FIELD NOTES
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Observations from a career spent asking questions.
A collection of observations about how brands grow, why some endure and what marketing can learn from both.
Why I Started Writing Again.
A career in journalism taught me that the best stories begin with curiosity.
These Field Notes are an extension of that same mindset—observations about how brands grow, why some endure, and what marketing can learn from both.
I became a reporter because I was curious.
Not curious in the casual sense.
Curious enough to keep asking questions until I understood what was really happening.
Over the years, that curiosity took me from covering local news to becoming an editor at Footwear News and later Editor-in-Chief of Sporting Goods Business. I had a front-row seat to industries that were constantly evolving, watching products become brands, brands become category leaders and, occasionally, entirely new categories emerge.
When I founded True North, I didn't leave that mindset behind.
I simply started asking different questions.
Instead of asking why a story mattered, I began asking why a brand mattered.
Instead of writing for readers, I began helping companies communicate with customers.
The questions changed.
The curiosity never did.
Today, marketing has more data than ever before.
Every click can be measured.
Every campaign can be optimized.
Every impression can be counted.
Those are remarkable advantages.
But somewhere along the way, I think we've become so focused on measuring marketing that we've spent less time talking about what actually makes brands memorable.
The strongest brands I've encountered over the years rarely relied on a single campaign or tactic.
They built something more valuable.
Trust.
Credibility.
Momentum.
Those ideas don't always fit neatly into a dashboard.
But they have a remarkable way of making every future marketing effort more effective.
That's why I decided to start writing again.
Not to offer marketing tips.
Not to comment on every trend.
And certainly not to tell readers how to run their business.
These Field Notes are simply observations from someone who has spent a career asking questions, looking for patterns and watching consumer brands grow.
Some will challenge conventional thinking.
Others will reinforce ideas you already believe.
My hope is that each one leaves you looking at your own brand a little differently.
If they do, then they've served their purpose.
Every brand has a story. The interesting ones begin with a question.
Compare Notes: If this Field Note sparked a thought, challenged an assumption or simply made you look at your brand a little differently, I'd enjoy comparing notes.
Continue reading - Field Note 001:: Why the strongest brands become easier to market over time.