Dive deep into business, brand and strategy.
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What You Can Learn About Positioning from a Neuroscientist and Behaviour expert
For over two decades, I’ve taught that positioning is not what you say, it’s who you become. It’s not messaging. It’s not brand. It’s not storytelling. It’s the gravitational core of your business. The noun you own. The mental territory you occupy. The identity you help your customer step into. Now, along comes Chase Hughes,…
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What Other Regulated Sectors Can Teach Canadian Banks and Fintechs About POSITIONING
Canadian banks face a problem that balance sheets can’t solve. They hold the deposits, own the charters, and pass every stress test. Yet when you ask customers what each bank stands for, you get the same tired words: trust, convenience, innovation. Every player claims the same concepts. Nobody owns anything distinctive in the mind. This…
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Why EQ Bank’s Next Move Decides Who Owns the Customer in 2030
This article builds on the first one. EQ Bank began in 2016 as a low-cost deposit engine for its parent, Equitable Bank. High rates, no branches, clean app, good funding for the mortgage book, job done. Seven years later, the playbook feels crowded. Neo Financial, Tangerine, and even credit unions now copy the same perks.…
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THE mammalian brain
Most brands chase the wrong thing. They spend millions on awareness campaigns and wonder why sales stay flat. Then, they pivot to relevance. “We need to be more relevant to Gen Z!” Still, nothing moves. Here’s what they miss: Awareness and relevance are Level 1-2 games. Ownership is Level 3-4. And your mammalian brain (the…
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How Wealthsimple Wins Hearts, Minds, and Market Share
I spent months dissecting Wealthsimple’s balance sheet, product roadmap, and brand voice. I kept seeing the same pattern: every expensive decision pointed back to one word: simplicity. No side projects. No half-measures. That focus is why a company with no branches now holds $50 billion of Canadian assets, while most banks fight for the same…
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Protected: Who Owns What in Canadian Minds? The Battle for Banking’s Mental Territory
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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YOUR BRAND IS THE SUM OF LEADERSHIP CHOICES
Introduction Why I wrote thisToo many leadership teams keep changing logos, websites, and campaigns yet feel stuck in the same competitive mud. I see wasted budgets, confused employees, and customers who shrug. The fault isn’t creativity. It’s a missing bridge between inside decisions and outside perception. I wrote this guide to build that bridge. Who…
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Building an AI Product: What I’m Learning in the Trenches
I’m deeply involved in building an AI product that translates complex data into natural, conversational language, leading strategy, UX, positioning, and team-building efforts while working directly with the engineering team. Here’s what I’m learning about the reality of AI development. None of this works without the right people. We’ve assembled a remote team of A-players…
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YOUR CMO Can’t Fix Bad Positioning
Companies hire CMOs to fix positioning problems. But positioning isn’t marketing. It’s architecture. It’s identity. It’s everything. “If you’re not first, you’re last.” – Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights. It’s funny because it’s wrong. The best companies aren’t first. They aren’t the fastest. They aren’t even “better.” They own mental territory nobody else can touch. The…
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David: The Protein Bar That Refused to Play by the Category’s Rules
When Peter Rahal set out to build David, he wasn’t trying to make a better protein bar. He was trying to rewrite what a protein bar even was. And more importantly, what it could stand for. Most brands in the nutrition space follow the same playbook: flavour-forward packaging, trend-chasing macros, and the kind of messaging…
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Positioning Is Not Messaging
A Field Guide for Product Marketing Managers Tired of Cosmetic Strategy Why most internal positioning work fails, and how PMMs can lead with clarity, not decoration. I. Who This Is For This guide is for Product Marketing Managers in B2B SaaS who are tired of being treated like internal copywriters while being held accountable for…
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The Difference Between Saying and Being
When Patagonia ran ads telling customers “Don’t Buy This Jacket,” sales went up 30%. They didn’t just talk about environmental responsibility. They proved it by discouraging purchases during their biggest shopping day of the year. Most companies do the opposite. They say one thing and do another. Then wonder why customers don’t believe them. Why…
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