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Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social ImpactAuthor: Eric Ressler
Designing Tomorrow explores a new playbook for modern social impact leaders and brands to reach their true impact potential. Why do some social impact brands thrive, while so many others fail to get traction, build support for their cause, and make meaningful progress? Imagine your impact with truly sustainable revenue and resources. With deeper community engagement and relationships. With more influence in your social impact category. Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, each episode dives into the strategies, mindsets, and behaviors top social impact brands use to play and win in the attention economy. Go beyond high-level concepts to specific tools and tactics you can use today. Watch on YouTube or listen to new episodes each Tuesday. Lets design a better tomorrow, together.Designing Tomorrow is a Cosmic Production. Learn more at https://designbycosmic.com/ Language: en-us Genres: Business, Marketing, Non-Profit Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Most of Your Brand Strategy is a Waste of Time
Episode 84
Tuesday, 14 April, 2026
Most nonprofit leaders have been through some version of the brand strategy process. Eric calls it process theater: brand strategy work that sounds great in proposals but leaves everyone wondering what they're actually building toward. This episode puts ten common elements of brand strategy on trial. Eric and Jonathan each rank them as essential, important, or overrated, and the results surface a real philosophical divide. Where they genuinely disagree is on brand values, and the tension reveals the gap between how brand strategy is supposed to work and how it actually plays out. Episode Highlights: [00:01:00] Brand strategy has a "process theater" problem [00:03:00] Mission and vision statements: both rank them overrated [00:05:00] Brand values: essential or a motivational poster trap? [00:09:00] Why positioning and niche is the most undervalued element [00:14:00] Audience segmentation vs. the persona exercise trap [00:22:00] Value proposition: Jonathan's "God tier" pick [00:30:00] The four questions that replace your entire brand strategyNotable Quotes: [00:01:20]: "Sometimes these processes can be overinflated, a bit of process theater. Things that sound great in proposals, and then halfway through you're like, 'What are we even doing here?'" Eric Ressler [00:12:30]: "As an executive director, knowing what your niche is, is like a stress reducer. When other organizations pop up, rather than being fearful, you can just be like, 'Oh no, that's a different thing.'" Jonathan Hicken Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.comListeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at podcast@designbycosmic.comThank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.
