This week’s stories reveal a marketing environment that feels looser on the surface but more disciplined underneath. Brands are getting weirder, funnier, and more visually inventive, yet the strongest work is still anchored in something solid: a clear behavioral truth, a sharp cultural read, or a seamless path from attention to action. You can see
I recently had the pleasure of joining my dear friend Justin Obey on his podcast, Return on Reputation, for a conversation that felt both timely and full circle. Justin and I go back to the early days of his first company, Social Boston Sports, when I was helping him think through PR, media outreach, and
Happy International Women’s Day. Each year, I love seeing LinkedIn filled with stories celebrating the women who inspire us: our mentors, our colleagues, our friends, our families. These moments of visibility matter. They remind us how far we have come and how much work still remains. This year, I have been thinking less about seats
Over the past year, a striking phrase has started to appear in headlines, hiring reports, and leadership conversations. Companies are not just looking for marketers, communicators, or content leads. They are “desperately seeking storytellers.” As the co-author of two bestselling books on brand storytelling that has also been an in-house brand storyteller and fractional CMO,
This week’s stories reveal a shared reality marketers can no longer avoid: trust has become a visible line item. AI makes content faster, cheaper, and more abundant, but it also introduces friction, skepticism, and new forms of brand risk. From uncanny AI video to staged paparazzi moments, from museum-worthy IKEA furniture to Wikipedia’s human proof-of-work,