Brand strategy

my cheesy oversimplification that i do think is true is that ultimately marketing is simply about publicly being in love with the problem-space that you’re operating in. your product, sure, but why did you make the product? because you cared about the problem, right? show us!!

We are unlikely to be able to sell “a group chat system” very well: there are just not enough people shopping for group chat system (and, as pointed out elsewhere, our current fax machine works fine).

That’s why what we’re selling is organizational transformation

The best definition of product positioning I have seen yet: “create a space inside the target customer’s head for ‘best buy for this type of situation’ and to attain undisputed occupancy of that space.”

So, I’ve developed an eye for what's personally novel or different. Anything that isn't that, I let it be a wind that blows by. If my antenna picks up that there's something truthful there, I dig in. Otherwise, it doesn’t bother me.

That is: A person — often a founder, or someone similarly empowered — needs to have compelling ideas, establish a voice and perspective, and use it. Tools like brand books and style guides are important so agencies and partners know how to speak the same language. But the actual opinions and values can’t be algorithmically generated or offloaded to... See more