You have to be authentic to who you are as a brand, otherwise you’re not going to win, and you’re not going to get new customers or keep your customers if you’re selling them something that you’re actually not.

That authenticity also maybe even starts with the product and making sure that your product is on brand.

Suzy Davidkhanian

Your brand is a story, an expectation, and a promise.

Staying true is hard, but chasing trends usually isn’t a formula for long-term success.


Let the trade war begin

The White House announced" a 10% tariff “on all imports from all trading partners”, plus additional tariffs for 57 countries, including:

  • Vietnam: 46%
  • China: 34%
  • Taiwan + Switzerland: 32%
  • India: 27%
  • South Korea: 26%
  • Japan: 24%
  • Germany + Italy: 20% (via EU)

Creative analysis and optimization is top of mind for me right now, so I really like this flowchart from DTC Daily

A flowchart outlines the process for determining a winning ad and testing various phases like hook, creative, video, and audience.


More than half (54%) of American consumers say they don’t pay attention to the brands they buy, as long as the product meets their needs

57% of American consumers have switched to own-label brands because they are more affordable and 55% think the quality of own-label products is comparable to branded products.

Branding is more than just slapping a logo on the package and calling it a day.

People don’t care about your brand unless you give them a reason to.

Be different. Be better.

via MarTech


If you’re always thinking about your audience and how they’re going to feel when they experience the thing that you’re making, then it becomes a bit more achievable.

James Acaster’s answer when asked if making something that’s both hugely accessible and innovative at the same time is something that can be designed for.

When talking about the song Hey Ya, naturally.

If you’re someone…who’s like “this has to be true to me and what I want to do” but also it can’t just be just for me and nobody else. I think if those are your priorities, then you can kind of accidentally on purpose do that more often than not.

Audience obsession is rarely the wrong choice. (Unless you lose yourself on the way.)