Brand Marketing - Branding Strategy Insider

The Future Of Brand Creativity Belongs To The Small And Reckless

February 18, 20264 min

Let’s stop pretending this AI rush is brave. It isn’t. It’s terrified. Across marketing holding companies, executives are racing to adopt AI not because they understand it, but because they’re scared of being the last one without a slide. “We can’t afford not to,” they say; executive code for “I don’t want to be blamed.” This isn’t strategy. It’s signaling under pressure. And it’s going to be catastrophically expensive.

by Walker Smith

Brand Marketing

Why Marketing Is The Conscience Of Business

January 13, 20264 min

From all my years in research and consulting, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing worth sharing. Enduring fundamentals, mostly yet often overlooked. So, this year, I’m sharing some for your consideration. I hope they’re helpful. This week’s thought: Marketing is the conscience of business.

by Walker Smith

Brand Marketing

Attention Marketers: Change Is Overrated

October 23, 20255 min

From all my years in research and consulting, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing worth sharing. Enduring fundamentals, mostly yet often overlooked. So, this year, I’m sharing some for your consideration. I hope they’re helpful. This week’s thought: Change is overrated. Marketers love fads and fashions. Change is the watchword of marketing. I’m in the trends and futures business, so I’m not unhappy about this. But part of studying trends and...

by Adel Borky

Brand Marketing

Why The Best Marketing Plans Are Built To Fail

October 22, 20254 min

Let me be blunt: the annual ritual of demanding a marketing plan from the CMO is a boardroom charade masquerading as strategy. The corner-office crowd think they’re extracting a roadmap—a neat, glossy prediction of what the company will do, spend, and achieve. They think they’re judging the plan. Wishful thinkers. The plan is a distraction, a fetish of the naive who believe the world bends to their spreadsheets. The real game, the actual signal amid...

by Joan Kiddon

Brand Marketing

Cracker Barrel Exposes Marketing’s Core Problems

September 8, 20257 min

Marketing is in trouble and has become its own worst enemy. Over the past few decades, the discipline has evolved into a trade, rather than a profession, focusing on managing and executing marketing communications. This trend is demeaning.

February 18, 2026The Future Of Brand Creativity Belongs To The Small And Reckless

February 11, 2026How To Restore An Iconic Brand

February 10, 2026The Most Insightful Economic Metric For Tracking Consumers

February 9, 2026Leading Brands Win On Consumer-Perceived Value

February 5, 2026The Future Belongs To Talent-First Brands

Brand Marketing - Branding Strategy Insider

The Future Of Brand Creativity Belongs To The Small And Reckless

Why Marketing Is The Conscience Of Business

Attention Marketers: Change Is Overrated

Why The Best Marketing Plans Are Built To Fail

Cracker Barrel Exposes Marketing’s Core Problems

Connect With Us