📝 The Case for Brand Reader Survey — July 2025

I work at a brand/marketing agency and want to sharpen my strategy chops.

I work brand-side and want to bring more strategic thinking to my role.

I’m a founder/solo marketer building a brand from scratch.

Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, etc.)

Setting the right brand strategy for my business

Persuading other people in my business of the value of brand

It's a bit lonely leading change in an org

Building a book of talent I can call when I need freelance brand support

How much to invest in brand - design, marketing, and hires

🧠 50 Ways to Leave Your Guidelines (And Actually Build a Brand): :  

How Allison Stadd 🥁 Is Jazzing Up Workplace Culture as SVP of Brand, Culture & Media at Shipt (Target)

How MacK Seale Makes Retail Brand Experiences That Make You Feel Something

📈 How Tony's Chocolonely Grabbed 19% of the $119B Chocolate Market By Marketing a Mission, Rallying Allies, & Embracing a Challenger Mindset

How Tracksuit Head of Marketing Mikayla Hopkins Is Making B2B Brands Fun Again

📈 How The New York Times Grew Digital Subscribers from 910K to 10.4M in 10 Years Through Smart Brand Marketing and Innovation 

How Oiselle CEO Arielle Knutson Builds Brands, Teams, and a Sisterhood for Runners To Go The Distance

📝 If It Doesn’t Shape a Decision, It’s Not a Value

📈 How Southwest Airlines Built an Iconic Low-Cost Brand—and Why Their Latest Move To Layoff Workers & Cut the 'Bags Fly Free' Policy Could Erode It

What Hotelier Ari Heckman thinks about building brand worlds IRL

☕️ How Starbucks Plans to Return to its Coffeehouse Roots with Free Coffee, a Brand-Led Strategy, and a Superbowl Adjacent campaign 📈

❄️ How Deer Valley turns $329 lift tickets into a love letter to skiers and the romance of the West ⛷️

How CMO Sophie Bambuck of The North Face, Nike, Converse, and Everlane Builds Brands for Everyone

How DTC razor brand Billie built a $310M brand by showing body hair and bucking gender norms

Deep dives like this https://thecaseforbrand.substack.com/p/how-tonys-chocolonely-grabbed-19

Interviews with brand builders like this https://thecaseforbrand.substack.com/p/how-allison-stadd-is-jazzing-up-workplace

Tools and resources (like 50 Ways to Leave Your Brand Guidelines)  https://thecaseforbrand.substack.com/p/50-ways-to-leave-your-guidelines 

A one-off power hour to unstick a challenge

Access to a small mastermind of 6–8 brand marketers

A brand operating system accelerator to deep dive, reposition, and build systems to scale your brand