Business - 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 Derrick Daye

Brand Strategy

How To Restore An Iconic Brand

February 11, 20266 min

When an iconic brand begins to fade, the decline is rarely dramatic. In iconic brands, financial performance often lags changes in cultural relevance and brand meaning. Revenue may hold steady. Market share may appear stable. Awareness remains high. Yet competitors begin shaping the future while the incumbent defends the past. For leadership teams, restoring an iconic brand is not a communications exercise. It is a strategic mandate.

by Joan Kiddon

Brand Value & Pricing

Leading Brands Win On Consumer-Perceived Value

February 9, 20268 min

Recent brand news is full of brand value chatter. Chatter, not serious discussions. Why? Brand executives still seem disconnected from how customers perceive brand value. Consumers understand that value, not price alone, is the priority. Consumer-perceived value is based on the total brand experience relative to the total brand costs (price, time, and effort). Brand executives also misunderstand customers because they believe their brands have a specific segment, which is the “value customer.”

by Rishad Tobaccowala

Brand Culture

The Future Belongs To Talent-First Brands

February 5, 20266 min

The most important component of long-term sustainable advantage for any firm, regardless of its size, is its ability to attract, retain, inspire, and grow talent. Talent is the sustainable advantage. It is talent and only talent that creates and/or preserves every other form of sustainable advantage, whether it be innovation, new ideas, or superior service.

by Derrick Daye

Brand Positioning

Brand Positioning Is A Leadership Decision, Not A Marketing Exercise

February 4, 20265 min

Brands that lead today do three things exceptionally well. They create an emotional advantage that customers cannot get elsewhere. They establish a distinctive advantage that customers recognize as meaningfully different. They build a connective advantage that keeps the brand relevant over time. These are not communications outcomes. They are strategic decisions.

Older Posts

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