Evergreen Playbook: Marketing Strategies and Ideas that Stand the Test of Time

What if one of the biggest problems with marketing strategy is that we keep making it more complicated?

In this episode of The Evergreen Playbook, I sit down with strategist, consultant and author Judd Labarthe to explore a simpler, more rigorous way to think about strategy, brand growth and marketing effectiveness.

At the centre of the conversation is a planning cycle built around four deceptively simple questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How might we get there? And are we actually getting there? We explore how these questions can uncover what genuinely drives a business, where future growth might come from and how to make better strategic decisions.

Along the way, we get into brand distinctiveness, fame and memorability, ROI and marketing effectiveness, creative constraints, generic corporate values, shiny-object syndrome and Judd’s wonderfully simple view of marketing’s core job: make your brand easier to buy.

Judd has spent around three decades helping brands and businesses compete and grow, including global and regional strategy leadership roles before founding the Singapore-based consultancy Planner At Large.

Since we recorded this conversation, Judd has published a substantially revised edition of the book discussed in the episode.

The new edition is titled:

Swimming Downstream: A Clearer Way to Think About Markets and Marketing

It replaces the original edition and is now available globally in paperback and ebook. You will still hear us refer to the previous title during the recorded conversation, as the revised edition was still being developed when we spoke.

The audiobook has finished recording and is currently being engineered, with publication expected around the end of September 2026.

Swimming Downstream: A Clearer Way to Think About Markets and Marketing
Amazon

More from Swimming Downstream
www.swimmingdownstream.com

Planner At Large
www.planneratlarge.com

Judd on LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/judd-labarthe-0565954

Judd on Instagram
instagram.com/thejuddlabarthe

David Göz is a marketing strategist and founder of Hexagram Creative. Through The Evergreen Playbook, he talks with practitioners, researchers and founders about the principles behind brands and businesses built to last, with a focus on strategy, marketing effectiveness and ideas that remain useful beyond the next trend.

Bad briefings waste marketing budget long before the creative work starts.

In this episode of The Evergreen Playbook, David Göz speaks with Prof. Dr. Sebastian Wolf about creative briefs, marketing briefings and the hidden cost of unclear direction. Sebastian argues that the brief may be the most important document in marketing because it shapes the quality of the work before strategy, creative development, feedback rounds and execution begin.

We discuss why poor briefings create rework, subjective feedback, longer timelines and wasted marketing spend. Sebastian explains why briefing is less about filling out a template and more about thinking, translation and decision-making. A good briefing helps teams understand who the brief is for, what needs to be delivered, why the work matters, how it should be done and when decisions need to happen.

This conversation is useful for founders, startups, marketing teams, strategists, agencies, creative directors and anyone who wants better marketing work with fewer feedback loops.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why bad briefings waste marketing budget

• Why creative briefs are more than templates

• How to brief agencies, freelancers and internal teams more clearly

• The five questions every marketing brief needs to answer: who, what, why, how and when

• Why unclear objectives lead to weak creative work

• How rebriefings improve the translation between client and agency

• Why teams should ask “What was the brief?” before judging creative ideas

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Wolf is Professor of Advertising and Strategic Brand Management at Stuttgart Media University. He has worked for more than ten years as a copywriter, creative director and strategist, and is the founder of Meisterbriefing, where he helps companies, agencies and creatives improve the quality of their briefings.

More about this episode:
https://evergreenplaybook.com/episodes/sebastian-wolf-briefing/

Read the full playbook:
https://evergreenplaybook.com/playbooks/sebastian-wolf-briefing/

More about Sebastian Wolf:
https://www.meisterbriefing.de/

Resources mentioned:
https://www.betterbriefs.com/
https://www.strategyfinishingschool.com/

The Evergreen Playbook is a marketing and strategy podcast for founders and startups hosted by David Göz. Each episode covers the long-term fundamentals behind stronger brands, better marketing decisions and more valuable businesses. You can book David Göz for keynotes and as a panel moderator.

If you want to be on the show, please contact me via the email provided on www.evergreenplaybook.com.

This episode is supported by Creative Connection, a programme of the City of Stuttgart.

www.kreativ.region-stuttgart.de/news/creative-connection/

Most agencies don’t have a creativity problem. They have a value creation problem.
In this episode, David Göz and TeamOne Developers AI-partner Paul Krauss dissect the structural issues in today’s agency landscape: shrinking margins, wrong incentives, procurement logic, fragmented service models and the blind belief that more assets equal more value.

We explore why outcome-based models matter, why strategy suddenly returns as a core differentiator, how AI accelerates both the good and the bad, and why talking to real customers is still the most underrated skill in marketing.

A grounded, honest look at what needs to change for agencies to stay relevant.

Keywords: agency business model, value creation, strategy in AI era, agency pricing, future of creative work, AI transformation, marketing effectiveness.

Emotion Over Promotion: Rethinking B2B Marketing with Manuela Kohlhas

In this episode of Brands of Value, host David Göz sits down with Manuela Kohlhas, Director of Product Marketing at PTC, to challenge outdated beliefs in B2B marketing — and unpack what still works in 2025.

With over 15 years in tech and B2B marketing (and five startup exits to her name), Manuela reveals why marketing should act as a strategic partner — not just the "team that makes things pretty." From building brand trust to aligning with product and sales, she breaks down what it takes to make complex products resonate with real human buyers.

We cover:

• Why strategic marketing starts with empathy

• How to translate complexity into clarity

• Why brand is your silent salesperson

• The emotional blind spot in B2B marketing

• What marketers can stop doing in the AI age

Whether you’re a startup founder laying your brand foundation or a marketer tired of tactical churn, this conversation reframes marketing as a value-driving, idea-led discipline.

Keywords: marketing, B2B marketing, marketing strategy, strategic marketing, startup marketing, product marketing, brand strategy, empathy in marketing

How do small brands grow? Where should startups start with marketing? And when does brand marketing actually make sense?

In this episode of Brands of Value, host David Göz sits down with Peter Kiefer, Managing Partner at PUNCH Marketing Consultancy. With years of experience in brand positioning and ROI-driven marketing, Peter helps brands find real, sustainable growth opportunities.

Together, they tackle the big questions for CMOs, marketers, growth managers, and startup founders:

• How can small brands grow without massive budgets?

• Where should startups focus their marketing efforts first?

• When is the right time to invest in brand marketing?

They also break down Byron Sharp’s ‘How Brands Grow’—what works, what doesn’t, and why small brands can’t always apply big-brand strategies. If you’re navigating growth with limited resources, this episode is for you.

Tune in for practical insights, sharp takes, and real strategies to help your brand grow.

Is your marketing strategy truly driving your business forward, or is it too focused on promotion?

In this episode of "Brands of Value," host David Göz engages in a compelling conversation with Alexander Schulze, Manager at Vivaldi Group—a global marketing consultancy specializing in brand strategy, innovation, marketing, and digital transformation.

Alexander, with extensive experience across industries such as nutrition, retail, automotive, and energy, shares his insights on developing robust business models and brands in today's dynamic market.

Together, they discuss the shift from a holistic marketing approach to a predominant focus on promotion, examining its implications for businesses.

Tune in to uncover actionable strategies for Chief Marketing Officers and Marketers to realign marketing with overarching business objectives, ensuring sustainable growth.

Don't miss this opportunity to rethink and revitalize your marketing approach.

Unlock the secrets of simplicity in marketing with Billy Broas on the latest episode of Brands of Value.

Billy contacted me and said that he had an idea for the podcast description of an evergreen idea and he wasn't wrong!

In this episode, we thoroughly discussed how Simplicity makes marketing both easier for you and more approachable for your clients.

Tune in now!

PS. The book breaks down pretty advanced marketing theory into actionable steps.

In this episode of Brands of Value, host David Göz interviews marketing expert Ethan Decker to reveal the science of brand growth. Ethan, a scientist-turned-marketer, discusses evidence-based marketing strategies that challenge common myths and explain the true drivers of brand success.

Together, they break down the laws of marketing—scientifically-backed principles that can unlock brand potential and deliver long-term growth. Whether you're a marketing professional or a business owner, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you navigate the ever-evolving world of brand marketing.

Learn more at appliedbrandscience.com or connect with Ethan on LinkedIn.

Special thanks to our partner, "The 30 Minute University of Planning," a free mentor network for marketing professionals.

What is processual brand thinking? Why is it important?What are the steps in that process?

In this episode of “Brands of Value” Michael Reinicke gets to lay out the problems with the current way Brand Managers and Marketing Managers talk about brands - and how it can all be baked into a process.

Michael Reinicke, is a strategist I have been following for years now and whose work I really appreciate. Michi has worked for many companies, among them: Philip und Keuntje, Serviceplan and Elbdudler for example. However, I got to know him during his time as the Head of Strategy of KNSK and the managing director of the Brand Consultancy ”Die Neue Vernunft”.

Nowadays Michi is a freelance strategist on a mission to introduce processual brand thinking. Brands of Value is a podcast by David Göz exploring underrated, unusual and undervalued strategies, tactics and methods of marketing that can help you grow your business.

If You would like to join me for an episode please reach out via LinkedIn!

In this Episode I interview Mirja Schwartz. She is an expert in community strategy, an underrated aspect of business and marketing strategy.