ChatGPT Is Recommending Your Competitors (Not You)
Go to ChatGPT right now. Type in the problem your product solves. (Example: "What's the best high-protein pasta for meal prep?" or "Best pasta alternatives for someone trying to build muscle?")
Are you in the top 3 brands it recommends? If not, find out how challenger brands can win in AEO.
10 Macro Trends Shaping 2026 Marketing
2026 won’t behave like 2025. And I’m pretty sure nobody else has “Ariana Grande foreshadowed TikTok Shop” on their 2026 bingo card — but stay with me, because it matters.
Consumer behavior is shifting fast. The brands that win in 2026 aren’t the ones who react fastest, they’re the ones who plan around the forces reshaping the market (and happen to follow my planning advice).
These are the 10 macro forces I predict will shape how consumers discover, evaluate, and buy in 2026 and what they mean for your brand.
CPG founders: AI is Your New Category Maker
And most brands aren’t ready for it.
I follow the same advice I give founders: Repurpose your content. Watch your analytics like a hawk. This morning I checked my website analytics and saw something new: a referral hit from ChatGPT.
No, ChatGPT didn’t magically “discover” my site. Someone asked it a question, it used my content in its answer, and the user clicked the source link pointing back to me.
That’s where marketing is headed: AI Search Optimization (AEO).
The 5 Growth Leaks Quietly Killing Most CPG Brands Under $5M
Most founders think they have a marketing problem. In reality, they have leakage — and the numbers tell you exactly where it’s happening.
Top 5 reasons: fuzzy positioning, no purchase or subscription strategy, channel sprawl, PDPs that don’t convert and no velocity system.
If I Were a Brand Founder… Part 2
You can win Black Friday and still lose the quarter.
The difference? Systems that turn sales into sustained momentum.
Here’s how the best brands do it 👇
(Part 2: Conversion Strategies — the follow-up to Tuesday's Strategic Foundations.)
If I Were a Brand Founder…Part 1
Here’s How I’d Be Prepping for Black Friday, starting with strategic foundations for both DTC and retail businesses.
Reddit is Under-leveraged
Hot take: Reddit is one of the most under-leveraged parts of the modern growth ecosystem.