Lochhead on Marketing

On this episode, let’s talk about one of the things that drives me the craziest and more importantly, ruins marketing results and careers on a regular basis. That is, why marketing’s job is NOT serving internal customers. Speaking of which, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making our new books into bestsellers at Amazon Books. You can check the whole list Category Pi...

On this episode, let’s talk about why most marketing fails, and what we can do about it. Speaking of marketing, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making our new books into bestsellers at Amazon Books. You can check the whole list Category Pirates mini-books at Amazon Books, and expect more in the near future! Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing . The number one charting marketing po...

This episode is based on some of the thinking in the #1 bestseller: The Category Design Toolkit: Beyond Marketing: 15 Frameworks For Creating & Dominating Your Niche Since Microsoft announced that its purchasing Activision Blizzard for $70 billion, a lot of people have called this stupid. Others said Microsoft overpaid, and other various things. So on this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let...

On this episode, let’s talk about how to inspire legendary creative marketing people to do their legendary creative marketing work. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing . The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind. Letting Legendary Creative Marketing People Do Legendary Creative Marketing Work Years ago, I was the head of marke...

Welcome to part two of the Native Digitals series here at  Lochhead on Marketing . On this episode, we have a conversation with Hannah Grady Williams on how your business can tap into the Native Digitals workforce. For those who are not familiar of what Native Digitals are, give part one of this series a quick listen ( LOM 137 ). Hannah Grady Williams is the Gen Z CEO Advisor, sort of like a Gen Z...

Originally published in ?‍☠️ Category Pirates : It’s not a weekly newsletter. It’s a weekly mini-book. Lately, there has been a fundamental, dare I say, seminal change in the category design of human beings. That is to say, the definition of what a human is has changed. You see, if you’re 35 and up, you are the last of a dying breed called Native Analogs. If you’re 35 or younger, you are the first...

In Lochhead on Marketing episode 127 , we talked with Al Ramadan, Co-founder of Play Bigger Advisors and co-author of Play Bigger, the book. On that episode, we unpacked the upcoming Rivian IPO. Now that Rivian has gone public, we thought it would be cool to get together again, and unpack what happened through a category design lens. Specifically, how Rivian was able to use their IPO not just as a...

In this episode, let’s talk about Sales Kick Off. Since it’s that time of the year where most sales, marketing, and executive teams are working on sales kickoff events for the new year and/or a company kickoff event. While most people work on the practical and tactical aspect of things, there’s a strategic question that we need to address. If we get the answer right, it can lead to a very successf...

In this episode, let’s talk about the problem with most marketing plans, and what you can do about it. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing . The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind. Planning Based on the Past Let’s talk about the problem with most marketing plans: mainly, most of them start with last year’s template. The big...

On this episode of Lochhead on Marketing , we go on a deep dive into category design, community building, to starting a company and becoming a category leader with Sangram Vajre. Sangram Vajre is the co-founder of Terminus. He is also the author of a WSJ bestselling book called MOVE: The 4-Question Go-To-Market Framework . We touch on the different startup marketing topics, including how to avoid...

This episode is based on the top 1%  Category Pirates ?‍☠️ newsletter. On this episode, let’s talk about at least three Meta problems with Facebook. How, in light of their recent situation, they managed to launch a new category out of nowhere. The question is, was it a legendary move? Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing, the number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers...

On this episode, let’s talk about what might be the most important equation in business and in marketing. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing , the number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind. Maybe The Most Important Equation Ever I want to share with you a little bit of math that I learned very early in my career. It was incredibl...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing , let’s talk about why thinking about thinking is the most important kind of thinking. Context Matters More Than Content This might be obvious, but it bears repeating: context matters more than content. In any strategy discussion, the context of which is what leads to some kind of outcome or content. Most people, particularly those who are entrepreneurial,...

If you’re a regular listener, you know that we have very few guests on this podcast. That is because I believe that 90% of what we get taught about marketing and entrepreneurship is either wrong or not very helpful. So I want to make sure that whoever we have is legendary, and also very helpful. Well, today at Lochhead on Marketing , you not only get one, but two legendary guests, Dushka Zapata an...

All of you have probably heard about Theranos by now, and the huge impact it made in the industry. Though no matter the outcome of the trials of Elizabeth Holmes ( Theranos founder & CEO) and Sunny Balwani (Theranos COO), their actions represent a demarcation point for Silicon Valley, startups, VCs, and marketers. If by chance you don’t know this story, I would recommend you search “Theranos”...

The electric vehicle category is a giant new mega category that is completely changing the transportation landscape. Rivian is a startup who has yet to ship a product, yet somehow is pioneering a differentiated category in EVs. It is also on the verge of what will likely be a massive, multi-billion dollar IPO. In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing , Al Ramadan and I unpack all of it through the...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about how to spot a legendary startup / new category idea. It turns out there are a few secret hiding places where these ideas hide, but they’re in plain sight. One of these ideas was shared by Avram Miller in a recent episode of Follow Your Different ( FYD 234 ) when we were discussing his new book, titled The Flight of a Wild Duck . It is a si...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing , let us talk about something that I get asked about all the time. That is, can service firms do Category Design? Simple answer, Yes . I would even say that the most legendary services companies are almost always created or led by a legendary Category Design. Long answer? Well, listen to this episode to find out. The Management Consulting Category Design Th...

Welcome to a very special episode of Lochhead on Marketing. This episode is based on a recent Category Pirates newsletter that we wrote, which was about Big Brand Marketing and why it doesn’t work. It is also available as a mini eBook here. Think of this episode as more of an audiobook than a podcast, as I will be reading the article for you. Without further ado, let’s get to reading. The Brand Cu...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing , let’s talk about the two categories of Problems and Opportunities that we face, and the questions that we need to ask to figure out what we’re dealing with when an issue or an opportunity arrives. Know the Category of Problems / Opportunities First If you’re a business leader or marketing leader, you’re an entrepreneur. Of course, your job is...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about newsletters. Particularly, how to create a successful newsletter. Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding newsletters: how to create a successful newsletter. With the success we are having on Category Pirates , I would like to share some of my thoughts on how you can create a successful newsletter yourself. It Is Never Too...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about how to be more creative and two beats ahead of the rest. I’ve been inspired of late by a new book called Two Beats Ahead by Panos Panay and Michael Hendrix. What I love about this book is these guys are musicians who teach entrepreneurship and how to have an entrepreneurial mind in the musical world, so to speak. This book is about how to...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let us talk about the 14 reasons why you should not create a category. You believe in hustling – If you are one of those hustle porn believers, then you believe it’s all about hard work and more hard work. Hamsters in wheels hustle, but they never get anywhere. You Believe that the best brand wins – Microsoft spent billions of dollars putting their brand o...

This episode is based on the  Category Pirates   Newsletter .  In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, we continue our discussion on Native Digitals and the impact they are having on the way we live, work, and play. You might find this episode confusing if you haven’t checked out the last two episodes ( LOM 116 & LOM 117 ). You should definitely check them out to be informed of what exactly...

In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s have a very different conversation about your career. Here’s how you can take the plunge and achieve your “Personal IPO”. This episode is based on the Category Pirates ?‍☠️ Newsletter . The YOLO Economy Welcome to the YOLO economy. You’ve probably heard this term. It stands for You Only Live Once . That said, there’s certainly something really intere...