In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing podcast, Sean Makin unpacks a deceptively simple idea: a brand isn’t what people see, it’s what they experience. Moving beyond logos and visual identity, this episode explores how real brands are built from the inside out, shaped by culture, everyday conversations, and the language people…
There is a widely held belief in marketing that if only one had a slightly larger budget, say, another few thousand pounds, a better camera, or a suspiciously expensive brand activation experience, then everything would work beautifully. Campaigns would perform. Leads would flow, and somewhere, deep within the algorithm, a small green light would blink…
Ah yes. The ancient and deeply confusing question: Should your marketing be digital-first or print-backed? A question which, much like “tea or coffee?” or “is this meeting necessary?”, appears simple but quickly spirals into philosophical chaos. Let’s fix that by overthinking it completely, which is really the only sensible response. After all, no simple question…
There comes a moment in every marketer’s life when they stare into the abyss of “brand visibility”, and the abyss stares back… before asking if you’ve tried posting more on LinkedIn. This is deeply unhelpful. Because modern marketing, much like assembling flat-pack furniture or understanding cryptocurrency, is theoretically simple and practically absurd. Everyone agrees you…
Book Review : The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly. The Copywriter’s Handbook has long been considered one of the foundational texts of modern copywriting. First published decades before the rise of social media marketing, programmatic advertising, or AI-driven content tools, the book might easily be mistaken for a relic of another marketing era. But…
At some point in the last decade, marketing quietly wandered off, got distracted by a glowing dashboard full of analytics, and forgot that humans exist. Not entirely. Humans are still mentioned, of course, usually in phrases like “target demographic clusters” or “engagement segments.” Somewhere between the fourth marketing automation platform and the seventeenth social media…
Book Review : Atomic Habits by James Clear. At first glance, Atomic Habits by James Clear doesn’t appear to belong on a marketing reading list. It’s not a book about brand strategy, customer journeys, or campaign performance. Yet that’s precisely why it deserves a place on the modern marketer’s bookshelf. Marketing is a profession built…
In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing Podcast, Sean Makin explores a question many marketers are quietly asking: what exactly is the role of a marketer in the age of artificial intelligence? While AI is rapidly transforming marketing by analysing data, automating campaigns, and eliminating much of the spreadsheet-heavy busywork, it hasn’t…
The Curious Case of the Human Brain, a Cup of Tea, and the Suspiciously Comforting Logo. There is a peculiar habit among human beings which has puzzled philosophers, economists, marketing strategists, and at least one mildly confused Labrador for centuries. It is this: People overwhelmingly prefer things that feel familiar. Not better, necessarily. Not cheaper.…
Why do people stay with your brand long after the discount code has expired? There are many things that persuade a customer to buy from a business. Price is one. Convenience is another. And occasionally a particularly persuasive photograph of a sandwich. But none of these, on their own, explain why people remain loyal to…