35 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony who relocated to New York in 1963 to sell Japanese electronics directly to American consumers — pioneering the Walkman, Trinitron TV, and the idea that Japanese products could command premium prices globally.
American advertising pioneer who owned Lord & Thomas — the most powerful advertising agency of the early 20th century — and who worked with Claude Hopkins and John E. Kennedy to develop reason-why advertising, transforming American consumer marketing.
American executive who defected from Coca-Cola to become Pepsi's CEO from 1950 to 1959, transforming the company's image through aggressive advertising and his marriage to Joan Crawford, who became a brand ambassador.
Swiss businessman and CEO of Rolex (1962–1992) who shifted the brand's positioning from precision tool watches to pure luxury status symbols — expanding the Datejust and Day-Date as pure jewelry items — and is credited with making Rolex the world's most recognized luxury brand.
French entrepreneur who co-founded Michelin with his brother Edouard — and whose marketing genius created the Michelin Guide as a strategy to encourage more driving (and thus more tire wear) — inventing content marketing a century before the term existed.
Canadian marketing executive and author who wrote Obviously Awesome — the definitive guide to product positioning — advising hundreds of B2B tech startups on how to position their products so that customers immediately understand why they are the best option for them.
American advertising executive at the D'Arcy agency who served as Coca-Cola's primary creative partner for decades, creating campaigns including 'thirst knows no season' and commissioning Haddon Sundblom to paint the iconic Santa Claus ads.
American businessman who acquired full control of Coca-Cola from John Pemberton for approximately $2,300 and built it into a national brand through aggressive distribution, franchise bottling, and free sample marketing.
Entrepreneur and business development professional operating in the MW-adjacent business community.
Stacey Ross Cohen's 2023 guide to personal branding for students and early-career professionals — helping next-generation professionals build authentic professional identities.
American advertising executive — who created modern copywriting techniques, invented sampling and coupon advertising, wrote Scientific Advertising (1923) — earning $185,000 annually at his peak (extraordinary for the era) — whose methods defined advertising practice for decades.
Jonah Berger's 2013 book explaining the six principles (STEPPS) that make content, products, and ideas spread through social networks — Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories — grounded in academic research rather than anecdote.
American direct response marketing consultant — author of No B.S. book series — speaker — who trains marketers in direct response copywriting and is considered the most influential direct response marketing mentor.
American business executive who served as president and COO of Coca-Cola under Roberto Goizueta, known as the company's public face and relationship builder — and for his famous statement that 'we were not planning to bring it back but I'm not wearing a hairshirt or eating crow.'
CMO of JP Morgan Payments who orchestrated the sponsorship partnership with Acquired for its live arena events at Chase Center and Radio City Music Hall.
John Pemberton's bookkeeper and business partner who coined the name 'Coca-Cola', designed its famous Spencerian script logo, and created the earliest advertising materials — making him the brand's true visual and naming architect.
German-Swiss entrepreneur who founded Rolex in London in 1905 and then relocated to Geneva, pioneering the wristwatch as a precision instrument and creating the marketing strategies — the Oyster waterproof case, the Perpetual rotor, explorer endorsements — that made Rolex synonymous with achievement.
Robert Cialdini's 1984 account of the six principles of influence (reciprocity, commitment/consistency, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity) — based on three years embedded in sales, advertising, and fundraising organizations — one of the most influential books ever written on persuasion.
American sports entrepreneur and founder of the Savannah Bananas, a baseball entertainment team that replaced conventional minor league baseball with trick plays, dancing, and audience participation — selling out every event and becoming a global touring phenomenon.
American marketing professor at Wharton who wrote Contagious: Why Things Catch On — the most cited popular book on viral marketing and social transmission — and Invisible Influence, The Catalyst, and Magic Words — studying why some products, ideas, and behaviors spread while others don't.
Akio Morita's 1986 autobiography covering Sony's founding from post-war ruins through its transformation into a global consumer electronics brand — providing Morita's own account of the Walkman, the transistor radio, and building a Japanese brand for American consumers.
Chip and Dan Heath's 2007 framework for why some ideas stick and others fade — the SUCCESs model (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories) — providing a checklist for designing memorable and persuasive communication.
Annual guide published by Michelin since 1900 — originally a free booklet of maps, gas stations, and restaurants to encourage motoring — which evolved into the world's most prestigious restaurant rating system, where receiving or losing a Michelin Star is a career-defining event for chefs.
David Ogilvy's 1983 comprehensive guide to advertising — covering copywriting, research methods, campaign strategy, direct response, and the philosophy of advertising as a service to consumers — the most widely read book in the advertising industry.
American marketing theorist at Northwestern's Kellogg School who codified marketing as an academic discipline and wrote the most widely used marketing textbook in history.
Austrian energy drink company co-founded by Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987 — which created the premium energy drink category — and which built a global brand through content marketing rather than traditional advertising, owning sports teams, music festivals, and extreme sports events.
American author — author of The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, and The Daily Stoic — who popularized Stoic philosophy for modern audiences — the most widely read popularizer of Stoicism in contemporary culture.
Claude Hopkins's 1923 argument that advertising is a science, not an art — based on test-and-measure principles, coupon response rates, and the foundational idea that every ad dollar should be accountable — the most influential advertising book ever written.
American professor at NYU Stern, entrepreneur, and media commentator whose Prof G podcast and books make sharp, sometimes contrarian arguments about Big Tech, higher education, and the economic challenges facing young men.
American marketing executive and prolific author who wrote Tribes, Purple Cow, Permission Marketing, The Dip, and Linchpin — and who has published a blog post every day for 20+ years — known for contrarian, aphoristic takes on marketing, leadership, and creativity.
American branding and marketing executive — CEO of Co-Communications — author of Brand Up — who trains students and executives in personal branding.
American businessman who served as president of Pepsi-Cola from 1938 to 1951, transforming it from near-bankruptcy into a credible Coca-Cola competitor through aggressive marketing and the breakthrough 12-ounce bottle campaign.
Co-author (with Gabriel Weinberg) of Traction — the most widely used framework for startup customer acquisition — and serial entrepreneur in the health tech space.
Harvard Business School professor whose 'Marketing Myopia' (1960) is the most reprinted article in Harvard Business Review history — arguing that companies fail by defining their business too narrowly.
Theodore Levitt's collected essays including Marketing Myopia, the globalization of markets essay, and other foundational marketing frameworks.