Why do brands follow trends and waves, embracing change when it is not needed?

Why aren’t they obsessing about brand relevance, which is potentially the mother of all brand problems?

In this Growth Brands and More episode, Philippo interviews brand strategist Magda Adamska, who moved from agency planning (Nike, T-Mobile) to operator roles at MTV/Viacom and Pearson, then became a consultant and built Brand Struck, a database tracking 250 brand positioning analyses. Adamska contrasts the agency's focus on communication and creativity with client-side realities of the full marketing mix, citing Kinder Bueno’s repositioning, which tripled share. She describes shifts from fun/rebel branding to purpose and sustainability, and now “cultural relevance,” warning that fundamentals and measurement matter most. She argues relevance is the key driver of resilience (Uber, Instagram), while decline can stem from lost relevance (Bud Light) or bad business decisions despite relevance (Nike’s DTC shift). They discuss brands travelling internationally (Liquid Death in the UK), the importance of fame/awareness and investment, and why brand architecture projects start from portfolio messes driven by short-term incentives, acquisitions, and weak CEO stewardship.

00:00 Meet Magda Adamska

05:25 Brand Trends and Relevance

22:32 Brand Architecture Fixes

29:40 Short-Termism and Fake Innovation

32:43 CEO Stewardship and Brand Splits

40:45 Future Priorities and Value

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