The 8 Fundamentals of Effective Marketing · Coming soon
No special sauce.
Just what holds up.
What holds up across thousands of brands, hundreds of studies, and a lot of long conversations with the people who did the work.
Featured episode · SBP 150
Hear the framework, start to finish.
Marc and Vassilis walk through all eight fundamentals and the conversations behind each one.
From the conversations to the framework
The 8 Fundamentals of Effective Marketing.
More than five years of interviewing guests and researching topics became eight principles. A guide to help marketers ask sharper questions of their commercial teams, then focus on delivering against the strategy.
The Eight
Every belief gets a verdict.
Eight things most of us were taught, and what the evidence says instead. Effectiveness multiplies: neglect one and you are multiplying by zero.
01
Growth comes from reach
The myth
“Growth comes from loyalty.”
What holds up
Loyalty is real, but predictable. Growth comes from reaching more buyers.
02
Promises and trust
The myth
“People buy why you do it, not what you do.”
What holds up
A specific, credible promise, kept by the whole organization, beats a vague purpose.
03
Easy to mind, easy to find
The myth
“Awareness is the job.”
What holds up
Everyone knows Coke. Being easy to think of and easy to buy is what sells it.
04
Fame and consistency
The myth
“Creative wears out, so refresh every eighteen months.”
What holds up
You sat in the edit. Your customer has seen it twice. Consistency compounds.
05
Strong force, weak force
The myth
“Advertising persuades people to buy.”
What holds up
It nudges. Plan for a weak force, applied continuously, to the 95% not yet in market.
06
Bothism
The myth
“Brand building is fluffy. Show me the ROAS.”
What holds up
It is both, in some proportion, and the proportion is not the same for everybody.
07
Creativity and emotion
The myth
“Creative is the subjective part. Fix the targeting first.”
What holds up
Across ten levers of profitability, creative quality ranked second and target audience last.
08
Investment drives return
The myth
“Spend a little less, get a little less.”
What holds up
The response curve is an S. Below a threshold you get close to nothing, at full price.
How does your marketing score?
16 statements, two per fundamental. Free, and no email to see your score.
Built by
Marc Binkley & Vassilis Douros
Hosts of The Sleeping Barber. The full handbook goes to contributors for review before it goes public.
- Is it free?
- Yes. No trial, no upsell.
- When can I get it?
- The one-page summary is coming soon. The full handbook follows in January 2027, after contributors review it. Join the list and you'll be the first to receive both.
- Who is it for?
- Marketers who have to defend their plan to a CFO.
- Will you email me anything else?
- Only the guide releases. The Fade newsletter arrives only if you tick the box.