Beloved Brands

06/06/2026

Read how to Write a Creative Brief

We go through the Good and Bad of the Creative Brief, Line by Line

https://beloved-brands.com/creative-brief-line-by-line/

06/05/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀.

Use our cheatsheet of 60 functional benefits and 60 emotional benefits to create a cluster you think your brand can win with.

Then brainstorm "I get" and "I feel" statements. Sort them based on what is most motivating to consumers and most ownable for the brand.

𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/

06/04/2026

𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻.

They stay too close to the work. They rewrite the brand plan instead of developing the person who wrote it.

They make every creative call instead of building a team that can make good calls without them.

Technically excellent, but holding everyone around them back.

The marketing director role is where the job description fundamentally changes. It stops being about personal excellence and starts being about building it in others.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗣:

1. Get a consistently high standard for your team
2. Be a consistent and predictable leader
3. Consistent, authentic, approachable leader
4. Consistent voice and partner with sales
5. Deliver high quality work and consistent results

The word that comes up most when strong directors are described by their teams is consistent. Consistent in their standards, their communication, their decision-making, and how they show up on a hard day versus an easy one. Unpredictable leaders create teams that spend energy reading the room rather than building great brands.

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝟱 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲: https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-director/

P.S. If you are looking to build a higher-performing marketing team, the Beloved Brands Marketing Training program is built for exactly that — hands-on, real-world, and designed to raise the level of everyone on your team. beloved-brands.com/marketing-training-program/

06/03/2026

𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 & 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗖𝗼𝗰𝗮-𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀.

𝗜 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

They'd watch the work, feel something, and immediately start talking themselves out of it.

Or they'd feel nothing and not know how to articulate why.

So they'd reach for whatever came to mind.

Make it more emotional.
Make the logo bigger.
Can we see another option?

The agency would go back, make the changes, and return with something slightly worse. The cycle would repeat until everyone was exhausted and the work was average.

𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗔𝗕𝗖𝗦 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Think of it as oxygen for your brand. Without it, everything else is irrelevant. Would this ad stop a consumer who wasn't looking for it?

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸. Could a competitor swap their logo in and run this exact ad? If yes, the brand link is weak and needs to be fixed before anything else.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. One main message. Clear enough that a consumer who saw the ad once could tell you what it was about an hour later.

𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. Is there something in this ad that stays with people after it ends? A phrase, a character, a visual that becomes a memory cue and gets stronger with every exposure?

After scoring the work, you make one of three decisions.

Approve it and protect it from the people who will tweak it to death on the way to production.

Reject it with a specific reason tied to one of those four questions.

Or send it back with feedback that gives the creative team a new problem to solve rather than a solution to execute.

Most brand managers get that last part wrong. They hand the agency answers when what a good creative team actually needs is a better question.

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗕𝗖𝗦 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👇

https://beloved-brands.com/advertising-decisions/

06/02/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀.

Higher prices. Lower costs. Higher share. Bigger market.

Every tactic you run should trace back to at least one of those levers. Pricing decisions affect your margins.

Media spend affects your cost ratios. Promotions affect your volume. Innovation affects your market size.

None of it exists in a silo.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

The brand managers who get promoted are the ones who can walk into a room with the CFO and talk comfortably about gross margins, contribution margins, ROI, and CAGR. They see marketing as an investment, not a cost center.

I put together a full guide on marketing finance for brand managers, including how to read a P&L, the eight profit drivers, pricing strategy, ROI formulas, and the ten best questions to stress-test your brand financials.

👉 https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-finance-101/

P.S. Marketing Finance is one of the core modules in our Beloved Brands marketing training program. beloved-brands.com/marketing-training-program/

Learn how to read your brand's P&L, analyze gross margins, track contribution margin, and the 8 profit drivers to make smarter marketing investment decisions

06/01/2026

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁.

𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲.

Naming TV, TikTok, and retail media feels like progress. It isn't. You've picked where to show up before you've figured out what you're trying to do to the consumer. So the budget is stretched thin, the team chases platform metrics, and the plan that killed it in the deck does nothing in the market.

Channels come last. Not first. Last.

𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰.

I run the whole thing on six questions, in order, because each answer sets up the next.

1. How tight is the bond with your consumers? Where you sit on the Brand Love Curve decides what your media has to do.

2. Where can you impact the consumer journey? Find the biggest gap and aim there. Stop spraying across all of it.

3. What's your brand's core strength? Product, story, experience, or price. Your media lines up behind the one thing you're built to win on. Pick one.

4. When and where is your target most open? The same person is someone different on Monday at 8 am than on Friday at 10 pm. Plan for the moment, not the demo.

5. Which media best deliver the creative? Idea first, format second. Format-first, not channel-first.

6. What's the budget? You don't set a media budget first. You set a revenue target first, then find what it costs to hit it.

Look at the first four. Not one of them names a channel. They're about the consumer and the brand. By the time you get to media, the choice makes itself.

The best plans don't start with channels. They start with the consumer, the strength, the strategy, and the money.

Channels are the easy part. Everyone rushes there because it feels like doing the work. It isn't the work.
Full process, with Gray's Cookies running through all six, here:

The media planning process, explained in six questions. A framework for a media plan, making media decisions, and setting the media budget.

06/01/2026

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

After training marketing teams in 30+ countries, I keep seeing the same five mistakes — no matter the industry or company size.

1. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.

The plan reads like a task list. A great plan is like an orchestra where every part plays the same notes. Start with a vision, let analytics define the issues, and make sure every program connects to a strategy and an expected result.

2. 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.

Three strategies. Three tactics each. Focus your resources on those priorities and actually move the needle. Spread across ten objectives, and nothing gets the attention it needs.

𝟯. 𝗡𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Sales, finance, and agency partners need to shape the plan, not react to it. Walk into the room with commitment already built.

𝟰. 𝗡𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣&𝗟.

Cool ideas without financial proof don't get funded. Build high-, medium-, and low-investment scenarios and show how each affects sales and margins. That's how you sell a budget.

𝟱. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱.

Data without insight is just noise. Twenty slides max. If a slide doesn't move the story forward, cut it.

A great marketing plan isn't thick. It's sharp.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 👇

Learn how to write a Marketing plan using our Marketing Plan template. We show lots of Marketing Plan examples

05/31/2026

Using the Consumer Benefits helps you find your ideal brand positioning statement

https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/

05/28/2026

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗹𝘆: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻?

They'll say the product is great. And the experience. And the price is competitive. And the brand story is strong. That answer means there's no real strategy — just a list of things they hope are true.

The Brand Core Strength framework forces a harder conversation. There are four ways a brand can win — product, story, experience, or price. You get to pick one as your lead strength, two as supporting strengths, and you have to accept one as a weakness.

That last part is where teams always push back. No one wants to admit a weakness. But accepting one trade-off is exactly what makes the other choices meaningful. A brand that claims four strengths has none that consumers actually believe.

𝗜 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

Give the team four chips and ask them to place them across the four options. The rules are simple — one at the top, two in the middle, one at the bottom. The debate that follows is almost always the most useful strategic conversation the team has had in months. Assumptions that have never been said out loud finally get examined.

𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿.

• Product-led brands invest in R&D and communicate why they're better.
• Story-led brands invest in advertising and build around a brand idea that makes them different.
• Experience-led brands invest in culture and people — their brand is only as good as the last interaction a consumer had.
• Price-led brands invest in efficiency and communicate why they can deliver the same quality for less.

The investment decisions, the positioning, the communications strategy — they all flow from that one choice.

Most brands I see are trying to do all four at once. That's why their positioning feels generic, and their investment is spread too thin to move anything.

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👇

https://beloved-brands.com/core-strength/

05/27/2026

𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗣 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗠𝗢 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 — 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗠𝗢𝘀:

1. Culture of great people who deliver great work
2. Put spotlight on team members who contribute
3. Broaden leadership as a partner in all functions
4. Run the processes so your people can produce
5. Ownership over the result: sales, share, profit

The best CMOs build the conditions for great work to happen, then get out of the way and let their people shine.

Read the full breakdown at beloved-brands.com/cmo/