Nearly every time I read a marketing newsletter or analysis, I see a reference to something old becoming new again. If you have a brand story to tell, nostalgia marketing seems to be the wave to catch these days.

It’s been a while since I wrote about the power of nostalgia in marketing, so I decided to go down the rabbit hole. I found a new twist. Nostalgia marketing is so resonant right now that even startups with no brand heritage are using 1980s and 90s iconography and aesthetics to promote their products. Does that seem bizarre?

Let’s explore this together today. This article explains:

• Why nostalgia is such an important marketing consideration right now
• The three conditions making nostalgia a sustainable trend
• How modern brands with no heritage are tapping into the positive emotion of nostalgia
• Ten ideas to use nostalgia for your own brand
• What nostalgia might mean to Gen Alpha

Nostalgia marketing is everywhere

If you pay attention to marketing trends as I do, advertising seems to be in a time warp. Throwback products and images are everywhere:

• Fashion: Low-rise jeans, baby tees, butterfly clips, platform shoes.

• Accessories & tech: Digital watches (vintage Casio) are being rediscovered.

• Branding & marketing: Retro logos, reissues, limited “vault” drops from early 2000s design cues. Retro sneakers are the latest trend, as Adidas and Nike drop limited-edition versions of shoes from the 1990s.

• Food: More than 70% of consumers are drawn to childhood-evoking treats. Brands are leaning in with retro packaging and revivals precisely because it translates to sales lift with Gen X and younger shoppers alike.

• Media: Stranger Things. Need I say more?

Let’s keep running up that hill. Today, I’ll look at why and how you might capitalize on this trend (even if you have a new company with no significant brand history).

Side note: The generation born roughly 1997-2006 (Gen Z) is drawn to “eras before their lifetime” to find aesthetic distance or escape the present. While researching this post, I learned a new word. “Anemoia” means nostalgia for a time you didn’t live through. Don’t assume nostalgia needs to be their memory.

Anything old is new again

My friends at The History Factory created an interesting piece of free research on the new momentum of nostalgia in culture and marketing. Highlights:

• Younger adults are the loudest champions; around 70% of adults aged 18–34 show an interest in heritage.
• 74% of Americans would like to see more retro throwbacks from brands.
• Limited-edition, retro products are the most appealing type of content to Americans (among 12 possible content themes).
• Marvel leads the category for brand heritage storytelling across multiple channels, ranking No. 1 on the Brand Heritage Index with the highest overall score of 84.

So, this trend is undeniable and growing, especially with young people. Why now?

There are three main reasons nostalgia marketing is extremely relevant right now, especially with Gen Z:

1. Comfort in a period of crises
2. Historic media trends aimed at children
3. A search for shared experiences.

Let’s break each down in more detail.

1. Comfort food in chaotic times

Jola Burnett, SVP of consumer research company Ipsos, attended my Uprising retreat a few times. At a recent session, she presented on the most important global trends and said:

“This generation is not living through a crisis. It is living through multiple crises. It is a time of extraordinary economic, environmental, and social strain.”

In this context, a search for “comfort food” makes sense. During periods of unusual stress, people seek emotional regulation and a sense of belonging. The American Psychological Association notes nostalgia boosts well-being, eases loneliness, and restores meaning.

In the words of Dr. Krystine Batcho, it’s “the soothing ointment that helps people manage the anxieties from conflict.”

Nostalgia is an important part of “brand therapy” to get through the blues. And, we have a LOT of blues.

2. Media trends fuel the nostalgia marketing trend

I wrote about the influence of nostalgia in 2020 and noted that the evolution of media helps explain why old is gold.

Up until the 1980s — and the advent of cable programming — there was almost no direct marketing to children. Most of the early children’s television programming, like Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers, was on PBS — no ads. And at prime time, children watched whatever network programming mom and dad had on the tube.

Cable TV introduced fully dedicated channels for youth-oriented cartoons, movies, nature programs, and educational programming. This increased exponentially with the advent of the internet and surged again with the rise of smart devices, when children could watch anything, any time, and anywhere. An entire media ecosystem was created for kids.

Starting about 30 years ago, the golden age of children’s programming and youth-oriented product marketing began. The Millennials who grew up in this era have an incredible abundance of media-driven emotional connections compared to any other generation.

If nostalgia means longing for a happy childhood place or experience, you could say that kids growing up after 1980 have been thoroughly prepped for it.

3. The search for shared experiences

There is a third reason why nostalgia connects now — a search for shared experiences.

Our fragmented media environment means we have fewer common references than we did in the past. Everybody curates their own media experiences alone, through their earbuds.

You can’t have nostalgia without a shared past to return to — and you can’t have commonly understood jokes without a shared understanding, or even, in the truest sense, a shared language. The appeal of nostalgia is that it allows storytellers to set their adventures in the last period where we really did have that shared understanding — before the smartphone shattered our world in more ways than one.

What if you don’t have a nostalgic story?

There are many newer brands and startups that look like they dropped from a time machine. Look beyond your own timeline. Some nostalgia opportunities don’t come from your brand history—they’re cultural overlays you can tap:

• 80s arcade-style visual design
• Early internet aesthetics (pixel fonts, loading bars, Windows 98 UI)
• 90s mall culture
• Y2K chrome gradients and flip-phone culture
• Analog textures and filters (film grain, VHS distortion, cassette labeling)
• A brand pop-up shop that replicates a 1990s bedroom
• A “throwback menu” or “throwback website” for one day

Olipop is an example of a startup connecting to classic flavors and retro design elements:

My grandmother always kept a stash of Cream Soda for me, so I’m all in on Olipop!

Take a look at Vacation Sunscreen. The fast-rising brand created a 1980s world to establish the emotional connection to its product:

Vacation sun lotion even comes with its own “radio station” that plays oldie hits and commercials from the 1980s:

Cereal start-up Magic Spoon has a design that echoes 1980s/90s cereal boxes: mascots, bright gradients, Saturday-morning energy, but with keto macros and adult-friendly nutritional claims.

Many tech companies are adopting a lo-fi, pixelated look reminiscent of early video games. This is from the Nothing Electronics website:

I have suits older than the Graduate Hotel chain, yet when you step inside, it feels like you’re in the 1960s.

Their hyper-stylized retro design borrows from cultural memory, not their own brand history.

• Kitschy vintage colors straight out of a 1960s yearbook

• Plaid patterns, rotary phones, wood paneling, chandeliers, and campy memorabilia

• Guest rooms styled like nostalgic dorm rooms (complete with old-school desk lamps, varsity motifs, and needlepoint art)

• Public spaces that look like mid-century student unions or 1970s rec rooms

• Restaurant and bar concepts that feel like throwback diners, supper clubs, or old campus hangouts

I never look back fondly at my great memories at the good ol’ Walmart. It doesn’t seem ripe for nostalgia marketing. But this video is one of my all-time favorite examples of nostalgic emotions in an unlikely place. A genius commercial that became a viral guessing game:

So, you don’t need to be an old-timey brand to create a nostalgic feeling. Sometimes nostalgia is most powerful as an experience, not a product.

10 Ideas to create your own heritage moat

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying the number of crises in the world won’t diminish any time soon (Hey, AI, I’m looking at you!).

Does your brand have a heritage moat, a story that connects people to a comforting memory? Here are some ideas to put this to use for your brand:

1. Audit your “dormant assets.” Most heritage sits under-leveraged inside a company: old packaging, jingles, slogans, characters, mascots, stores, uniforms, product variants, and past brand partnerships.
2. Explore what your customers are already nostalgic for. Gen Z and Millennials constantly create nostalgia timelines on TikTok and Instagram. Search for people already celebrating a past version of your brand through remixed commercials, vintage packaging collections, and fan communities sharing memories.
3. Celebrate anniversary milestones. An obvious opportunity is taking customers on a trip down memory lane in association with a brand’s birthday. Let’s be honest … nobody cares about the anniversary except your company. But it’s an opportunity to bring back milestone memories that elicit positive emotions with your customers.
4. Don’t be gimmicky. Nostalgia trends are emotional triggers. They work because they connect — so whatever you borrow, ensure the narrative is meaningful and not just surface-deep. Nostalgia marketing can backfire if it feels fake, irrelevant, or neglects how times have changed.
5. Connect it to now. Gen Z cares about authenticity and values, not just the aesthetic. So when leveraging nostalgia, tie it to something relevant (inclusion, sustainability, community).
6. Bring back “lost rituals.” Many industries have rituals that quietly disappeared. Brands can resurrect these rituals digitally or physically. Examples: Burning CDs, Family game night, popping popcorn, the mall photo strip booth.
7. Engage the senses. Nostalgia is multisensory. It can be evoked by sounds, sights, smells, touch, and tastes.
8. Recycle past products. The Coca-Cola Company restocked shelves with a blast from the past—Hi-C Ecto Cooler. Ecto Cooler was first introduced in partnership with the original Ghostbusters movie in 1987, and a movie reboot gave Coca-Cola the opportunity to revive its popular discontinued product.
9. Resurrect old icons. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) hired a series of actors to portray its founder Colonel Harland Sanders since 2015. While actors like Jim Gaffigan and Rob Lowe don the founder’s iconic white coat from time to time, nobody says it quite like the Colonel himself. KFC’s more recent television spots splice together old film of Colonel Sanders or portray him in a modern context.
10. Explore emotional moments. Every brand has a moment where customers fell in love for the first time: “The cereal box toy I kept forever.”
    “The first time I tried a video game.”
    “The shoe I wore during a milestone moment in my teens.”
    “The logo that was on my high school backpack.”

• Identify and map those “first-love” moments. Those are the memories you want to activate.

The nostalgia of the future

I had this thought … what will be nostalgic 20 years from now for Gen Alpha (born 2010-2024)? Is it possible to create nostalgia-worthy brand characters, rituals, and cultural touchpoints today as part of a long-term brand strategy? Are there cultural patterns that seem destined to be beloved and memorable, or is it more random?

Maybe the nostalgia of the future will revolve around TikTok jokes and memes?

Have not really heard of anybody mindfully building nostalgia into a product for the next generation. If anybody is working on a nostalgia-forward strategy, drop me a line. It would be fun to hear about that.

In any event, the power of nostalgia soothes a whacked-out world, and it’s probably an idea to consider, even if you don’t have a historical brand story to tell.

Need an inspiring keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post The heritage moat: Why nostalgia marketing dominates today appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I made a significant announcement on my new podcast episode, show number 328 of The Marketing Companion.

In this 13th year of the program, I’m stepping down and handing the reins to a new owner. You can listen to the episode for the details. I’m not going away quite yet, but beginning in January 2026, there will be a new owner and show host.

Having a podcast that has lasted more than a decade — and I’ve never missed an episode — certainly beats the odds. More than 2 million downloads later, I’m moving on to new projects.

I’m not one to dwell on the past, and this show is no exception as I plow forward on a discussion of key tech considerations for marketing with my friend Sandy Carter.

You can enjoy this show and hear my announcement by clicking here:

Listen to Episode 328 of The Marketing Companion

Here is an AI-generated summary of the show highlights:

The Nvidia Deepfake: A Cautionary Tale for Brands

Something jaw-dropping happened during Nvidia’s big corporate event. I hopped on LinkedIn and saw the video of Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, who always delivers inspiring talks. But, to my shock, the replayed video had more views than the actual livestream — and it turned out to be a fake.

This wasn’t just a prank. Thousands (including some Nvidia employees and even CNBC) tuned in, believing it was Huang, only to discover it was an AI-crafted forgery pushing a crypto scam. Even veteran marketers like Sandy and me were fooled, clicking legitimate-looking links that led to the fake event.

What’s really unsettling is the precision and organization behind this attack. This wasn’t a lone hacker; it was an orchestrated crime with marketing-level sophistication. They timed the fake stream perfectly, hijacked search and social placements, and created something so convincing that even close colleagues were swindled.

Here’s the big lesson: authenticity in branding now demands proof. We’ve crossed into an era where merely sounding or looking authentic isn’t enough — brands must invest in new forms of verification.

And here’s the kicker: platforms have the technology to detect and verify truth, but won’t use it. Polarization, outrage, and viral fakes drive more views and, unfortunately, more ad revenue.

Are You Ready for Humanoid Robots?

That’s only half the future. The other revolution speeding toward us is the age of humanoid robots — not just as factory workers or distant sci-fi dreams, but as customer-facing agents.

We’re already seeing this in places like Korea and Japan, where robots are stepping in to care for the elderly or providing personalized services. In Silicon Valley, there’s already a humanoid robot in beta that will deliver pizza, serve you at dinner, pour drinks, and even clean up afterward. That sounds like an upgrade to my hosting skills! However, it has profound implications for marketing.

The robot selects the brand of soda. The robot chooses which cleaning product to use. Suddenly, Coke, Pepsi, P&G — their customer might not be the humans in the household, but the robot company or its AI!

And what about architectural design? If your home can’t accommodate the robot’s width, maybe it’s time for a renovation. Marketers must start thinking about scenarios that were pure fantasy just a few years ago.

More than that, physical AI opens the door for a whole new specialty: “robotic trainers.” Soon enough, marketing educators and consultants might be training robots (not humans!) on how to greet guests in a restaurant or care for patients.

Speed Becomes the Ultimate Advantage

One theme kept coming up again and again in the discussion: speed. AI is compressing the time between idea and impact. We used to run A/B tests for months; today, that luxury is gone. Real-time analysis, constant adaptation — this is survival now.

Some businesses, like those in Dubai, aren’t just keeping up; they’re redesigning their cities for the age of AI and global branding. Dubai has a CEO for the city, not a traditional mayor, and they’re combining storytelling, authenticity, and technology to build global icons like Dubai Chocolate. Makes me realize how far traditional campaigns and approval cycles must evolve.

Management consultants and big agencies like McKinsey are facing tough choices as their data-driven cultures collide with the urgent need for rapid experimentation. Smaller brands and startups get it faster — but larger organizations must shift, too.

I’ve never been this excited — or nervous — about what’s next. If you want to keep up, embrace the uncertainty, stay endlessly curious, and get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Please support our sponsors, who make this fantastic episode possible.

This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now, any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customers to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence to strengthen their customer relationships.

Go to https://www.brevo.com/marketingcompanion to sign up for Brevo for free and use the code COMPANION to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!

A recent Semrush study found that AI search traffic is projected to surpass traditional search by 2028. That makes now the time to prepare your brand for the future of search.

With Semrush AI Search tools, you will lead this transition.

• Track your AI visibility score: See a single, clear benchmark of your share of voice across AI search platforms.
• Identify AI mention opportunities: Uncover sources where your competitors are cited—but you’re not—including social media, forums, and more.
• Benchmark against competitors: Find the exact prompts, mentions, and sources where your competitors appear in AI responses and you don’t.
• Discover trending prompts: Spot the real questions your audience is asking AI platforms—and build content around them.
• Shape your brand narrative: Monitor the sentiment and context tied to your AI mentions, and make sure your brand is being represented the way you want.

Need an inspiring keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Image courtesy Mid Journey

The post The Marketing Companion Podcast: Beginning of a New Era appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Most people don’t know this, but I hold a master’s degree in psychology. So while I practice marketing as my craft and vocation, I can’t help but view the world through the lens of the mind.

The more I learn about AI, the more fearful I am. It’s not necessarily the “Terminator” kind of fear. I’m fearful that AI is permanently and inexorably re-wiring our human psychology … literally changing us … and there’s no going back.

Doesn’t that make your heart skip a beat?

I love AI. I use it every day. But as I researched and wrote my new book, How AI Changes Your Customers, I learned that humans are:

• Abdicating important decisions, even moral decisions, to algorithms.
• De-skilling themselves by offloading work to machines.
• Often preferring the ease and security of an emotional relationship with a bot over a human.
• Opting for quick answers rather than doing the work to actually learn something. One expert characterized this as “self-imposed dementia.”

I have a new grandchild. He is so bright and beautiful. But I can’t help but look at this precious boy and wonder, “What kind of world are you entering, kid?”

I don’t think I am psychologically much different from my grandfather. I’m probably less bored and more stressed. But essentially, the same.

But my baby grandson … I cannot even imagine how the power of AI will change his world, his life, and even his personality. How do we prepare him for this?

Nobody knows for sure, but I think I have one clue.

The most important soft skill

What will be the difference between a person who becomes more capable and powerful with AI versus those who will be withered and consumed by it?

Curiosity.

If you’re a curious person, AI is an intellectual wonderland. It will feed that curiosity and help you bloom into a bigger, bolder, wiser person.

I spend a lot of time outdoors, and I am always asking ChatGPT why a plant grows a certain way, which birds migrate, and what animal made these tracks in the snow. I am learning and growing every day, thanks to AI.

But if you’re not curious, you only want the quick answer with as little effort as possible. You’re not integrating the knowledge. I learned a new word for this: phoresis. When you do the hard work and follow your curiosity, the knowledge sticks with you. That’s phoresis.

Here’s a fact that is amazing and true. Amazon has limited the number of books that a person can self-publish to three per day. That’s a sign of how mindless AI content is overwhelming the publishing industry.

I could have used AI to write my book. But it wouldn’t be me, and I wouldn’t have learned anything. By doing the hard work, I’ve gained a new capability. I have new, ingrained knowledge to help me be a better consultant, speaker, and teacher.

I think my grandson is destined to be curious. His parents are urgent, curious learners. I want to do everything I can to nurture this quality in him because curiosity will be the differentiating quality between those who AI-thrive and those who are AI-crushed.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Illustrations courtesy Mid Journey

The post The most important “soft skill” in the AI Era appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

These days, it seems like every marketing conversation swirls around the latest AI tool, the newest social channel, or some fresh “growth hack” promising overnight results. Don’t get me wrong: staying current is vital. But as my recent Marketing Companion episode with Andy Crestadina reminded me, we might be so dazzled by the new that we forget the timeless fundamentals of marketing that built the very house we’re renovating.

As we shared a few laughs (and introduced “sex” into our podcast conversation for the first time), Andy and I unpacked a few marketing truths that are more relevant than ever.

To listen to the conversation, just click here!

Click here to enjoy The Marketing Companion Episode 327

An AI-generated summary of the conversation:

1. Persuasion is (Still) the Science at the Heart of Marketing

Andy kicked things off by quoting the copywriting legends: “It used to be all about persuasion.” And he’s right. Classic marketing was rooted in psychology—understanding why people take action (or not) and how to tip them toward us.

Everybody’s obsessed with optimizing for algorithms, but if your copy can’t persuade, all the traffic in the world won’t help. Marketers often overlook handling objections, using cognitive biases, and “nudging” consumers (thanks, Richard Thaler). It’s not all that different from decades past. Andy and I both agreed: re-read Cialdini’s Persuasion, crack open “Scientific Advertising,” and revisit Nancy Harhut’s work on behavioral science in marketing. These classic texts are treasure chests of techniques that’ll never go out of style.

2. Your Brand Is Still Your Moat

The switch was flipped 20 years ago and has never been turned off: we optimize for everything — Google, Facebook, conversion rates, clicks, Likes, and SEO. But the “soul” of marketing is still your brand. Distinctiveness, emotional resonance, and memorability — these are the long-term drivers of growth.

Look at the world’s best brands: they don’t win just by being good at Facebook ads, but by creating an emotional expectation and meaning around their name. Is your brand working as hard as your SEO?

3. The Power of Human Connection: Live Events & Community

Here’s a bit Andy and I always come back to: business is personal. Community, relationships, and the magic of in-person interaction will *always* be a goldmine for marketers. Andy’s network — and mine — comes from years of shaking hands, swapping stories, and sharing meals at conferences and industry events. COVID might have shaken up the landscape, but live events are back, and the impact is real.

Brands can (and should) host their own events. The potential for networking, relationship-building, and, indeed, sales is immense.

4. The Unexpected Luxury of Paper

In our endlessly buzzing, swiping, and scrolling digital age, few things cut through the noise like a handwritten note or a printed newsletter. Andy and I swapped stories of thank-you cards and beautifully crafted newsletters that made it past the digital trash heap and straight into someone’s heart (or office).

Paper feels like a luxury now. It’s rare, a little surprise and delight that says, “I put in extra effort for you.” For the right audience, a physical touchpoint can generate deeper loyalty than a thousand “likes.”

5. Stop, Iterate, and Focus on What Works

With every new tool or channel, marketers pile on more and more — TikTok, threads, Snapchat, Reels. But Andy’s right: the best marketers aren’t everywhere. They stop, iterate, and have the discipline to quit what’s not delivering. If you can’t go deep, you can’t be great.

Audit your time. Are you spreading your attention too thin across too many channels? Cut loose the underperformers and double down on what *moves the needle.* It’s about high-impact focus, not omnipresent mediocrity.

What are you doing that’s become a drain? Put something “to bed,” and reinvest those hours into upgrading your best work.

6. Sex, Beauty, and the Importance of Design

No, this isn’t clickbait. As much as culture changes, the human brain still processes beauty, sexual attractiveness, and design as signals of quality and trust. Whether you’re selling a service, a SaaS platform, or a new book, your visual presentation matters.

From an evolutionary standpoint, humans are wired to notice beauty because it historically signaled health, fertility, and good genes. Symmetry, clear skin, and proportionate features were reliable indicators of well-being and reproductive fitness.

When an ad feels aesthetically pleasing, the brain interprets that fluency as truth and credibility. It’s a shortcut: if it’s beautiful, it must be good.

When society repeatedly portrays certain faces, bodies, or aesthetics as “ideal,” people internalize them as signals of success, happiness, or desirability.

Advertising plays on this loop: we want to be like the beautiful people we see, so we buy what they use. It’s not rational; it’s associative learning—our brains connecting the brand with the desirable identity it projects.

This extends beyond “sex sells.” It’s about quality design, brand aesthetics, and the perception of credibility—online and off. Even as influencer brands experiment with minimalist sites and direct channel links, most of us still need a killer, beautiful website that instantly builds trust.

At the core, marketing hasn’t changed as much as we think. Persuasion, branding, human connection, standing out with tangible experiences, disciplined focus, and a sharp eye for presentation: these aren’t relics. They’re the secret sauce, even in an age of AI and infinite screen time.

Take a beat. Step back. And ask: which OG marketing moves are missing from your playbook?

Please support our sponsors, who make this fantastic episode possible.

This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now, any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customers to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence to strengthen their customer relationships.

Go to https://www.brevo.com/marketingcompanion to sign up for Brevo for free and use the code COMPANION to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!

A recent Semrush study found that AI search traffic is projected to surpass traditional search by 2028. That makes now the time to prepare your brand for the future of search.

With Semrush AI Search tools, you will lead this transition.

• Track your AI visibility score: See a single, clear benchmark of your share of voice across AI search platforms.
• Identify AI mention opportunities: Uncover sources where your competitors are cited—but you’re not—including social media, forums, and more.
• Benchmark against competitors: Find the exact prompts, mentions, and sources where your competitors appear in AI responses and you don’t.
• Discover trending prompts: Spot the real questions your audience is asking AI platforms—and build content around them.
• Shape your brand narrative: Monitor the sentiment and context tied to your AI mentions, and make sure your brand is being represented the way you want.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post Rediscovering the OG Fundamentals of Marketing appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Some mornings, you just want somebody to serve you breakfast.

And on those days, I would drive to Cracker Barrel. Despite the fluffy eggs and smoky sausage, I never felt like I quite belonged in this place of silver-haired “old timers” and boxed sets of The Beverly Hillbillies. But it was close to my house, and I was hungry.

Then a new place opened — First Watch. This restaurant was clean and bright. It offered healthy alternatives as well as creative new options such as lavender pancakes, breakfast cocktails, and the GenZ signature dish, avocado toast. There were no Patsy Cline CD collections. And they leave the coffee pot on the table!

I have not stepped foot inside a Cracker Barrel since.

Apparently, millions of other people made the same choice. Traffic to Cracker Barrel declined by 16% in the last five years.

Something had to change for this brand, and fast. It was time for a refresh … and you probably know what happened next. Chaos.

What can we learn from this fiasco?

I won’t re-hash the debate, but as this unfolded, I couldn’t help but wonder … could a social media brand backlash like this happen to me? Could it happen to you and your company?

What do we need to do so that our own marketing efforts aren’t Cracker Barreled?

Was the backlash even real?

The most visible and public display of the change was a re-branded logo that eliminated the “old timer.”

The new logo was part of an effort to reach younger customers with a sleeker, more contemporary look. But this conflicted with the company’s old-fashioned, down-home image.

I thought the design was soulless, but I also approach these things humbly. I assumed this logo was probably the result of millions of dollars of testing and development. I was not in the meetings. There had to be a customer-driven logic here.

The backlash over the new design was swift and intense. Social and mainstream media lit up with criticism, including commentary that the brand had gone “woke” (more on that later).

My first instinct was to feel defensive and support the marketing team. It seems like everything in America is politicized these days. But would real Cracker Barrel customers even notice a logo change?

Research shows that there is almost no correlation between true public opinion and social media sentiment — a small number of angry people with large audiences can hijack the conversation and make it seem bigger than it is. Are the online critics even Cracker Barrel customers?

According to Cyabra, a social analytics firm that specializes in detecting coordinated inauthentic behavior, 21% of the outrage was generated by fake accounts and artificial amplification.

These weren’t throwaway spam bots. They were sophisticated actors creating 916 coordinated content units that reached “more than 4.4 million potential views.”

Despite being artificial, Cyabra found a measurable real-world impact. The manufactured posts generated more than 3,000 genuine engagements, peaking August 22 — coinciding with a 10.5% drop in Cracker Barrel’s stock, much of it triggered by signals that never represented genuine community sentiment in the first place.

When the backlash came, I hoped Cracker Barrel would remain steadfast and see the thing through.

I recalled a similar outcry — the famous Nike brand partnership with Colin Kaepernick. Some people were so angry that they burned Nike gear in the streets! However, the company stood by its position, and the stock price soared within a week.

Cracker Barrel should stay the course, right?

How to avoid being Cracker Barreled

As the backlash intensified (including a tweet from Donald Trump), Cracker Barrel reversed its logo rebrand and returned to its original emblem.

Had a political agenda defeated a rational marketing strategy?

Does this mean we abandon solid business priorities when Twitter runs hot?

Could any well-meaning, professional marketer be Cracker Barreled?

We need to examine the entire story. Information began to seep out that there was inadequate research behind the rebranding. The company cut corners by moving to creative before a thorough market analysis.

They committed the great marketing sin: Creative before strategy.

Polling showed that three-quarters of Americans preferred the old design, with only 23% viewing the rebrand positively. That should have been evident in the research before the rebrand. But there was no research.

What was different about the Nike example? Nike had extensive research on the values and priorities of its customers. Aligning with the controversial quarterback made sense. The company knew there would be a backlash — and they accounted for it. But the people who complained were not their core customers. Nike held the course and accomplished a great marketing success.

The Cracker Barrel debacle serves as a poignant reminder of a fundamental lesson in Marketing 101: Strategy begins with research.

Commit to research

There are no guarantees in marketing. But if there’s one thing we can control, it’s whether our big bets are informed by reality or driven by guesswork and emotions.

Research isn’t just a line item in a budget. It’s marketing insurance. Cracker Barrel cut corners and went straight to creative. Nike didn’t.

And for a big bet like this, research has to be something more than polling or running a focus group. Great research is multi-layered:

• Quantitative data — surveys, polling, and yes, even new synthetic AI-generated panels that can test ideas in hours.
• Qualitative insight — focus groups, interviews, or just observing how real people interact with your product in the wild.
• Cultural listening — paying attention to the broader conversations, memes, and movements that shape how people interpret your brand.

Starbucks doesn’t guess on something as small as cup designs. They study cultural shifts related to sustainability, digital convenience, and identity before taking action.

Doritos ran a campaign stripping its logo from packaging/ads, betting people would recognize them anyway. They validated the idea through brand recognition studies and social listening before going public.

Chipotle monitored viral TikTok “menu hacks” (like the quesadilla + vinaigrette combo) and tested them in small pilots. Basically, this was free R&D that shaped product decisions.

Treat every decision — a new logo, a pricing change, a product feature — as a hypothesis. Test it before you scale it.

Why didn’t Cracker Barrel pilot the idea first? Brand arrogance.

Wokification

If Cracker Barrel had robust research that supported the rebranding decision, would it have made a difference? I’m not sure.

The lack of research was only part of the story.

Much of the social media backlash centered on the opinion that the Cracker Barrel CEO was a “woke woman.” When the attack takes that ugly, polarizing direction, reason and data don’t make a difference.

Christopher Rufo, a right-wing activist, posted on X: “It’s not about this particular restaurant chain — who cares — but about creating massive pressure against companies that are considering any move that might appear to be ‘wokification.’”

The logo commentary was unhinged. Sean Davis, the chief executive of The Federalist, a right-wing website, wrote, “Cracker Barrel’s CEO and leadership clearly hate the company’s customers and see their mission as re-educating them with the principles of gay race communism.”

In what universe is a boring logo and new menu items a manifesto for gay race communism?

And if you followed this story, you’ll know that the president eventually weighed in.

Even if your research is sound, will a board of directors support your rebrand when the president of the United States piles on with negative tweets?

The new layer of fear

It’s impossible to know, but I don’t think any amount of research could have prevented the political backlash. It was a slow news cycle. The activists smelled blood and needed to stay in the culture wars spotlight.

Cracker Barrel messed up, but it didn’t deserve that level of hate. An interesting thought experiment: Could the highly successful Nike campaign be successful in this political climate?

For me, this incident highlights a new layer of fear in the marketing world. In my recent book Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World, I named “fear” as the biggest reason why most marketing is boring.

We play it safe and create boring work because of fear.

Fear of upsetting a customer.

Fear of a reaction from the legal department.

Fear of being ridiculed.

Fear of losing your job.

Fear of being the next Cracker Barrel.

We’re no longer in a comfortable world where a brand is what you say it is. The brand is defined by what others say it is. Including the social media rabble rousers. Including influencers trying to catch the wave of public opinion. Including the president.

The enigma is, “safe” is lousy marketing. “Safe” is ignorable.

The surest way to avoid being Cracker Barreled is to realize that your customers are the strategy. Start with research and, like Nike, make sure your leadership team is on board with the risks.

Research and organizational alignment don’t eliminate political risk, but they ensure you’re betting with data, reason, and a defensible strategy on your side.

Before you redesign, research. Before you publish, pilot. Before you fold, fight.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Illustrations courtesy Mid Journey

The post How to keep from being Cracker Barreled appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I have been so very blessed to be an author that people trust. Against all odds, people actually buy my books, even years after they are published. They have been translated into 15 languages, used as college textbooks, and are found in more than 700 libraries worldwide.

Except one.

Today, I submit to you one of my biggest disappointments and professional enigmas: The book that bombed. My invisible book. And oh yes, it might have been my best book ever.

My best work?

If you search for the “best marketing books” on Amazon, here are the top five, and the book ratings:

• All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin = 4.5
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Ries and Trout = 4.5
• The One-Page Marketing Plan by Dib = 4.7
• Hook Point by Kane = 4.4
• Building a Story Brand by Miller = 4.6

The average reader rating of any business book on Amazon is 4.2, according to ChatGPT.

And then there is my 2021 book Cumulative Advantage, with a score of 4.7. It stands up to the best in terms of quality, or at least reader appreciation.

Many readers consider Cumulative Advantage to be my best book. And yet it is my lowest-selling book, by far. In the world of business books, you can call a book a bestseller if it reaches 10,000 in sales. My bestselling book, Marketing Rebellion, sold 14,000 copies in its first month. 

And yet Cumulatove Advantage has sold only 1,700 books since its release in 2021. This was the very next book I wrote after the mega-hit Marketing Rebellion. What the heck happened?

I have a theory.

The story of the invisible book

I only write a book when it solves a meaningful problem. A trend I noticed in many of my consulting calls was that people often seem to get stuck mid-career. They might experience some success and plateau in their businesses, professional lives, and personal brands.

How do you build momentum for a life, a career, an idea? What is the strategy to reach new levels of success when the growth curve flattens out?

I came across a concept called cumulative advantage. While this concept is well-researched and documented in the field of social psychology, the theory about how momentum works in the world has never been applied to the practical reality of business.

Making this connection was an elegant and practical idea that could help many people. I concocted a unique and entertaining way to tell the story of momentum. I compared my career to the supremely successful author Tim Ferriss. We had both started as authors at the same time, but he had rocketed to fame. To tell a story of the five steps of cumulative advantage, I traced our paths to answer the question: Why did Ferris know Oprah, and I did not?

It was a fun, fast-paced story packed with insights. I knew this was a great book, and based on the rising success of my previous books, I doubled down on my investment in editing, design, and promotion. For the first time, I hired an outside PR firm and an influencer agency. I created a snazzy “movie trailer:”

I spent a small fortune on the book …

And nothing happened

I published Cumulative Advantage in early 2021, and many early readers declared it my best work. Here are a few reviews … not to puff myself up, but to establish that the quality of the book was not the issue here:

• “This book is so important. Never before has the career path for the entrepreneur, inventor, or other creatives been so clearly defined, laid out, and mapped.”
• “I will state emphatically that HE HAS OUTDONE HIMSELF when he wrote Cumulative Advantage.”
• “This book will have a profound impact on your life and how you view your place in the world. I couldn’t put this book down, because it provided hope in a very difficult time.”
• “Such an extraordinary book! I devoured Cumulative Advantage in a single weekend.”
• “As good as the entire book is, the last chapter alone is worth far more than the price of the book.”

I was an established author. I had written an excellent, helpful, and inspiring book. I spent a ton of money on promotion. And it bombed.

I will never know for sure, but here is my theory of the invisible book …

The issue of timing

I knew this book was launching at a difficult time. We were still in a pandemic. This placed several obstacles in my way:

1. The world was still in a state of panic, and businesses were struggling. Many people were holding on to their money, and buying books was not a priority. ALL book sales in every category were in decline.
2. At the height of the pandemic, other authors like me spent that downtime writing books. Almost every marketing author published books at the same time, so the competition for those scarce book dollars was fierce.
3. All events and conferences had been cancelled. Normally, when I publish a new book, I would embark on a speaking tour. Speaking engagements sell a lot of books.
4. Nonfiction book sales have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. While non-fiction books are growing, overall business book sales have been in decline.

So even though I sensed the timing of the book launch was awful, I went ahead with it. The book was ready. The book was great. And by the way, I had struggled financially during the pandemic, too. I could use the boost!

The challenge of promotion

I had taken a big swing on the promotional budget, and that also bombed:

• The PR pro I hired had come highly recommended, but was so ineffective that she returned my money.
• I experimented with a “micro-influencer” campaign, and that also fell flat. What I learned is that micro-influencers are mostly interested in promoting themselves.
• My other promotional efforts did not take off. The mood of the world was so pandemic-depressed that even a positive book of hope was hard to sell.

I probably could have taken another shot at promoting the book in 2022, but I felt so deflated and shocked by the failure. I had not completely pieced together what went wrong. And I had started working on a new project: Belonging to the Brand.

What’s in a name?

As I dissected my failure to learn from it, I think Cumulative Advantage is probably a terrible name for a book. It’s even hard to say. If I had to do it over again, I would have called the book “Relentless Relevance,” because that offers a more straight-forward idea of what the book is about.

The book had a great subtitle: How to Build Momentum for Your Ideas, Business, and Life Against All Odds. However, most people are unaware of subtitles.

The role of luck

Was my career as an author finished? I put everything I had into that book, but I lost a lot of time and money in the process.

I had another big idea burning inside of me, and I needed to push that idea into the world: The vital role of brand communities in the future of marketing.

I needed to go back to basics. What worked? What went wrong? I never wanted to have a failure like that again.

I conducted a thorough review of book marketing best practices. I even interviewed many authors for best practices that I might have missed. I found something surprising. Almost every successful author said that the most significant boost to their book sales was luck. Ironically, that is also a key idea in the Cumulative Advantage book — dig deep enough and you’ll find that behind every mega-success is some piece of dumb luck.

So bad luck, bad timing, and maybe a bad title had worked against me. I would not be deterred. I keep writing in a bold and brave way, as always.

The impact

Since that book, I’ve written two more, and they’ve both sold well. I love the creative challenge of writing, and I’m gratified when people buy the books and enjoy them.

Still, it stings every time I look at my monthly book sales and see a big fat zero for Cumulative Advantage. It will always hold a special place in my heart, even if it’s not on many bookshelves.

I hope this provides some balance to the Mark Schaefer narrative. Not every project is a success, but you must keep moving forward. That’s an important lesson about momentum.

And if you’d like to learn more about momentum, you can always buy the book. It would make me smile today.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post The sad and mysterious tale of my invisible book appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I have a confession to make.

I just hosted the 2025 edition of The Uprising, my annual marketing retreat. During this event, I became so intensely focused on the content and the conversations that I forgot to take notes. Happens every year. So, it’s quite a struggle writing a blog post without notes!

This is a great opportunity to ask for an AI assist, and the combination of resources that went into this write-up is impressive.

First, Daniel Nestle and Brian Piper used a recording technology called Plaud to instantly transcribe the live sessions. Brian then took these transcripts and the session slides to build a Custom GPT based on the event. I could then query the AI to help me fill in the blanks and present a representative sample of what happened at this electric event!

First, let’s set the stage …

What is an Uprising?

I don’t like big marketing events. They’re crowded, overwhelming, and generally boring. They are iterative — how to make slight improvements on our Facebook ads or improve our SEO — while the field of marketing is going through a cataclysmic transition right in front of our eyes.

The Uprising solves four problems in marketing events today:

1. It’s limited to 30 people. You have real conversations and make lifetime friends.
2. The focus is the future. What is coming next, and how do we get ready?
3. It’s safe and honest. My proudest moment was when people said, “I want to push back on that.” When do you see THAT happen at a marketing event?
4. It’s co-created. Everyone has an opportunity to participate at their comfort level. So we use the brains in the room! And … it’s a lot of fun! It is a retreat, after all.

Almost everyone who attends will tell you the same thing: It’s difficult to describe. This combination of a wooded lodge, generous people, great food, big brains, and relaxing fun ignites people and takes them to a new level of competence and confidence.

The Uprising has always been about digging beneath the surface, about meaningful connections and bold ideas. But this year, it felt different. More urgent. More human. More audacious. It was the best one ever.

By the way, The Uprising was inspired by my call-to-action in Marketing Rebellion to bring people together. You can’t have a rebellion without an uprising!

Now … what happened this year? Here are the voices, the visions, and the visceral truths that made this gathering unforgettable.

How AI is changing our customers

I kicked things off with a two-part presentation: 1) data on how AI is changing humanity (our customers!), and 2) how humans fit in this new AI-dominant ecosystem. It became a community-driven revelation of what it means to be a marketer in the age of synthetic intelligence.

This was a rallying cry. As AI seeps into every pore of our professional lives, I challenged the group to zoom out—to don’t obsess over AI’s creepy parts. Look at how we must evolve as marketers and serve these changing customers.

Drawing on my research for Belonging to the Brand and the newer Audacious, I painted a stark picture of the near future. We are stepping into a world where content is infinite, synthetic, and indistinguishable. AI won’t just change how we work. It will change who our customers are. Their expectations. Their behaviors. Even their identities, which I covered in this blog post.

Throughout the event, we discussed eight seismic shifts AI will bring to humanity: cognitive decline, emotional intelligence, a search for truth, moral judgment, human agency, creativity, meaning, and critical thinking.

And yet, there is hope. If we understand what makes us irreplaceable — our ability to form community, to inspire, to provide comfort, safety, and hope — we can thrive.

We live in a world where people may not care if the content is human or AI. My urgent plea was to MAKE THEM CARE. That phrase echoed through every session, becoming the unofficial motto of the event. It’s not about resisting the machines and more about embracing what is going to keep us relevant, including the personal brand, brand communities, and content that transcends this pandemic of dull.

Decoding Authenticity by Generations

Dr. Mara Singer revealed some new, original research on how emotional needs shift by generation. With her six pillars of authenticity—accuracy, connectedness, originality, legitimacy, expertise, and integrity—she deconstructed the most overused word in marketing.

She didn’t just talk about the importance of authenticity; she showed us how different generations construct it. For Gen Z, legitimacy and consistency matter more than you’d expect. For Boomers, expertise and accuracy still rule.

In a time when AI can mimic tone, replicate imagery, and fake just about everything, authenticity becomes your only real differentiator. Mara’s message was clear: authenticity is not a style. It’s a strategy.

One jaw-dropping reality is how children as young as six or seven are becoming TikTok influencers as they swarm Sephora stores to try skin care products. Another counter-intuitive fact is that older people place little value on originality in brands and marketing.

The Joy of Prompt Engineering

Andy Crestodina, Lindsey Bowshier and Shannon Yost at The Uprising

The brilliant Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media delivered an exquisitely practical talk. His rapid-fire breakdown of the seven levels of AI proficiency was like a map through the AI jungle. Starting from basic prompt writing to full-on multi-step automations, Andy gave us the tools to turn AI into a creative ally.

One of his themes: “Every prompt is a draft. Iterate. Improve. Reuse.”

He reminded us that AI doesn’t diminish creativity—it redefines it. And with the right mindset, we can all become architects of reusable, scalable, and deeply impactful content systems. Andy’s generosity in sharing his prompt playbook turned his session into an instant classic.

Navigating the Infinite Content Abyss

Brian Piper, with a futurist’s eye and a practitioner’s rigor, pulled back the curtain on what’s coming next in content.

He warned that we’ve moved from a world of content scarcity to Content Shock. And AI is making the goal of visibility even more difficult. In this new landscape, human-made content may soon be just 10% of what exists online.

His advice? Build communities. Focus on content that builds trust and emotional connection. Optimize not just for search engines, but for AI discovery systems, voice platforms, and emerging interfaces.

And most critically, become known. Not viral. Not famous. Known. Because in the chaos of AI, trust will be our last currency.

The AI-influenced customer journey

Dr. Matt Wilkinson brought PhD-level clarity to the AI conversation. Once a skeptic, now a strategic believer, he emphasized that AI is not a savior, but the powerful new influence on the customer’s decision process.

What stood out most was his call to reimagine the customer journey. With 80% of it happening before a human contact, AI is already deciding which brands get seen, which stories get heard.

His warning? Don’t get stuck in the past. The “how-to” blog post era is dying. We need to evolve into trusted guides, thought leaders, and distinctive voices that resonate even when we’re not in the room.

The Invisible Labor of Great Content

Ann Handley’s fireside chat with me was a masterclass in emotional resonance. She reminded us that meaningful work requires emotional fortitude. Every sentence you sweat over, every nuance you consider—it all matters.

She spoke of the importance of creating a body of work that endures. Of using ephemeral platforms to build something lasting. And of showing up with your whole heart, not just your content calendar.

Her insight? The journey is the outcome. And in a world chasing outcomes, that’s a radically beautiful stance. Ann and I talked about Phronesis — the ancient Greek concept of practical wisdom gained through hard work. In a world optimized for speed, maybe our greatest rebellion is thoughtfulness.

Ann gave us a glimpse of her upcoming book and captivated everyone wither her bold and honest answers to questions about her career and writing process.

The Future of Social Media

Kami Huyse took us on a journey from 2005 blogging panels to today’s fractured, frenetic social landscape. Through it all, one truth remains: community is the constant.

Her viral quote summed it up: “The first rule of social media is everything changes. What doesn’t change is the community’s desire to connect.”

Kami reminded us to follow the people, not the platforms. And more importantly, to co-create with them. Whether it’s a tweet, a TikTok, or a town hall, if it doesn’t resonate with your community, it’s noise.

Orchestrating Word-of-Mouth in a Scalable World

Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez, Chelsea Stuck, Sarah Neely, and Mark Schaefer at The Uprising

Sarah Neely, at her fourth Uprising, delivered a lesson in modern magic: scaling the unscalable. Word-of-mouth may feel spontaneous, but Sarah showed us it can be engineered.

She started with a deeply personal story of hauling plywood at muddy event sites and rose to architect campaigns that helped brands like Red Bull infiltrate Major League Baseball. Her framework? Activities. Goals. Targets. Story.

In that order. If you want people to talk about your brand, you must understand what they do before they buy and then intersect with those behaviors. Her message: Viral isn’t magic. It’s math. It’s emotion. And it’s a story worth sharing.

A Modern View of Metrics

Kyle Akerman led a session on modern marketing metrics. He identified common measurement problems all marketers face, including having too much data, having data in too many places, and focusing on vanity metrics.

Marketers spend very little time on measurement (one hour or week, or sometimes just one hour a month). So the challenge is, how do we make the most of that time?

Kyle said we should create (and document) a simple measurement plan. It should include the questions you want to answer, the data you need to answer the questions, and the actions you will take based on the data.  A good plan also includes the KPIs (with time-based targets), and key user segments (because aggregated data hides the important insights). 

Most companies can effectively measure marketing performance using Google’s “Holy Trinity” of free tools: Google Analytics (where data is stored), Google Tag Manager (the measurement implementation), and Looker Studio (visualization tool). Many marketers also benefit from the free heat mapping and session recordings provided by Microsoft Clarity.

A powerful reframe for measurement – it’s how we “listen” to the conversations happening on our websites.

The Audacious Workshop: Wine, Grit, and Bold Storytelling

Alice Ferris leadning a brand activation workshop at The Uprising

The heartbeat of this year’s Uprising was the Audacious Workshop. With a real-world brand (Nicole Hayden’s Indiana Daylily Estates Winery) and a room full of brilliant minds, we put the theories of my book Audacious to the test. With the help of a new Audacious workbook (available here), we twisted her startup brand by having three teams brainstorm ways to disrupt the story, the media, and the storyteller.

From “our wine slept with your beer” to corn mazes ending in wine tastings, this was a ton of fun that resulted in a real marketing framework!

The Human Renaissance

As we wrapped Uprising 2025, one truth emerged above all: we are not just marketers. We are artists, connectors, philosophers, and warriors of relevance in turbulent times.

People described the event as unforgettable, magical, and inspirational. But most of all, I think every person walked away with a new sense that the human connection we all experienced makes all the difference. Even when AI dominates the marketing scene, we can still make them care.

I hope you will join me at the next Uprising event, which will be April 21-24, 2026. Space is extremely limited and registration is open here.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post A Human Renaissance in the Age of AI appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

The debate over AI and its role in creative industries often centers on one question: Can AI ever be as creative as humans? While it’s tempting to philosophize about inspiration and ingenuity, this line of inquiry misses a crucial point for anyone tasked with making practical decisions about content creation: If the audience can’t tell the difference between AI-generated and human-generated content—or if they don’t care—then, for all practical purposes, there is no difference.

The solution to this is obvious — MAKE. THEM. CARE.

There are many ways to do that (outlined in my book Audacious). And last week, I wrote that our marketing content needs to approach the level of art, displaying our unique story and interpretation of the human experience.

But in a discussion last week with the brilliant and ever-so-human Joseph Jaffe, another key principle of this new business reality struck. me: Strategic Imperfection. Sometimes, the most humble human content outshines AI’s polished results. Let’s look at this extremely important lesson.

The Jaffe surprise

Joseph hosts a YouTube show called Joseph Jaffe is Not Famous. He was inspired to create something uplifting and fun in the dark Covid days and never stopped. I’ve never seen a person put more care and craft into video interviews, so please check it out (here is my episode!).

For each show, Joseph digs out obscure “fun facts” about his guests. These tidbits are often embarrassing and always weird to get a rise out of the guest. For me, he discovered that as a young man, I had danced with JonBenét Ramsey’s mother. This is true, and if you make it to the end of this post, I’ll spill the story.

Back to Joseph. He turned to AI to create an image of me dancing with Patricia Ramsey to poke fun at me. As a reference, this is what these two people actually look like:

Here are the AI-generated results of the two of us dancing from MidJourney, ChatGPT, and Grok:

As you can see, none of these images really hit the mark. Joseph became exasperated. He had spent too much time trying to coax AI prompts into something polished and perfect, and out of frustration, just whipped together a crude cut-and-paste image:

This final result looks like something from a grade school art class, yet it is awesome, and a great example of strategic imperfection. It’s funny and foolish and captures the spirit of Joe’s show. It made me laugh out loud.

This is not just a one-off observation about humanity and creativity. The rawness and playfulness of imperfect humans is a significant content trend that can help you cut through the pandemic of dull that is marketing today.

The science of strategic imperfection

This phenomenon of exposing human flaws has deep psychological roots. The Pratfall Effect, discovered by psychologist Elliot Aronson in 1966, demonstrated something counterintuitive: people who are perceived as highly competent become more likable when they make (and admit) a minor mistake. Think about that for a second. The perfection we’ve been chasing might actually be pushing our audiences away.

Research by Baba Shiv at Stanford further suggests that imperfections create cognitive “hooks” in our brains. When we encounter a flaw in otherwise polished content, it creates a moment of surprise that enhances memory and engagement. Our brains, wired to detect patterns and anomalies, pay special attention to these inconsistencies.

In Audacious, I profile the king of viral video, Michael Krivicka, who explained that his key to success was out-of-focus shots, poor audio, and camera dust. It makes his videos look REAL … and he never uses AI.

The trend across media

A fascinating article in The New York Times explained that after years of seeking perfection, developers realized that gamers often prefer low-fidelity graphics. It’s not about the Hollywood experience. It’s about hanging out with friends over a simple and fun game.

Developers are now deliberately stepping away from the hyper-polished visuals that dominated titles for years. Studios like Ninja Theory have embraced imperfect motion capture and raw voice acting to create more emotionally resonant experiences in games like “Hellblade.” The intentional shakiness of the camera, the imperfect lighting – these elements create a sense of presence that polish efforts often fail to deliver.

In social media, the rise of “casual posting” and “photo dumps” represents a similar shift. Even celebrities and influencers are posting unedited, unfiltered content that would have been considered unprofessional just a few years ago. The most successful TikTok creators understand that a slightly messy room in the background or an unscripted laugh creates more connection than a perfectly staged setting.

In podcasting, the shows topping the charts often maintain conversational tangents, verbal stumbles, and authentic reactions rather than editing for perfect flow. These “mistakes” signal authenticity to listeners, making the content feel like a genuine conversation rather than a performance. All of my Marketing Companion podcast episodes are done in one take with no editing.

If you want to see a great example of the lo-fi digital aesthetic, check out this website from musician Mabe Fratti. It’s lo-fi, interactive, and WILD.

Strategic imperfection

This trend toward strategic imperfection isn’t just aesthetic – it’s a rational business response to deeper cultural shifts:

1. Trust Erosion: In an era of deepfakes and AI-generated content, audiences are developing a healthy skepticism toward anything that looks too perfect. Visible imperfections signal human creation.

2. Digital Fatigue: After years of curated feeds and polished content, audiences crave the refreshing authenticity of unfiltered humanity.

3. Connection Hunger: Post-pandemic, people are seeking genuine human connection, even through digital media. Imperfection creates intimacy.

Here’s the critical distinction for marketers: strategic imperfection is not the same as poor quality. The most successful practitioners of this approach maintain high standards while selectively allowing human elements to show through.

Apple’s recent “Shot on iPhone” campaigns perfectly illustrate this balance. The photos and videos showcase impressive technical capability while maintaining the slightly imperfect framing and timing of real human photography. They’re professionally imperfect – and that’s the sweet spot.

Proof of Human

In a world where AI can generate seemingly perfect content with ease, human imperfection becomes a powerful differentiator. The subtle flaws in human-created content may soon be the most reliable indicator that a real person was behind it. “Proof of Human” is a significant trend for all of us going forward.

As marketing professionals, our job isn’t to achieve perfection – it’s to create connection. And sometimes, the quickest path to that connection is through the strategic embrace of our wonderfully human imperfections.

The brands that understand this paradox – that flaws can be features rather than bugs – will cut through the noise and build the authentic connections that drive lasting engagement.

Because in the end, we don’t connect with perfection. We connect with humanity. And humanity, by its very nature, is gloriously imperfect.

The rest of the story

Since you’ve made it this far, I’ll reward you with the dancing story.

Patsy Ramsey was JonBenét Ramsey’s mother and a key player in one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American history.

But when I knew her, she was Patsy Paugh, a Miss America contestant from my home state of West Virginia.

My mother was involved in community theater and performed in a show with Patsy. She became a family friend and would visit our home. I scored major cool points when I brought Miss West Virginia to speak at my high school.

Somehow my mom dragged me into a community theater Christmas show and I danced with Patsy while we sang “Let It Snow.” I am not a great singer and a terrible dancer, but it was OK because nobody was looking at me anyway.

Once Patsy graduated from college, we lost touch with her and never saw her again. Her life was full of tragedy and pain, but to the teenage me, she was a beautiful, shining star.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

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“The most human company wins.”

If I ever had something close to a “catch phrase,” it’s probably this. I use these words to end most of my speeches. It is the central theme of my Marketing Rebellion book. Of the millions of words I have written, this is the only phrase I have trademarked.

But I had to pause this week and wonder if it’s still true. The data is in, and it’s startling. AI isn’t just matching human empathy—it’s now exceeding it. What happens when the AI bots are more human than humans?

The empathetic bots

If you’ve immersed yourself in the world of AI (and I hope you have), you’ve witnessed the inexorable and explosive improvement of these systems on every level.

Recent breakthroughs show that AI can now reason through problems instead of just collating web data, demonstrating human-like logic. And now, AI can express empathy and understanding in a way that is more human than humans.

New research (first reported by Mike Kaput of the Artificial Intelligence Show) suggests that AI may not just match human empathy but, in some cases, exceed it. A team of researchers tested whether people could tell the difference between responses from GPT 4 versus licensed therapists when presented with therapy challenges. The participants struggled to tell AI from human responses, and when they were asked to rate them, they preferred the AI responses in key areas like empathy, therapeutic alliance, and cultural competence.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the AI therapist was more effective in producing results in a patient. In fact, there is evidence of harm coming from bot-therapists. However, the breakthrough idea is that AI can produce empathetic responses that are preferred over highly skilled professionals, and there are some interesting implications for that.

Is it real human emotion? No. But it doesn’t seem to matter.

The leap to the business world

It doesn’t take much imagination to see how scaling soft skills like this could provide immediate value in the corporate world.

Allstate, one of the largest insurers in the U. S., is using AI to generate nearly all its emails for communications about claims. The reason — responses from bots are less accusatory, use clearer language, and express more empathy than humans, according to the company.

Allstate is using ChatGPT to fuel the customer replies, while grounding them in company-specific terminology.

Implications for our human work

Some people have soothed themselves by hoping that we could never take real human empathy out of our jobs. But these developments show that extracting humans from a process can produce results that are more empathetic,  patient, kind … and profitable.

AI might represent perfect empathy. It never tires. It never judges. It maintains unwavering patience and understanding, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It can instantaneously access and process vast databases of human psychology, cultural contexts, and communication strategies. It can read micro-expressions better than humans, understand vocal tone with greater accuracy, and predict emotional responses with superior precision.

If a customer receives better care, feels more understood, and achieves better outcomes with AI, what possible value is there in knowing their customer service rep or account manager is a human who has “real” feelings?

The harsh truth is that in many cases, human empathy will become a liability. Organizations that cling to human-delivered empathy will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage, unable to match the consistent, scalable, and superior emotional intelligence offered by AI.

Right?

Does human empathy matter?

About 20 years ago, I went through the darkest time of my life, an episode I describe in Chapter 1 of my book KNOWN. I would not wish that experience on anyone, but I emerged with a new superpower.

When I meet somebody who is “below zero” in their life, I can look them in the eye and express empathy based on my own experience. It’s not perfect. I’m not a trained psychotherapist. But sometimes, the perfect empathy isn’t based on a database or interpreting micro-expressions. It’s messy. It comes from a hard, lived experience. It comes from scars.

When you’re just trying to get through life hour to hour, you need something more than a bot.

It’s a paradox. While AI can demonstrate behaviors that appear more consistently empathetic than humans, this very fact illuminates something profound about human nature and our future role in an AI-dominant world.

The human advantage isn’t in flawlessly executing empathetic responses — it’s in our capacity for genuine connection, especially when we’re imperfect. We can relate to others precisely because we share the messy reality of being human: we know what it means to struggle, to doubt, to sit in a dark corner and sob. Our empathy comes from going through an existential war, not AI pattern recognition.

What emerges isn’t a story of replacement for human empathy, but of evolution.

The most human company

Yes, the most human company still wins. But the most human company will be the one that thoughtfully blends AI’s reliable, empathetic responses with unique moments when we need our messy, vulnerable, beautiful, authentically human selves.

Those companies will recognize that while AI can handle the day-to-day empathetic heavy lifting, breakthrough human connections — those moments of real understanding, creativity, and growth — still require human hearts and minds.

One time, I had a coaching call with a young man who had a resume-writing service. This is a pretty boring product that has been commoditized. I struggled to help him find a meaningful niche where he could stand out.

“Why do you do this job?” I asked.

He became emotional and animated. “I see people every day who have not looked for a job in 20 or 30 years,” he said. “They are terrified. I know I can help them. I will hold their hand through this process. I will not let them down.”

I told him to record a video of himself saying exactly that and post it on the front of his website immediately. His humanity was his niche.

Sometimes, true human empathy is everything.

The most human company wins. Now and forever.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Image courtesy Mid Journey

The post When Robots Care More: The Evolution of Human Empathy appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.