<![CDATA[Grow Your Brain]]>Grow Your Brain is an APG Canada podcast made by strategists, for strategists.

Hosted by Pedro Porto Alegre, the show features long-form conversations with people shaping how our industry thinks, from strategists and creatives to researchers, founders, authors, and cultural observers.

Rather than chasing hot takes, career stories, or surface-level marketing commentary, Grow Your Brain explores the deeper ideas behind the work: how people form beliefs, how culture moves, how brands create meaning, how technology changes behaviour, and what better thinking requires in a noisy world.

Each episode is designed for intellectually curious listeners who want to go beyond the obvious and spend time with ideas worth wrestling with.

]]>https://www.apgcanada.ca/Riverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:06:45 GMTFri, 05 Jun 2026 23:15:00 GMT60APG Canada<p>Grow Your Brain is an APG Canada podcast made by strategists, for strategists.</p><p></p><p>Hosted by Pedro Porto Alegre, the show features long-form conversations with people shaping how our industry thinks, from strategists and creatives to researchers, founders, authors, and cultural observers.</p><p></p><p>Rather than chasing hot takes, career stories, or surface-level marketing commentary, Grow Your Brain explores the deeper ideas behind the work: how people form beliefs, how culture moves, how brands create meaning, how technology changes behaviour, and what better thinking requires in a noisy world.</p><p>Each episode is designed for intellectually curious listeners who want to go beyond the obvious and spend time with ideas worth wrestling with.</p>episodicAPG Canadappa.brandconsulting@gmail.comyes<![CDATA[Claudia Aguirre: Strategists Need to Leave Their Desks]]>Claudia Aguirre is a Calgary-based brand strategist, qualitative researcher, and consultant with more than 20 years of experience across Mexico, the US Hispanic market, Latin America, Canada, and Europe. She began her career in research and planning in Mexico, working with firms including Leo Burnett, JWT, FCB, and Research International, before eventually building her own consulting practice focused on research, branding, civic causes, not-for-profits, and sustainable brands.

This conversation between Claudia Aguirre and Pedro Porto Alegre explores strategy through Claudia’s deeply human lens: getting out into the world, observing real behaviour, and turning it into insights that creatives can actually build from. Claudia reflects on her early days in planning in Latin America and why great strategists often come from unexpected paths, before diving into why leaving the desk is essential for good strategy. They also discuss vulnerability as a strategic skill, how culture and language shape what people are willing to share, and the role of AI in modern strategy—useful for the groundwork, but no substitute for real-world observation, perspective, and judgment.

Resources talked about in this episode:

  • The Jay Chiat Awards
  • Balzac and La Comédie Humaine
  • Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content by Anil R. Doshi and Oliver P. Hauser, Science Advances
  • Poll: 62% of Americans Say They Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share by Emily Ekins, Cato Institute / YouGov

Follow Claudia Aguirre:

Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:

Listen to full episodes wherever you get your podcasts:

Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at http://apgcanada.ca/join-us.

Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at http://thegatheringfestival.com.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Grow Your Brain Podcast

00:49 The Gathering Festival Overview

01:13 Claudia Aguirre’s Career Journey

04:17 Building the Planning Profession

10:43 Why Strategists Must Get Out Into the World

17:37 Research, Human Behavior, and Creative Collaboration

20:49 Observation, Insights, and the Brief

28:40 Vulnerability as a Strategic Skill

33:33 Culture, Language, and Connecting With People

41:07 AI, Originality, and Doing the Real Work

]]>3b403bef-ecca-4c30-b258-91f8cfdbaf69Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>Claudia Aguirre is a Calgary-based brand strategist, qualitative researcher, and consultant with more than 20 years of experience across Mexico, the US Hispanic market, Latin America, Canada, and Europe. She began her career in research and planning in Mexico, working with firms including Leo Burnett, JWT, FCB, and Research International, before eventually building her own consulting practice focused on research, branding, civic causes, not-for-profits, and sustainable brands.</p><p></p><p>This conversation between Claudia Aguirre and Pedro Porto Alegre explores strategy through Claudia’s deeply human lens: getting out into the world, observing real behaviour, and turning it into insights that creatives can actually build from. Claudia reflects on her early days in planning in Latin America and why great strategists often come from unexpected paths, before diving into why leaving the desk is essential for good strategy. They also discuss vulnerability as a strategic skill, how culture and language shape what people are willing to share, and the role of AI in modern strategy—useful for the groundwork, but no substitute for real-world observation, perspective, and judgment.</p><p></p><p>Resources talked about in this episode:</p><ul><li>The Jay Chiat Awards</li><li>Balzac and <i>La Comédie Humaine</i></li><li>Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content by Anil R. Doshi and Oliver P. Hauser, <i>Science Advances</i></li><li>Poll: 62% of Americans Say They Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share by Emily Ekins, Cato Institute / YouGov</li></ul><p>Follow Claudia Aguirre:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aguirreclaudia/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/aguirreclaudia/</a></li></ul><p>Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/</a> </li></ul><p>Listen to full episodes wherever you get your podcasts:</p><ul><li>Spotify: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/033uubqHEgCKhsEtBQzMwD" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/show/033uubqHEgCKhsEtBQzMwD</a></li><li>Apple Podcasts: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grow-your-brain/id1896893094" target="_blank">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grow-your-brain/id1896893094</a></li><li>YouTube: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsxF4y-bl38Gcdi1FSSVROMnK3Ct-QLYT" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsxF4y-bl38Gcdi1FSSVROMnK3Ct-QLYT</a></li></ul><p>Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://apgcanada.ca/join-us" target="_blank">http://apgcanada.ca/join-us</a>.</p><p>Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://thegatheringfestival.com" target="_blank">http://thegatheringfestival.com</a>.</p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Introduction to Grow Your Brain Podcast</p><p>00:49 The Gathering Festival Overview</p><p>01:13 Claudia Aguirre’s Career Journey</p><p>04:17 Building the Planning Profession</p><p>10:43 Why Strategists Must Get Out Into the World</p><p>17:37 Research, Human Behavior, and Creative Collaboration</p><p>20:49 Observation, Insights, and the Brief</p><p>28:40 Vulnerability as a Strategic Skill</p><p>33:33 Culture, Language, and Connecting With People</p><p>41:07 AI, Originality, and Doing the Real Work</p>yes00:53:505Claudia Aguirre: Strategists Need to Leave Their Desksfull<![CDATA[Umar Ghumman: Digital Experiences Have a Brand Problem]]>Umar Ghumman is an experience strategist and founder of NewBrains, a website strategy studio built around the intersection of new technologies and enduring human behaviour. Over his career, Umar has worked across digital agencies, startups, Publicis, and VML, where he served as Chief Experience Strategy Officer.

This conversation explores how brands should think about websites, customer experience, AI, positioning, and distinctiveness in digital environments. Umar Ghumman explains why websites should be treated as complete buying systems that build both physical and mental availability, and why generic digital experiences are becoming less effective as AI increasingly compares, summarizes, and filters brands.

The episode also looks at the shift from social media to AI, the trade-offs between privacy and convenience, and how brand positioning should show up online. Pedro and Umar discuss how brands become habits, why consistency needs variation, and how developing taste and judgment in an AI-shaped world comes from experience, exposure, and feedback rather than aesthetics alone.

Resources talked about in this episode:

  • A New Operating System for Brand Building in the Age of AI by Umar Ghumman
  • The Social Dilemma
  • The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

Follow Umar Ghumman:

Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:

Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at http://apgcanada.ca/join-us.

Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at http://thegatheringfestival.com.

Timestamps:

01:15 Umar’s Background and the NewBrains Perspective

02:58 From the Social Media Shift to AI

05:07 Privacy, Trust, and the Pull of Convenience

08:23 Websites as Complete Buying Systems

10:08 Websites, Physical Availability, and Mental Availability

13:49 Bringing Brand Positioning to Life Online

15:54 Balancing Immersive Experiences with Utility

18:38 How to Define Brand Positioning

23:14 How Positioning Drives Website Conversion

24:58 Measuring Website Success

27:46 Customer Journeys and Brand-Rooted Experiences

28:34 AI’s Role in Modern Brand Building

30:10 Consistency, Variation, and Distinctiveness

32:13 How Brands Become Habits

35:15 Customer Centricity Without Sameness

38:22 Developing Taste and Judgment

]]>a70ca965-a70d-4cf4-bc4e-22ff2870de63Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>Umar Ghumman is an experience strategist and founder of NewBrains, a website strategy studio built around the intersection of new technologies and enduring human behaviour. Over his career, Umar has worked across digital agencies, startups, Publicis, and VML, where he served as Chief Experience Strategy Officer.</p><p></p><p>This conversation explores how brands should think about websites, customer experience, AI, positioning, and distinctiveness in digital environments. Umar Ghumman explains why websites should be treated as complete buying systems that build both physical and mental availability, and why generic digital experiences are becoming less effective as AI increasingly compares, summarizes, and filters brands.</p><p></p><p>The episode also looks at the shift from social media to AI, the trade-offs between privacy and convenience, and how brand positioning should show up online. Pedro and Umar discuss how brands become habits, why consistency needs variation, and how developing taste and judgment in an AI-shaped world comes from experience, exposure, and feedback rather than aesthetics alone.</p><p></p><p>Resources talked about in this episode:</p><ul><li>A New Operating System for Brand Building in the Age of AI by Umar Ghumman</li><li>The Social Dilemma</li><li>The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff</li></ul><p></p><p>Follow Umar Ghumman:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/umarghumman/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/umarghumman/</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/</a> </li></ul><p></p><p>Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://apgcanada.ca/join-us" target="_blank">http://apgcanada.ca/join-us</a>.</p><p></p><p>Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://thegatheringfestival.com" target="_blank">http://thegatheringfestival.com</a>.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>01:15 Umar’s Background and the NewBrains Perspective</p><p>02:58 From the Social Media Shift to AI</p><p>05:07 Privacy, Trust, and the Pull of Convenience</p><p>08:23 Websites as Complete Buying Systems</p><p>10:08 Websites, Physical Availability, and Mental Availability</p><p>13:49 Bringing Brand Positioning to Life Online</p><p>15:54 Balancing Immersive Experiences with Utility</p><p>18:38 How to Define Brand Positioning</p><p>23:14 How Positioning Drives Website Conversion</p><p>24:58 Measuring Website Success</p><p>27:46 Customer Journeys and Brand-Rooted Experiences</p><p>28:34 AI’s Role in Modern Brand Building</p><p>30:10 Consistency, Variation, and Distinctiveness</p><p>32:13 How Brands Become Habits</p><p>35:15 Customer Centricity Without Sameness</p><p>38:22 Developing Taste and Judgment</p>yes00:47:584Umar Ghumman: Digital Experiences Have a Brand Problemfull<![CDATA[Marc Binkley: Your Mental Model Might Be Wrong]]>Marc Binkley is an evidence-based marketing consultant, President of the Calgary Marketing Association, and co-host of the Sleeping Barber podcast. Through his consultancy, Quatical, he helps organizations apply marketing science to brand and business growth.

This conversation explores how evidence-based thinking can improve marketing decisions, why digital measurement has distorted our understanding of effectiveness, and what marketers can learn from the scientific method. Marc and Pedro examine the limitations of the traditional marketing funnel, how people actually make buying decisions, and why better diagnosis often matters more than having more tactics.

They also discuss mental and physical availability, the 95–5 Rule, the Theory of Constraints, and how marketers can build a stronger latticework of mental models without mistaking any single framework for reality.

Resources talked about in this episode:

  • A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
  • How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
  • The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field
  • The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
  • Future Demand by James Hurman
  • Better Brand Health by Jenni Romaniuk

Follow Marc Binkley:

Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:

Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at http://apgcanada.ca/join-us.

Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at http://thegatheringfestival.com.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Marc Binkley and His Work

03:31 The Importance of Evidence-Based Marketing

06:10 The Evolution of Marketing Measurement

08:32 The Impact of Digital Marketing

11:00 How Digital Changed Marketing Thinking

13:37 The Limits of Digital Measurement

16:18 Why Small Brands Default to Social Media

17:21 The Importance of Asking Better Questions

20:36 Can Scientific Thinking Scale Across Marketing Teams?

22:55 Why New Ideas Threaten Core Beliefs

23:16 The Origins of the Marketing Funnel

24:59 The Strongest Arguments For and Against the Funnel

27:10 How Consumers Actually Make Buying Decisions

28:32 Mental and Physical Availability

29:48 Satisficing and the Reality of Consumer Choice

31:19 The Role of Mental Models in Strategy

33:18 Understanding the Theory of Constraints

36:21 Why Diagnosis Matters More Than Tactics

37:25 The 95–5 Rule and Future Demand

40:29 Alternatives to the Traditional Funnel

41:23 The 95–5 Cash Flow Funnel

43:05 Measuring Mental Availability

45:11 Turning Marketing Research Into Action

]]>ea149f07-ab31-49e5-9ab5-1ddc49162feaTue, 14 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>Marc Binkley is an evidence-based marketing consultant, President of the Calgary Marketing Association, and co-host of the Sleeping Barber podcast. Through his consultancy, Quatical, he helps organizations apply marketing science to brand and business growth.</p><p></p><p>This conversation explores how evidence-based thinking can improve marketing decisions, why digital measurement has distorted our understanding of effectiveness, and what marketers can learn from the scientific method. Marc and Pedro examine the limitations of the traditional marketing funnel, how people actually make buying decisions, and why better diagnosis often matters more than having more tactics.</p><p></p><p>They also discuss mental and physical availability, the 95–5 Rule, the Theory of Constraints, and how marketers can build a stronger latticework of mental models without mistaking any single framework for reality.</p><p></p><p>Resources talked about in this episode:</p><ul><li>A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger</li><li>How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp</li><li>The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field</li><li>The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt</li><li>Future Demand by James Hurman</li><li>Better Brand Health by Jenni Romaniuk<p></p></li></ul><p>Follow Marc Binkley:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sleepingbarber.ca/" target="_blank">https://sleepingbarber.ca/</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://calgarycma.com/" target="_blank">https://calgarycma.com/</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.quatical.com/" target="_blank">https://www.quatical.com/</a><p></p></li></ul><p>Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://apgcanada.ca/join-us" target="_blank">http://apgcanada.ca/join-us</a>.</p><p></p><p>Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://thegatheringfestival.com" target="_blank">http://thegatheringfestival.com</a>.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Introduction to Marc Binkley and His Work</p><p>03:31 The Importance of Evidence-Based Marketing</p><p>06:10 The Evolution of Marketing Measurement</p><p>08:32 The Impact of Digital Marketing</p><p>11:00 How Digital Changed Marketing Thinking</p><p>13:37 The Limits of Digital Measurement</p><p>16:18 Why Small Brands Default to Social Media</p><p>17:21 The Importance of Asking Better Questions</p><p>20:36 Can Scientific Thinking Scale Across Marketing Teams?</p><p>22:55 Why New Ideas Threaten Core Beliefs</p><p>23:16 The Origins of the Marketing Funnel</p><p>24:59 The Strongest Arguments For and Against the Funnel</p><p>27:10 How Consumers Actually Make Buying Decisions</p><p>28:32 Mental and Physical Availability</p><p>29:48 Satisficing and the Reality of Consumer Choice</p><p>31:19 The Role of Mental Models in Strategy</p><p>33:18 Understanding the Theory of Constraints</p><p>36:21 Why Diagnosis Matters More Than Tactics</p><p>37:25 The 95–5 Rule and Future Demand</p><p>40:29 Alternatives to the Traditional Funnel</p><p>41:23 The 95–5 Cash Flow Funnel</p><p>43:05 Measuring Mental Availability</p><p>45:11 Turning Marketing Research Into Action</p>yes00:47:553Marc Binkley: Your Mental Model Might Be Wrongfull<![CDATA[Jon Crowley: Marketers Are Addicted to Certainty]]>Jon Crowley is a Toronto-based brand strategist, Partner, Head of Strategy, and SVP at FUSE Create. He is also the writer behind A Benign Conspiracy and a founding editor of Rebrief, an independent Canadian journal of advertising.

This conversation explores the realities of modern strategy, agency culture, and the tension between creativity, business, data, and measurement. Jon Crowley shares his perspective on what strategists often misunderstand about their role, why agencies need to better understand how clients make money, and how the pursuit of certainty has shaped marketing’s obsession with attribution, funnels, and performance metrics.

The episode also covers the importance of writing as a way of thinking, the value of intentional friction in creative work, the role of print in a digital world, and why individual success in advertising is largely a myth. Jon argues that strategy is ultimately an elevated form of educated guessing, where the strategist’s job is to increase the probability of success by understanding the business, the audience, the market, and the creative problem clearly enough to point teams toward better decisions.

Resources talked about in this episode:

  • A Benign Conspiracy by Jon Crowley
  • Rebrief
  • The Walrus
  • Monocle
  • Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan
  • How Humans Decide (Oxford Saïd Business School / WPP research on brand preference)
  • Shoresy
  • A Big Life In Advertising by Mary Wells Lawrence

Follow Jon Crowley:

Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:

Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at apgcanada.ca/join-us.

Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at thegatheringfestival.com.

Timestamps:

00:00 The Indie Agency Experience

06:25 The Importance of Team Culture

11:59 The Journey into Writing and Strategy

17:12 Launching Rebrief: A New Perspective on Advertising

22:34 The Value of Print in a Digital World

22:57 Understanding Marketing in Business Context

28:00 The Importance of Clear Objectives in Briefs

33:25 The Shift Towards Performance Marketing

38:49 The Role of Media Mix Modeling

44:14 The Challenge of Teaching Young Strategists

]]>c031da73-bee8-46ed-8817-d6163006810bTue, 30 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT<p>Jon Crowley is a Toronto-based brand strategist, Partner, Head of Strategy, and SVP at FUSE Create. He is also the writer behind A Benign Conspiracy and a founding editor of Rebrief, an independent Canadian journal of advertising.</p><p></p><p>This conversation explores the realities of modern strategy, agency culture, and the tension between creativity, business, data, and measurement. Jon Crowley shares his perspective on what strategists often misunderstand about their role, why agencies need to better understand how clients make money, and how the pursuit of certainty has shaped marketing’s obsession with attribution, funnels, and performance metrics.</p><p></p><p>The episode also covers the importance of writing as a way of thinking, the value of intentional friction in creative work, the role of print in a digital world, and why individual success in advertising is largely a myth. Jon argues that strategy is ultimately an elevated form of educated guessing, where the strategist’s job is to increase the probability of success by understanding the business, the audience, the market, and the creative problem clearly enough to point teams toward better decisions.</p><p></p><p>Resources talked about in this episode:</p><ul><li>A Benign Conspiracy by Jon Crowley</li><li>Rebrief</li><li>The Walrus</li><li>Monocle</li><li>Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan</li><li>How Humans Decide (Oxford Saïd Business School / WPP research on brand preference)</li><li>Shoresy</li><li>A Big Life In Advertising by Mary Wells Lawrence</li></ul><p></p><p>Follow Jon Crowley:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncrowley/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://abenignconspiracy.substack.com/" target="_blank">A Benign Conspiracy</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://apgcanada.ca/join-us" target="_blank">apgcanada.ca/join-us</a>.</p><p></p><p>Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://thegatheringfestival.com" target="_blank">thegatheringfestival.com</a>.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 The Indie Agency Experience</p><p>06:25 The Importance of Team Culture</p><p>11:59 The Journey into Writing and Strategy</p><p>17:12 Launching Rebrief: A New Perspective on Advertising</p><p>22:34 The Value of Print in a Digital World</p><p>22:57 Understanding Marketing in Business Context</p><p>28:00 The Importance of Clear Objectives in Briefs</p><p>33:25 The Shift Towards Performance Marketing</p><p>38:49 The Role of Media Mix Modeling</p><p>44:14 The Challenge of Teaching Young Strategists</p>yes00:47:562Jon Crowley: Marketers Are Addicted to Certaintyfull<![CDATA[PK Lawton: Brands Are Social Systems]]>Paul "PK" Lawton is a sociologist, co-founder of Sister Merci, and an instructor at McMaster University. His work examines how culture shapes behaviour, belief, and decision-making.

This conversation explores the intersection of sociology and marketing strategy, emphasizing the importance of understanding social actors, assemblages, and the limitations of traditional frameworks. PK Lawton shares insights on how brands are built in regulated industries, the influence of social sciences, and the need to adapt in an age of AI and rapid change.

Resources talked about in this episode:

  • After Method by John Law
  • How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
  • Actor Network Theory (Bruno Latour)
  • Retromania by Simon Reynolds
  • Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher
  • Shitification by Corey Doctorow

Follow PK Lawton:

Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:

Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at apgcanada.ca/join-us.

Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at thegatheringfestival.com.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Paul Lawton's Journey

02:58 Teaching and Academia: A Return to Roots

05:46 The Evolution of Strategy in Marketing

09:02 Defining Brand Strategy in a Changing Landscape

11:48 Building Brands in Regulated Industries

15:08 The Role of AI in Modern Strategy

18:02 The Concept of Brand as Assemblage

21:01 Navigating the Messy World of Marketing

23:59 Frameworks and Their Limitations in Strategy

28:03 The Complexity of AI Operations and Marketing Funnels

29:30 Understanding Social Assemblages in Marketing

32:09 The Role of Frameworks in Strategy

33:01 Actor-Network Theory and Its Implications

36:21 The Need for Sociological Perspectives in Strategy

37:39 The Limitations of Predicting the Future

40:22 The Erosion of Future Visions in Society

43:33 Navigating the New Marketing Landscape

44:54 The Role of Marketing Science in Strategy

49:17 Understanding Brand Growth Beyond Advertising

52:08 The Importance of Recognizing All Actors in Strategy

]]>43fef1b8-13eb-46f9-ab7d-19abacf5a235Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:34:43 GMT<p>Paul "PK" Lawton is a sociologist, co-founder of Sister Merci, and an instructor at McMaster University. His work examines how culture shapes behaviour, belief, and decision-making.</p><p></p><p>This conversation explores the intersection of sociology and marketing strategy, emphasizing the importance of understanding social actors, assemblages, and the limitations of traditional frameworks. PK Lawton shares insights on how brands are built in regulated industries, the influence of social sciences, and the need to adapt in an age of AI and rapid change.</p><p></p><p><b>Resources talked about in this episode:</b></p><ul><li>After Method by John Law</li><li>How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp</li><li>Actor Network Theory (Bruno Latour)</li><li>Retromania by Simon Reynolds</li><li>Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher</li><li>Shitification by Corey Doctorow</li></ul><p></p><p>Follow PK Lawton:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulklawton/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedroportoalegre/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Join APG Canada to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://apgcanada.ca/join-us" target="_blank">apgcanada.ca/join-us</a>.</p><p></p><p>Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://thegatheringfestival.com" target="_blank">thegatheringfestival.com</a>.</p><p></p><p><b>Timestamps:</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction to Paul Lawton's Journey</p><p>02:58 Teaching and Academia: A Return to Roots</p><p>05:46 The Evolution of Strategy in Marketing</p><p>09:02 Defining Brand Strategy in a Changing Landscape</p><p>11:48 Building Brands in Regulated Industries</p><p>15:08 The Role of AI in Modern Strategy</p><p>18:02 The Concept of Brand as Assemblage</p><p>21:01 Navigating the Messy World of Marketing</p><p>23:59 Frameworks and Their Limitations in Strategy</p><p>28:03 The Complexity of AI Operations and Marketing Funnels</p><p>29:30 Understanding Social Assemblages in Marketing</p><p>32:09 The Role of Frameworks in Strategy</p><p>33:01 Actor-Network Theory and Its Implications</p><p>36:21 The Need for Sociological Perspectives in Strategy</p><p>37:39 The Limitations of Predicting the Future</p><p>40:22 The Erosion of Future Visions in Society</p><p>43:33 Navigating the New Marketing Landscape</p><p>44:54 The Role of Marketing Science in Strategy</p><p>49:17 Understanding Brand Growth Beyond Advertising</p><p>52:08 The Importance of Recognizing All Actors in Strategy</p>yes00:53:171PK Lawton: Brands Are Social Systemsfull