Brand The Trojan Horse Strategy: Sell the Cheap Thing, Profit on the Expensive One By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Photo by Clark Gu / Unsplash Brand Coca-Cola’s Drop Machine: Can Constant Novelty Save a Legacy Brand? By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Photo by Frédéric Dupont / Unsplash Brand Oatly’s Rise and Stumble: When Challenger Brands Overdose on Quirk Oatly went from indie darling to IPO rocket ship — then tripped over its own eccentricity. The signal: quirk scales fast, but not always far. The deeper truth? Challenger brands can overplay the irreverence card, turning distinctiveness into distraction. The shift is from cult credibility to mainstream accountability. The opportunity? Balance By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Photo by Koushik Pal / Unsplash Brand Unilever’s Purpose Pivot: When Brand Values Meet the CFO’s Axe By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Photo by Shutter Speed / Unsplash Brand The Streaming Brand Collapse: Why Consumers Don’t Care About Your Platform Logo Streaming platforms spent a decade fighting for brand recognition. The signal: it didn’t work. Consumers don’t care whether it’s Netflix, Max, or Peacock — they care about content. The deeper truth? In subscription markets, the logo doesn’t drive loyalty — the library does. The shift is from platform 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
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
Brand The AI Brand Machine: What Happens When Creativity Goes Algorithmic By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Photo by Jimmy Jin / Unsplash Brand Apple’s Quiet Brand Tax: How Cupertino Keeps Raising Prices Without Revolt Apple just raised iPhone prices again, and customers barely blinked. The signal: Apple has built a “brand tax” — a premium people pay without question. The deeper truth? Trust and ecosystem lock-in let Apple defy inflationary gravity. The shift is from product pricing to brand pricing, where identity, status, and switching By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Brand Has Lululemon Lost Its Stretch? Once the unstoppable force of luxury athleisure, Lululemon is starting to sag. Sales are soft, markdowns are heavy, and the stock has lost nearly 60% of its stretch from the highs. The signal: fatigue is real. The deeper truth? Premium positioning alone can’t carry a brand through shifting consumer By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
Photo by James Ting / Unsplash Journal When Everything Becomes A Brand It used to be that brands were things companies had. Nike, Mercedes, Rolex. You went to the supermarket, chose between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and went home without ever thinking you yourself needed a “brand.” Well, that was me as a kid, long before I became a brand strategist. After that, By Tobias Dahlberg • 3 min read
