S&T: The CMO Seat & the Four-Brand Rebrand
THE PROBLEM When I arrived at S&T, there was no CMO. Marketing existed — a capable team, a real budget — but it reported up through another function, which meant…
Revive: A brand identity rooted in growth, built for motion.
SITUATION Revive is a new physical therapy studio opening in a small Northwest Kansas town. Founded by an experienced PT setting out on her own, Revive exists to give patients…
Pricing as Strategy: How Night & Gale builds perceived value, one anchor at a time
A case study from Night & Gale Most founders treat pricing like a math problem. Add up your costs, tack on a margin, glance at what the competition charges, and…
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The Lorax in the Boardroom: Why Marketing Needs an Equal Voice
When I was a CMO, I used to tell the executive team I was the Lorax. I spoke for the people — not the trees. The line landed as a…
The 90% Rule: Why Good Enough Beats Perfect in Modern Business
Perfection is expensive. In this article, Matt breaks down the “90% Rule”: once your product is good enough, chasing the final 10% wastes time, money, and momentum. Learn how Apple, Southwest, and others win by balancing marketing, ops, and experience—and avoiding costly perfection traps.
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The Four Pillars of Brand Leadership: Lessons from a Brand Strategist
Most teams don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because they over-invest in one kind of excellence and neglect the rest. In this post, I share a four-pillar framework that keeps brands balanced: product experience, economics, positioning, and organizational alignment. Get all four working together, and growth gets easier.
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The Brand Expedition: A Framework for Building Brand Identity That Lasts
A Guided Ascent to Brand Identity Every brand I’ve helped build — from scrappy rural startups to mature regional operators — has needed the same thing at the start: a…
There’s a big difference between building a business and building yourself a job.
Most of the founders I’ve worked with didn’t realize they’d made the choice until it was already made. The choice: are you building a business, or are you building yourself…
The Creative Team Map: Understanding the Roles Inside a Boutique Design Agency
Over the course of my career, I’ve sat in hundreds of discovery calls that opened the same way: “We just need someone who can do the logo, the website, some…
Without a Compass, You’re Just Wandering
Most of the marketing failures I’ve seen weren’t creative failures. They were directional failures. Leadership teams hand down vague, feel-good directives — “we need more engagement,” “let’s get some buzz,”…