PPPPost SxSW Recap (Four Ps #256)
The Brand Gap, AI Anxiety & the Cost of Business Travel
And that’s a wrap on another SxSW — easily one of my top three favorite events of the year. An incredible weekend (plus two extra days) spent with so many of my favorite industry friends.
Yes, you’re my friends!
So, let’s get into some of the bigger thoughts I jotted down — scribbled in a tiny notebook, converted into this post somewhere over 30,000 feet, and posted... if (when?) American Airlines gets its WiFi situation figured out.
THE PROFESSIONAL: Your Brand Has a Problem
"Working" over the weekend in Austin doesn’t always feel like work—but damn, it’s exhausting. Nothing like landing on a Tuesday and diving straight into a pitch... this time, with a brand in the midst of redefining its identity.
The problem? I’m not entirely sure why.
Some brands need an update. Others just want one. Maybe a new exec wants to make their mark. Maybe it's an identity crisis. Either way, the question is: what actually makes a brand work?
At dinner on Saturday, I sat next to a CMO of a fast-growing, innovative CPG brand. She’s been in the trenches at P&G and Amazon, but we got to talking about what really defines a brand.
❌ It’s not your logo. ❌ It’s not your tagline. ❌ It’s not even your product.
✅ Your brand is a gut feeling.
And the hardest truth? You can’t control it.
What you can control is how your company operates, communicates, and engages with customers. When strategy and creativity align in a way that resonates, that gut feeling turns into something powerful.
But too many brands get it wrong. They leave a massive gap between business strategy and brand expression.
That’s what she inherited—a "Brand Gap." And closing that gap became her top priority... because that’s the difference between being forgettable and being iconic.ke closing that gap the priority... the difference between being forgettable and being iconic.
Most companies (and their agencies) are split in two:
🧠 Strategy teams (left-brain thinkers) focus on numbers, positioning, and business objectives. 🎨 Creative teams (right-brain thinkers) obsess over visuals, storytelling, and emotional resonance.
When these teams don’t collaborate, you get:
1️⃣ A rigid strategy that doesn’t inspire.
2️⃣ Beautiful creative that doesn’t drive results.
Neither works.
The brands that win—the charismatic brands—seamlessly connect strategy with creativity. They know who they are, what they do, why it matters, and they express it consistently.
For the past 24 hours, I’ve been thinking about little else. And I’ve boiled it down to five disciplines for closing the Brand Gap and building a brand that sticks.
To close the Brand Gap and build a brand that sticks, follow these five disciplines:
1. Differentiation: Be Unmistakably You
Most brands try to be everything to everyone—and end up being nothing to anyone. If you can’t clearly answer who you are, what you do, and why it matters, you don’t have a brand.
💡 Strong brands take a stand. They focus. They embrace what makes them different instead of blending in.
2. Collaboration: Build a Unified Brand Culture
A brand isn’t built in a vacuum. It requires alignment across marketing, design, leadership, and even customer service.
When everyone understands and embodies the brand, customers feel it in every interaction.
3. Innovation: Zig When Others Zag
Yeah, I said it... Playing it safe is the fastest way to fade into the background.
❌ Consumers don’t respond to logic. ✅ They respond to inspiration.
The best brands constantly push the envelope—whether through storytelling, product design, or customer experience.
4. Validation: Test, Learn, Adapt
Branding isn’t a one-way broadcast anymore—it’s a conversation.
You need to test your messaging, visuals, and positioning in the real world. Does it resonate? Is it memorable? If not, adjust.
5. Cultivation: Keep Your Brand Alive
Strong brands evolve while staying true to their core.
The key? Knowing what to change and what to protect.
💡 Authenticity is built over time. Brands that feel stale or out of touch risk losing relevance.
Because a charismatic brand isn’t just recognizable—it’s irreplaceable.
And the secret to getting there? Marrying strategy with creativity.✅ Staying focused.✅ Collaborating deeply.✅ Innovating boldly.✅ Validating constantly.✅ Evolving intentionally.
When done right, your brand won’t just be a name—it’ll be a feeling consumers can’t ignore.
THE PRACTICAL: The Hollywood Revolution in Your Pocket
While hanging out with a bunch of Creators at Sunday's Creatorpalooza event, it struck me: A Hollywood revolution is happening. Not on studio lots, but in our pockets and on our laptops.
AI-powered video tools aren’t coming soon—they’re already here. And after this week at SxSW, one thing is clear: brands, marketers, and creators aren’t just experimenting with AI anymore. They’re building entire content strategies around it.
The line between amateur and professional content? Blurring fast.
What once required a Hollywood-sized budget, a full production team, and weeks of post-production can now be done on a laptop—or even a phone—with AI.
If you’re not thinking about how AI fits into your content strategy, you’re already behind.
So, what’s already here—or right around the corner?
1. AI-Powered Virtual Production
The Brutalist just made waves at the Oscars for using generative AI in post-production. Now, brands are following suit.
💡 Tools like Captions AI, Veed.io, and OpusClip let anyone—yes, anyone—create studio-quality social clips in minutes.
AI isn’t just a time-saver—it’s a full-on production assistant.
2. AI Video Localization
Reaching global audiences used to mean hiring voice actors, syncing audio, and adding subtitles. Not anymore.
💡 Flawless AI can dub videos into multiple languages while perfectly syncing lip movements.
Forget subtitles—this is next-level localization.
3. AI-Based Video Personalization
One-size-fits-all marketing? Dead.
💡 AI-generated avatars (hello, Synthesia) are helping brands scale personalized video content—across:✅ Onboarding sequences ✅ Product demos ✅ AI-powered customer support
It’s mass customization at a scale we’ve never seen before.
4. AI-Enhanced Video Restoration
Old content isn’t just nostalgia—it’s an asset.
💡 Topaz Video AI is reviving classic footage with hyper-realistic upscaling and enhancements.
Brands are already using this to refresh legacy content, giving old material new life in today’s digital-first world.
Ultimately the main theme from Austin so far is that AI isn’t replacing creativity—it’s amplifying it.
It’s giving brands, creators, and marketers the power to produce more content, better content, and smarter content—without breaking the bank.
But... I’m not so sure. 🤔
Because while AI is making it easier to create, I can’t help but wonder— Are we enhancing creativity? Or are we phasing out creatives?
THE PERSONAL: Anxiety and an AI-Driven Future
We’re reaching an inflection point.
Not just with AI becoming fully independent and capable of reasoning, but also a tipping point where my excitement about the future is being eclipsed by anxiety.
For the first time in a long time, my worries about where this is all heading have intensified.
A year ago, the common refrain was: "AI isn’t going to take your job. AI will help you do your job better."That no longer feels true.
After this past weekend—after months of watching the acceleration of AI reasoning, automation, and task replacement—it’s clear that we’re heading for a massive economic shift. Not just disruption. Not just transformation. A full-blown reckoning.
Rishad Tobaccowala wrote about this last week, but with all due respect, I think he's only seeing part of the picture.
Entire industries will be upended. Many, many jobs will be displaced or outright eliminated. People won’t be needed in the same way. And unlike past technological revolutions, where new labor demands emerged alongside innovation, I’m not convinced this one will follow suit.
Too many people. Not enough work.
We’re looking at a different kind of Great Depression—not triggered by a market crash, but by the slow withering of the workforce. Those who can’t adapt will struggle to find employment, and those who can may still find fewer opportunities than before. AI won’t just change the way companies operate—it will change who they need.
I’m still excited by what’s possible in the short term, but the long-term implications are keeping me up at night. I don’t know how to prepare my kids for what’s coming. I want them to be proficient in the latest tools, but I also want them to know how to think, create, and operate on their own.
The Industrial Revolution reshaped labor but ultimately created more jobs. Will the Intelligence Revolution do the same?
I don’t know. And that’s what scares me most.
Genuine connections still matter, but the horse has absolutely left the barn on this. And if we think we can rely on regulatory bodies or elected officials at this point… HA!
Something to talk about, possibly, in our Genuin webinar this week.
THE POLITICAL: True Cost of Business Travel
Every time I travel for work, I wrestle with the same moral dilemma: am I complicit?
Spending three or four days in Texas, a state whose policies aren’t just immoral but cruel, means giving money—however little—to an ecosystem that actively harms people. Austin may be a progressive bubble, but it floats inside a toxic cloud of hate.
And next up? Florida. Different location, same reservations, even weirder people.
It’s getting harder to find places where I feel comfortable, where basic human rights aren’t under attack.
Back here at home, in New York, the once-reliable blue wall is cracking. My town within Nassau County feels like the last sane, moral sanctuary in an increasingly red sea.
The institutions that once protected progress are failing us. Worse, they’re actively rolling it back.
And I don’t know where that leaves those of us who refuse to surrender to the tide.
Maybe it's time to host a major industry event at my own house. Unfortunately we can only fit like 8 people. Who's in?
THE PODCAST: Vinny, Vidi, Vici
The most popular man in media joined The Snarketing Podcast before SxSW - but so many of the themes Vinny Rinaldi addressed are core themes that resonated through the halls, bars, and streets of Austin.
THE POSTSCRIPT: Brand Safety and You
Marketers at SxSW weren’t just concerned about social media — they feel trapped by it. Some even say extorted. The risks are real:
⚠️ Social media is the riskiest platform for brands today (50%+ of marketers agree). ⚠️ Digital video & CTV? Still a concern at 40%.
⚠️ Even influencer marketing has a 25% risk factor.
So what’s the move? Own your community. Make your site the destination. Build trust with creators, not just platforms. Brand safety isn’t optional—it’s your responsibility.
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