The registered investment adviser business is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — parts of financial services. In 2024, the U.S. advisory industry included 15,870 advisers serving 68.4 million clients and overseeing $144.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM). And yet it remains, structurally, a small-firm industry: …more
A buyer-centered control plane across D3C—where synthesized reputation, claim governance, proof production, activation, and outcomes form one compounding system. Table of Contents D3C is the spine, because it names what the buyer is actually doing Discovery has structurally changed, and the change is not “more content” Synthesized reputation demands claim …more
As LLMs compress reputation into answers and citations, the next generation of SEO platforms must govern how companies are understood — and make the web agent‑readable again. Many of you have seen me writing about D3C as a buyer‑native model of how decisions happen: Discovery → Create Confidence → Commit. …more
GTM LITURGY: Tactics by Stage, Not by Team In Chapter 1, we did the uncomfortable thing: we admitted we’ve been measuring the performance of our tools instead of designing for the customer’s journey. We also named the buyer’s journey in a way that doesn’t collapse into CRM stages: Discovery → …more
GTM HERESY: Measure Buyer Confidence, Not Funnel Metrics I know people don’t want to hear this, but we’re measuring the wrong thing. We’ve built entire revenue organizations around measuring the performance of our tools instead of understanding the journey of the customer. We can tell you open rates, reply rates, …more
TL;DR (Executive Summary) Marketing is selling, at scale. If it is not driving adoption, revenue, or durable belief, it is not doing its job. I work in hypotheses. I prefer a point of view we can test, rather than a blank page we can admire. I run two tracks …more
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME Every few years I like to roll out this little bit on American Thanksgiving history. It’s a good reminder that politics in America have always been a messy affair because, well … democracy. It’s not a great system, but it’s …more
Seismic, Not Incremental — Why Microsoft’s AI Reorg Matters & What Comes Next By Grad Conn, for the Copernican Shift community In January, Ars Technica published a sharp piece, “Amid a flurry of hype, Microsoft reorganizes entire dev team around AI.” It described how Microsoft is combining its developer division, …more
Predictability isn’t the enemy of engagement; poor structure is. Repetition isn’t laziness; it’s ritual. People talk a lot about storytelling in marketing. You’ll hear it in every strategy meeting, from every brand consultant, every creative director who once half-watched a TED Talk and came away with, “We need to tell …more
We’ve all heard them. Those iconic sounds that tell us our computer is starting, or you’re about to start bingeing Netflix. They’re sometimes subtle, sometimes more obvious, but always closely associated with a brand experience. Today we explore the power of sonic branding, with real examples and a brief diversion …more
Charles Wilson Conn (July 27, 1938 – April 29, 2022, aged 83) 4pm ET, Friday May 6, 2022 — my Dad died …more
I’m too often surprised by the number of marketers who neglect to further their training once they land a job. Other professionals …more
Part 2 of our deep dive into the modern marketing plan where we explore the “First Moment of Truth,” the point in …more
We’re well into the 20th century, so why are so many marketers stuck in an outdated broadcast marketing mentality? Today we kick …more
Renowned author and management expert Tom Peters joins me for a two-part series on customer experience execution, the value of human connections, …more
Episode #114: How to Manage Your Stress, with Neha SaxenyIt’s Stress Awareness Month, and the Breath Yogi is here to help. Neha …more
Brands, products, or companies that define a new category — and become the design standard for that category —derive most of the …more
We focus on health, healthcare, and healthcare marketing this week, with plenty of lessons for any marketer. Neha starts us off with …more
The beauty of the customer experience journey is that examples can be found almost anywhere. This week started with virtual conferences, moved …more
We start with a fascinating discussion with Mitchell Osak about the emerging cannabis industry and how they’re building a new brand category …more
This week, we finish off our 9-part series on the Digital Customer-First Transformation System. Then it’s a quick look at the power …more
We’re all about digital transformation this week (well, digital transformation and PEZ). We start with a two-part digital transformation overview with Paul …more
Who doesn’t like those tiny, fruity PEZ bricks? And who doesn’t like PEZ dispensers? From Baby Yoda to Marilyn Monroe, there’s a …more
Brand names are the crown jewels of an organization. They’re valuable, multi-faceted, and fiercely protected. But what happens when the brand name …more
We start the week with a special, 2-part crossover episode with Marshall Kirkpatrick and the Sprinklr Coffee Club. And wrap things up …more
What are you thankful for this week? I’m thankful (among other things) that I can share these podcast episodes with you. This …more
Every year I like to roll out this little bit on American Thanksgiving history. It’s a good reminder that politics in America …more
A wide-ranging week where we look at everything from how to leverage your employees’ social networks, to buying super cool Space 1999 …more
I don’t often post meme-y Internet-y stuff, but here I go, because: It’s. Just. So. Unbelievable. From this smart post off my …more
What a week! But now it’s time to kick back, put on the headphones, and catch up on your favorite marketing content. …more
