To succeed today, product companies must also be media companies. Instead of solely relying on buying advertising, brands need to create and distribute their own content through owned channels. This strategy builds a direct relationship with the community, fosters loyalty, and creates a more sustainable marketing engine.

Brand love is often less about the product and more about what it symbolizes about the consumer. In an era of 'hyper-identity,' brands become signals people use to communicate their personal values and nuances. Marketing should focus on what the brand says about its user.

A brand can be any entity, including a cultural movement or a band, that represents something timeless and carves out a unique value proposition. This redefines the traditional concept of branding beyond corporate entities, as exemplified by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

The idea that a company can define its brand with a single slogan is a fantasy. In reality, a brand like Nike's "Just Do It" means something different to every person based on their unique experiences. True brand building accepts and engages with this fragmented reality, not the illusion of top-down control.

The marketing playbook has shifted from promoting products to promoting the personality behind them (e.g., Tesla is Elon Musk). A company without a founder or CEO who can act as a public "character" struggles to gain traction, as corporate messaging accounts are no longer effective in a noisy media environment.

Old media built abstract corporate brands (e.g., General Electric). New media's unlimited channels mean the founder's personal identity now defines the company. Think Elon Musk and SpaceX, not just the corporate entity. This shift makes it nearly impossible for a company to build a compelling brand without a strong, public-facing individual at the helm.

The media landscape has fundamentally changed. Value is no longer concentrated in institutional brands like the New York Times. Instead, it has shifted to individual, 'non-fungible' writers who can now build their own brands and businesses on platforms like Substack.

The nature of marketing has shifted from promoting a faceless corporation to showcasing an authentic founder personality. Companies without an interesting character at the helm are at a disadvantage. This requires leaders to be public figures, as their personal brand, story, and voice are now integral to the company's identity and success.

The era of the polished, synthetic corporate brand is over. The proliferation of media channels has blown up the old, narrow funnel. Success now comes from the people behind the company—CEOs and founders—speaking directly and authentically, explaining their thoughts and decisions in their own words.