Performance marketing has been eating away at brand marketing for years. It has tremendous appeal because it is trackable, immediate, and ROI-driven. AI is said to be the last straw for brands. With the powers of AI, anyone can…
by Yitzchak Grant Word on the street is that Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman are discussing a "merger of equals." On paper, the financial and operational synergies are a spreadsheet dream. You combine Pernod’s massive global distribution footprint with Brown-Forman’s heavyweight…
Brand America used to be THE global brand, admired by all. Products were sought after because they were associated with Brand America—McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Nike, Starbucks, Disney, American Express, American Airlines. There is a sense that this has changed but…
by Sandeep Vasudevan The erosion of Brand America is no longer a matter of theory or "vibe." As we recently shared in our analysis in partnership with the AMA New York, the financial reality is stark: Presciant’s data shows the…
by Peter Young Zero-Based Budgeting is a weight on the marketer’s shoulders. But it just might be a ticket to the C-Suite Jim Meier, of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, has written a lot on the Kraft Heinz brand disaster…
Back in 2017, a marketing PhD student, Alireza Alizadeh at the Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran reached out to the American Marketing Association about opening a chapter. That wasn't possible. But his observations in an article titled “What Are the…
by Hugo Isert The 30-second black and white MAHA Center Super Bowl ad stood out from the rest. Mike Tyson filled the screen, his face tattoo unmistakable and his fists clenched in rage. He spoke about his sister dying from…
If a customer says, “I didn’t know you offered that,” the issue isn’t awareness - it’s architecture. When I worked in category strategy, shelf structure wasn’t aesthetic. It was designed with purpose — to drive penetration, frequency, and share of…
by Sandeep Vasudevan The ring is set. The 2026 Global Soft Power Index just dropped, and it confirms what brand strategists have whispered for years: We are no longer in a unipolar brand world. This isn't about politics; it’s about…
by Hugo Isert and Ryan Ramsden Todays reports that Elon Musk is weighing up a merger between SpaceX and xAI (owner of Grok) is being primarily reported as a decision focused around technology and capital markets. In reality, this decision may be…