Every day on LinkedIn, I see another post about “building your brand.” The advice is always the same: Create a distinctive visual identityDevelop your brand voiceStand out from competitorsTell your storyBe authentic They’re not wrong. But they’re only scratching the surface — quite literally. These are all outside-in expressions of brand strategy (EQ). Without a…

“For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory.” This was Socrates, as recounted by Plato, warning about the invention of writing in Phaedrus. His concern? That reliance on external tools would weaken our cognitive abilities. Fast forward to today: AI…

(A quick note before we begin: The first half of this article deliberately employs the kind of marketing speak I constantly see on LinkedIn (hence the “Wet Water” in the title) – full of buzzwords, jargon, and superficial analysis. The second half represents how I actually see the world. This article exists to poke fun…

The Swoosh is struggling. Nike, once the undisputed champion of athletic excellence, has hit some serious speed bumps. Market share dropping, wholesale partners frustrated, and competitors nipping at their heels. Not exactly what you’d expect from a brand that taught us to “Just Do It.” Enter Elliott Hill, Nike veteran and new CEO. He’s not…

As a CEO, I hear the 4Ps—Product, Price, Place, Promotion—come up a lot. They’re supposed to be the foundation of marketing, but the way they’re used often leaves me scratching my head. Instead of creating clarity, the 4Ps can become a barrier when CMOs fail to connect them to business outcomes. The problem isn’t the…

I’ve written this because positioning is one of the most misunderstood yet powerful tools in business strategy. If you’ve ever struggled to explain what makes your product different—or felt like your marketing isn’t connecting with your audience—it’s not your product; it’s your positioning. In this piece, I’ll show you (using a CPG example) why most…

Not literally (unless your campaign really calls for it). Marketing has become bloated with meaningless buzzwords, outdated thinking, and false divides that do more to confuse than clarify. It’s time to get back to the essentials: aligning with business outcomes, understanding the fundamentals, and, most importantly, selling to humans. 1. Strip Away the Jargon The…

Ever been asked to present three options to a client? You know, because that’s just how things are done? Early in my career, running an agency and working with Fortune 500 companies, I learned one thing fast: clients always pick the wrong option. Enter ‘The Hairy Arm Technique.’ (Thanks, James Barnard, for reminding me of…

(Read this first) Oh, really? How about a reality check? It’s ironic. People defend the 4Ps like they’re the Magna Carta, but toss around terms like “B2B vs. B2C” or “brand positioning” without thought—terms that overlap or state the obvious. Truth? A business always sells to a person (hello, H2H), and positioning is inherently about…

This rant was inspired by Emma’s post. McKinsey’s latest research shows that companies with marketing at their core grow twice as fast. Yet only 4% of FTSE 100 companies have marketing leaders in the C-suite. The typical response? Blame CEOs for not understanding marketing’s value. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Marketing leaders are making themselves…

When Mufasa appears to Simba in the clouds, he says four words that change everything: “Remember who you are.” This moment from The Lion King reveals a profound truth about positioning that most marketers miss entirely. Because when marketers talk about positioning, they’re not really talking about positioning at all. They’re talking about messaging.About making…

(Recent analyses have noted Calendly’s shift toward competing with other scheduling tools, reflecting a response to market maturity. However, this approach misses a larger opportunity… Please see Anthony’s post first.) Why Calendly’s 2024 Positioning Shift Misses the Bigger Opportunity In 2024, Calendly made its first major positioning shift in eight years. For nearly a decade,…