Hereâs a hard truth: Most successful brands sell dreamsânot reality. Thatâs not a cynical take. Itâs just how humans are wired. Airbnb doesnât show you the cramped basement apartment with a clunky lock and an awkward host. They show you the treetop retreat in the jungle or the...
In marketing, targeting is often hailed as the holy grail. With todayâs digital tools, we can zero in on precise audience segmentsâdown to job title, purchase intent, or even what someone had for lunch. Itâs no wonder that many marketers, especially those focused on performance,...
Spotify does something many brands struggle with: it makes billions of users feel like itâs made just for them. From personalized playlists to culture-savvy campaigns, Spotify turns creativity into a competitive advantageâand it keeps customers coming back. The key? Strategic storytelling that builds an emotional connection....
âCustomer service shouldnât just be a department, it should be the entire company.â â Tony Hsieh, Founder of Zappos Too often, companies isolate customer experience (CX) within a single department, treating it as a support function rather than a fundamental business philosophy. But exceptional customer experience...
The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Brand Consistency "Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room." â Jeff Bezos While most executives understand the importance of branding, there's an often-overlooked aspect that quietly erodes profits, customer loyalty, and competitive advantage: brand...
"It's not fashionable these days to say that you want to put more effort towards brand and consumer sentiment because they're harder to measure...
In brand strategy, I often see teams move forward when they feel pretty confident â when their odds of being right seem just above 50%. But hereâs the truth: Being barely right isnât good enough in high-stakes decisions. The real value comes from pushing that confidence way higher...
In 1973, researchers posed a powerful question that still hits hard today:Are repeat buyers really loyal, or are they simply doing what theyâve always done? Decades later, the answer remains crucial for every brand leader:A large portion of customers arenât loyal â theyâre habitual.Theyâll buy your...
Brand or Performance?Long-term or short-term?Storytelling or selling? The binary is broken. Thinkboxâs "Profit Ability 2" study (with Ebiquity, EssenceMediacom, Gain Theory, Mindshare, and Wavemaker), is based on a rigorous analysis of ÂŁ1.8 billion in ad spend across 141 brands, 14 categories, and 10 media channels. And the big...
Letâs face it: this isnât the same marketing landscape we were operating in even a year ago. đ¸ Budgets are tighter.đ§âđź Teams are leaner.đď¸ And customers? Theyâre more cautious, selective, and value-driven than ever. In this environment, thereâs one area that smart brands are doubling down on: Customer...