Will It Make the Work Better?

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself for decades.

Not just about projects or clients, but about learning itself.

For most of my working life, I’ve been on a quest to understand what truly makes the work better. That journey led me deep into the worlds of Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, and Joseph Campbell. Three thinkers who helped me see that great work isn’t born from marketing formulas, but from understanding human nature.

I’ve spent years studying their ideas: Jung’s insights into archetypes and the collective unconscious, Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, Campbell’s hero’s journey and the call to transformation. Every book, every note, every late-night reflection was part of one pursuit: to make the work more meaningful, more human, more alive.

Over time, I realized that improving the work isn’t just about creativity or strategy. It’s about empathy. It’s about seeing the hidden patterns that connect people to stories, and stories to brands.

That’s been my lifelong obsession, to bridge psychology, mythology, and marketing into something that resonates at the deepest human level.

Because in the end, all progress, personal or professional, comes back to one question.

Will it make the work better?

For me, that’s still the north star.

All roads lead to the work.

Do you agree?

November 9, 2025 by

Why ‘Fake’ Travels Faster: The Hidden Economics of Attention

There’s a theory worth exploring: each social group online, whether political, cultural, or professional, feeds itself through algorithms that mirror its beliefs. Within these bubbles, the way to gain more social acceptance is to go louder, bolder, and often, more extreme. “Fake” sells because it’s more exciting. It triggers emotion. It spreads faster.

Nowhere is this more visible than in how news travels online. Every share, like, and retweet is a social signal, and attention has become the new currency. The irony? Platforms could detect fake news in less than five hours, but they don’t.

A 2020 study by Zilong Zhao et al., Fake News Propagates Differently from Real News Even at Early Stages of Spreading, uncovered something remarkable. False information doesn’t just reach more people; it moves differently.

Here’s what the data shows:

  • True information barely spreads. Most users see it once, directly from the source.
  • Fake news, on the other hand, cascades in waves, reshared quickly and widely through layers of users. The original source becomes harder to trace, and the story becomes collectively owned.

This difference appears within the first five hours of publication. Meaning, with the right detection models, platforms could easily flag and even halt disinformation early. The technology exists. What’s missing is the will.

Because outrage sells.
Conflict drives clicks.
And algorithms reward engagement, not accuracy.

It’s not just a failure of moderation; it’s a design choice. Platforms know that emotionally charged content keeps users scrolling longer and advertisers happier. Every share of fake news fuels the business model.

What’s fascinating and unsettling is that fake news operates like a cult brand for misinformation. It forges emotional connection, shared identity, and group belonging. People don’t just believe fake news; they defend it because doing so earns them status inside their digital tribe.

So perhaps the deeper question isn’t “why don’t platforms stop it?” but “why do we keep feeding it?”

Until the system values truth as much as attention, fake will continue to outperform real.

The cure isn’t more censorship. It’s cultural clarity rebuilding trust, curiosity, and critical thinking as the true social currency.

And that might be the hardest algorithm to rewrite.

November 7, 2025 by

Content Isn’t a Lottery. It’s a Funnel. (Steal Mine.)

Most marketing teams post and hope. 

The top brands post with a system. 

That’s the real difference between random visibility and reliable revenue.

Content isn’t a lottery where you buy tickets (posts) and hope one goes viral. It’s a funnel, a structured process designed to move people from curiosity to conversion. When you treat it like a funnel, every post has a purpose. Every view, like, and comment plays a role in building momentum.

TOFU → Pulls Attention

Top of Funnel content is your magnet. It’s what earns the scroll, stops the thumb, and earns a first impression. At this stage, you’re not selling, you’re intriguing.

Lead with ideas that make people feel seen: industry pain points, contrarian takes, or small “aha” moments from your daily work. TOFU content builds awareness and establishes credibility. It signals, “I understand your world.”

Think: a quick story that breaks a myth, a visual or analogy that simplifies a complex idea, or a one-line truth that earns a save or a share. You’re not trying to close; you’re trying to connect.

MOFU → Sparks Conversations

Middle of Funnel content is where you shift from impressions to interactions. This is where curiosity turns into conversation.

At this stage, your audience already knows who you are and now they need to know what you believe. Share frameworks, personal lessons, or examples that help people see a better way to solve their problems. This is your chance to teach, challenge, or inspire action.

Ask questions. Invite dialogue. Respond to comments thoughtfully. In B2B, the sale often starts in a comment thread, not a cold DM.

BOFU → Drives Conversions

Bottom of Funnel content turns relationships into results. Now that you’ve earned trust, it’s time to show proof.

BOFU content should demonstrate outcomes, credibility, and confidence. Case studies, testimonials, behind-the-scenes insights, and “here’s how we did it” stories work best here. You’re not bragging; you’re showing evidence.

The tone shifts from storytelling to partnership: “Here’s how we help leaders like you win.”

The System That Scales Trust

When done right, this funnel creates compounding returns. Each post builds on the last. Each interaction seeds future demand.

The biggest mistake? Treating content like a one-off performance instead of a repeatable process. Top brands know that consistency compounds and systems scale what luck can’t.

Post with purpose.

Steal the funnel. 

Make it yours.

TOFU pulls attention. MOFU sparks conversations. BOFU drives conversions. And when your content runs like a system, the results feel like magic.

November 4, 2025 by

The Multiplier Effect: Why TV Still Reigns

In a marketplace overflowing with channels, algorithms, and endless digital noise, it’s tempting for executives to chase the newest shiny platform. But the data tells a different story. When it comes to driving overall marketing performance, no medium multiplies impact like television.

A Kantar study revealed that removing TV from a campaign can slash its total effectiveness by nearly 39%. That’s not a marginal effect, it’s a collapse in campaign performance. Even more striking, when TV is included, it doesn’t simply generate awareness; it amplifies the results of every other channel. TV increases leads from digital campaigns by 12%, strengthens paid search and direct mail performance, and creates a lift across affiliates and social platforms.

This phenomenon isn’t theoretical. Research from Thinkbox visualizes the same principle through what marketers now call the multiplier matrix. The chart shows how different channels influence one another, and the numbers are unambiguous. When TV is part of the mix, social media effectiveness jumps 31%, print and radio gain 31%, cinema ads soar by 54%, and direct mail improves by 20%. In other words, TV acts as the gravitational force of the media ecosystem, amplifying every other orbiting element.

Why Television Still Commands Attention

Skeptics often dismiss television as an outdated medium in a digital-first world. But the enduring power of TV lies not in nostalgia but in human psychology. A recent study by Patrick Barwise, Steven Bellman, and Dr. Virginia Beal, Why Do People Watch So Much Television and Video?, offers an important clue. People watch television because it satisfies three timeless psychological needs: connection, emotion, and habit.

Television remains one of the few environments where audiences give sustained, undivided attention. It invites storytelling that builds emotional resonance, something banner ads and 15-second reels struggle to achieve. In a living room, stories unfold communally. Shared laughter, tears, and excitement create a neural bridge between what viewers feel and what they remember. Brands that appear in these high-attention, emotionally charged moments gain a kind of trust halo that extends beyond the screen.

In the language of branding, TV is not just an awareness driver; it’s an identity shaper. It associates the brand with feeling, not just function. And in a world where decisions are increasingly emotional before they are rational, that’s a competitive advantage.

The Power of Integration

Still, no single channel, TV included, can carry the full burden of growth. The lesson of modern media is integration, not isolation. The best-performing campaigns are orchestrations of complementary strengths: television and online video provide reach, emotion, and legitimacy; social media transforms that awareness into conversation and community; search and direct mail convert curiosity into measurable action.

When these channels are aligned around a single idea, their combined force is far greater than the sum of their parts. The data from Thinkbox and Kantar merely quantify what great marketers have always intuited: storytelling works best when every touchpoint sings in harmony.

From Channel Thinking to System Thinking

Leaders who still see marketing as a collection of disconnected tactics risk missing the larger opportunity. The shift from channel thinking to system thinking is what separates average campaigns from cult-brand performance. Cult brands—Apple, Nike, and Harley-Davidson among them—understand that emotion, repetition, and relevance reinforce one another across mediums. Every exposure is a chance to deepen belief. Television remains the amplifier in that system. It provides the spark that ignites the rest of the engine.

The Takeaway for Leaders

If you’re refining your media strategy this quarter, remember: cutting TV might look efficient on a spreadsheet, but it’s often catastrophic in the field. The smartest play is not to abandon the classics but to reimagine them as catalysts for the modern mix. Because even in a digital world, when all else fails, add TV. It still works harder for everything else.

November 2, 2025 by

How One of Our Favorite Cult Brands Was Born

How do you tackle an impossible brief?

With culture.

Let me explain with a story I love.

In the late 1950s, Britain faced a fuel crisis. Petrol was rationed, and the public abandoned big cars for smaller ones.

Leonard Lord, head of the British Motor Corporation, gave his team an impossible challenge:

“Build a proper miniature car small enough to park anywhere, big enough to seat a family.”

Impossible, right?

But instead of complaining, engineer Sir Alex Issigonis and his team got curious.

“Why,” they asked, “do engines always face forward?”

That single question changed everything. By turning the engine sideways, they freed up space and created a design that would go on to change the world, the Mini.

A British icon.
A cultural movement on four wheels.

In 1999, the Mini was named the second most influential car of the 20th century, right behind the Ford Model T.

The takeaway?

Impossible briefs don’t need more money or more time.

They need more imagination and a culture that asks “why not?” instead of “why.”

That’s what great brands do.
They challenge convention.
They don’t wait for permission to reimagine what’s possible.

That’s how cult brands are born.

October 31, 2025 by

One of the Coolest Outcomes of Advertising: Pricing Power

Most marketers think of advertising only in terms of awareness or short-term sales. But one of the most overlooked and most powerful outcomes of advertising is pricing power.

A fascinating study called Advertising’s Long-Term Impact on Brand Price Elasticity Across Brands and Categories by Berk Ataman, Prof. Koen Pauwels, Shuba Srinivasan, and Marc Vanhuele looked at 350 brands across seven years. The finding was clear: advertising significantly reduces price sensitivity.

This effect was strongest for premium and niche brands in complex categories. In other words, when the stakes are high and the choices are overwhelming, great advertising doesn’t just sell, it helps consumers navigate. By clarifying value and meaning, advertising makes people more willing to pay for a brand they trust.

Kantar and Oxford research reinforces this: brands that cultivate emotional perceptions see far greater resilience and pricing strength. When multiple brand effects are built, willingness to pay grows dramatically, up to 11% firmer pricing for brands with four or more strong brand associations.

Here’s my favorite finding from the Ataman study: competitive ads can help your brand, too. When competitors advertise, they often shine a spotlight on the entire category. That lifts awareness for everyone, making consumers less price-sensitive across the board.

The lesson for leaders? 

Strong brands can hold their ground on price. The more your advertising connects emotionally by telling stories, clarifying your purpose, and creating meaning, the less you have to rely on discounting to win business.

That’s the hidden magic of advertising: not just selling more, but giving you the confidence and resilience to charge what you’re truly worth.

October 28, 2025 by

Why Storytelling Is the Key to Building Loyalty in the Disruption Era

From cave paintings to TikTok, storytelling has always been the way humans make sense of the world. Stories are how we connect, remember, and decide what matters. In today’s disruption era—marked by rapid technological change, economic volatility, and shifting consumer expectations—storytelling isn’t a creative luxury. It’s a survival strategy.

Storytelling is the most powerful tool leaders have to build trust, connection, and loyalty. It bridges the gap between logic and emotion, between data and meaning. Neuroscience shows us why: stories release oxytocin, the “trust hormone,” and dopamine, which strengthens memory and motivation. Most importantly, stories synchronize the storyteller’s brain with the listener’s, creating a connection at the deepest human level.

Consumers are drowning in choices and skepticism. What cuts through isn’t another feature, coupon, or claim; it’s a meaningful narrative. Nike reminds us that greatness lives inside all of us. Apple urges us to “think different.” Patagonia calls us to protect the planet. These aren’t product pitches. They are movements.

Employees, too, need stories. Facts and strategies don’t unite a team; stories do. They make vision tangible, culture coherent, and purpose actionable. Harley-Davidson’s story isn’t about motorcycles—it’s about freedom on the open road. That narrative binds employees, dealers, and riders into one community, resilient through every market cycle.

Even investors lean on the story. Numbers may prove, but they don’t inspire. In turbulent times, confidence comes from a clear, credible narrative about where a brand is headed and why it matters. LEGO’s turnaround is a perfect example: by returning to its core purpose—sparking creativity through play—it reassured stakeholders and reignited global growth.

Here’s the truth: in disruption, clarity is scarce, but connection is priceless. Storytelling is how brands create that connection. It transforms transactions into relationships and audiences into communities.

The tools will evolve AI, VR, immersive media, but the principle will endure: great stories inspire trust, drive connection, and build lasting loyalty.

Storytelling isn’t just how we communicate. It’s how we lead. It’s how we build Cult Brands.

October 26, 2025 by

Our Work With TradeStation

TradeStation has long been known as a platform built for serious traders. With powerful tools, a tech-first mindset, and a deep commitment to enabling active investors, it stood apart in a competitive and often noisy financial services market. Yet, as the fintech space rapidly expanded and new platforms flooded the landscape, TradeStation faced a familiar challenge. While the product was strong and the customer base loyal, the brand lacked clarity. What truly sets it apart in the minds of customers? And how could that clarity translate into deeper loyalty and smarter growth?

That’s where Cult Branding came in.

Our work began with a mission to help TradeStation better understand its audience, refine its messaging, and align its entire brand around what customers valued most. We started by building a statistically valid brand model, rooted in both quantitative research and deep qualitative insight. This wasn’t about guesswork or focus group feedback. It was about getting to the emotional and behavioral core of TradeStation’s most engaged users.

Through this work, we uncovered what we call “brand attractors.” These are the key factors that actually drive customer preference and loyalty. For TradeStation, these attractors included advanced trading tools, transparency, and exceptional customer support. These weren’t simply features on a spec sheet. They were emotional and functional anchors—reasons customers chose to stay, to recommend, and to deepen their relationship with the brand.

We then helped TradeStation put this insight into action. Product development began to focus more deliberately on the attractors, prioritizing what customers cared about most. Marketing messaging became clearer, more authentic, and more targeted. Customer support was aligned to reinforce trust and transparency at every touchpoint. Rather than trying to be all things to all traders, TradeStation doubled down on what made it unique and valuable to its best customers.

The impact of this work is best understood in the broader context of TradeStation’s public performance. Around the time these branding initiatives were in motion, TradeStation was growing rapidly. According to their public filings, the company reported 178,863 total customer accounts at the end of 2021—a 36 percent increase year over year. Gross new accounts reached 27,412 during the same period, an 81 percent jump from the year prior. Customer assets climbed to 12.3 billion dollars, with about 3 billion held in cash. These numbers demonstrate how TradeStation was scaling and investing in growth, even while navigating a complex market environment.

While we cannot isolate branding as the sole cause behind this growth, the alignment between customer insight, brand messaging, and operational execution helped the company maximize the value of every new relationship. Internally, teams were more focused. Externally, customers felt more understood.

Salomon Sredni, then CEO of TradeStation, reflected on the experience this way:

“Working with this team was an exceptional experience. They helped us build a statistically valid brand model that provided invaluable insights into our customer base. The outstanding results led to a more organized and effective marketing strategy that truly resonates with our audience. We couldn’t be happier with this impact on our business.”

TradeStation’s journey is a lesson in how even high-performing companies can benefit from deeper clarity. Features are important, but they are not enough. What matters most is knowing who your customers are, what they value, and how your brand can show up in ways that feel credible and compelling.

If your brand has strong assets but lacks alignment and emotional resonance, we can help. By uncovering your brand attractors and translating them into strategy, we create the conditions for deeper loyalty, more effective marketing, and long-term growth.

October 24, 2025 by

The Difference Between an Insight and a Strategy

People often confuse insights with strategies, but they’re not the same thing. Knowing the difference is what separates breakthrough thinking from wasted effort.

An insight is a revelation. It’s the “aha” moment that makes you look at the problem in a new way. Think of it as the key—it unlocks the door.

A strategy is a plan of action. It’s how you use your limited resources to reach a specific goal. Think of it as the house—it’s where you live once the door is unlocked.

An insight without a strategy is just a clever observation. A strategy without insight is just guesswork. Together, they give you the clarity and direction to actually move the needle.

Take Adidas, for example. The insight was that people don’t just buy athletic wear to perform better—they buy it to express identity and belonging. Sportswear is fashion as much as function. The strategy was to position Adidas not just as a performance brand but as a cultural brand by partnering with creators, musicians, and streetwear influencers. Adidas shifted from “athletic gear” to “lifestyle statement.”

The insight unlocked the door, but it took the strategy to build the house.

October 21, 2025 by

The Hidden Cost of Bidding on Your Own Brand

Here’s an uncomfortable truth I’ve seen too many established brands overlook: bidding on branded keywords might be a waste of money.

Back in 2012, eBay ran a fascinating experiment with economists Tom Blake, Chris Nosko, and Steve Tadelis. They shut off paid search ads in certain regions while keeping them active in others. What they discovered was eye-opening. When brand keyword ads like “eBay shoes” were turned off, sales didn’t go down. Customers found eBay anyway through organic search. In other words, the ads were redundant.

Non-brand keywords performed a little better and brought in some new or infrequent users, but even then, the return on investment was negative. When all the numbers were tallied, eBay’s overall ROI on paid search was -63%. They were essentially paying for clicks they would have gotten regardless.

This experiment validated something I’ve been teaching for years: strong brands don’t need to buy their way back into their customers’ minds. If your customers already love you, they’ll find you. They’ll type your name directly into their browser. They’ll recommend you to others because you’ve earned a place in their identity. As I wrote in Customers First, the customer creates the brand. 

Now, that doesn’t mean paid search is useless. It can be valuable for reaching new audiences with non-brand keywords, protecting your brand from competitors, or helping younger brands gain recognition. But for established brands, I believe the smarter play is to redirect that spend into strengthening your culture, building your customer community, and creating the kinds of experiences that get people talking about you.

That’s money you’ll never regret investing.

October 19, 2025 by