Get on the Brand Wagon

So, I’m binging Madam Secretary on Netflix (I’m only on season 1, no spoiler breaches here!)

And the word tradecraft keeps coming up. It’s usually whispered in tense scenes involving espionage, aliases, burner phones, and some very stylish trench coats.

But it got me thinking…

Sure, tradecraft is traditionally associated with the spy world (CIA, MI6, Mission Impossible gadgets...cue theme music)—but let’s be real—marketing has its own covert operations. (Note: Human inserted em dashes, and knock it off with attempting to make that "a negative thing" when there are so many other mission-critical things happening in the world! The same people claiming content that's AI-generated isn't worthy because of em dashes are the same ones trying to earn fake engagement by asserting "negative assumptions". #YKWYR.)

Rant over. Let’s break down my hypothesis:

Tradecraft = The specialized skills and techniques of a particular profession.

Sounds like marketing to me. Especially branding.

It takes:

• Deep recon into customer behavior
• Strategic positioning under pressure
• Constant adaptation in hostile environments (we’re looking at you, algorithm changes)
• And a whole lotta influence, with just enough misdirection to make it look effortless

Which led me straight down a rabbit hole to Alexa. I shouted, “Play She’s Crafty by the Beastie Boys.” (Naturally.)

And suddenly I’m singing along and thinking:
🎤 She’s crafty... she’s always down for the pitch... she’s got a deck and a niche...

OK, I’ll stop. You’re welcome —or— I’m sorry? Dealer’s choice. 😉

So, is marketing tradecraft?

Absolutely.
It requires discipline, observation, timing, and an ability to move people emotionally and behaviorally without making them feel manipulated.

The best marketers are strategists and creatives. Analysts and empaths. Planners and poets.
If that’s not tradecraft, I don’t know what is.

Your Turn

What’s your personal brand tradecraft?
Is it your storytelling chops? Your ability to read between the metrics? Your uncanny sixth sense for when to launch, pivot, or pull the plug?

Drop it in the comments or tag a fellow brand spy who’s got the goods.

Teaser for the Next Brand Wagon Blog…

I’m workshopping a little something called SaaStegic: where SaaS meets strategy with a wink of sass. Let’s see if this wordplay goes anywhere… or if it self-destructs in five seconds. But there is interesting intel about the AI impact on SaaS (and the “marketing funnel” blowing up.)

Until then, stay crafty, my brand wagon riders. 🛻✨