Biweekly Essay + Scan | April 14th, 2026 | Issue 007 There is a structural shift happening in consumer markets that most brand strategists are watching through the wrong lens. The conversation inside marketing organizations tends to frame the current environment as a pricing challenge: consumers are under pressure, value is winning, premiums are at risk. That framing is accurate but incomplete. What is actually happening is more consequential, and it requires a different resp

Biweekly Essay + Scan | April 9th, 2026 | Issue 006 There is a structural contradiction at the center of how marketing organizations are operating in 2026, and most of them are not naming it clearly enough to fix it. On one side: brand building has reasserted itself as the number one priority for chief marketing officers across every major market studied. The data from McKinsey's State of Marketing Europe 2026, drawing on 500 senior marketing decision-makers, is unambiguous.

Biweekly Essay + Scan | April 7th, 2026 | Issue 005 Something clarifying is happening in consumer markets right now. The tariff environment of 2025 has pushed prices upward across imported categories: apparel, electronics, household goods, food and beverage. Consumers are facing the steepest sustained cost pressure in years. And brands, watching foot traffic shift and loyalty metrics soften, are responding the way they always respond when conditions turn adverse. They are dis

Biweekly Essay + Scan | April 2nd, 2026 | Issue 004 There is a reckoning underway in brand strategy that most marketing organizations are reluctant to name directly. Hundreds of companies that spent the years between 2020 and 2024 investing in purpose-driven brand positioning, publicly committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion, establishing environmental pledges, and aligning themselves with social causes, are now in retreat. Some quietly. Some loudly, to their signific

Biweekly Essay + Scan | April 1st, 2026 | Issue 003 AI agents are now the first point of contact between your brand and your customer. Most brands are not ready for what that means. The Signal There is a paradox building at the center of modern marketing, and most organizations are walking straight into it. The tools available to brands today are extraordinary. AI can generate creative variants at scale, optimize media spend in real time, predict consumer behavior before it h

AI agents now mediate brand discovery—before any campaign, any search result, any human decision. This biweekly essay covers IBM's finding (45% of consumers use AI in buying journeys), the AMA-NY 40-point optimism gap, Salsify's 14% trust stat, Adobe's AI transparency demand, and Kantar/Gartner/BCG frameworks for AI-era brand infrastructure. RDLB's argument: the brands that win aren't the ones with the best AI stack—they're the ones whose brand story is clear, consistent, and

Grupo Bimbo is the world's largest bakery company—yet most Americans don't know it exists. This biweekly essay examines Bimbo's dual identity problem: dominant household brand in LatAm, invisible parent company in the US. RDLB analyzes the house-of-brands vs. branded-house dilemma, the premiumization ceiling in both markets, a comparison with Grupo Modelo's cross-border success via Corona, and three Hemispheric Scan data points on Natura &Co, Unilever LatAm, and Bimbo's Q1 20

Unilever is simultaneously running U-Studio (an in-house creative operation in 20+ countries) and scaling its creator network to 300,000 influencers across 190 countries. Most coverage frames this as a cost story — RDLB argues it's a structural brand architecture decision: separating brand stewardship from brand distribution. This essay explains the U-Studio model, CEO Fernandez's 50% social media shift, the tension between distributed execution and brand coherence, and what

Visual identity design is the art of creating a cohesive visual system that represents a brand's personality and values. This guide covers the five essentials of visual branding—consistency, simplicity, relevance, flexibility, and memorability—plus how to apply color psychology, typography strategy, and culturally relevant imagery. Includes RDLB's step-by-step visual identity process: research, concept development, refinement, brand guidelines, and implementation. Features th

Master brand identity essentials to elevate your business. This guide covers five brand identity building blocks: logo design, color palette, typography, imagery, and brand voice. Includes RDLB's 7-step brand identity process—audit, define core values, develop visual elements, craft brand voice, create guidelines, implement across channels, and monitor. Plus: how brand identity development services accelerate results and how to leave a lasting brand legacy.

RDLB's 2026 Consumer Trends Report identifies 7 key dynamics reshaping brand strategy: Fast Premium, Aspirational Humanity, Ritualized Euphoria, Long-Form Depth, Synthetic Realities (IP over influence), the Luddite Class, and the Adornment Effect. The unifying insight: consumers in 2026 are reclaiming authorship of taste, identity, and meaning.

A brand audit is more than a routine checkup. It’s a deep dive into your brand’s soul, revealing strengths, weaknesses, and untapped opportunities. When done right, it transforms your brand from a mere name into a legacy. Let’s explore how leveraging brand audit services can elevate your brand’s performance and secure its place at the pinnacle of your industry.

Brand guidelines essentials provide the framework to achieve this. They define how your brand looks, sounds, and behaves across all platforms and mediums. Think about a multinational company expanding into new markets. Without clear standards, local teams might interpret the brand differently, diluting its impact. With robust guidelines, every piece of communication, from a website banner to a corporate report, aligns perfectly with the brand’s core values and visual identity

Discover why brand narrative now drives valuation in M&A. RDLB’s Communications-Driven Advisory helps companies earn premium multiples through strategic storytelling and investor-grade positioning.

A breakdown of market insights for omnichannel marketing based on case studies from Nike, Sephora, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

While many AI-created videos are unofficial, they showcase the potential and direction this technology is taking us.

In a world of fleeting trends, Martha Stewart’s enduring brand is a testament to the power of authenticity, consistency, and...

Did you know that Halloween has become a significant marketing opportunity for brands? From limited edition products to immersive experience

These principles guide effective branding and design, fostering a resilient, authentic, and impactful approach. Please feel free to download

The pressure to stay relevant has led many companies to prioritize quick wins—flashy campaigns, rapid product launches, and high-velocity ad