u1492637478_a_group_of_your_consumers_in_trendy_clothes_in_li_4b1bca95-0427-4fd9-9caf-c147f479bc77_0 Strategy The Relevance Gap – Why Brands Fall Behind Every brand has to fight the same enemy: Irrelevance. It's what kills brands, faster than anything else. Yet, every brand seems to think it’s relevant. Inside companies, people think the market “just doesn’t get it.” If they just knew more about us, surely they would buy. By Tobias Dahlberg • 4 min read
Marketing Chocolate Is Having a Midlife Crisis SIGNAL — What’s Happening? The premium chocolate category is realigning its value proposition: from indulgence to meaningful indulgence. For example: * According to trend research, chocolate brands are increasingly emphasising “healthy-living” attributes — including low sugar, clean label, high cocoa content, and functional benefits. GourmetPro+3lukerchocolate.com+3FoodNavigator.com+3 * The macro By Tobias Dahlberg • 1 min read
u1492637478_a_longevity_clinic_with_modern_Nordic_aesthetics__4819032c-d64b-4fd9-ad25-1194451be3c8_2 Global Clinical Longevity And The Anti-Quackery Premium In Brief - Why credibility is the next currency in longevity The $1.8 trillion wellness industry is having its “crypto moment.” The promise of living longer, sharper, and sexier has flooded feeds — and clinics — with pseudo-science, peptide potions, and AI-aged selfies. The result: a credibility crash. Regulators are circling, By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
I'm closing down the paid service for The Brief™ Hello and thank you so much for being a paid subscriber of The Brief. Going forward, I am about to launch a whole new platform with a lot more trends, industry- and category specific content, as well as brand- and consumer specific content. Because of this, I have decided to By Tobias Dahlberg • 1 min read
A Brand Is...Not What Most People Say It Is. Everyone in marketing has a definition of “brand.” Most of them circle around the truth, but they are inaccurate, and therefore dangerous half-truths. Spend five minutes on LinkedIn and you’ll see the usual suspects: “A brand is an experience.” “A brand is a promise.” “A brand is what people By Tobias Dahlberg • 5 min read
Photo by Chen / Unsplash Entrepreneurship Brand Dating Apps: What Agencies Can Learn from Matchmaking Platforms Executive Summary Agencies and dating apps share the same problem: everyone’s swiping, no one’s committing. The signal: client–agency relationships are shorter than ever, with project churn replacing partnership. The deeper truth? It’s not about bad chemistry—it’s bad matching. Agencies sell capabilities; clients crave compatibility. By Tobias Dahlberg • 2 min read
u1492637478_A_massive_group_of_dogs_looking_cute_and_looking__c278bff8-2097-453c-b975-14b19ccb42ee_1 Food & Beverages Pet Food Reimagined: What Challenger Brands Should Know Going into 2026 In Brief The pet food industry is undergoing a major reset — driven by pet-humanisation, premium nutrition, personalization, and sustainability. While growth remains solid, the category isn’t just about feeding pets anymore; it’s about feeding lifestyles, values and identity. For challenger brands, that means your pet food pitch needs By Tobias Dahlberg • 4 min read
u1492637478_a_creator_engaging_in_social_selling._vibrant_sho_6f39d709-a79b-4409-8992-bcee84513274_2 Marketing & Comms Social Selling 2.0: How Challenger Brands Are Turning Feeds Into Funnels In Brief Social selling isn’t new — it’s just finally becoming good. What started as awkward LinkedIn DMs and selfie pitches has evolved into a powerful, credible growth channel for challenger brands. In 2026, social selling is less about “selling” and more about shaping conversations that drive belief before By Tobias Dahlberg • 3 min read
Marketing Social Selling 2.0: How Challenger Brands Are Turning Feeds Into Funnels By Tobias Dahlberg • 3 min read
