The Brand Strategy Brief

The Brand Strategy Brief

Advanced insights, strategies, and tactics to help you harness the power of your brand, beat the competition, and grow market share. Gain a strategic edge in under 10 minutes, every Tuesday.

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Featured Posts

MarketingMarketing
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Recap: Top 5 Newsletters of the Year

Recap: Top 5 Newsletters of the Year

Five newsletters to help you become the preferred choice and win market share

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
MarketingMarketing
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5 Ways to Stop Wasting Money (by Putting Your Brand to Work)

5 Ways to Stop Wasting Money (by Putting Your Brand to Work)

20 years of insights distilled into 5 strategies to ring your cash register

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
AdvertisingAdvertising
6-Step Guide to High-Converting Ad Copy

6-Step Guide to High-Converting Ad Copy

Copywriting secrets from an overlooked advertising master

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Jaguar’s biggest problem is not a new ad

Jaguar’s biggest problem is not a new ad

Jaguar’s rebrand isn’t bold—it’s blind to customers.

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
MarketingMarketing
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How Sears Failed and Amazon Succeeded

How Sears Failed and Amazon Succeeded

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
MarketingMarketing
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Unlock Creative Results Using the SPARK Method

Unlock Creative Results Using the SPARK Method

Align creativity with strategy, solve problems, and win market share

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields

Archive

Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
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Why Your Strategy Falls Apart Without Anyone Noticing

Why Your Strategy Falls Apart Without Anyone Noticing

How entropy erodes alignment one satisficing decision at a time

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
The Gap Between Your Brand Promise and Reality

The Gap Between Your Brand Promise and Reality

Why employees without authority become brand apologists, not ambassadors

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
Stop Treating Brand as a Department. Make It Your OS.

Stop Treating Brand as a Department. Make It Your OS.

How Sony lost digital music despite having everything, and Microsoft escaped a Lost Decade by making leaders co-authors

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
Your Strategy Deck Is Paralyzing Your Team

Your Strategy Deck Is Paralyzing Your Team

How broadcasting everything to everyone gives them nothing they can use

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
Top 5 Brand Strategy Briefs of 2025

Top 5 Brand Strategy Briefs of 2025

A practical reference for common strategy traps

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
The Operational Mistake That Kills Brand Trust

The Operational Mistake That Kills Brand Trust

When efficiency decisions contradict your brand promise

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
MarketingMarketing
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Why Smart Brands Make Dumb Decisions

Why Smart Brands Make Dumb Decisions

The hidden biology behind the worst strategic calls—and how to stop it.

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
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The Hidden Risk in Customer Feedback

The Hidden Risk in Customer Feedback

And how ignoring some customers unlocks growth

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
MarketingMarketing
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The Dangerous Lie Inside Your Customer Data

The Dangerous Lie Inside Your Customer Data

Why What Customers Say Isn’t What They Do—and What to Do About It

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
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Reactive Leadership Destroys Brands

Reactive Leadership Destroys Brands

How workplaces create reactive states that sabotage your strategy—and the system to regain control

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
Brand StrategyBrand Strategy
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The Scrapbook Trap

The Scrapbook Trap

Trade your disconnected tactics for a strategic playbook

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
MarketingMarketing
+2+2
The Consensus Trap: When a Winning Idea Is a Blind Spot

The Consensus Trap: When a Winning Idea Is a Blind Spot

How to make sure your next big idea survives contact with reality

Aaron Shields
Aaron Shields
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