The WARC Podcast Strategy beyond the ad brief
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Oct 13, 2026 Erich Joachimsthaler, founder and CEO of VIVALDI and co-author of Brand Leadership, explores strategy beyond the traditional ad brief. He discusses how AI shifts competitive advantage upstream, finding unserved demand spaces, and building portfolios around consumer goals. Examples include Rhode, Tesla, Figma and Liquid Death, plus the role of workarounds, technology and regulation in creating new markets.
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Demand Spaces Beat Traditional Segmentation
- Demand spaces organize strategy around usage occasions, moments, and goals rather than demographic consumer segments.
- The same person may drink Folgers in the morning but pay $7 for a Starbucks latte later, revealing different demand spaces.
Goodles Found Adult Demand For Mac And Cheese
- Goodles found adult demand for macaroni and cheese by treating it as occasional comfort and nostalgia, not merely children’s food.
- Its success came from fitting consumers’ lives rather than competing only within the established category.
Rhode Simplified The Skincare Routine
- Rhode skincare recognized that consumers wanted a fast, simple route to a fresh, glazed look rather than a shelf of products.
- It launched with three products, solving a morning routine instead of extending a conventional skincare portfolio.