Dive deep into business, brand and strategy.
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“We’re not trying to win on price. We’re trying to win on value.” — Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO
This quote encapsulates a core business strategy significantly shaping Nvidia’s brand and market position. Let’s talk about Nvidia’s Value-Driven Strategy Instead of engaging in price wars, Nvidia focuses on delivering superior value through cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions. This wasn’t just a marketing slogan or words on a PowerPoint slide.…
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“Patents are for the weak.” — Elon Musk
In 2014, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk made a shocking announcement that sent ripples through the automotive industry: Tesla would open-source its patents, making them freely available for anyone to use “in good faith.” This unconventional move perfectly illustrates how a business decision can profoundly impact a brand. At its core,…
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Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” Campaign
In 2011, Patagonia’s CEO, Yvon Chouinard, made a bold business decision that perfectly illustrates how business strategy (inside-out) can profoundly impact a brand (outside-in). On Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, Patagonia ran a full-page ad in The New York Times with a provocative headline: “Don’t…
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Your ‘business’ is your ‘brand’
I see a troubling disconnect between holistic brand-building and the relentless pursuit of measurable growth everywhere I look. Where are all my ‘B2B SaaS’ folks at? Just kidding. This fixation on numbers has led many to view brand-building as a “fluffy” endeavour, relegating it to a mere checkbox on a…
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The case for ‘brand’ to a metric-obsessed executive
“In their relentless pursuit of measurable ROI, today’s data-driven marketers are inadvertently killing the very essence of what makes premium brands valuable. By fixating on short-term metrics like click-through rates, conversion percentages, and cost per acquisition, they’re sacrificing the intangible magic that elevates a brand from commodity to luxury. Brands…
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Why “We Want to Be Like ‘X’ or ‘Y’ Company” Isn’t a Strategy
It’s easy to idolize successful companies and think, “If we do what they do, we’ll succeed too.” But mimicry is not the key to innovation and growth. It’s also lazy. Let’s dive into why copying others can actually hinder your progress, whether you’re a startup founder or a Fortune 500…
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Stop Listening to Your Clients: The Case for Gut Instincts in Business
We’ve all been told that the customer is always right and client feedback is the holy grail of business success. But what if we’ve been getting it wrong? What if, sometimes, the best way to innovate and drive your business forward is to stop listening to your clients and start…
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The Big Short Explains Why Smart People Act Stupid in Business
Last night, I rewatched “The Big Short (TBS),” a film that brilliantly dissects the 2008 financial crisis. As I watched, it struck me how this movie perfectly illustrates why even the smartest people in large organizations can make disastrously poor decisions. Let’s take a look at the systemic, cultural, and…
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From Courtrooms to Salesrooms: The Unseen Choreography of Decision-Making
TL;DR: Your feelings during a crime could determine your sentence. Facts and logic take a backseat when emotions enter the room. Picture the courtroom in the O.J. Simpson trial, alive with emotions; each fact presented potentially altering the case, with pragmatism anchoring justice amidst human feelings. Now, shift to a…
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How to launch a school without talking about it or using digital (GTM Strategy)
In this digital age, it’s rare to find a marketing campaign that avoids the usual digital trappings where marketers are obsessed with SEO, organic or ads. GTM with a twist. My agency was tasked with launching a brand-new school, where we took an unconventional path, and the results? Well, they…
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How do you get your team to believe in what you sell?
Have you ever scratched your head, wondering how to get the people in charge of selling to believe in what they’re selling? You’re not alone. Many business owners, founders, and chief sales officers grapple with the same issue. It’s a silent crisis – a creeping loss of self-belief in sales…
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The Quiet Coup: How Consultants Quietly Overtook Agencies
In the bustling corridors of a Fortune 500 company, a CEO once remarked after a failed advertising campaign, “The creatives looked good, but it didn’t feel right strategically.” This sentiment encapsulates the tension between the worlds of consulting and agency. But what drives this tension? The answer lies in two…
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