Strategy & delivery / Selected essay
Why recommendations fail
(and what to do instead).
A good recommendation is a proposed change. What gives it somewhere to land?
Read the essayInsights / Jay Mandel
Question the promise.
Look at the evidence.
Writing on the gap between what organizations say and what people experience—and the decisions that can close it.
Explore the articles
A place to start
Thinking you can put to work.
Why recommendations fail
MarTech / Growth & Innovation
The cost of silence in marketing is too high
Read on MarTechMarketing Accountability Council / Data & AI
How Bad Math and Synthetic Empathy are Ruining Customer Service
Read on Marketing Accountability CouncilThe article library
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Publication
28 articles · MarTech
MarTech · August 27, 2026
Better data starts with treating people like people
Treating people with respect improves the data relationships marketing depends on.
MarTech · June 24, 2026
Why trust belongs at the center of your data strategy
More customer data once looked like an advantage. AI is exposing the risk of data built on inference, opacity and extraction.
MarTech · April 14, 2026
Marketing looks successful, but misses what matters
Marketing’s drift toward optics and internal validation disconnects teams from revenue and the fundamentals that create growth.
MarTech · January 30, 2026
No means no, even when the system refuses to listen
Silence is a signal, and ignoring it damages trust.
MarTech · January 12, 2026
The myth of brand community in the age of data agency
Clean metrics stop masking the gap between engagement and real commitment.
MarTech · December 3, 2025
How dirty data broke marketing
Clean data restores context, consent and meaning.
MarTech · October 28, 2025
Rethinking marketing’s relationship with data
Clean data offers a route back to trust.
MarTech · August 22, 2025
Marketing leadership asks for radical candor but wants compliance
Candor becomes useful when leaders reward thoughtful challenge, respond with curiosity, and turn honest feedback into better decisions and stronger trust.
MarTech · August 13, 2025
Why the grift economy is killing both marketing and marketers
Examining the incentives behind misleading marketing practices.
MarTech · July 28, 2025
The cost of silence in marketing is too high
Digital marketing too often rewards performance over principle.
MarTech · July 8, 2025
Why marketers are leaving and what it takes to stay
What pushes marketers away and what could help them stay.
Popular on MarTech
MarTech · May 16, 2025
Crumbl’s legal trouble shows the risks of shortcut marketing
The brand risks of taking marketing shortcuts.
Popular on MarTech
MarTech · April 24, 2025
Brand safety is BS (until it’s not)
Examining the decisions behind brand safety claims.
MarTech · February 28, 2025
How digital natives changed the game on legacy media
How digital creators compete with established media.
MarTech · February 14, 2025
Target’s DEI retreat: Inclusivity was never more than a marketing stunt
Testing the gap between inclusion promises and company decisions.
Popular on MarTech
MarTech · January 21, 2025
Are AI tools shaping your intentions more than you realize?
How AI tools influence the intentions behind your choices.
MarTech · December 30, 2024
Lessons from AI’s 2024 rise and a pragmatic path for marketing in 2025
A practical approach to using AI in marketing.
MarTech · November 14, 2024
Why marketers must move from retention tactics to customer respect
Replacing retention pressure with customer respect.
MarTech · October 14, 2024
How to move beyond performative segmentation and embrace authenticity
Moving from audience labels to authentic relationships.
MarTech · September 12, 2024
The fading third place: A reflection on Starbucks and society
What Starbucks reveals about shared social spaces.
Popular on MarTech
MarTech · August 13, 2024
Marketers must adapt to a changing world
Adapting marketing to changing customer expectations.
Popular on MarTech
MarTech · July 19, 2024
Planting seeds and building trust in a world of overnight wins
Building trust through consistent work rather than quick wins.
MarTech · June 25, 2024
How to build a B2B brand that delivers lasting value
Building a B2B brand around lasting customer value.
MarTech · May 20, 2024
Escaping the marketing circus: How empathy can realign brands, audiences and results
Using empathy to connect brands, audiences and results.
MarTech · April 10, 2024
Martech’s moment of truth: Why product excellence beats slick sales pitches
Putting product quality ahead of sales promises.
MarTech · March 22, 2024
Ethical marketing in the age of hidden fees and deceptive pricing
Recognizing the harm caused by hidden fees and deceptive pricing.
MarTech · February 27, 2024
Adapting marketing strategies for post-pandemic reality: The need for authenticity
Responding to changed expectations with authentic marketing.
MarTech · January 25, 2024
3 steps to an authentic brand: Identity, intention and implementation
Connecting brand identity, intention and implementation.
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The book / Kogan Page · 2023
Brand Strategy
in Three Steps.
Identity. Intention. Implementation. A framework for connecting your values, your offer, and the way you deliver.
Explore the book and sample chapterKeep exploring
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