Why I quit Marketing...

Let’s get straight to it: marketing is dead. Not just the funnel, not just the metrics—all of it. I’m killing it, shoving it off a cliff, and watching it drown. If you’re still clinging to the idea of marketing as it was, you’re living in a bygone era. It’s time to face the truth: marketing as we know it is obsolete. Welcome to the age of Brand and Growth.

Why are we still pretending marketing works the way it used to? Nostalgia? Ego? Or maybe it’s fear—fear of change, fear of irrelevance. Whatever the reason, it’s time to let it go. Marketing departments are relics, dragging businesses down with outdated frameworks and KPIs. It’s time to replace them with Brand and Growth Departments that reflect the chaotic, interconnected reality of today’s buyers.

The Illusion of Control

Traditional marketing promised control. Campaigns, funnels, and lead generation made us feel powerful, like puppet masters pulling strings. But here’s the brutal truth: buyers aren’t following your carefully crafted steps Attention - Interest - Desire - Action. They’re reading your drip emails not in your intended order, skipping your whitepapers, and making decisions in ways you can’t predict or track.

Buyers today are messy. They bounce between channels, consult peers in private chats, and lurk in the shadows of Dark Social. Marketing assumes a tidy process, but real buyer behavior is chaos—beautiful, infuriating chaos.

Goodbye Funnel, Hello Infinite Loop

Google’s “Messy Middle” captures this chaos perfectly: buyers endlessly explore and evaluate, caught in a loop of indecision. They’re not moving linearly from awareness to purchase; they’re spiraling through micro-moments of discovery and doubt. Again and again and again.

Recent data shows that for high ticket customers - brands need an average of 62.4 interactions across at least 4 different channels before closing a deal. In B2C its at least 12 interactions across 5 different channels.

If you’re still running your campaigns like buyers are obediently trickling through a funnel, you’re delusional. The funnel is dead, and with it, the illusion of control. Instead, we need to embrace the infinite loop—an ecosystem of trust, engagement, and relevance that buyers can dip in and out of on their terms.

The 95-5 Rule: A Wake-Up Call

Here’s a reality check: 95% of your audience isn’t ready to buy. Only 5% are actively shopping for your solution. Yet, most growth efforts chase that elusive 5%, burning resources on a narrow slice of potential customers.

Brand and Growth flips this on its head. It’s not about closing the 5% today; it’s about building trust with the 95% so they’re ready tomorrow. Stop obsessing over short-term conversions. Start playing the long game and tap into the 6 biases that influence purchase decisions.

Dark Social and the Invisible Buyer

Want to know where your buyers are making decisions? It’s not in your CRM. It’s in the untrackable world of Dark Social—private Slack groups, WhatsApp chats, and email threads where your brand lives or dies without you even knowing.

Traditional tactics can’t touch this. But Brand and Growth can. The focus shifts from controlling the journey to creating shareable, impactful touch points that infiltrates these hidden spaces. It’s about planting seeds of influence where you can’t measure them.

Why Marketing Metrics Are Lies

MQLs, SQLs, CTRs—the metrics we’ve worshipped are nothing but vanity stats. They’re easy to measure but meaningless in today’s messy reality. Conversion rates don’t capture the complexity of trust-building or the invisible impact of Dark Social.

Brand and Growth demands new metrics. Forget funnel progression. Measure engagement, loyalty, and brand resonance. Ask yourself: Are buyers coming back? Are they sharing your story? Are they choosing you when it matters most?

Growth is the New Performance

Here’s where it gets powerful: growth isn’t just about driving performance. It’s the engine of visibility, relevance, and trust. Growth gets you in front of buyers when they’re in decision-making mode but also serves as brand communication. Every touchpoint, every impression—it all builds the larger narrative of who you are. Growth isn’t an isolated activity; it’s the continuous rhythm of being present where it counts.

How Brand and Growth Works

This shift isn’t about abandoning tactical approaches. It’s about weaving them into a cohesive strategy where each element plays a clear role. Performance activities like paid campaigns drive immediate visibility and action, while brand efforts like storytelling and design ensure long-term loyalty and trust. Content bridges both, (paid and organic) offering ongoing value that engages buyers no matter where they are in their journey.

Under this model, roles are clear: the Head of Growth handles performance-driven efforts, from paid ads to search optimization. The Brand Lead shapes identity and trust. The Content Lead ensures every message resonates across touchpoints. Together, they operate as an integrated force—not isolated silos.

Rewriting the Playbook

If marketing is dead, what takes its place? A radical, unapologetic focus on Brand and Growth. Here’s how:

1. Brand First, Always: Build a brand so strong it becomes synonymous with trust. Stop selling and start standing for something.
2. Engagement Over Conversion: Create value. Educate, entertain, and inspire. Let buyers come to you on their own terms.
3. Trust as Currency: Trust isn’t a stage in the journey; it’s the journey. Everything you do should build it.
4. Dark Social Strategy: Focus on creating content that infiltrates private spaces. Make it easy for advocates to carry your message forward.
5. Agility is Power: The game changes fast. Your strategy should, too. Test, learn, and adapt relentlessly.

Brand and Growth: The Future

Here’s the future I see: a world without marketing departments. Instead, we have Brand and Growth Departments—teams that focus on building iconic brands and driving sustainable growth - razorsharp and focussed. No funnels, no MQLs, no bullshit.

Imagine a company that stops chasing leads and starts creating movements. A company that doesn’t push buyers but pulls them in with undeniable value and authenticity. That’s the power of Brand and Growth.

Time to Let Go

Clinging to marketing is like clinging to a flip phone in the age of smartphones. It’s familiar, but it’s holding you back. The faster you accept this, the better.

Marketing is dead. Brand and Growth is here. Adapt, or watch your business drown with the funnel.?? Sometimes, it needs fire to fight fire. ??

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