Shepherd

Writing

Notes on how brands actually grow.

Evidence-led essays on brand, strategy, and the craft of being noticed and remembered.

12 min read

Harvesting Without Watering: What Sales-Focused Marketing Does to Your Brand

This is not an opinion piece.

8 min read

The Innovation Process That Accelerates First Mover Brands Into Global Empires

The world’s biggest brands didn’t just advertise harder — they designed business models that created first-mover advantages and opened entirely new buying scenarios. In our latest piece, we break down the innovation process that accelerates brands into global empires.

5 min read

Sorry, Australia

⚠️ Most marketers were never trained to do the job — and businesses, consumers, and the economy are paying for it. In marketing, a lack of education isn’t just tolerated, it’s rewarded. That gap has flooded the industry with quick wins, discount obsession, vanity branding, funnel worship, and tactical noise passed off as strategy. Over time, brand equity erodes. Trust collapses. Entire categories underperform. This letter is our response to that damage — and our invitation to help fix it.

6 min read

Convenience Trumps Price

For a few weeks now, a phrase has been stuck in my head: convenience trumps price. It might seem simple, but when you look deeper—especially through the lens of marketing science, behavioural economics, and…

3 min read

When the Icon Chases Clicks: What Nike’s Performance Pivot Tells Us About Brand Building

In the dynamic world of marketing, the equilibrium between brand building and performance marketing is pivotal. Nike, a paragon of branding excellence, offers a compelling narrative on the repercussions of tilting this balance.

3 min read

From Silicon Valley to Startup Success: Lessons from a Tech Insider

What does it take to build a multimillion-dollar company from scratch? In this conversation, I had the privilege of speaking with Stuart, a retired entrepreneur who grew up in Silicon Valley, worked alongside some…

4 min read

A Reliable Guide to Executing a Successful Rebrand Rollout: A Step-by-Step Guide

Rebranding is a pivotal moment for any business, marking a significant transformation that can redefine its identity, values, and vision for the future.

3 min read

The Strategic Imperative of Brand Building for Airbnb

In an era where digital performance metrics dominate marketing discussions, the resurgence of brand building as a pivotal strategy is compelling. Airbnb's recent success story offers a vivid case study on how prioritising brand marketing can lead to substantial and sustainable business outcomes.

10 min read

The 7 Unknown Deadly Sins Of Marketing

Advertising spend is an investment into the growth of a business. Therefore it’s vital, and what’s even more important is how it’s spent. For smaller businesses, there is less room for errors and often less budget. Knowing how to do this well can be gleaned from decades of experience and research, but a large part of knowing how to do something right is knowing what you must not do.