We're always learning, often alongside the people we work with. Field Notes is where we share what we're noticing, questioning, and figuring out along the way.
Crumbl built one of the fastest-growing brands in food by selling anticipation. Now sales are falling and stores are closing. There are a dozen explanations, but one worth sitting with: what happens when growth starts to strain the very thing people loved about you?
Read the note →Mister Rogers and his writers cared so much about how children would hear each word that they invented their own language for it. They called it Freddish. It's a small, strange story with a large point: communicating well starts with real care for the person on the other end.
When an organization grows and the brand starts to feel like it no longer fits, the instinct is to go find a new one. More often, the brand you need is the one you already have. You haven't outgrown it. You just haven't finished growing into it.
Mission, vision, and values are great fuel when you're starting out. As you grow, they tend to get lost in the mix and start to feel like an artifact from the past. Brand depth is the work of carrying them forward, so they stay a root that supports the next stage instead of a relic of the last one.
The strongest brands don't invent who they are. They recover what was always true and give it form at a new size.
Fire and laughter can spark meaningful conversations and deepen connections. A note from the archive on belonging, being known, and the kind of connection digital is at its best when it helps cultivate.
What draws us to a song, and what it draws out of us, has a lot to teach about brand. BBC's Soul Music podcast is a window into how a well-told story moves people, and a prompt to go looking for the heart of your own.