Rahma also co-created a series with UPS called Business Trips, which riffs on the format of his other show, Keep the Meter Running, in which New York City cab drivers take Rahma to their favorite restaurants. This time, he drives around in a UPS truck to local businesses.
“[UPS] cast the drivers and chose the small businesses, but I produced it with my crew,” he said. “They didn’t make me change my equipment or anything, and that’s why it ended up working out.”
For the most part, Rahma said he has had great experiences working with brands, but they can miss the mark if they think of creator collaborations as small or one-off investments. “It’s either do it or don’t do it,” he said. “Don’t do it halfway.”
“It happens from time to time when people commit to things that they wish they didn’t, and so our job is to navigate through all that,” Izad added.
But at the end of the day, creators that want to be successful, both financially and culturally, have to embrace brand involvement.
“I always tell [creators], ‘Brands are the only people who have money. No one has money anymore. Just respond to brands,’” Rahma said.
