If 98% of your followers aren't doing anything, does social even work?
6 min read
A newsletter exploring brands, culture, and marketing. Written for and about small teams and DIYers.
Q&A with Liza Sankar-Gorton
She just wrapped her first season as an NFL digest Substacker! Here’s what she learned in year one.
How exactly are we spending our time on marketing?
The results from our inaugural January 2026 survey.
Free Template: Brand Questionnaire
A practical framework for defining your identity, audience, and goals.
Understanding the Backlash About the Philadelphia Art Museum Rebrand
A rebrand can’t build connection, it can only reveal how much of it was there to begin with.
We Conflate Visibility with Value
The pressure to not only make things, but to make sure that other people know we’re making things is making us lose sight of what we're actually doing.
Q&A with Lauren Biederman
Philly restaurateur Lauren Biederman on how her Bumpin’ That hat taps into identity, storytelling, and the power of a good wink.
Q&A with MAN LEE
Art rock band MAN LEE on releasing a debut album, and framing it for perception, not consumption.
Everything You Need to Know About Brand Identity Guidelines
A good brand doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to feel like you.
We’re living through a messaging crisis
Political silos, the hot take trap, and a Q&A with an NFL digest Substacker.
Goals, schmoles (plus our first survey results)
A few big patterns and a reminder that priorities always shift.
The 2025 End of Year Recap
It's been a year of plenty...of everything. Maybe we do a little less? A recap. Plus: the state of marketing survey and a free brand questionnaire.