Q&A With BOI STUDIO
PHOTO: SHAIL
Kat Mata and Rachel Keeton have spent the last several years building the kind of marketing world most brands try to reverse engineer after the fact: ideas that actually feel like they came from people and not a boardroom.
After running the marketing department at Pabst Blue Ribbon and managing partnerships with brands like Campbell’s, Grillo’s, Godzilla, and Timberland PRO, the two recently cut the ribbon on boi — a women-led creative studio built around community, taste, and trusting actual artists to do what they do best. Their work is rooted in culture, humor, instinct, and the belief that brands should probably stop trying to sound like everyone else.
With boi, they’re stepping out on their own to help brands connect in ways that feel more human, more original, and a little less like a generic social ad that got approved by 14 people. We talked with them about leaving PBR, starting fresh, the return of analog work, and what it means to build on your own terms.
PHOTO: SHAIL
Juke: For people just getting familiar, how would you describe boi and the kind of work you want to put into the world?
Kat: I would describe boi as a community made up of a bunch of idiots. A buncha talented idiot creators that we’ve either commissioned, collaborated with or are lucky enough to call friends that we are excited to put to work. I want to put out work that feels less stale and boring or safe than what I'm seeing out in the world from brands rn.
Rachel: I also don’t want us to take ourselves or the marketing world too seriously. We just want to create a space for really talented creatives to make work that’s fun, original, and connected to culture.
You both recently left Pabst Blue Ribbon to start something of your own. Was there a specific moment where you realized it was time to make the jump?
K: I think after 8 years of working on just beer we needed a change to get excited about other categories and trends that are closer to what we’re actually passionate about. That and realizing the opportunity there is for us to bridge the gap for brands who aren’t tapped in with a creative community but want to be.
R: I feel like we were working on so many big moments and partnerships that we started to recognize that what we do is special. There was a larger opportunity for us to take what we’ve learned and how we think, and bring that to brands outside of Pabst.
What felt more exciting: starting fresh, or building something completely on your own terms?
R: I love the thought of building something on our own terms. We’re not trying to claim “we’re a different type of agency” but I know the way Kat and I think, and our background in non-traditional marketing, so inherently it does feel a little different. It’s cool to be able to write our own rules for a change, and build something for the future that we can be proud of.
K: Both for sure, starting fresh with something of our own on our own terms feels not only like the next chapter and milestone in our career, but it feels so boss bitch slay mama boots down purr ya know?
What does being a women-led studio mean to you beyond the label?
R: I didn’t really think about this until a friend was hyping us up about what a big deal that is (and she’s right - it is a big deal). We’ve been in male-dominated fields for so long, it’s just really refreshing.
K: It means challenging tradition and hopefully inspiring other women to bet on themselves as well.
PHOTO: SHAIL
Creative work right now feels increasingly pushed toward speed, scale, and automation. How are you thinking about building a studio that protects human taste, instinct, and connection?
R: Don’t get me started on the efficiency/optimization mindset that’s invading culture lately. It’s so unbalanced. True creativity and taste are skills - not just a thing that happens magically if you automate your emails or start efficiency maxxing or whatever. There’s value in doing the work, using your brain to make something special, connecting with people, gaining new real-life experiences. That’s what we want boi to stand for.
What’s your stance on ai in the creative process? Do you feel things get lost when brands lean too heavily on AI-generated work?
K: Personality, originality, humor, relatability to actual humans and culture. I think there is a way to use AI as a tool, but when it comes to creative, marketing and replacing talented designers or artists it feels soulless.
R: I feel pretty strongly that generative ai and art don’t coexist. The details and choices that an artist makes to convey something, to give it depth or meaning, that’s all lost. A chatbot doesn’t have taste, or opinions, it can’t be original, or funny, or human (despite it suggesting the “most human way” to say something).
K: you can’t teach or program taste ;)
How do you feel that AI use reflects on a brand?
K: It feels lazy. We both feel that some brands are leaning into AI so heavily that the branding, language and campaigns are literally a rinse and repeat of one another.
R: Ai creative is so lame honestly. If a brand is trying to pass off low-effort ai creative work to consumers, why would those consumers respect that brand or want to buy from them. It just says we don’t care enough about you to put effort into this message or to pay a creative to make it better.
“Thinking people give a shit about your generic 30 second commercial. Or worse, the generic 30 second commercial cut down to 6 seconds for a sponsored Instagram story. No one cares”
What do you think brands are getting wrong right now when it comes to connecting with people?
K: I think a lot of brands are focusing their time and budgets exclusively in the digital space while literally missing the mark connecting with people IRL.
R: Thinking people give a shit about your generic 30 second commercial. Thinking people give a shit about your generic social post. Or worse, the generic 30 second commercial that was cut down to 6 seconds to live on a sponsored instagram story. No one cares. Real connection doesn’t happen with those one-sided interactions.
On the flip side, what makes a brand feel alive to you?
boi: Brands that build community. Brands that don’t exclusively rely on celebrities or influencers. Brands that understand their place in culture and participate. Brands that make us laugh.
Do you feel like there’s a return to more analog, tactile, or imperfect creative work happening right now? Or is that just wishful thinking?
R: Please don’t let it just be wishful thinking.
K: absolutely and i’m here for that resurgence as someone who collects little tangible things, i feel like this also makes things feel way more intentional.
R: I really do feel like we’re seeing that shift - it feels like an answer to combat ai slop. It stands out and feels real, and that goes a long way right now.
PHOTO: SHAIL
What kind of clients or collaborators are you hoping to attract with this new chapter?
boi: We want to work with partners that value culture, community, and creativity. We don’t want to just be defined in the beer industry, so we’re looking forward to expanding out.
What’s something you learned at a big company that you’re bringing with you, and what’s something you’re intentionally leaving behind?
K: bringing with: how important working cross functionally between departments plays a role in the success of a business as a whole.
leaving behind: playing it safe with my ideas
R: bringing with: the importance of originality.
leaving behind: corporate politics and 100 page decks.
I know you’re new here, but what has surprised you the most so far?
K: While it should be the least surprising thing, the amount of support we have gotten has been overwhelming and so sick.
R: 100% agree - people have been so supportive with their time, with making connections for us, it’s been really sweet.
What does success look like for boi in the next year?
R: Paying our bills, having fun, and getting to work with some of our very talented and creative friends.
K: It’s crazy how even just making the move to do this feels like success in itself.
Last one, who are your dream clients?
K: Barry, the store director of Food Giant Hueytown (link for the lazy)
R: Juke Hotline :)
PHOTO: SHAIL
TOP 5
KAT
Spicy crunchy tuna roll
Transatlantisicm by Death Cab For Cutie
Applying falsies on the FIRST try
Joe Jonas on TikTok
Having someone story post something hilarious I texted in the GC
RACHEL
boxy kei trucks
new Phoebe Bridgers album
summerhouse and the downfall of ww
year of the horse
When I go to dinner and someone else orders for the table and I don’t have to think and they do a perfect job
PHOTO: SHAIL