Field Notes Podcast by Brand Shepherd

A Brand Shepherd Production
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Most branding advice is vague fluff. This isn't that. Field Notes delivers practical, no-nonsense insights on brand clarity, messaging, and building something that actually sticks, grounded in the Brand Shepherd and the Vibe, Tribe, & Why® framework. brandshepherd.substack.com

  1. 3h ago

    The One-Word Litmus Test for Hiring a Creative

    Here is a fast, reliable test for what your next creative engagement is going to be like: listen for how the creative uses the word “art.” If they call their commercial work art, brace yourself. This week’s Field Notes gets into why the century-old distinction between art (self-expression) and design (problem solving) still matters, why so many creative professionals have quietly lost that distinction, and why that loss is at the center of the AI backlash in creative circles right now. The word is small. What it reveals about the engagement ahead of you is not. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Jul 11

    Three Reasons People Keep Using AI That Nobody Is Talking About

    Every new technology has a stated reason people use it and an actual reason people use it. The gap between the two is where brands either lead or get left behind. This week’s Field Notes gets into three underlying reasons people keep coming back to AI that almost nobody in leadership positions is talking about. All three point to the same thing: customers are experiencing something in their AI conversations that they are not experiencing anywhere else, including with your brand. Understanding what and why is the difference between reading the moment and reacting to it after your competitors have already done so. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

  3. Jun 27

    Nobody Sends Videos for Thought Leadership. Here's Why That Matters.

    Here is a strange observation: in over 30 years of doing this work, nobody has ever sent me a video and said “you need to watch this. It will challenge how you think about your business.” Articles, yes. Books, constantly. Posts on LinkedIn, all the time. But never a video. This week’s Field Notes explores why that is, and what it tells us about the mediums of influence in professional life. Video dominates almost everywhere except the one place where you might expect it most: B2B thought leadership. Dan’s theory is that video asks too much of the viewer to work for an audience whose time and attention are already maxed out. If your brand is making decisions about where to invest in video, this one is worth your time. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

    Nobody Sends Videos for Thought Leadership. Here's Why That Matters.

  4. Jun 20

    What the Industrial Revolution Can Teach Brands About the AI Moment

    History is rhyming, and the rhyme should concern us. This week’s Field Notes is more philosophical than usual. Dan walks through the structural parallel between the Industrial Revolution and the current AI moment: the unchecked deployment, the cultural backlash that followed (the Arts and Crafts movement), the eventual synthesis (the Bauhaus), and the dark consequence almost nobody wants to talk about (mechanized warfare in World War One). The question that should be haunting every brand conversation about AI right now is the one nobody is asking: what is the AI equivalent of World War One? And if you are running a brand, the more immediate question is whether you can read the room well enough to navigate what is coming. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

    What the Industrial Revolution Can Teach Brands About the AI Moment

  5. Jun 13

    Print Is Making a Comeback. Three Things to Know Before You Dive In.

    Print is back, and brands are starting to ask the right questions about how to step into it without getting burned. This week’s Field Notes covers three things every digital-first brand needs to know before ordering their first print run: why color will not match your screen and what to do about it, why Pantone is no longer the industry standard (and the strange Adobe falling-out that caused it), and why physical timing requires a completely different mindset than digital. If you are about to dive into brochures, apparel, or branded objects for the first time, this one is for you. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

    Print Is Making a Comeback. Three Things to Know Before You Dive In.

  6. Jun 6

    Build Your Brand From the Inside Out (Especially When Morale Is Low)

    Buy low, sell high. The same logic that drives investing applies to brand building, and right now is a buy-low moment. This week’s Field Notes makes the case that mid-2026, with morale low and the economy strained, is exactly the right time to build your brand from the inside out. Dan walks through how Vibe, Tribe & Why® works internally (applied to HR, talent, and culture) just as powerfully as it works externally, and shares how Brand Shepherd is following its own advice in its 20th year. If you have been waiting for the right time to get clear on who your brand is, what it stands for, and who it is for, this is it. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

    Build Your Brand From the Inside Out (Especially When Morale Is Low)

  7. May 30

    The AI Chasm: Why This Moment Divides Everyone

    Commencement season 2026 has a theme: crowds booing anyone who mentions AI on stage. It is a loud moment, and it is worth paying attention to, not because the outrage is right, but because of what it signals to every brand quietly building with AI while everyone else reacts to it. This week’s Field Notes is Dan’s honest assessment of where public opinion on AI actually stands, what savvy brands are about to do in response, and why the brands that go quiet about their AI use are not retreating. They are pulling ahead. The ones who win the argument right now are going to lose the race. This episode explains why and what to do about it, depending on which camp you are in. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

  8. May 23

    Your Why Is Simpler Than You Think. That's the Point.

    Your Why is not a philosophy exercise. It is not a whiteboard session. It is one sentence, and if your team can’t agree on it in ten minutes, that difficulty is already telling you something. This is Part 3 of a three-part Field Notes series on the origins of Vibe, Tribe & Why®. This episode covers Why, the component that connects Vibe and Tribe into something that actually works. It’s the simplest piece of the framework, and the one that's most often overcomplicated. If you haven’t heard Parts 1 and 2 yet, start there. Tribe first, then Vibe, then come back here. Get full access to Brand Shepherd at brandshepherd.substack.com/subscribe

    Your Why Is Simpler Than You Think. That's the Point.
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Most branding advice is vague fluff. This isn't that. Field Notes delivers practical, no-nonsense insights on brand clarity, messaging, and building something that actually sticks, grounded in the Brand Shepherd and the Vibe, Tribe, & Why® framework. brandshepherd.substack.com

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