Marketing The Psychology Of Trust In 2026 Trust used to be simple: a familiar logo, a tagline, maybe a celebrity endorsement. In 2026, it’s more fragile — and more valuable — than ever. Consumers swipe past hundreds of brands a day, algorithms curate their choices, and scandals go viral in minutes. The psychology of trust has shifted from By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Brand Cult Brands Don’t Find Fans — They Create Believers Liquid Death turned canned water into a billion-dollar cult (although personally, I doubted them and called them a fad). Yeti made coolers into status symbols. The signal: the most powerful brands don’t just sell products — they build belief systems. The deeper truth? Loyalty comes from identity, not transactions. The By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Journal Original Minds Mentor If you’re feeling the pressure right now, you’re not alone. The creative and professional services world is shifting under our feet. AI is rewriting how value is created. Clients expect more for less. Competition is global. For many creative entrepreneurs, it feels like running faster and faster on By Tobias Dahlberg • 3 min read
Your free trial of The Brief+ (Important: Action Needed) Hello, Thanks for having shown interest in The Brief+ with all the various content and newsletters: The Brand Brief™ The Agency Brief™ The Design Brief™ The Marketing Brief™ The Entrepreneur Brief™ These are ALL included in the €29/month paid subscription (which you can try for 7 days FREE). When By Tobias Dahlberg • 1 min read
Photo by Declan Sun / Unsplash Brand The Rise of the Quirky Collectible: Labubu and the Power of Niche Brands The Signal Labubu, the strange little character from Hong Kong’s Pop Mart universe, has blown up into a cult collectible. By now, you have probably seen it, even if you don't have kids. Limited releases trigger long lines, resale frenzies, and online buzz, turning this oddball figure By Tobias Dahlberg • 1 min read
Entrepreneurship The Age of Small Giants: Why $10M Is the New $1B and "Enough" Is The New Empire. For decades, startup porn glorified unicorns. Blitzscale, raise at insane valuations, burn cash like kindling, pray for an exit. But in 2025, a quiet counter-movement is emerging: the Small Giant. These are founders who stop at $10–20M revenue, run lean, and decide “enough” is the new empire. The paradox? By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Entrepreneurship Fractional Everything: Talent on Tap, Not on Payroll. Hiring used to mean headcount. Now it means head math. Why pay for a 40-hour executive when you only need 8 hours of brilliance? Entrepreneurs are ditching bloated payrolls for fractional talent — half a CMO, a quarter CFO, and a designer on Slack speed-dial. The signal is clear: work is By Tobias Dahlberg • 1 min read
Entrepreneurship 92% of Founders Have No Regrets — Why Misery Loves Employment Here’s the paradox: entrepreneurship is both the most miserable and most joyful career path in the world. The data backs it up — 92% of founders say they have zero regrets about starting their business. Zero. This despite the fact that half of them admit to chronic anxiety, 72% report By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Agency Internal Comms Is Becoming As Valuable As External Branding For years, branding meant billboards, Superbowl spots, and social campaigns. External, external, external. The customer was king, and employees were the afterthought. The irony? In 2025, the most powerful brand audience isn’t out there — it’s in here. Internal comms and culture have become as valuable as external branding. By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Brand The AI Brand Machine: What Happens When Creativity Goes Algorithmic By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Design Planet-Centric Design: What It Means to Design for Earth, Not Just Users For a decade, “human-centered design” was gospel. Designers stuck Post-its on walls, mapped journeys, and chanted empathy mantras. It worked — for humans. The problem? Humans don’t exist in isolation. They exist on a heating planet, inside fragile ecosystems, and within communities bearing the costs of consumption. In 2025, the By Tobias Dahlberg • 3 min read
