The Death of Differentiation
12:45Ritson argues that "unique selling points" are mostly a myth. Consumers don't remember small differences between products. They remember brands that are distinctive — those with recognizable assets that cut through the noise.
He cites the "Big Red" study to prove that saliency beats nuance every single time. The brands that win aren't the ones with the cleverest positioning statement. They're the ones you can spot from across a supermarket aisle.
Stop wasting positioning workshops on "what makes us different." Instead, invest in distinctive brand assets — colors, sounds, shapes, patterns — that create instant recognition at every touchpoint. In B2B, this means your logo, your visual language, and your tone of voice matter more than your feature table.
The 60/40 Rule Revitalized
28:10A deep dive into Binet and Field's landmark research. Mark explains why companies that over-invest in performance marketing (bottom of funnel) experience a "performance plateau" that eventually leads to brand erosion and decreased price elasticity.
“If you only do performance marketing, you will eventually hit a ceiling. Brand is what lifts the ceiling.”
Mark Ritson
Marketing Professor
The data is damning: brands that shift budget from brand to performance see short-term gains followed by a cliff. CAC rises, conversion rates stall, and the only lever left is discounting — which destroys the brand entirely.
| Category | Brand % | Performance % | Effect on Pricing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMCG / CPG | 60% | 40% | Strong — brand premium sustained |
| B2B Services | 50% | 50% | Moderate — trust-driven cycles |
| B2B SaaS | 40% | 60% | Variable — depends on ACV |
| DTC / E-commerce | 55% | 45% | Fragile — CAC spiral risk |
If your CAC is rising quarter over quarter while conversion rates stall, you're likely in the performance plateau. The fix isn't more spend — it's rebalancing toward brand. Track brand-to-performance ratio as a strategic KPI, not just a budget line.
Strategy as Sacrifice
45:30Strategy is defined by what you choose NOT to do. Ritson critiques modern CMOs for trying to be "everything to everyone" instead of picking three core strategic objectives and ignoring the rest of the noise. The quality of your strategy, he argues, is measured by the quality of your no's.
In your next strategy review, don't ask "what should we add?" Ask "what should we kill?" Every initiative you keep that doesn't serve your top 3 objectives is actively diluting the ones that matter.