Cultural Signals
21 posts
Who Cares!!?
In the Attention-Deficit Age, Brands Must Answer One Question: Who Cares? What makes advertising effective today? In a world saturated with ads, email...
Creativity Trumps Tariffs
When tariffs go up, creativity goes on sale. When U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods hit 25%, most brands braced for impact. Bob’s Your Uncle decided to t...
Tariffs Are Coming—So What Are You Going to Do About It?
Tariffs Are Coming. What Should Brands Do About It? Brands should respond to tariffs by making price increases easier to understand, reinforcing why t...
When The Going Gets Bitter...We Get Sweeter
🍁🥞Trade policies can divide nations. Pancakes bring people together. Here’s a novel approach to a trade dispute: Instead of fighting tariffs, let’s...
We Can't Call it Bourbon...But You Can
Creativity Trumps Tariffs: “We Can’t Call It Bourbon, But You Can” What is the strategic lesson here? When regulations restrict what a brand can say, ...
Visibility Isn’t About Noise. It’s About Conviction.
Visibility Isn’t About Noise. It’s About Conviction. What creates brand visibility? Brand visibility does not come from being louder, posting more oft...
Brand Disconnect: A Lesson from Wendy's and Kellogg's Missteps
Brand Disconnect: A Lesson from Wendy's and Kellogg's Missteps What is brand disconnect? Brand disconnect happens when a company’s messaging, decision...
A Tale of Two Bags
Can Knockoffs Make a Brand Stronger? Yes — knockoff products can actually strengthen a strong brand when they reinforce the original as the aspiration...
Getting Personal in the Kitchen
It’s an age-old truth in marketing that consumers gravitate towards the elements that save them time, money or stress. Combine those needs with new dev...
"Be the Show, Not the Commercial": Wisdom from Shawn P. Walchef of Cali BBQ
“Be the Show, Not the Commercial”: Wisdom from Shawn P. Walchef of Cali BBQ What does “Be the show, not the commercial” mean? It means brands should c...
Putting Your Brand to the Ultimate Authenticity Test: Talia Pizza's Bold Move
Putting Your Brand to the Ultimate Authenticity Test: Talia Pizza's Bold Move Imagine the audacity of serving a frozen pizza at the premier pizza chef...
The Butcher's Wisdom
The Butcher's Wisdom In a world where convenience often overshadows quality, I recently had an enlightening encounter with a self-taught butcher that ...
The Not-So-Obvious (but Lasting) Impact COVID Made on Canadian Food Consumption
There’s a reason you’re reading and hearing about COVID 19 at every turn; simply put, it currently affects almost every decision we make, and that incl...
Walmart’s “RomCommerce” and the Future of Shoppable Stories
Walmart’s “RomCommerce” and the Future of Shoppable Stories When your holiday rom-com is really a Walmart cart. Walmart’s 23-episode shoppable series...
Canadian Brands Beyond the Label
Canadian Brands Beyond the Label Why “Made in Canada” Isn’t Enough “Made in Canada” can earn attention. It can signal trust. It can even spark a mome...
5 Canadian Food YouTubers We Love to Watch
The creators we return to — and why they last The internet is flooded with food content. From 15-second TikTok hacks to cinematic masterpieces, there’...
8 Canadian Food Influencers Shaping the Industry
The Ingredients of True Influence In a digital landscape saturated with food content, true influence is a rare commodity. But influence — the kind th...
7-stop-worthy-canadian-tik-tok-creators
For marketers and creative agencies, TikTok isn't just a platform for viral dances—it's a real-time case study in personal branding, audience engagemen...
Category Storytelling and Strategic Narrative Design
Most brands “tell stories.” Very few tell stories that reshape the category. That takes narrative design—built on tension, cultural truth, and a spine ...
Economic Empathy: Avoiding Tone-Deaf Marketing
Economic empathy is a marketing approach where brands acknowledge and respect the financial realities of their consumers without exploiting their hards...
Restaurant Social Menu Architecture
Restaurant Social Menu Architecture & Content Engineering If your menu is the product, your social should act like a menu discovery machine. Most res...