Skaggs
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I've worked with a lot of founders and brands with an extraordinary story who somehow…
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisI was reading about Dyson's new toothbrush this week. It has a built-in AI camera that identifies the gaps between your teeth and jets mouthwash directly into them. It might be their founding question applied correctly to a new category. Or it might be the right question aimed at the wrong problem. Again. This week's issue of On Brand Truths is about the question Dyson keeps asking — and what happens when the answer is wrong. What question is your brand's product actually answering?Dyson Keeps Asking the Right Question. Not Every Answer Has Been Worth Making.Dyson Keeps Asking the Right Question. Not Every Answer Has Been Worth Making.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisBack from a short hiatus last week. I've been thinking about a problem that was diagnosed sixty-six years ago, published in one of the most reprinted essays in business history, and is still visible in almost every product aisle, pitch deck, and brand website in the world. Theodore Levitt called it Marketing Myopia. Most brands are still living it. This week’s issue of On Brand Truths is about where it shows up now. What business is your brand actually in?The Railroads Thought They Were in the Railroad Business. So Do Most Brands.The Railroads Thought They Were in the Railroad Business. So Do Most Brands.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisJeff Pink invented the French manicure in Hollywood in the mid-1970s. He took it to Paris Fashion Week, where it was equally embraced. On the flight home, he renamed it. It became one of the most recognized nail looks in the world. I write a lot about borrowed language and why it fails. Pink is the rare exception — and understanding why it worked for him clarifies exactly why it fails for everyone else. This week's issue of On Brand Truths is about the difference between borrowing language to fill a gap and borrowing it to frame a truth you already own. What truth does your brand have that it hasn't named yet?It Was Invented in Hollywood. He Called It French Anyway.It Was Invented in Hollywood. He Called It French Anyway.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisI was watching a video last weekend on a theory of how the ancient Egyptians cut granite. Somewhere in that video, a name came up that I wasn't familiar with: Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie. His work changed how archaeologists read the ancient world. It also gave me something to think about closer to home. This week's issue of On Brand Truths is about what Petrie understood about context — and why most brands should pay attention to it. What does your brand communicate about the specific moment in which someone reaches for it?Nobody Remembers Flinders Petrie. Every Brand Should.Nobody Remembers Flinders Petrie. Every Brand Should.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisOn Tuesday, I wrote about what a promotion actually does to a brand. Which begs the question: why do brands end up there in the first place? The answer is simpler than most people want to hear. They never gave the market a real reason to pay full price. The product didn't fail. The brand did.The Price Is a Claim. Most Brands Haven’t Earned It.The Price Is a Claim. Most Brands Haven’t Earned It.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisMy inbox has been overflowing with sales emails these days. Mid-summer promotions, last-chance offers, discounts on products that were full price a week or so ago. They won't stop until back-to-school kicks in later this month, and the cycle starts over. Every one of those emails is doing something to the brand that sent it that many don't talk about until it's too late. Here's what it costs.The First Promotion Always Makes Sense. That’s the Problem.The First Promotion Always Makes Sense. That’s the Problem.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisThere's supposed to be someone on every team whose job is to ask one question before a claim goes out: can we actually say this? This week's issue of On Brand Truths is about what happens when AI starts sounding confident enough that people stop asking, and what a hundred years of FTC and FDA history has to say about it. What claim is your brand making right now that you couldn't prove if someone asked?AI Doesn’t Lie. It Just Doesn’t Know the Difference.AI Doesn’t Lie. It Just Doesn’t Know the Difference.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisJonina and I were in the back of a car somewhere between New Delhi and Jaipur. I don't remember the exact stretch of road, but I remember the heat and the long, dusty drive. I also remember thinking to myself, but saying out loud, "I wish we had a couple of Kingfishers." This week's issue of On Brand Truths is about what happened next, and what it says about owned language when the man who built one of the world's most recognized beer brands fled his country owing $1.3 billion, and the brand didn’t notice. What does your brand's name mean when there's nothing else around to explain it?The Founder Became a Fugitive. The Beer Didn’t Notice.The Founder Became a Fugitive. The Beer Didn’t Notice.
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Bradley Skaggs shared thisI had a great time talking with Mark William Sephton on his Plugged In podcast about building brands in the age of AI. https://lnkd.in/dfAmRYzcBradley Skaggs on Building Brands That AI Cannot ImitateBradley Skaggs on Building Brands That AI Cannot Imitate
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisAt 555 Hudson Street, the rowhouse where Jane Jacobs lived from 1947 to 1968, I stood in front of the door behind which she wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities. From this home she helped lead the campaigns that kept cars out of Washington Square and stopped Robert Moses' Lower Manhattan Expressway, a reminder that the city of proximity is also defended from the doorstep.
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisBad copywriting: “Our sunscreen is SPF 50.” Great copywriting: “Come home with memories, not a sunburn.” Sell peace of mind, not protection. Credit: Chase Dimond ---- Follow me, Jeremy Scott, for more marketing posts like this and share ♻️ with your network.
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisWhat if nothing was wrong with your writing? Let us fix your reach.
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisAn exciting collaboration and we are thrilled to be part of Corcellys Therapeutic developmentBradley Skaggs liked this𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗬 🌱🔬 Growth factors are a critical part of developing and manufacturing pluripotent stem cell-derived therapies. Their quality, consistency and scalability matter from the earliest stages of development. That is why we are very happy to announce a new collaboration between Corcellys Therapeutics and ORF Genetics. For more than 20 years, ORF Genetics has developed a unique plant-based platform for producing recombinant human growth factors and cytokines in barley. Their ISOkine™ products combine characteristics that are particularly interesting for cell therapy development, including animal-component-free production and inherently very low endotoxin levels. Through this collaboration, ORF Genetics 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, while together we explore opportunities to apply their technology within advanced regenerative medicine. For Corcellys Therapeutics, this is also an opportunity to work with a Nordic biotechnology company with a highly differentiated approach to recombinant protein production. For ORF Genetics, our therapeutic programs provide an opportunity to further explore the potential of ISOkines™ in pluripotent stem cell-derived therapies. And this may only be the beginning. As the collaboration develops, we see opportunities to explore application-specific data and additional uses of ORF's technology across cell therapy development. We are delighted to welcome ORF Genetics 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 and look forward to what we can build together. 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀. #CellTherapy #RegenerativeMedicine #StemCells #CornealBlindness #Biotechnology #ORFGenetics #CorcellysTherapeutics #GrowthFactors #RawMaterials
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisTM cofounder B. Alex Miller was featured in Modern Luxury, in a conversation marking his path to building a practice at the intersection of architecture and lighting design. Miller traces TM's presence in Miami back to relationships that began in Paris and New York, expanding into flagship work across the Design District for brands including Cartier and Louis Vuitton. Location shapes his thinking directly. New York calls for a more precise, detail-driven approach to light, while Miami's architecture has never needed light to supply its warmth. His references for a project extend well past the design world. A Renaissance painting, a restaurant, Saarinen's chapel at MIT: Miller points to a lifelong attention to how light moves through a space as the throughline in his work. For the Cartier flagship in the Design District, that attention has a clear aim. "I hope it's like a really good (but small) museum; you're there for the art, but the building makes you take serious notice." Read more at https://lnkd.in/ghX7C4eQ Architecture for Cartier MDD by Diller Scofidio + Renfro #LouisVuitton #RetailDesign #LightingDesign #LuxuryRetail #ArchitecturalLighting #RetailLighting #Miami #MiamiDesignDistrict #TMLight
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisI know, I know, I'm about a couple of years too late, but hear me out. Every professional conversation lately revolves around AI. Some are smoother than others. Some I can't even begin to comprehend but nod along to anyway, and some are just plain scary. But once the noise quiets down and I sit and reflect - those moments are precious - I wonder, like many of us: is AI eventually going to take over my role? Here's where I've landed. I use AI every single day, for brainstorming, drafting, refining, and stress-testing ideas. And you know what it has never once done? Had an original thought. Understood nuance. Felt the room. Known when a brief was missing the point or when a headline needed more soul. Content is the one place where the human in the room will always matter. AI can write a sentence. It can't tell you why that sentence is wrong for this brand, this audience, this moment. So no, AI is not the driver. It's a very fast, very helpful GPS. You still decide where you're going. Stay in the driver's seat. 🚗 And for my visual friends, I came across this image two days ago. I hope it helps. 📷Can't remember who is the owner but def not mine!
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisThere is no greater test of human patience than watching an AI calmly output complete nonsense for the 12th time in a row. Spending hours on a project that's meant to take minutes, is something we've come to live with when dealing with an AI prompt. "Too formal." "No, now it's too casual." "Why did you add an emoji army?" I was convinced the technology was failing me. Then I took a second to read my own prompts out loud. I sounded like a customer ordering food at a restaurant by saying: "Bring me something delicious, but not too hot, you know what I mean?" No wonder the output was useless. I hadn't given it a recipe; I gave it a vibe and expected a masterpiece. We love blaming AI for giving us generic slop. But 90% of the time, the slop starts with us expecting the tool to do the actual thinking. If an output isn't hitting the mark, don't just hit "Regenerate". Step back, clear your head, and figure out what you forgot to actually say.
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Bradley Skaggs liked thisBradley Skaggs liked thisLadder 49 was my second home growing up, and my Dad spent 21 years doing the job he was called to do. He begrudgingly retired in 2000 following an extended medical leave after an injury on a run. On September 11, 2001, he was one of the first parents to pick me up from high school following the attacks. He brought me to my grandparents’ house and then left to join his brothers in Lower Manhattan. Even as a retired, non-active firefighter, he knew he had to be with them. We lost my Dad in 2013 to brain cancer, and I carry his spirit with me every day. Although I miss him deeply, I find comfort knowing that, in some way, he is still surrounded by his brotherhood. I am grateful forever for his service, and for the courage and sacrifice of all first responders. In honor of Jack Featherstone, I encourage everyone to do something kind for someone today. It’s what he would have done.
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