When AI Becomes a Cost, Not a Capability
Most organizations don’t struggle with a lack of ideas.They struggle with the discipline to turn those ideas into decisions. AI has amplified that gap. What begins as exploration too often becomes a permanent state—an ongoing series of pilots, tests, and initiatives that never quite reach production. Investment continues. Progress is reported. But meaningful outcomes remain […]
Marketing Makes a World of Difference: Where Purpose Becomes Practice
For years, purpose has been one of marketing’s most discussed—and often debated—ideas. But as expectations rise, the conversation is shifting. The question is no longer whether brands care.It’s whether that care is built into how they operate. The most effective partnerships between companies and nonprofits don’t sit alongside the business. They integrate capabilities, systems, and […]
THE CMO ROLE IS BEING REWRITTEN
It’s easy to look at the latest data and conclude that marketing has a performance problem. But that may not be the real issue. It may be a definition problem. Recent research from Boathouse suggests a growing disconnect inside organizations. CMOs are seen as more aligned with the business than ever before—more committed, more integrated, […]
When Great Ideas Don’t Survive Scale
The most dangerous moment for a great marketing idea is not when it is created. It is when it is scaled. A global idea is approved. The strategy is clear. The creative platform is strong. The brand team is aligned. Then the idea enters execution. It is adapted, resized, translated, rebuilt, localized, versioned, reviewed, approved, […]
The Revenue Brands Keep Overlooking
Why the 50+ opportunity is still underestimated—and what’s beginning to change … The 50+ audience is described as the most valuable consumer segment in the market (Nielsen). And yet, it rarely shows up as the starting point for growth. Not in strategy. Not in creative. And not even in how success is measured. The issue isn’t visibility. […]
Scaling Authenticity in an AI World
Why what feels real is becoming more valuable—and more selective. Marketing has never been more capable. Ideas can be generated instantly.Content can be produced at scale.Experiences can be designed, extended, and optimized across platforms. And yet, something is shifting. Not in what marketing can do— But in what people choose to believe. In a world […]
Retail Media, Connected Commerce & the New CPG Playbook
A conversation with Mary Katherine “MK” Woltz of Danone on how media is being redefined—from a channel to a growth system. Media Isn’t Supporting Commerce Anymore It’s becoming inseparable from it. For years, retail media was treated as an extension of shopper marketing—a powerful but contained layer focused on conversion. That distinction is disappearing. As […]
Same Industry. Different Experience.
Why Client–Agency Relationships Feel Aligned—Until They Don’t. A new study reveals that the challenge isn’t disagreement—it’s a gap between what’s intended, what’s said, and what’s actually experienced. For years, the industry has told itself the same story. And yet, little seems to change. The question is no longer what people say about these relationships. It’s […]
Where Experience Lives Now
Barbie at Coachella. Playmobil on Roblox. Kellogg’s back in the box. Different executions. Same shift. Marketing is moving from exposure to experience—and ultimately, to memory. Marketing has spent the last decade expanding outward—into platforms, ecosystems, and endless points of connection. But something is shifting. Not backward, exactly. But inward—toward experience itself. Three very different ideas—Barbie […]
Fashion Didn’t Change Its Mind About Age. The Market Did.
Image: Miranda Priestly at her desk (Credit: 20th Century Fox) As older women gain visibility on runways and in culture, the shift signals something deeper than inclusion—it reflects a reset in how value, authenticity, and relevance are defined. Fashion didn’t suddenly “discover” older women.It finally ran out of reasons to ignore them. A recent wave […]