We’re closing out 2025 with a highlight reel from Season 6 of JUST Branding.

This year we sat down with some serious heavy hitters, including Mark Ritson, Rory Sutherland, Marty Neumeier (round two), David Aaker (round two), Laura Ries, plus guests like Simon Dixon (DixonBaxi), Michael Bungay Stanier, Jay Clouse, and more.

In this best of episode, Jacob and Matt pull the sharpest clips, biggest lessons, and most repeated themes that matter if you’re building a brand that lasts.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Branding basics that still win: meaning, relevance, relationships
• Positioning that actually works (and why “positioning” isn’t the goal)
• Strategic enemies and the power of contrast
• Leadership and alignment (yes, including the uncomfortable honesty)
• Culture as brand, not a side project
• Customer truth and the discipline of saying “not everyone”
• Problem framing and why the first answer is rarely the best
• Brand fame vs hype and playing the long game
• Execution realities, including SEO getting tougher in an AI driven world
• Community vs audience, and what participation really costs

Featured clips in this highlight episode

• Branding earns its keep through meaning, relevance, relationships (Ep. 6.11, Simon Dixon)
• Positioning is not the end, it’s the start (Ep. 6.05, Mark Ritson)
• One page brand strategy thinking (Ep. 6.05, Mark Ritson)
• Strategic enemy creates value through contrast (Ep. 6.17, Laura Ries)
• Leadership endorsement is non negotiable (Ep. 6.01, Steve Noss)
• Brand alignment requires honesty (Ep. 6.03, Brandon Coleman Jr.)
• Culture is the brand, internally first (Ep. 6.15, David Aaker)
• Brands need a real relationship with culture (Ep. 6.08, Cyril Louis)
• Go wide on problem solving, don’t accept the first frame (Ep. 6.09, Rory Sutherland)
• Stay curious longer when coaching (Ep. 6.10, Michael Bungay Stanier)
• Not everyone is a customer (Ep. 6.11, Simon Dixon)
• Talk to your customers, find your core group (Ep. 6.02, Brandon Kim)
• Play drives innovation (Ep. 6.06, Melissa Dinwiddie)
• Hype vs fame, and why the long game wins (Ep. 6.19, Dan Cushing and Diego Borgo)
• Complexity happens for a reason, learn the client’s world (Ep. 6.18, James Greenfield)
• Influence matters (Ep. 6.02, Lida Citroën)
• Be careful entering politics and bandwagons (Ep. 6.04, Jeroen Reuven)
• SEO is harder with AI, so brand matters more (Ep. 6.14, Mordy Oberstein)
• ABM works when sales and marketing actually align (Ep. 6.07, Jennifer Mancusi)
• Audience is not community (Ep. 6.12, Jay Clouse)

Season 7 kicks off late January 2026. Until then, hit follow, share this episode with a brand builder mate, and if you’ve got 30 seconds, a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts helps the show reach more people.