience

• Rethinking marketing team structures in the age of AI

• Marketing to the fragmented Gen Z audience

• Transforming customer touchpoints into brand-building opportunities

• Finding and utilizing authentic content creators for brand storytelling

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Prioritize Transparency as a Competitive Advantage

Habyt has made transparency a core value with their “Tell it like it is” philosophy. In an industry historically plagued by hidden fees and misleading listings, Habyt differentiates by practicing what João calls “visual transparency” – designing marketing materials that communicate honestly within the first two seconds of viewing, acknowledging the reality of short attention spans.

Build Brand After Purchase in Experience-Based Categories

Rather than heavily investing in pre-purchase brand building, Habyt focuses on creating memorable experiences during the customer’s stay. In hospitality-adjacent categories, the post-purchase touchpoints offer higher memorability in a less crowded space, creating more efficient opportunities for brand building than traditional top-of-funnel approaches.

Restructure Marketing Teams for the AI Era

João is reimagining marketing team structures around the premise that AI is commoditizing intelligence and efficiency—the two qualities teams were historically optimized for. This means: smaller, more versatile teams with clustered rather than siloed roles; less hierarchy; and a culture that encourages team members to acknowledge knowledge gaps rather than posture as experts.

Balance Pragmatism and Brand Building Based on Context

João suggests evaluating three contextual factors before determining marketing mix: company size, emotional nature of your category, and brand sophistication of competitors. For startups with limited resources, he recommends focusing first on high-intent acquisition channels while incorporating brand elements that can be executed efficiently.

Shift From Microinfluencers to Long-Term Brand Storytellers

Instead of hiring numerous microinfluencers for one-off promotions, Habyt is investing in a full-time brand ambassador who will experience their properties globally and authentically document the experience. This approach creates more credible content while acknowledging that modern consumers will discover the truth about your offering regardless of marketing spin.

Recognize Gen Z as Multiple Cohorts Within One Generation

João emphasizes that Gen Z is not a monolithic group but rather “several generations in one” characterized by individuality and fragmentation. This heterogeneity creates complexity in tracking customer journeys as each touchpoint serves different functions for different segments, requiring marketers to become comfortable with less trackable attribution models.

Separate Output from Outcome in Team Performance Metrics

João makes a critical distinction between output metrics (what team members produce) and outcome metrics (the results those outputs generate). He advocates for team members owning their outputs while managers take responsibility for outcomes—a division that liberates creative thinking and risk-taking, particularly important in rapidly changing marketing environments.