Happy Sunday/Monday, everyone! We are all about BRAND and DEATH in this week’s edition. Here’s a quick peek:

• The Future Looking Back: Using Deathbed As a Driver

• Ken Burns’ Definition of Brand—Inside a Soho Restaurant Fighting Prada

• The Evolution of Marketing & Why Brand Matters More than Ever: Wisdom from Allison Munro

• My Framework for Measuring and Communicating Brand Impact

LET’S GET OUR BRANNNDDDD ONNNN.

Enjoy.

The Future You Looking Back: Using Your Deathbed as a Driver

This is the only tool you need when you feel stuck and don’t want to do that thing. The thing you keep putting off, telling yourself you’ll get to it when you have more time, more clarity… more excuses.

I’ve used it countless times across different situations. 

Let’s put it in context.

I was sitting in my office, staring at my calendar. An executive business review was annoying me. You know, the one I’d already rescheduled twice because I “wasn’t ready.” I told myself I’d tackle it when I had more time, more confidence, more whatever. More bullshit.

Then I remembered Jeopardy.

Not the game show. The tool.

One of the five mental tools Phil Stutz and Barry Michels teach in The Tools (check out last week’s edition for my take on Grateful Flow). Jeopardy is brutally simple:

Imagine yourself at the end of your life, looking back on this exact moment.

Would you be proud of the choice you made? Or regret putting it off?

It’s direct. It messes with your head. It’s uncomfortable.

But it works.

Let’s Talk About Avoidance

Don’t stop reading now because you are confused about why I would use the end of my life to push through an executive business review. 

Procrastination affects more than just my career. It’s about avoidance.

You know, putting off a project, delaying a decision, having that difficult conversation. But it runs deeper than that. Avoidance shows up in different ways:

• Parenting: Telling yourself you’ll be more present tomorrow, while your kid sits in front of you, asking for your attention now.

• Leadership: Knowing you need to have a hard conversation with an underperformer but avoiding it because it’s uncomfortable.

• Health: Convincing yourself you’ll start working out “next week” instead of getting up and moving today.

• Relationships: Holding onto resentment, letting small frustrations fester rather than addressing them before they grow.

• Big Life Decisions: Staying in a job or situation that isn’t working because change feels overwhelming.

It’s easy to push things into the future, to assume we’ll have more time. But what if we don’t? We just do the thing. We just do it. Thanks, Phil. 

Let’s try it. 

Fast-forward to Your Deathbed

• Picture yourself at the very end, looking back on this moment.

• Ask: If I don’t do this, will I regret it?

Feel the Consequence of Inaction

• Sit with the discomfort. The cost of not acting.

• Instead of fearing action, fear what happens if you keep waiting.

Take the Smallest Step—Immediately

• Action kills avoidance.

• Use a Mantra: Create a simple phrase like “Do it now” or “Move!” It’s a quick trigger to shift your brain into action mode.

• Put down your phone and play with your kid. Send the meeting invite. Start the workout. Say what needs to be said.

• It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be now.

It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be now. 

You don’t have to dwell on death to make Jeopardy work. You just have to stop assuming you’ll always have more time because you don't. It’s a reminder that the clock is ticking… and that’s not a reason to panic but a reason to live. 

Your future self is watching. The question is: Will they thank you or resent you?

You get to decide.

Ken Burns’ Definition of Brand—Inside a Soho Restaurant Fighting Prada

A restaurant in Soho is fighting for survival and I’ve been lucky enough to follow an advocate in Timm Chiuasano, who is hosting podcasts from the restaurant to help save it. If you like great content on Instagram, please give him a follow. 

The restaurant in question? Lure. Who may be forced out of its location by Prada. Yes, that Prada. 

And in the middle of this story, Ken Burns, yes… that Ken Burns. 

In this conversation, Ken delivers one of the most beautiful and complete definitions of brand I’ve ever heard.   

"It just means that you can’t replace it. It’s not duplicatable. It’s not movable. It’s not transferable. It has so perfectly adapted to the circumstances."

Burns wasn’t talking about logos, messaging/positioning, or taglines. He was talking about something deeper: the accumulation of familiarity. 

The people you recognize when you walk in. 

The way a place feels at a certain time of day. 

The sound of silverware clinking against plates as conversations rise and fall. T

The subtle yet irreplaceable cues that make something uniquely itself.

This is what we should all aspire to be. Not just recognizable but woven into the lives of their customers. When done right, a brand isn’t just known. It’s felt.

Isn’t it Ironic, Don’t Ya Think?

Here’s the irony: Prada is also a massive, successful brand. And yet, it risks erasing another brand that holds just as much meaning but differently. If Prada truly values brand, it should recognize that Lure is not an inconvenience but complementary. It’s part of what makes Soho what it is.

And as with all things in life, there is a lesson here. Power isn’t just about dominance. It’s about stewardship. The best brands don’t just take space. They create it. 

If you’re in NYC, support Lure. And if you’re not, tell Prada to back off.

Then, go support the brands in your world that are irreplaceable. The ones that are so familiar, so woven into your life, that you’d fight to keep them.

Because that’s the real power of brand.

The Evolution of Marketing & Why Brand Matters More than Ever: Wisdom from Allison Munro

I'm lucky to be part of a global CMO group in Pavilion where hundreds of my peers wax poetic about all things marketing 24/7. Best part? There are times when the conversations add incredible value. Allison Munro (one of the more brilliant CMOs I have the pleasure of knowing) recently shared one of those takes, perfectly articulating how marketing is evolving, from search and automation to the impact of LLM-powered discovery. Rather than replacing past approaches, marketing is building upon them, with brand credibility and trust becoming more critical than ever.

And, of course, I asked Allison’s permission to share it with all of you. Here’s Allison’s full take:

Marketing has always been shaped by technological innovation. Ahem, the medium is the message. Once seen as an “arts and crafts” function, it evolved to capture attention through search, fueled by Google+. The inbound era ushered in Marketing Automation, transforming MQLs into revenue drivers. As buying committees expanded, account-based strategies emerged, and ABM technology redefined engagement at the account level, bridging sales tactics with marketing automation.

Now, we are witnessing yet another shift. Traditional search is losing its dominance as the primary source of high-value information. Instead, the 100’s of LLM-powered chatbots are reshaping discovery, prioritizing content from high authority sites of any kind and partner ecosystems (like Reddit) over brand-controlled narratives.

Credibility, specificity (a simple demo request for that answer, no longer suffices), and authoritative distribution—even through competitors—are becoming the new currency of influence. Meanwhile, markets are crowded, and nearly everyone can access the same tools and tactics. Because of this, credibility and social proof have become critical—particularly for buying committees, where multiple stakeholders look for third-party validation and peer recommendations. It’s no longer enough to rely on gated demos or polished websites; brand trust, authenticity, and authoritative distribution (even through competitors’ channels) are key differentiators.

That, humbly is my view on why brand is back in focus. But this isn’t about replacing past marketing pillars—it’s about building on them. Buyer behavior is constantly evolving, and in my opinion, marketing’s role is to anticipate these shifts, harness technology’s impact on decision-making, and drive strategic change. The executive table doesn’t need to expand—it needs to become more dynamic, with the CMO/marketing playing a critical role in shaping its span of control and influence. CMOs must evolve at or ahead of the pace of technology, ensuring that our strategies are not just measurable, but indispensable to growth and efficiency.

Just as CTOs lead technological transformation, CMOs must drive market innovation—not just react to it. I would personally never report to a CRO or want to be one, but I respect those who do. I love driving buyer behaviour and creating, co-creating, and creating perception, value, and engagement, not managing pipeline, sales teams, and forecasts.

As market leaders, we must propel our business and marketing teams forward with impact—because we are not just a function. We are a strategic force, the connective tissue that aligns all functions to deliver tangible value to our customers and drive the business forward, when we do it right.

This is one of the best articulations of marketing’s current shift that I’ve seen. It’s a reminder that marketing isn’t static… it’s an ever-evolving function. The role of the CMO isn’t just to generate demand, but to shape markets and influence perception.

My Guide to Measuring and Communicating Brand Impact

Speaking of impact. Speaking of brand. Speaking of measurement! Let’s talk about how to effectively communicate the impact of brand.

I don’t have the answer here, but I have been experimenting on how and when to measure brand. And if you’ve spent half a second on LinkedIn in the past six months, you know the conversations around brand vs. revenue are getting louder. 

I get it… I’m also a marketer. Brand feels intangible, hard to prove, and frustrating to justify in executive meetings and boardrooms.

So, I spent last weekend building a Brand Score framework to help marketing leaders make brand impact measurable. 

This guide breaks down the why, how, and what next of brand measurement. If you’ve struggled to get buy-in for your brand ideas or spend, this one’s for you.

You can download the template and follow along with step-by-step directions below.

Why Is Measuring Brand So Hard?

Most leaders know brand is important. “Oh yeah, brand is the rizz.” Marketing leaders know brand is crucial, but those talking about rizz, expect immediate results through revenue, efficiency, and valuation.

The challenge?
✅ Brand impact is long-term while execs focus on short-term revenue.
✅ Brand influence on sales is indirect but still real.
✅ Brand must align with financial KPIs or risk losing investment.

This is why marketing needs a better way to prove brand value.

How Brand Ties to Business Outcomes

Brand doesn’t just "exist"—it affects acquisition, retention, and pricing. The question to answer: How does brand-building translate into financial impact?

Brand-building’s impact compounds over time. Use predictive modeling to show future value. Here are some ideas:

• Branded CAC vs. Non-Branded CAC – Show that branded inbound leads cost less over time by comparing CAC trends.

• Sales Cycle Compression Model – Measure the reduction in sales cycle duration for accounts exposed to brand content.

• Brand Awareness & Future Revenue Impact – Track branded search traffic increases and their correlation to pipeline growth over time.

And remember, to translate marketing speak to board-level language.

Back to the Brand Score Framework

A Brand Score creates a structured way to measure brand strength and communicate it effectively to executives. It should be a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures, balancing internal brand performance and external competitive benchmarking.

It’s important to measure on six pillars:

1. Brand Awareness: Measures how well the brand is recognized.

2. Brand Trust & Reputation: Assesses customer trust and sentiment.

3. Brand Differentiation: Evaluates uniqueness in the market.

4. Brand Engagement: Tracks audience interaction and interest.

5. Brand Consistency: Ensures uniform messaging and branding.

6. Brand Perceived Value: Measures how customers perceive brand worth.

How to Calculate Your Brand Score

1️⃣ Score each category using internal and external data on a 1-10 scale.
2️⃣ Apply weights and calculate a final Brand Score out of 100.
3️⃣ Track progress over time and compare with competitors.

How to Use the Brand Score

✅ Self-assessment: Spot strengths and gaps in brand performance.
✅ Investment Justification: Tie brand growth to revenue impact.
✅ Competitive Benchmarking: See how you stack up against peers.
✅ Executive Reporting: Show brand’s role in driving business outcomes.

Brand measurement isn’t a "nice to have"—it’s the key to unlocking bigger investments and earning the right to make bold brand bets.

If you want the full Brand Score Guide + Framework, grab the PDF here.