by Jacques de Villiers | Jan 29, 2026 | Marketing
We need a villain.Finally, someone has said it. Not because we enjoy conflict, but because without contrast, meaning dissolves. We don’t decide who we are in isolation. We decide by drawing a line and saying, “We are this, not that.” When a brand names a clear enemy,...
by Jacques de Villiers | Oct 8, 2025 | Marketing
When someone tells me they’re “authentic,” I flinch. Because the moment you have to say it… something’s already off. Authenticity isn’t something you declare; it’s something people sense.You don’t convince others you’re real by announcing it — you show it...
by Jacques de Villiers | Dec 5, 2023 | Marketing
I’ve been writing email newsletters for 10 years or so and sending them to a small database of loyal fans. I have a love/hate relationship with my newsletter. Producing a newsletter can be hugely satisfying and famously frustrating. What’s the point of a...
by Jacques de Villiers | Sep 7, 2023 | Marketing
I’ve been a fan of networking ever since I joined Business Network International some 15 years ago.I never really understood the power of networking until I read the statistical mathematician, Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book, Antifragile: Things That Gain...
by Jacques de Villiers | Aug 27, 2023 | Marketing
If you’re on LinkedIn you’ve probably already seen the green ‘Open to Work’ (OTW) caption underneath a profile photo. If you own your own business and choose to put the OTW caption on your photo, that’s your prerogative. I wouldn’t...
by Jacques de Villiers | Jun 3, 2023 | Marketing
I was rereading Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars the other day. The premise is that we believe whatever we want to believe, and that it’s exactly this trait of ours, which marketers use (and sometimes abuse) to sell their products by infusing...
