Marty Neumeier / Brand Strategist. Author. Designer. Legend

Oct 12, 2025

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Marty Neumeier is the internationally recognized author who literally wrote the book on brand strategy. His work The Brand Gap has been read by 25 million people, and Zag was named one of the top 100 business books of all time. After decades helping giants like Apple, Google, and Adobe build legendary brands, he's now disrupting the publishing industry itself with a bold new approach to bringing stories to market.

In this episode, Marty dismantles the myth that companies own their brands. The truth? Your brand lives in the minds of your customers, and they decide everything. He explains why marketing directors can't do brand strategy, why most brand extensions fail, and how the AI revolution is creating an urgent need for authentic human connection. We also dive deep into his fascinating new novel Octavo, a Renaissance thriller featuring Leonardo da Vinci that's being published using a radically different model inspired by Silicon Valley venture capital principles.

This conversation will challenge how you think about brands, creativity, technology, and the future of human relationships in an increasingly artificial world.

BIO:

Marty Neumeier is an internationally known writer, designer, and educator whose mission is bringing design principles to a world in transition. Since 1985, he has worked with creative companies like Apple, HP, Adobe, Google, and YouTube to build their brands and foster innovation. In 1996, he founded Critique Magazine, the first journal on design thinking. After writing eight influential books on brand strategy, including The Brand Gap (read by 25 million people) and Zag (named one of the top 100 business books of all time), he co-founded Level C, a brand mastery program. Now based in Mexico, he's writing thrillers in his spare time, including his latest novel Octavo, a Renaissance murder mystery featuring Leonardo da Vinci that's being published using an innovative Silicon Valley-inspired model.

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Paul Povolni, the founder of Voppa Creative, has been a creative leader for over 30 years, with clients around the world. He’s led teams in creating award-winning branding and design as well as equipping his clients to lead with Clarity, Creativity and Culture.

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