We’re halfway through 2025 so I decided to do a branding update because branding is still the most misunderstood, overcomplicated, and underutilized business advantage on the planet.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I don’t sugarcoat that.
Branding done right? It builds empires.
Done wrong? It wastes years.
Branding Myths Are Still Alive (Sadly, So Is Bad Coffee)
Apparently, people are still clinging to branding myths like they cling to burnt office coffee — but hey, progress happens one brutally honest conversation at a time.
The year charged out of the gate with my newest bestseller, Rich Brand Poor Brand, making it onto the Global Gurus “must read” list:
Brand Intervention continues to be the go-to reference for founders, CEOs, and brands ready to ditch the outdated playbook and accelerate real growth. It’s still crushing myths and turning brand confusion into clarity worldwide.
Rich Brand Poor Brand continues to help companies finally understand that culture isn’t an inspirational poster in the break room but the foundation of every sustainable, high-performing brand.
Because disengaged employees and teams build disengaged brands.
Simply put, if your culture is broken, your brand is next.
BOTH books have climbed the ranks with glowing 4+ star reviews (out of 5) on Goodreads — thanks to readers (and leaders) who are done with fluff and ready for results.
I’ve Been Everywhere… and Mediocre Branding Still Follows Me
It doesn’t matter where you land: great coffee, dodgy accents, or beaches… mediocre branding has no borders. The good news? Neither do I.
I’ve been partnering and speaking at various live events with brands that want to win including:
- The US: Tampa and Clearwater, Florida.
- Australia (great branding… and even better coffee)—a stunning venue raising over $3M at this fundraiser.
- The Netherlands (branding by bike is a thing now)
- North Africa and beyond
Impacting an ever-widening segment of industries:
- Technology
- Financial sectors
- Health & Beauty
- Construction
- Hand-picked nonprofits (because some missions deserve louder voices)
What’s Dominating: Brands or Rebrands?
The split between new brands and rebrands is always interesting:
- 65% Rebrands because most brands have:
• Clarified the lane they’re in and refuse to be incorrectly pigeonholed,
• Outgrown their outdated look, story, or positioning, or
• Found they’re battling with copycats that have polluted the water and are struggling to stay afloat in the sea of sameness they find themselves in. - 35% Startups because a few ambitious founders understand that building it right from Day One saves years of headaches and saves spending endless marketing dollars.
Need help? Stop struggling and let’s jump on a discovery call. If I can’t help you, I’ll recommend who can. If I can help you, we’ll clarify how, and how fast.
Upcoming Events: Keynotes, Sharpies, and Branding That Smacks You Awake
Warning: If you come to one of my talks expecting corporate clichés and polite applause, you’re in for a surprise (and possibly a Sharpie to the forehead).
It’s been a ridiculously fun run of speaking gigs and collaborations so far:
- Florida — sunshine, palm trees, and obliterating branding misconceptions
- Australia — where I discovered the only thing stronger than the branding is the espresso
Up next? Knoxville, Tennessee this August — where I’ll be sharing the stage with bestselling author of How to Get a Meeting with Anyone and legendary Wall Street Journal cartoonist Stu Heinecke (left) and sales rebel Dale Dupree (middle). Expect sharp insights, multi-colored sharpies, and branding takeaways so sharp, they’ll make you cry like a raw onion just walked into the room.
Inside Scoop: Big Names, Bigger Conversations & Zero Fluff
While some are busy regurgitating LinkedIn quotes, I’ve been having real conversations with the folks shaping brands at scale.
Keep an eye out for an upcoming special fireside chat with Claude Silver from VaynerX — yes, that VaynerX, Gary Vaynerchuk’s global agency.
Claude’s insights on leadership, empathy, and culture are pure gold — and you’ll be seeing that conversation very soon.
I also recently wrapped a brand-new episode with Chris Do for his massive YouTube channel (nearly 3 million subscribers and growing). We went deep on branding, differentiation, and standing out in today’s AI-soaked world. That drops soon — you’ll want to catch it.
Have a podcast and want me as a guest? Reach out here. I’d love to help your audience cut through the noise.
Branding Truth Bombs: The Stuff That Makes Consultants Cry
If you only read one thing in this update, let it be this — because these are the brutally honest sound bites that consultants fear and smart brands live by.
Consider this list the best sound bites I’ve said during the first 6 months of 2025 like a triple shot espresso: undeniably short, a slap to the nervous system, and impossible to ignore.
- Complaints: The applause of failure.
- Negativity: The energy drink of doom.
- AI won’t make you irrelevant. Mediocrity will.
- Avoidance is shrinkage. Confront is expansion.
- You don’t need a brand. Your brand needs you.
- People don’t buy similarities. They buy differences.
- A marketing solution won’t solve a branding problem.
- Following the crowd is the express train to irrelevance.
- Being criticized is nothing more than a hug from defeat.
- Growth is outward-bound. Contraction is inward-bound.
- Clichés will kill your brand faster than a roomful of politicians.
- Positioning creates familiarity. Branding creates differentiation.
- Branding is like super glue: It helps dreams adhere to outcomes.
- Familiarity makes us welcome. Differentiation makes us relevant.
- We can’t expect transformative outcomes from small, tentative steps.
- Underestimation: Your chance to defy what others think is impossible.
- Great design isn’t something you see. Great design is something you feel.
- Your branding should be so bold that it practically requires a warning label.
- Different is better than better. Then you discover “better” is always different.
- Don’t be married to your solution. Be married to your customer’s problem, aspiration, challenge, or goal.
- Differentiation works like “hair gel” for content creators — allowing you to successfully withstand the wild winds of change.
- We’ve become a culture of consumers. Replace consumption with creation. Creation will always outlast, outsmart, and outperform consumption.
- The worst thing we can make isn’t a mistake — it’s a culture that’s forgotten how to be original, imaginative, and rebellious enough to question the status quo.
Final Thought: Blend In Or Differentiate
The world is noisy. Brands? Even noisier.
But clarity? Bold differentiation?
Still the undefeated champion.
If you’re building, reinventing, or finally ready to stand out, the time to rewrite your story is now.
Just like Touchstone did.
Or just like KnowBe4’s CEO did.
Or how The Competent CEO did.
Let the imitators blend in.
You? You were built to stand out.
Stay sharp. Stay different. Stay legendary.